Citation

Karube K. St. Andrews Univ. Sociol. Rev. 2000; 34(1): 137-162.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, St. Andrew's University)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper reviews communications concerning the status of women alleging violations of women's rights set forth in the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979). Communications, some confidential and some non-confidential, were received either by the Division of the Advancement of Women (DAW) of the U.N. Secretariat in New York from 1 January to 30 November 1999, or by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva from January to October 1999. The former communication procedure was established by Economic and Social Council Resolution 76 (V) of 5 August 1947, as amended by Council Resolutions 304 (XI) of 14 and 17 July 1950 and 1983/27 of 26 May 1983. The latter procedure was established by Economic and Social Council Resolution 1503 (XLVIII) in 1970. During its 44th Session, the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) had its working group examine the contents of these communications. I analyze the patterns of alleged violations of women's rights described in these communications, and examine causes of those violations. Then, I emphasize the significance of maintaining a communication procedure concerning the status of women based on Economic and Social Council Resolutions because such a procedure will provide a measure to reinforce the domestic implementation of women's rights, especially while the Optional Protocol to the U.N. Convention on Women adopted by the General Assembly in October 1999 is yet to enter into force. Finally, I conclude that many of these communications include a variety of forms of "violence against women" and thus argue that the international community must put more emphasis on women's rights in order to stop threats to women's lives immediately.