STATEMENT BY MR. SERGIO VIEIRA DE MELLO BEFORE THE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

Commission on the Status of Women
New York, 7 March 2003



Statement by

Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights




Thank you [Mr.] Chairperson,
Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,

As we celebrate today the commemoration of International Women’s Day, I want to highlight the importance that I intend to give to ensuring that all UN human rights activities integrate gender perspectives and improve respect for women’s rights.

As the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.6/2003/2) notes, my Office has adopted a gender strategy in keeping with our dual mandate to address human rights as well as gender and women’s issues. My mandate requires us to protect and promote all human rights for all, and, of course, women’s rights are human rights.

We are greatly assisted by the Joint Work Plans adopted since 1997 by your Commission and the Commission on Human Rights - prepared by my Office and the Division for the Advancement of Women - which facilitate our collaboration with the Division and with the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, Ms. Angela King. I believe that the Joint Work Plans are a particularly valuable example of the collaboration ECOSOC is seeking to encourage among its commissions, and of the support and encouragement that your work provides to our efforts. I also welcome the participation in your session of Ambassador Najat Al-Hajjaji, Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights, and that of our Commission’s Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy.

I believe that my Office’s priorities will be of particular interest to your Commission in view of the catalytic role you play in following up on ECOSOC resolutions. Combating trafficking in women and girls has been an important focus of my Office. Our “Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking”, the Glen Cove Expert Group on Trafficking in Women and Girls and many interventions during your debate on agenda item three have all emphasized that efforts to criminalize and combat trafficking must be based on gender and human rights approaches and respond to the right of victims to international protection.

We have discussed today in this room the relevance of gender discrimination and empowerment of women to the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals. I want to stress that poverty represents a clear denial of human rights. It must also be a human rights priority to combat two contemporary plagues: the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the pandemic of violence against women. We will continue our work in those areas - including the eradication of harmful traditional practices - and will promote universal women’s rights while also combating racial and religious intolerance. We will highlight the need to guarantee to every girl and every woman their right to education, as well as their equal right to participation and access to the media and to information and communication technologies. Human rights education will empower women, enabling them to claim their rights and improving their chances of escaping poverty and violence. Without improved respect for human rights, and particularly for the equal rights of women, it will be impossible to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

As head of the UN effort in Timor-Leste, I saw the remarkable impact that promoting the participation of women can have in peace-building and development. We will pay increased attention to the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325, and particularly to the right of women to participate both in decision-making and in human rights activities. Women are a factor of stability and reconciliation; their contribution can improve the quality of decisions and thus the effectiveness of recovery efforts. Above all, we promote women’s participation because women have an equal right to be involved in all decisions and because their input brings value added to all decisions. .

Finally, I want to emphasize that improving the status of women will require, like all human rights, priority attention to the rule of law. We must encourage universal ratification without reservations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and of its Optional Protocol; we must also ensure adequate legal, institutional and judicial frameworks to prevent violations of women’s rights and ensure redress for victims. As reflected in your first high-level roundtable, the role of national machinery to promote and protect gender equality and human rights will be crucial to ensure national implementation of international norms, as will the active engagement of civil society. We look forward to working with the Division to support the work of national institutions, which is another priority for my mandate.

Mr. Chairperson, members of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen,

You can count on me, on my Office, and on the human rights mechanisms that we support, to promote our shared agenda – that of ensuring full and equal respect for the human rights of women.



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