147 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "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."
- "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 to women, on equal terms with men, the right: (c) To participate in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country."
- "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)."
- "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."
- "The obligation to fulfil requires States parties to take steps to ensure that in practice, men and women enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights on a basis of equality. Such steps should include: ...To establish appropriate venues for redress such as courts and tribunals or administrative mechanisms that are accessible to all on the basis of equality, including the poorest and most disadvantaged and marginalized men and women."
- "The obligation to protect requires that States parties protect women from discrimination by private actors and take steps directly aimed at eliminating customary and all other practices that prejudice and perpetuate the notion of inferiority or superiority of either of the sexes, and of stereotyped roles for men and women. "
- "Under article 2, States parties must address all aspects of their legal obligations under the Convention to respect, protect and fulfil women’s right to non-discrimination and to the enjoyment of equality. The obligation to respect requires that States parties refrain from making laws, policies, regulations, programmes, administrative procedures and institutional structures that directly or indirectly result in the denial of the equal enjoyment by women of their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. "
- "States should foster citizen participation in the electoral process by] introducing in their electoral legislation mechanisms to promote the balanced representation of women and men in elected bodies at all levels as well as encouraging political parties to introduce internal regulations, policies and affirmative action so as to promote the participation and representation of women in politics. "
- "The Committee recommends that States parties: (d) Ensure that electoral reforms incorporate the principle of gender equality, and guarantee women’s equal representation through the adoption of temporary special measures such as quotas, including for disadvantaged groups of women; adopt a proportional representation electoral system; regulate political parties; and mandate electoral management bodies to ensure compliance through sanctions. "
- "Legislation ensuring women’s participation in election commissions should be considered, since women are heavily underrepresented in election management bodies in many countries. "
- "It should be clear that the electoral system itself is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition to ensure women’s representation. Additional measures are needed to encourage the increase in women’s representation. Some measures have been included in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly recommendation 1676 (2004), adopted on 5 October 2004. "
- "The Special Rapporteur makes the following recommendations to States: (...) (c) Strengthen the legislative basis for gender parity in all branches and at all levels of government to guarantee women’s full participation in political and public life in compliance with international and regional human rights standards, applying, when necessary, temporary special measures, such as quotas and other measures, to accelerate progress towards the equal participation of women in political life."
- "States should recognize online and ICT-facilitated violence against women as a human rights violation and a form of discrimination and gender-based violence against women, and duly apply core international human rights instruments."
- "Internet intermediaries should uphold the principle that human rights are protected online, and voluntary accept and apply all core international human rights and women’s rights instruments with a view to contributing to universal human rights protection and achieving the empowerment of women, and the elimination of discrimination and violence against them in digital space."
- "(b) Refrain from engaging in violence against women and exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons."
- "By Governments: (a) Commit themselves to establishing the goal of gender balance in governmental bodies and committees, as well as in public administrative entities, and in the judiciary, including, inter alia, setting specific targets and implementing measures to substantially increase the number of women with a view to achieving equal representation of women and men, if necessary through positive action, in all governmental and public administration positions."
- "By Governments: (…) (b) Take measures, including, where appropriate, in electoral systems that encourage political parties to integrate women in elective and nonelective public positions in the same proportion and at the same levels as men; (c) Protect and promote the equal rights of women and men to engage in political activities and to freedom of association, including membership in political parties and trade unions."
- "Countries with an electoral system based on proportional representation and party lists may introduce temporary special measures that would promote not only a high proportion of women candidates, but also a rank-order rule, such as a "zipper" system, where male and female candidates alternate, or where one of every three candidates through the list is from the less represented gender. Rank-order rules of this type remove the risk that women will be placed too low on party lists to have a genuine chance of being elected. It is also advisable to promote that if a female candidate withdraws her candidature, she is replaced with another woman."
- "EMBs can consider different initiatives to target women specifically, such as through women-only registration centres or queues, mobile registration and providing information on the requirement to enrol and gender training for registration staff."
- "EMBs may consider implementing different actions to combat any practices or obstacles that impede voting, such as setting up polling stations in a way that enables all citizens to cast their votes independently and in secret, ensuring that voting centres are in locations that women can access and establishing, where necessary, women-only polling centres or queues."
- "Each State party to the present Charter undertakes to ensure to all individuals subject to its jurisdiction the right to enjoy the rights and freedoms set forth herein, without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religious belief, opinion, thought, national or social origin, wealth, birth or physical or mental disability. 2. The States parties to the present Charter shall take the requisite measures to guarantee effective equality in the enjoyment of all the rights and freedoms enshrined in the present Charter in order to ensure protection against all forms of discrimination based on any of the grounds mentioned in the preceding paragraph. 3. ...Each State party pledges to take all the requisite measures to guarantee equal opportunities and effective equality between men and women in the enjoyment of all the rights set out in this Charter."
- "State Parties shall adopt legislative and administrative measures to guarantee the rights of women, ethnic minorities, migrants, people with disabilities, refugees and displaced persons and other marginalized and vulnerable social groups."
- "Education is key to strengthening democratic institutions, promoting the development of human potential, and alleviating poverty and fostering greater understanding among our peoples. To achieve these ends, it is essential that a quality education be available to all, including girls and women, rural inhabitants, and minorities."
- "States Parties shall accord to women equality with men before the law."
- "Women and men are equal before the law and shall have the right to equal protection and benefit of the law."
- "Procedural laws or their application that make distinctions based on any of the criteria listed in article 2, paragraph 1 or article 26, or disregard the equal right of men and women, in accordance with article 3, to the enjoyment of the guarantees set forth in article 14 of the Covenant, not only violate the requirement of paragraph 1 of this provision that "all persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals," but may also amount to discrimination."
- "The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights set forth in the present Covenant."
- "Having reaffirmed the principles to which the Commonwealth is committed, and reviewed the problems and challenges which the world, and the Commonwealth as part of it, face, we pledge the Commonwealth and our countries to work with renewed vigour, concentrating especially in the following areas: ...equality for women, so that they may exercise their full and equal rights."
- "Equality between men and women must be ensured in all areas."
- "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."
- "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."
- "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."
- "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."
- "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."
- "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."
- "States Parties recognize that women and girls with disabilities are subject to multiple discrimination, and in this regard shall take measures to ensure the full and equal enjoyment by them of all human rights and fundamental freedoms."
- "Best practices do not exclude reasonable quotas or preferences designed to ensure more equitable representation of women or minority groups."
- "States should review their legislation and practices and take the lead in implementing all measures necessary in order to eliminate discrimination against women, in all fields, for example by prohibiting discrimination by private actors in areas such as employment, education, political activities and the provision of accommodation, goods and services. States parties should report on all these measures and provide information on the remedies available to victims of such discrimination."
- "The State party must ensure that the rights guaranteed in article 12 are protected not only from public but also from private interference. In the case of women, this obligation to protect is particularly pertinent. For example, it is incompatible with article 12, paragraph 1, that the right of a woman to move freely and to choose her residence be made subject, by law or practice, to the decision of another person, including a relative."
- "The State party must ensure that the rights guaranteed in article 12 are protected not only from public but also from private interference. In the case of women, this obligation to protect is particularly pertinent. For example, it is incompatible with article 12, paragraph 1, [freedom of movement] that the right of a woman to move freely and to choose her residence be made subject, by law or practice, to the decision of another person, including a relative."
- "The equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, like all human rights, imposes three levels of obligations on States parties-the obligations to respect, to protect, and to fulfill. The obligations to fulfill further contains duties to provide, promote and facilitate."
- "State Parties shall create the necessary conditions for full and active participation of women in the decision-making processes and structures at all levels as a fundamental element in the promotion and exercise of a democratic culture."
- "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."
- "[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."