New York, US - Ms. Rashida Manjoo, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, on Tuesday said that violence against women across the world continued to be pervasive and widespread and reminded member states of their obligation under international law to protect women. Manjoo, who spoke at the UN General Assembly in New York, said: 'Whether it occurs in times of peace and conflict, the various forms and manifestations of violence against women are simultaneously causes and consequences of discrimination, inequality and oppression'.

The expert, who presented her thematic report on violence against women to the General Assembly, also said that 'wherever it occurs, any violence that is either directed at women, or experienced by a group that is overwhelmingly female represents a violation of international human rights law'.

She reiterated that member states must uphold their international human rights obligations to prevent acts of violence against women, investigate and punish crimes against women, protect women against such violence and provide remedy and reparation to the victims.

Manjoo also noted that the fight for the human rights of women remains a collective endeavour in which we should jointly take action to ensure their full enjoyment by all women and girls worldwide.

Ms. Silvia Pimentel, the Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), pointed out that States Parties to the Convention had made some progress in promoting and protecting the rights of women.

'Many States repealed discriminatory legislation and have enacted gender equality laws, but still challenges remain with respect to implementation,” Pimentel.

She also said that there had also been positive trends in women’s political participation, enrolment in educational institutions, and access to employment, even in profession’s traditionally dominated by men, although equal pay for equal work remained elusive for women workers compared their men counterparts.

Ms. Pimentel noted that some of the challenges in the fight for gender equality include the fact that women continued to be highly under-represented in top decision-making in both the public and private sectors'.

According to her: 'On average only one in six cabinet ministers is a woman, and only 30 of the 500 largest corporations in the world have a female chief executive.'

Ms Pimentel said  violence against women, in particular sexual violence, was prevalent in many parts of the world, and is only the rise.

'Female genital mutilation is still widely practised – it is a scourge on women and girls which must be eradicated.

'Conflict had disproportionate impact on women, and women and girls’ bodies have become part of the battleground,' Pimentel stated.

She also added that the committee is committed to combating and ending discrimination against women in all its forms.

Although there are already 187 State Parties to the convention, the committee calls upon the seven remaining States to become parties to achieve universal participation of this most important legally-binding instrument.

Pana 13/10/2011