Oral statement Amnesty International

49th Session CSW March 4, 2005

Madam Chair,

Amnesty International takes the floor to call on all governments to use the opportunity of the 49^{th session of the Commission on the Status of Women:}

To fully affirm the commitments to respect women’s human rights as expressed in the Beijing Declaration, Platform for Action, and 2000 Outcome Document;

To ensure full and prompt implementation at the national level of these commitments, in particular in the areas of women’s human rights, violence against women, women and armed conflict and women and health;

To establish a clear link between the Beijing Declaration, Platform for Action, and 2000 Outcome Document, and the Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals. The realization of these goals depends on achieving the human rights and empowerment of all women and attaining gender equality and fully implementing the Beijing Platform for Action.

Women face discrimination and violence at the hands of the state, the community and the family. Rape and sexual abuse, be this by relatives, security officials or armed combatants, are inflicted on millions of women and girls every year. Violence against women is not confined to any particular political or economic system, but is prevalent in every society in the world and cuts across boundaries of wealth, race and culture.

The underlying cause of violence against women lies in the discrimination that denies women equality of rights with men. In some countries, the state enforces gender-based violence against women and discrimination is written into the law; in others the laws are inadequate; and even there the laws are not discriminatory, the practices of government authorities, agencies, police and prosecutors often foster discrimination and violence against women.

Some women are at particular risk of violence by virtue of a multiplicity of factors including discrimination based not only on gender, but also on race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or identity, health, age or physical or mental ability. These dimensions of discrimination intersect, forcing many women into situations of multiple marginalization.

Last year, Amnesty International launched a global campaign to Stop Violence against Women to highlight the continuum of violence against women in times of war and of peace, at the hands of the state or the family. It emphasizes the need for preventative measures as well as the need to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Amnesty International salutes the efforts of the women’s movement to promote women’s human rights and through our campaign we seek to complement and contribute to their efforts.

Amnesty International places the fight against gender-based violence within the human rights framework, and emphasizes the obligation of governments to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and punish all acts of violence against women. Women have the right to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence.

The ten year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action presents a unique opportunity for governments to make a real difference to realizing women’s human rights. This morning the High Commissioner for Human Rights called on governments to ensure “a resounding reaffirmation of the political commitment to the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome document of Beijing plus 5” and to “provide a vision of equality for women in the 21st century”.

Amnesty International looks to governments attending the Commission on the Status of Women -- the UN body specifically charged with advancing the status of women – to rise above political considerations and narrow domestic agendas to uphold and implement the promises to women and girls made ten years to make women’s rights a reality.