173 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "We accept it as a binding obligation to ensure that women have every opportunity to contribute on terms of full equality to political and socio-economic development in all our countries."
- "The marginalisation of women remains real despite the progress of recent years. We will, therefore, work with renewed vigour to ensure gender equality and ensure their full and effective integration of women in political and socioeconomic development."
- "Other international declarations and treaties provide for the equal enjoyment of women of these rights, and outlaw discrimination on the basis of race."
- "States Parties shall take in all fields, in particular the political, social, economic and cultural fields, all appropriate measures, including legislation, to ensure the full development and advancement of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with men."
- "Adoption by States Parties of temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall not be considered discrimination as defined in the present convention, but shall in no way entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate standards; these measures shall be discontinued when the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have been achieved."
- "States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and, in particular, shall ensure women, on equal terms with men, the right: (a) to vote in all elections and public referenda and to be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies; (b) to participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government; (c) to participate in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country."
- "States Parties shall combat all forms of discrimination against women through appropriate legislative, institutional and other measures. In this regard they shall: (d) take corrective and positive action in those areas where discrimination against women in law and in fact continues to exist."
- "States Parties shall take specific positive action to promote participative governance and the equal participation of women in the political life of their countries through affirmative action, enabling national legislation and other measures to ensure that: a) women participate without any discrimination in all elections; b) women are represented equally at all levels with men in all electoral processes; c) women are equal partners with men at all levels of development and implementation of State policies and development programmes."
- "The State party must not only adopt measures of protection, but also positive measures in all areas so as to achieve the effective and equal empowerment of women."
- "The right to participate in the conduct of public affairs is not fully implemented everywhere on an equal basis. States must ensure that the law guarantees to women article 25 rights on equal terms with men and take effective and positive measures to promote and ensure women's participation in the conduct of public affairs and in public office, including appropriate affirmative action. Effective measures taken by States parties to ensure that all persons entitled to vote are able to exercise that right should not be discriminatory on the grounds of sex."
- "State Parties shall take all possible measures to encourage the full and active participation of women in the electoral process and ensure gender parity in representation at all levels, including legislatures."
- "Member States agree that the development and promotion of the welfare of women are essential factors for development, progress and peace in the society. Consequently, they undertake to eliminate all forms of discrimination and harmful and degrading practices against women."
- "We will undertake measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women."
- "It is therefore imperative that real, qualitative and quantitative measures be taken to ensure women's participation, as equal partners, in private and public life."
- "The constitutional and legal framework should: provide explicitly for gender equality and affirmative action as a temporary measure until gender balance is achieved."
- "Measures that have been adopted by a number of States parties in order to ensure equal participation by women in senior cabinet and administrative positions and as members of government advisory bodies include: adoption of a rule whereby, when potential appointees are equally qualified, preference will be given to a woman nominee; the adoption of a rule that neither sex should constitute less than 40 per cent of the members of a public body; a quota for women members of cabinet and for appointment to public office; and consultation with women's organizations to ensure that qualified women are nominated for membership in public bodies and offices and the development and maintenance of registers of such women in order to facilitate the nomination of women for appointment to public bodies and posts."
- "Measures that should be identified, implemented and monitored for effectiveness include, under article 7, paragraph (a), those designed to: (a) Achieve a balance between women and men holding publicly elected positions."
- "Positive measures such as affirmative action, including quotas for women and other disadvantaged groups, should be adopted as part of intra-party and national electoral systems, and mechanisms put in place to ensure their enforcement."
- "The electoral system can include a component that seeks to address previous imbalances in political representation through the use of quotas or reserved seats to promote the representation of, for example, women and minorities."
- "Legal rules requiring a minimum percentage of persons of each gender among candidates should not be considered as contrary to the principle of equal suffrage if they have a constitutional basis."
- "a. Implementation of the parity principle may lead to admit: 1. Elections by a list system - the obligation to ensure a composition of the candidates' lists alternating men and women; - the refusal to register lists which do not respect such alternating composition. 2. Elections in single-member constituencies - the obligation to ensure a balanced percentage of women and men amongst candidates of the same party. - dissuasive sanctions in case of non-respect of this obligation."
- "Best practices do not exclude reasonable quotas or preferences designed to ensure more equitable representation of women or minority groups."
- "States shall promote the full and equal participation of women in the political structures of their countries as a fundamental element in the promotion and exercise of a democratic culture."
- "Equal suffrage also requires that every citizen's vote should have equal weight irrespective of distinctions such as race, color, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property birth or other status. Demarcation of election district boundaries therefore may not be drawn in ways that divide minority communities and thus reduce their voting power."
- "[Participating States] will... affirm that it is their goal to achieve not only de jure but de facto equality of opportunity between men and women and to promote effective measures to that end."
- "While removal of de jure barriers is necessary, it is not sufficient...The formal removal of barriers and the introduction of temporary special measures to encourage the equal participation of both men and women in the public life of their societies are essential prerequisites to true equality in political life...States parties have an obligation to ensure that temporary special measures are clearly designed to support the principle of equality and therefore comply with constitutional principles which guarantee equality to all citizens."
