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Gender and Human Rights

The Commonwealth recognises the rights of women and the protection of the girl-child as human rights.

Participants at the Asia Regional Workshop on Strenghthening Partnerships for Eliminating Gender Based Violence, Kuala Lumpur, 20-22 May 2002It also calls for violence against women to be stopped and to eliminate the commercial exploitation of women and girls. There can be no equality between women and men if large numbers of women in our society still suffer daily from violence in all its forms. There should be 'zero tolerance' to such violence by one and all.

Combating Violence Against Women

The Commonwealth strategy looks not only at the national policy and laws regarding women's rights and Violence against Women but also at the need for a well-co-ordinated approach involving all the partners involved, and the development of strategic and practical programmes of action and monitoring mechanisms.

The Commonwealth model framework for an integrated approach to violence against women is adapted to the circumstances of the country concerned. It is based on the Commonwealth 'Gender Management System.' The 1999 Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting endorsed the work by the Gender Affairs Department in this area.

The Commonwealth model integrated approach to combating violence against women incorporates an HIV/AIDS component. The Commonwealth programme on Gender Responsive Budgets allows critical analysis of resources allocated to HIV/AIDS programmes. Such HIV/AIDS programmes will prove to be highly cost effective over time and have significant direct and indirect cost savings in terms of developmental and productive capacity for countries.

  • Good Practices in Combating the Exploitation of Women and Children .

Another area to note is the contribution of the Secretariat and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to the development of Models of Laws on major issues affecting women such as Domestic Violence, Citizenship, Inheritance, Equality for Women in Employment, Equal Pay, Sexual Harassment and Sexual Offences, and Maintenance and Maintenance Orders.

Countries could use these as a practical base for further development of their laws as appropriate. Since 1988, the Commonwealth has attempted to encourage member governments to apply at the national level the various international and regional laws on human rights and areas of concern to women.

Promoting Human Rights of Women through the Judiciary

The Gender Section in collaboration with the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Division, the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association and the Commonwealth Foundation held a series of regional meetings for top-level judges focusing on the human rights of women and the girl-child as follows:

1. Judicial Colloquium on the promotion of the Human Rights of Women and the Girl-Child through the Judiciary - the Bangalore Principles, 1988.

2. Regional Judicial Colloquium for Africa, Zimbabwe - the  Victoria Falls Declaration of Principles for Promoting the Human Rights of Women, 1994.

3. Regional Judicial Colloquium for Asia and South Pacific region - the Hong Kong Conclusions, 1996.

4. Regional Judicial Colloquium for the Caribbean region - the  Georgetown Recommendations and Strategies for Action on the Human Rights of Women and the Girl-Child, 1997.

The Commonwealth calls for Governments to promote women's rights and implement the recommendations from these colloquia. A Commonwealth  Reference Group on the promotion of the Human Rights of Women through the Judiciary was set up in 1997. The Reference Group is made up of Chief Justices and Senior Judges from the Commonwealth regions and its aim is to monitor the implementation of the Regional Judicial Colloquia on the promotion of human rights of women.

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