A/HRC/4/104
page 18
43.
In accordance with the High Commissioner’s Plan of Action and Strategic Management
Plans, OHCHR is expanding its work to promote gender equality and protect and empower
women. It is taking action to implement the decision of the Secretary-General to transfer
responsibility for supporting CEDAW to OHCHR. A dedicated Unit on Women’s Human
Rights and Gender has been established in the Office. In addition to the Unit’s ongoing specific
cooperation with individual United Nations entities and participation in a range of inter-agency
activities in the fields of peace and security, humanitarian affairs and development, it is working,
inter alia, to develop legal analyses and commentaries to be made available to Governments,
civil society, treaty bodies and field offices on a wide variety of women’s rights issues. The
analyses and commentaries aim to ensure greater coherence in approaches to the issues. The
Unit will pilot gender-sensitive country-engagement strategies and will work to combat
impunity for violations of women’s human rights. It will place particular emphasis on the
protection and promotion of women’s economic, social and cultural rights. It will engage a wide
range of partners to implement its work programme, taking note of the recommendation of the
United Nations High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence to establish one United Nations
entity focused on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
B. Field operations
44.
The OHCHR Office in Angola is supporting the Government in its treaty reporting
obligations and opening possibilities for civil society to elaborate shadow reports, including on
women’s rights. UNDP, UNFPA and UNIFEM, with the participation of OHCHR, are designing
a joint United Nations programme on gender, with focus on political participation of women. In
partnership with Norwegian People’s Aid, OHCHR is supporting a project that aims to
strengthen women’s participation in political life. The Office’s work in Angola is guided by a
human rights-based approach with principles of non-discrimination and a focus on vulnerable
populations (including women) at the heart of all activities. Follow-up to the recommendations
of CEDAW on Angola’s periodic reports in 2004 is being supported by OHCHR.
45.
The OHCHR Office in Cambodia has worked closely with UNIFEM to support the
process of elaborating Cambodia’s fourth periodic report to CEDAW and ensuring effective
follow-up of recommendations issued in January 2006. They include a number of broadly
framed concerns, including the effectiveness of the justice system and the pervasive culture of
impunity, which touch the mainstream of Government activity. While responsibility for
CEDAW implementation lies with the Cambodian National Council for Women, working with
the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, other Government ministries have yet to fully mainstream
gender in their activities. OHCHR is working to raise awareness that equality between men and
women is enshrined in all of the core human rights treaties and to encourage others, including
United Nations entities, to follow up on the recommendations put forward by CEDAW in their
activities. It also raises awareness that the reporting processes under other human rights treaties
provides opportunities to consolidate and highlight the issues raised by CEDAW.
46.
The OHCHR Field Office in Colombia works to register and analyse violations of
women’s human rights and breaches of international humanitarian law pertaining to women.
Workshops have been held to promote gender-sensitive human rights monitoring and registration
of cases in the database. The Office undertakes various actions, including communications with
victims and/or authorities in follow-up to cases. It has facilitated modules on gender and
discrimination and international instruments on women’s rights. Participants at training courses
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents