United Nations
Study on the Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Status of Women From the Viewpoint of Religion and Traditions
1. In many countries forms of discrimination against women are based on or attributed to
religion and culture and may be tolerated or even legalized.
2. International human rights instruments almost all assume gender equality and proscribe
discrimination. However, women’s rights to some individual freedoms such as freedom of
religion or belief may not have received sufficient attention when set against the collective
manifestations of such individual freedoms as those of religion or belief.
3. A basic and sensitive problem arises where the fundamental, universal rights of women are
claimed by religious communities to be in conflict with what are seen as their religious
obligations, which in turn are difficult to differentiate from the cultural or ethnic dimension.
4. The right to difference and cultural specificity implied by freedom of religion or belief is to
some degree incompatible with universal rights, especially those of women, who are often the
victims of a certain view of religious freedom, particularly in situations of conflict and
identity crisis.
5. This study addresses these apparent contradictions by seeking to define religion, to see the
relationship of religion to culture, and of universality to cultural specificities.
Witches in the 21st Century
UNHCR - UN Refugee Agency
Direct Link to 44-Page 2009 Document:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900sid/RWST-7RAL7E/$file/unhcr-jan2009.pdf?openelement
UN expert on extrajudicial killings condemns execution of juvenile offender in Iran
GENEVA (13 October 2009) -- The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, arbitrary or summary executions, Mr.
Problematic "traditional values" text adopted by vote
Problematic "traditional values" text adopted by vote
Source :DCP - Twelfth HRC Session Roundup
UN Human Rights Council: Beginning of the End for Defamation of Religions?
ARTICLE 19
STATEMENT
23 September 2009
UN Human Rights Council: Beginning of the End for Defamation of Religions?
New Resource: “Working with the United Nations Human Rights Programme: A Handbook for Civil Society”
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has published a new, user-friendly handbook entitled “Working with the United Nations Human Rights Programme: A Handbook for Civil Society.” The authoritative Handbook reviews United Nations human rights bodies and mechanisms, describing how they work and examining the many ways that civil society actors, including NGOs, can contribute to their work.
UN Report Emphasizes Role of Men in Eliminating Violence Against Women
In December of 2008, the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women published a report entitled The Role of Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality. The report recognizes that the pursuit of gender equality requires the efforts of both men and women, and that achieving meaningful social change necessitates the involvement of both genders.
United Nations Secretary-General Decries Violence Against Women on International Women’s Day
United Nations Secretary-General Decries Violence Against Women on International Women’s Day
3/10/2009 5:00 PM
United Nations Launches Database on Violence Against Women
The United Nations Secretary General launched a database on violence against women on 5 March 2009. The database is the product of a 2006 General Assembly resolution 61/143 calling for more efforts to eliminate violence against women, urging “States to ensure the systematic collection and analysis of data on violence against women”.
WEST AFRICA: Female Genital Mutilation Knows No Borders
PRETORIA, Feb 6 (IPS) - Laws against female genital mutilation are driving the practice underground and across borders, says UNIFEM.