Review, Rationalization and Improvement of Mandates, The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Statement by Prof. Yak?n Ertürk, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences

Seventh session, Human Rights Council







Geneva, 14 March 2008


Mr. President, distinguished Members of the Council, representatives of the United Nations and the NGO community.

It is with great pleasure that I address the seventh session of the Human Rights Council in the context of the review, rationalization and improvement of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences.

As you know, the mandate of the Special Rapporteur was established by the Commission on Human Rights in 1994 after a decade of international activism, culminating in 1993 with the Vienna Human Rights Conference and the milestone adoption of the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women the same year. This marked a significant turning point in the international recognition of violence against women as a human rights issue.

Since then, we have seen great progress in standards setting at international and national level for the promotion and protection of women from violence. Women’s needs have increasingly been addressed, as illustrated by the growth of legal and judicial remedies offered to women victims of domestic violence or violence in armed conflict as well as by the provision of services, including hot-lines, shelters, etc. Yet the challenge remains to ensure respect for and effective implementation of existing law and standards. Violence against women and girls continues unabated in the home, in the community, perpetrated and/or condoned by State agents in many countries. Violence also takes place in the transnational arena, against women who are migrants, refugees or trafficked. Much more remains to be done to create and sustain an enabling environment where women can live a life free from violence.

Many governmental and non governmental actors, including the United Nations Secretary General, In his in-depth study on all forms of violence against women in 2006, A/61/122/Add.1, para 34 have acknowledged that the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, has significantly contributed to the common effort to address violence against women. I would like to take the opportunity today to draw your attention to a few achievements of this mandate.

To start with, the mandate has become an institutional mechanism for regular in-depth review and reporting on violence against women globally. Through analysis of various aspects of violence against women, communications to governments, country visits and consultations with civil society, both my predecessor and I have raised awareness of the different forms of violence against women across the world, contributing for instance to give attention to sexual violence in conflict and peace times, to harmful practices in traditional and modern settings, or to trafficking. The flexibility of this mechanism – as opposed to the structured reporting cycle of treaty bodies such as the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women – has also allowed for specific situations to be addressed as they occurred, be it through public or confidential communications, or country visits.

The mandate has also contributed to an increased understanding and dissemination of international norms and standards pertaining to violence against women. It has notably made clear that all forms of violence against women, whether perpetrated or condoned by the State and its agents, by private persons or by family members, in the public or private sphere, in peacetime or in times of conflict, are human rights violations that Governments must address. Both my predecessor and I have underlined the importance in this regard of the State duty of due diligence to prevent, investigate and prosecute private and public acts of violence, and offer remedies and reparation to women victims. See E/CN.4/2006/61 and E/CN.4/1999/68 In my report on due diligence, I have drawn special attention to the obligation to prevent violence from occurring by effectively addressing its root causes.

With standards on violence against women in place, the mandate turned to their operationalisation and monitoring at the national level. My predecessor proposed for instance a framework for a model and comprehensive legislation on domestic violence, to serve as a drafting guide to legislatures and organizations. E/CN.4/1996/53/Add.2 In my report on Indicators on violence against women, I strive to offer an innovative framework applicable to a variety of contexts on the issue of assessing and measuring major forms of violence against women, as well as measures taken by States to prevent and address them.

The violence against women mandate has also contributed to greater clarity on the root causes and consequences of violence, which the Commission on Human Rights had the foresight to establish as part of that mandate. In this respect my thematic report on culture explores the underlying causes of violence against women across societies that often get obscured by the popular culture based discourses. The report on the intersections of violence against women with HIV/AIDS E/CN.4/2005/72 demonstrates how women’s susceptibility to HIV is exacerbated by unequal power between women and men and the use of violence to sustain that imbalance.

Equally important, the mandate has contributed to ensuring that violence against women is not understood in isolation from gender-based discrimination, but is addressed as part of States’ efforts to ensure gender equality and women’s empowerment. This I would argue marks a paradigm shift in the way violence against women has been perceived, moving away from a narrow victimization approach to one of empowerment and from a humanitarian to a human rights approach. While access to judicial and legal remedies for victims of violence is crucial, so are initiatives to support women’s empowerment to enhance their self-awareness, self-esteem, self-confidence and self-reliance.

Last but not least, in my thematic report for 2009 I will address the political economy of women’s rights, in order to contribute towards advancing the economic, social, and cultural rights of women, which I see as key to their enjoyment of their civil and political rights and their protection from risk of violence and exploitation.


Mr. President, Distinguished Members of the Council,

The review, rationalization and improvement of the mandates of Special Procedures are an important exercise to ensure improved human rights promotion and protection globally. In this respect, let me stress that violence against women persists in every country in the world as a pervasive violation of human rights and a major impediment to achieving gender equality. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur serves as a crucial reminder of the magnitude of violence against women across geographies and cultures, shedding light on various forms of violence in different national and local contexts.

Today, we have moved to the era of implementation, compliance and monitoring. Since its inception, the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women has, I believe, effectively supported Governments and civil society in moving towards better compliance with international and national norms. However, as we confront new, emerging and complex issues concerning violence against women there will be a need to refine our legal and societal responses to them as well as our conceptual tools. In this respect, there is still much to be done. I am fully confident that this mandate will continue to play a significant role in supporting endeavours to combat violence against women.

Mr. President, Distinguished Members of this Council, I look forward to our discussion today and to cooperating further with you in increasing the effectiveness of the mandate within the framework of special procedures for the benefits of all women victims of violence across the world.