New York, Sep 12 2008 2:10PM
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today said that
much more needs to be done to protect women from discrimination and
achieve gender equality, despite progress made in the 60 years since
the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Women throughout the world were amongst the poorest and most
marginalized, with limited access to rights, resources and
opportunity, Navanethem Pillay told delegates at the opening of the
annual gender discussion of the
<"http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/">Human Rights
Council in Geneva.
Ms. Pillay noted that gender roles are deeply rooted in culture and
sometimes these roles ingrain ideas of inferiority of women and
superiority of men as well as stereotyped responsibilities for men and
women.
"No effort should be spared to persuade countries to repeal laws and
discourage customs, practices and prejudices that negate or undermine
the achievement of equality between women and men," Ms. Pillay said.
"[The] recognition of the gender dimension in all activities has been
part and parcel of UN strategies aimed at putting an end to the
social, political and economic discrimination that women face," she
added.
However, in her speech, Ms. Pillay also noted that these schemes aimed
at combating gender injustices had "produced few tangible results."
She commended the Human Rights Council for taking on the task of
finding ways to achieve concrete gains in gender equality issues, but
warned that it was a task requiring sustained attention. In
particular, the Council needed to truly integrate a gender perspective
into all its activities.
"Through my experience, I have learned that equality and
non-discrimination on the basis of sex are not only goals in their own
right, but are essential for the achievement of all human rights for
all, the realization of sustainable human development, as a well as
the development of all societies," she stated.
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