Bridging national policies and international commitments: the question of the status of women.

• Author: Cartwright, Silvia

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted 50 years ago, focussed the world's attention on the importance of human rights. The development of two major Covenants - the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - provided an initial mechanism for compliance with the broad range of human rights.

Before long, however, those concerned with human rights issues recognized the need to develop specialized instruments, and from this grew the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which entered into force on 3 September 1981. By 1998, over 160 parties had ratified the Convention.

Almost 17 years on, although most nations acknowledge the need to promote and protect human rights for women, some may find it difficult to accept that there remains a need for a specialized human rights Convention devoted solely to this topic.

The answer is to reflect on the trends of discrimination drawn from States reports to the Committee established under the Convention. The knowledge and experience gained from these reports demonstrate that, when there are violations of human rights or States fail to abide by commitments made under the Convention, both men and women will suffer. But the effect on women will be different and often significantly worse.

Generally speaking, violence against women is a serious problem in every Part of the world, whether it is State perpetrated, or condoned or committed by individuals against individuals in everyday life. Whether the violence is in the family, sexual assaults on girl children or adult women by female genital mutilation, murder by family members, or son preference, it has taken its toll on the lives and health of countless women living in rich and poor countries, and in every part of the world. Women, and the children for whom they are responsible form a disproportionate number of the world's refugees, must scrabble to provide shelter and food, and protect themselves and their children from the violence of war.

Throughout the world, structural adjustment programmes have often had a beneficial effect on economies. But when Governments reduce spending on health and education, and employment is dislocated, women bear the greatest economic burden. In regimes where fundamentalist forces have political clout, women are obliged to take a second place in the family and in society at large. Where population...