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June 17, 2016 at 10:10 AM

UN Women accepting submissions to Commission on the Status of Women

*From the New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse*

UN Women is accepting complaints, appeals or petitions related to violations of human rights that affect the status of women in any country. 

The claims will be considered at the next session of the Commission on the Status of Women in March 2017. The Commission reviews feedback as part the annual programme to examine trends and patterns of injustice and discriminatory practices against women. This is in order to support policy formulation and the development of strategies for the promotion of gender equality. Note that the Commission on the Status of Women does not take decisions on the merit of communications that are submitted to it and, therefore, the communications procedure does not provide an avenue for the redress of individual grievances.

Any person or organisation can submit to the Commission. Details on how to make a submission are on the UN Women website.

The following are examples of categories of communications received in recent years:

• Arbitrary arrests of women
• Deaths and torture of women in custody
• Forced disappearances or abductions of women
• Discriminatory application of punishments in law based on sex, including corporal and capital punishment
• Violation of the rights of women human rights defenders to freedom of expression and assembly
• Threats or pressure exerted on women not to complain or to withdraw complaints
• Impunity for violations of the human rights of women
• Stereotypical attitudes towards the role and responsibilities of women
• Domestic violence
• Forced marriage and marital rape
• Virginity testing
• Contemporary forms of slavery, including trafficking in women and girls
• Sexual harassment of women in the workplace
• Unfair employment practices based on sex, including unequal pay
• Lack of due diligence by States to adequately investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators of violence against women
• Discrimination against women under immigration and nationality laws
• Violations of the rights of women to own and inherit property
• Discrimination against women in accessing international humanitarian aid
• Forcible evictions of women in conflict situations

The deadline for submissions is 1 August 2016.