A/HRC/17/30 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 29 April 2011 Original: English Human Rights Council Seventeenth session Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Gabriela Knaul Summary The present report is the second report submitted to the Human Rights Council by the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, since her appointment in June 2009. The report covers the activities carried out by the Special Rapporteur in 2010, in accordance with Council resolution 8/6. The thematic section of the report focuses on some aspects of the multi-faceted relationship between gender and the judiciary, within the broader context of the administration of justice. Within the thematic cluster on gender and the administration of justice, the report addresses major obstacles to women’s access to justice, including the feminization of poverty as well as laws, policies and practices that discriminate against women, and elaborates on the conditions required for the effective realization of women’s rights to access to justice. Within the thematic cluster on gender and the judiciary, the report focuses on the conditions for developing a gender-sensitive judiciary, and the role of the judiciary in advancing women’s human rights. The Special Rapporteur also presents a number of good practices and makes recommendations to Governments, the international community and other stakeholders. GE.11-13015