A/HRC/12/46 page 4 II. LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY AND GLOBAL POLICY FRAMEWORK A. United Nations resolutions and policy framework world conferences, special sessions and summits 5. The Human Rights Council has explicitly been called upon by the General Assembly “to integrate attention to gender perspectives into [its] consideration of all issues in [its agenda], including the development of [its] methods of work”.3 Pursuant to this call, the Council adopted resolution 6/30. 6. In addition, several calls upon the United Nations system to integrate the human rights of women and a gender perspective into all policies and programmes have been made during the last decades at the international level. Gender mainstreaming is now a globally accepted strategy for achieving gender equality and includes ensuring that all United Nations activities integrate the human rights of women. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action historically recognized that violence against women and girls constitutes a severe violation of rights and that women’s rights are human rights. All States affirmed that the human rights of women and of the girl child are inalienable, integral and indivisible parts of universal human rights and that the equal status and human rights of women should be integrated into the mainstream of United Nations system-wide activity (see A/CONF.157/23). 7. In 1995, the Beijing Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women called upon all relevant organs, bodies and agencies of the United Nations system, all human rights bodies of the United Nations system, as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to give full, equal and sustained attention to the human rights of women in the exercise of their respective mandates (para. 231). Subsequently, the General Assembly, at its twenty-third special session entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”, reiterated the importance of mainstreaming as reflected in its outcome documents.4 8. Since 1997, the Economic and Social Council has passed an annual resolution entitled “Mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes of the United Nations system”. In resolution 2008/34, the Council took note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General (E/2008/53) and the recommendations contained therein. 9. At its last session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 63/159 in which the Assembly took note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General on the measures taken and progress achieved in follow-up to the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome of the twenty-third special session (A/63/217), and called upon all parts 3 General Assembly resolution 61/145, para. 13. 4 General Assembly resolutions S-23/2, annex and S-23/3, annex.