Intermediate School Kit on the United Nations: A Web Adaptation

Unit 8: To be born a girl
United Nations, Human Rights and Women

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FactfileUN Factfile:
United Nations
Human Rights and Women
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) referred to the "inherent dignity and equal rights of all members of the human race . . . "

Article 1.3 of the UN Charter provides ". . . fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion".


Eleanor Roosevelt holding the
Declaration of Human Rights poster
New York, 1949
In 1975 the UN drew global attention to women's concerns by calling for an International Women's year and convening the first conference on women in Mexico City. The decade 1975-1985 became the decade of women, and another convention was held in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1980. In 1985, the UN convened a third conference on women in Nairobi, Kenya, to look at what had been achieved at the end of the decade. After 1975, much-needed information became available on the abilities, needs and status of women across the globe. After Nairobi there were some positive changes as well. Maternal health care, for instance, generally improved. Governments and other institutions began to encourage more participation from women.

Yet the basic conditions of inequality persist in most places. In 1995, a fourth conference was convened in Beijing, China, in order to push for greater equality in all areas. It recognized that one of the most important ways to address this inequality is to bring more women into decision-making positions in government and other institutions. The basic belief behind these efforts is that a shared responsibility between men and women is the best way of achieving a global community and creating a just world.

Activity:
Another United Nations Conference on the Status of Women will be held. All the countries of the UN will discuss ways of improving the lives of women all over the world. Imagine you are on a committee advising your government about what they should say at that conference. Make out a list of 10 rights that you feel all women should have.

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