UNIFEM, CEDAW and the Human Rights-based Approach

Global governance in an era of human rights is beset by a number of unavoid- able paradoxes. One is that as more states are increasingly held accountable for fulfilling legal obligations towards citizens, the same states are also obliged to collude in economic and financial deregulation processes that undermine and challenge both state sovereignty and the state’s ability to protect the vulnerable among their own populations. In this wider context, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) obliges governments to promote, protect and fulfil the equal rights of men and women in their own jurisdictions. In what amounts to the promotion of global governance for gender justice, the United Na- tions Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) plays a leading role within the UN system in making sure gender policies are co-ordinated and main- streamed, and CEDAW is adhered to. Lee Waldorf is the lead editor of this report, as well as some other significant UNIFEM publications. This report will be referred to hereafter as UNIFEM-CEDAW (2007). It will be con- sidered in the context of the recently published UNIFEM Strategic Plan for 2008–2011 (UNIFEM-Plan, 2007)

A Poverty of Rights: Six Ways to Fix the MDGs

The reactions of the human rights community to the MDGs have been diverse. The goals have given a clear, communicable and quantitative focus to development but they arguably distract attention from important issues and are structurally flawed. In looking backwards, we need to consider whether the human rights gaps in the MDGs architecture are partly responsible for the mixed success of the enterprise and whether the MDGs are also being used to avoid human rights commitments. This reflection is used to look forwards to 2015 and it is argued that, even if we accept the target?based approach, human rights can make six key contributions, namely: (1) increasing participation in target selection; (2) ensuring targets better reflect human rights; (3) aiming for equality not just average improvements; (4) adjusting the targets for resource availability; (5) locating economic trade?offs within a human rights?based normative framework; and (6) improving the accountability infrastructure

Imagining new feminist futures:How feminist social movements contest the neoliberalization of feminism in an increasingly corporate‐dominated world

Increasingly it is argued that feminism has been co‐opted by neoliberal agendas: becoming more individualistic and losing touch with its wider social change objectives. The neoliberalization of feminism is driven in part by increased corporate power, including the growing role of corporations in governance arenas, and corporate social responsibility agendas. However, we turn to social movement theory to elucidate strategies that social movements, including feminist social movements, are adopting in such spaces. In so doing, we find that feminist activists are engaging with new political opportunities, mobilizing structures and strategic framing processes that emerge in the context of increasingly neoliberal and privatized governance systems. We suggest that despite the significant challenges to their agendas, far from being co‐opted by neoliberalism, feminist social movements remain robust, existing alongside and developing new strategies to contest the neoliberalization of feminism in a variety of innovative ways

Twenty Years after Beijing: Can Promises be Turned into Progress?

Twenty years since the landmark women's conference at Beijing, and as the post?2015 agenda is concluded, it is clear that there has been a significant increase in rhetoric from governments and even some notable achievements in the field of women's equality and rights. But a failure to tackle underlying causes – particularly the persistent unequal power relations between women and men – has thwarted real, sustainable progress. A report by the Gender and Development Network has identified four areas in need of far greater political focus and resources: working with marginalised women to build their own agency; supporting women's collective action; promoting positive social norms; and reassessing macroeconomic policies and the role of the care economy

Sexual slavery without borders: trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation in India

Trafficking in women and children is a gross violation of human rights. However, this does not prevent an estimated 800 000 women and children to be trafficked each year across international borders. Eighty per cent of trafficked persons end in forced sex work. India has been identified as one of the Asian countries where trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation has reached alarming levels. While there is a considerable amount of internal trafficking from one state to another or within states, India has also emerged as a international supplier of trafficked women and children to the Gulf States and South East Asia, as well as a destination country for women and girls trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation from Nepal and Bangladesh. Trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation is a highly profitable and low risk business that preys on particularly vulnerable populations. This paper presents an overview of the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation (CSE) in India; identifies the health impacts of CSE; and suggest strategies to respond to trafficking and related issues

Are health systems interventions gender blind? examining health system reconstruction in conflict affected states

Background Global health policy prioritizes improving the health of women and girls, as evident in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), multiple women’s health initiatives, and the billions of dollars spent by international donors and national governments to improve health service delivery in low-income countries. Countries recovering from fragility and conflict often engage in wide-ranging institutional reforms, including within the health system, to address inequities. Research and policy do not sufficiently explore how health system interventions contribute to the broader goal of gender equity. Methods This paper utilizes a framework synthesis approach to examine if and how rebuilding health systems affected gender equity in the post-conflict contexts of Mozambique, Timor Leste, Sierra Leone, and Northern Uganda. To undertake this analysis, we utilized the WHO health systems building blocks to establish benchmarks of gender equity. We then identified and evaluated a broad range of available evidence on these building blocks within these four contexts. We reviewed the evidence to assess if and how health interventions during the post-conflict reconstruction period met these gender equity benchmarks. Findings Our analysis shows that the four countries did not meet gender equitable benchmarks in their health systems. Across all four contexts, health interventions did not adequately reflect on how gender norms are replicated by the health system, and conversely, how the health system can transform these gender norms and promote gender equity. Gender inequity undermined the ability of health systems to effectively improve health outcomes for women and girls. From our findings, we suggest the key attributes of gender equitable health systems to guide further research and policy. Conclusion The use of gender equitable benchmarks provides important insights into how health system interventions in the post-conflict period neglected the role of the health system in addressing or perpetuating gender inequities. Given the frequent contact made by individuals with health services, and the important role of the health system within societies, this gender blind nature of health system engagement missed an important opportunity to contribute to more equitable and peaceful societies