World YWCA Welcomes Human Rights Council Adoption of Resolution on Violence Against Women
Securing the protection of women’s human rights took centre stage at the Human Rights Council, culminating in the adoption of a resolution on Violence Against Women – Ensuring Due Diligence in Protection, (HRC Resolution 14/12 of 18 June 2010). It took three weeks of negotiations, characterised by informal consultations; briefings with NGOs; a full day session on women’s human rights and the formal plenary negotiations. The resolution showed significant support from member states, as shown by its more than 50 co-sponsors. The process was led by the government of Canada.
“This resolution advances the women’s human rights jurisprudence on protection; sustains the global commitments to advancing women’s rights; and offers practical points of action by member states, ” stressed Manon Boisclair of Canada, who led the technical negotiating process.
The World YWCA is a global leader on ending violence against women, with its presence steeped in communities worldwide. It is grounded in the intergenerational voices of women in their diversity and seeks to influence policies at all levels. The Christian foundations of the movement equip the organisation to engage with the critical nexus of policy with culture and values, as it seeks to advance a progressive agenda for women’s empowerment and human rights.
This Human Rights Council Resolution, in many ways, includes the crucial issues that the World YWCA and its partners systematically advocated for during the negotiations. It is important to affirm the regional instruments seeking to establish stronger normative standards on ending violence against women. Again a strong multi-sectorial response by governments that goes beyond the justice and law enforcement institutions, is acknowledged in the Resolution. The provision and resourcing of safe, empowering and inclusive women’s centres/spaces for protection and support to women survivors of violence is of utmost importance.
In this Resolution there is a systematic effort to protect women survivors of violence from “re-victimisation”. This is an important aspect that recognises how women who experience violence are stigmatised, further abused or subjected to further violations. Therefore breaking the cycle of systemic and social violence is a critical dimension of enduring due diligence in protection.
Welcoming this Rsolution, the World YWCA continues to strongly support such an inclusive and consultative approach. Two young YWCA women who walked every day to the Human Rights Council, Marianne Ajayi and Jenta Tau, also found the experience empowering, and the discussions revealing.
The International Women’s Summit on “Women Creating a Safe World” that the World YWCA is convening this July is an opportunity to sustain the voice and advocacy around protection of women from violence. It is also an opportunity for crucial conversations on possible remedies for women and girls survivors of violence.
Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda
General Secretary
World YWCA
