International Instruments and Treaty Bodies

International Instruments and Treaty Bodies

• Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (1949)

• Equal Remuneration Convention (1951)

• Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1952)

• Convention on the Nationality of Married Women (1957)

• Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (1958)

• Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960)

• Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages (1962)

• Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (1967)

• Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergencies and Armed Conflicts (1974)

• Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1994)

• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW (1979) and Optional Protocol to the Convention (1999)

The Convention is often described as an international bill of rights for women.

• Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2003)

World Conferences on women

• 1975-Mexico City- First world Conference on Women

• 1980-Copenhagen-Second World Conference on Women

• 1985-Nairobi-Third World Conference on Women

• 1995-Beijing-Fourth World Conference on Women

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The First World Conference on Women

The first world conference on the status of women was convened in Mexico City to coincide with the 1975 International Women's Year, observed to remind the international community that discrimination against women continued to be a persistent problem in much of the world. The Conference, along with the United Nations Decade for Women (1976-1985) proclaimed by the General Assembly five months later at the urging of the Conference, launched a new era in global efforts to promote the advancement of women by opening a worldwide dialogue on gender equality. A process was set in motion — a process of learning — that would involve deliberation, negotiation, setting objectives, identifying obstacles and reviewing the progress made.

The Mexico City Conference was called for by the United Nations General Assembly to focus international attention on the need to develop future oriented goals, effective strategies and plans of action for the advancement of women. To this end, the General Assembly identified three key objectives that would become the basis for the work of the United Nations on behalf of women:

• Full gender equality and the elimination of gender discrimination;

• The integration and full participation of women in development;

• An increased contribution by women in the strengthening of world peace.

The Conference responded by adopting a World Plan of Action, a document that offered guidelines for governments and the international community to follow for the next ten years in pursuit of the three key objectives set by the General Assembly. The Plan of Action set minimum targets, to be met by 1980, that focused on securing equal access for women to resources such as education, employment opportunities, political participation, health services, housing, nutrition and family planning.

Within the United Nations system, in addition to the already existing Branch (now Division) for the Advancement of Women, the Mexico City Conference led to the establishment of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) to provide the institutional framework for research, training and operational activities in the area of women and development.

An important facet of the meeting in Mexico City was that women themselves played an instrumental role in shaping the discussion. Of the 133 Member State delegations gathered there, 113 were