UN Actions for Women

UN actions for the advancement of women began with the signing of the UN's founding Charter. In its Preamble, the members of the UN declared their faith "in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small...."

This happened 50 years ago, in October 1945, when the Charter entered into force and the UN was formally set up. Since then, the UN has been at the centre of a growing global movement for women's rights. By adopting international laws and treaties on women's rights, the UN has helped set a common standard for measuring how societies advance equality between men and women.

The Conventions, or international treaties, that the UN has adopted are legally binding for countries that recognize them. Among such treaties are:

The Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1952)
The Convention on the Nationality of Married Women (1957)
The Convention on Recovery Abroad of Maintenance (1956)
The Convention on the Consent to Marriage (1962)
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, (1979)

The UN observed 1975 as International Women's Year and held the first world conference on women in Mexico City. Subsequently, two other UN conferences were held: Copenhagen (1980) and Nairobi (1985). The Fourth World Conference on Women will be held in Beijing, China in September 1995.

The Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the year 2000, adopted at the Nairobi Conference, is a blueprint for women's advancement. Its 372 paragraphs deal with the entire spectrum of women's role in society. In Beijing, the countries of the world will review the advancement of women in light of these guidelines. They will also adopt a Platform for Action, addressing the challenges and demands of the next century.

In December 1993, the UN adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, which defined what constitutes violence against women and outlined actions Governments and communities should take to prevent such acts. Earlier, in June 1993, the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, Austria, reaffirmed that women's rights are also human rights. One of the outcomes of the Conference was the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women. The Rapporteur, who seeks and receives information on violence against women, its causes and consequences, and recommends means and ways to eliminate them, reports to the UN Commission on Human Rights .