- "States parties are under an obligation to take all appropriate measures, including the enactment of appropriate legislation that complies with their Constitution, to ensure that organizations such as political parties and trade unions, which may not be subject directly to obligations under the Convention, do not discriminate against women and respect the principles contained in articles 7 and 8."
- "Where countries have developed effective temporary strategies in an attempt to achieve equality of participation, a wide range of measures has been implemented, including recruiting, financially assisting and training women candidates, amending electoral procedures, developing campaigns directed at equal participation, setting numerical goals and quotas and targeting women for appointment to public positions such as the judiciary or other professional groups that play an essential part in the everyday life of all societies."
- "Measures that have been adopted by some political parties include setting aside for women a certain minimum number or percentage of positions on their executive bodies, ensuring that there is a balance between the number of male and female candidates nominated for election, and ensuring that women are not consistently assigned to less favourable constituencies or to the least advantageous positions on a party list. States parties should ensure that such temporary special measures are specifically permitted under anti-discrimination legislation or other constitutional guarantees of equality."
- "[Participating States] will...comply with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), if they are parties, and, if they have not already done so, consider ratifying or acceding to this Convention; States that have ratified or acceded to this Convention with reservations will consider withdrawing them."
- "Effectively implement the obligations in international instruments to which they are parties and take appropriate measures to implement the United Nations Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women (FLS)."
- "The body or mechanism created to manage legislative elections impartially and in a balanced fashion will be assigned many specific functions, which could typically include the following:...(vi) ensuring that women and minorities are able to participate fully in the electoral process;"
- "The composition of the EMB should be representative of the society, and the body should comprise at least 30% women."
- "The right to vote and to be voted for should be accepted as a birth right in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women."
- "Measures that should be identified, implemented and monitored for effectiveness include, under article 7, paragraph (a), those designed to: (b) Ensure that women understand their right to vote, the importance of this right and how to exercise it."
- "Where women are underrepresented on voter lists, observers should determine if election administrators, local authorities, community leaders, or NGOs are conducting any special programmes designed to reach out to women and to encourage and facilitate their participation."
- "Political parties must embrace the principles of equal opportunity and democracy and endeavour to balance the number of male and female candidates."
- "Governments should encourage political parties to examine the extent to which women are full and equal participants in their activities and, where this is not the case, should identify the reasons for this. Political parties should be encouraged to adopt effective measures, including the provision of information, financial and other resources, to overcome obstacles to women's full participation and representation and ensure that women have an equal opportunity in practice to serve as party officials and to be nominated as candidates for election."
- "Provisions concerning candidate qualifications must be clear and must not discriminate against women or particular racial and ethnic groups. Disqualification should be subject to independent review."
- "It is however required that that citizenship be defined in law respecting the right to non-discrimination; that is no distinctions based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status."
- "There should be no restrictions on candidates for reasons such as race, sex, religion, political affiliation, ethnic origin, or economic status."
- "Unreasonable restrictions include those based on race, sex, religion, ethnic origin, past political affiliations, language, literacy, property, or ability to pay a registration fee."
- "The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be guaranteed without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property or official capacity, place of birth or other status."
- "Unreasonable restrictions [on voter registration] include: gender."
- "Consensus exists that certain criteria to limit who has the right to vote are unacceptable. Based on Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other international human rights instruments, the following criteria cannot be employed to restrict who in a society has the right to vote: Race, Color, Sex, Language, Religion, Political or Other Opinion, National or social origin, or Ownership of property. Similarly, there is agreement that the right to vote cannot be refused to an individual because he or she is illiterate or lacks financial resources. In addition, based on international standards and practices the right to vote should not be denied based on a person's physical disabilities or sexual orientation."
- "In addition, almost all OSCE participating States have ratified international treaties or other documents promoting equality between men and women, including in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)."
- "Three other instruments prohibit discrimination against women, or their exclusion from the political process. These are the Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (art. 7) and the Convention on the Political Rights of Women (arts. I- III). Finally, as regards fair and equal access to participation, the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid prohibits legislative and other measures calculated to percent a racial group or groups from participation in the political life of the country (art. II (c))."
- "Gender discrimination in this regard is prohibited by the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (art. 4 (a) and (c)), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (art. 7 (a) and (b)) and the Convention on the Political Rights of Women (arts. II and III). The combined application of the above provisions establishes the broadest reasonable pool of candidates for election, thereby yielding assurances of genuine choice for voters and of the individual rights of candidates to stand for election and to enter public service."
- "...[S]ignificant segments of the population [should not be] disenfranchised (prevented from voting) by: (1) unreasonable criteria restricting eligibility, such as the use of distinctions based on race, color, gender, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, social group, past political affiliations, literacy, property ownership and ability to pay."
- "Since women’s names and places of residence often change as a result of marriage, it is important that a system be in place to capture these changes in order not to disenfranchise newly married women. Likewise, since residency records are commonly recorded under the name of the male head of household, it is especially important in countries with passive registration systems that women dependents be included in voter registers drawn from lists of members of households Particularly in the case of affirmative registration systems, a significant issue may relate to the convenience of access to registration offices. Hours of operation, travel time, and distance to appropriate offices can be of particular concern to women, particularly for women caring for small children."