A/HRC/31/3
Gender equality and women’s rights
4.
38.
On 15 September 2015, the High Commissioner announced his pledge to be a
“Geneva gender champion”4 and committed himself to meeting at least one women’s
organization during each field visit, among other things. On the occasion of the twentieth
anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, OHCHR led a media campaign featuring 12
video profiles of women human rights defenders and a social media component
encouraging public solidarity with women human rights defenders. With United Nations
partners, OHCHR published a booklet about United Nations support and assistance to
counter gender-related killings and launched an information series on sexual and
reproductive health and rights.
39.
OHCHR sought to address wrongful stereotyping by the judiciary in cases of sexual
and gender-based violence (in Guatemala and West Africa). In Colombia, Costa Rica, El
Salvador, Panama and Peru, OHCHR promoted the use of the Latin American model
protocol for the investigation of femicide among members of the judiciary. In Papua New
Guinea, OHCHR trained women human rights defenders and developed a manual on
addressing gender-based violence.
40.
OHCHR contributed to building national capacities to address issues related to
women’s rights and gender equality (violence against women, gender stereotyping, access
to land and sexual and reproductive health), including for stakeholders from Chile,
Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, the Gambia, Honduras, Lebanon, Libya,
Mali, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, the Syrian Arab
Republic and Tunisia. OHCHR also assisted some States in developing or revising family
laws and legislation on violence against women (in Belarus, the Gambia, Myanmar,
Senegal, Tunisia and Yemen).
41.
With national and international counterparts, OHCHR mentored women candidates
and parliamentarians in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, the Niger and Senegal.
42.
Capacity-development on gender integration reached some 350 United Nations staff
and government and civil society representatives.
5.
Discrimination on the basis of disability
43.
OHCHR played a key role in mainstreaming the rights of persons with disabilities in
the post-2015 sustainable development agenda, including in the definition of indicators and
in terms of data disaggregated by disability.
44.
In Georgia, OHCHR provided advice on amendments to the legislation on the legal
capacity of persons with psychological disabilities, which were adopted in the spring of
2015. In August 2015, the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of
Paraguay adopted a national action plan on the rights of persons with disabilities, developed
with OHCHR support. In January 2015, again with OHCHR assistance, the Parliament of
Tunisia established a special commission for persons with disabilities and other vulnerable
groups, following its ratification of a national charter on the rights of such persons.
6.
Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity
45.
OHCHR supports efforts to counter homophobic and transphobic attitudes through
its Free and Equal public education campaign, which continued through 2015 with the
release of new videos, factsheets and other materials. OHCHR led campaign events in
Austria, Brazil, Cambodia, Cabo Verde, China, El Salvador, Fiji, Mexico, Peru, Senegal,
4
For more information, see www.genevagenderchampions.com.
7
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