A/HRC/38/46 III. Conclusions and recommendations A. Conclusions 82. The road to gender equality and the full realization of women’s and girls’ human right remains long and challenging. Women are scarcely represented in national and global political and economic decision-making bodies and are too often overrepresented in vulnerable employment and paid less than men, impeding their economic independence. They face pervasive violence, lack control over their bodies and lack autonomy, and are too often seen as sexualized objects. In all spheres of life, power and entitlement are still concentrated in the hands of men. Women facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination experience inequality even more acutely. The continuing existence of direct and indirect discrimination, both visible and invisible, is the reason why women lag behind in nearly all human progress indicators. 83. Equality between women and men is humanity’s struggle. In the face of discrimination against women and one of its worst manifestations, gender-based violence, everyone has a duty to act. The international community must move forward on setting and implementing standards on gender equality to counter the alarming trends towards undermining human rights principles and jeopardizing the gains made in women’s rights. Solidarity and unity among the whole human rights movement is crucial. While acknowledging that there is great diversity within the feminist movement, and that experiences, perspectives and objectives vary, differences need to be overcome and objectives reconciled to unite against fundamentalists who oppose gender equality. 84. Efforts to mainstream gender have constituted a positive step, but they will remain insufficient as long as the United Nations system shies away from addressing nuclei of resistance and maintains its fragmented policies. Recognition of the interdependence of equality in all fields of women’s life is key to achieving full and lasting equality. Isolated or sectoral measures focused on the least controversial fields are inappropriate to address root causes of persistent discrimination. There is an urgent need to improve the coherence of international mechanisms aimed at eliminating discrimination against women and a need for global leadership and partnerships. 85. International human rights bodies and United Nations entities need to guard against the current backlash in order to ensure that the human rights legal framework is not undermined. The human rights community should make every effort to block any position in international human rights spaces that endorses patriarchal and discriminatory norms, misusing culture, religion and State sovereignty as fallacious justifications. Women’s human rights are fundamental rights that cannot be subordinated to cultural, religious or political considerations. 86. Freedom of religion should not be opposed to gender equality, and human rightsbased education should be used as the main catalyst for change. The Working Group reiterates that there should be no compromise or tolerance for human rights violations or rollback of international human rights standards. 87. States have legal obligations to fulfil women’s right to equality. It is therefore essential to apply the existing human rights obligations of Member States, making sure that there is both awareness of and accountability for elimination of discrimination against women and empowerment of women within this framework. States have a duty to respect women’s human rights and to exercise due diligence to ensure that those rights are not violated by the State, its agents, private corporations, armed groups or individuals. Equality in law and in practice, which enables women to participate fully in political, public, economic and social life, is also a crucial factor for the success of sustainable development. The costs of discriminatory practices in terms of health, education and economic development are a barrier to sustainable development. The goals, targets and indicators of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development should be interpreted through the lenses of human rights obligations. The Sustainable Development Goals should be seen as an opportunity to make progress on the 18