The Illusion of Progress: Evaluating U.N. Women’s Rights Instruments

Authors

  • Christina Borst Temple University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15367/pj.v4i2.103

Abstract

Though the realm of international women’s rights has overcome significant challenges, scope is often restricted to gender discrimination violations that are de jure rather than de facto in nature. These advancements concerning the rights of women can, to an extent, be attributed to the proactiveness of the United Nations. This paper seeks to identify the instruments the U.N. has developed for the protection of the human rights of women and address their subsequent effectiveness. By examining developed instruments, cultural patterns, and historical examples, the U.N. has and continues to make a concerted effort toward ensuring de jure protections. Enforced by analysis of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, discrepancies between what the U.N. classifies as human rights and the human rights of women become apparent. Still, the de facto discrimination against women in states with contrasting governmental structures and cultural mores is not customarily accounted for by the United Nations. Questions remain in regards to whether or not the U.N. can or should be responsible for remedying the global variance in de facto discrimination against women. It is suggested that the United Nations shift its focus toward strict instrument enforcement.

Author Biography

Christina Borst, Temple University

Political Science and Strategic Communications

References

Bayefsky, Anne et al. (April 2000). The CEDAW Convention: Its Contribution Today. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting (American Society of International Law), Vol. 94 – 197-203.

Chen, Martha Alter. (Sept. 1995). Engendering World Conferences: The International Women’s Movement and the United Nations. Third World Quarterly, 16 (3) – 477-493.

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. (2009). U.N. Women: United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Retrieved December 4, 2017, from <http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CEDAW/Pages/Membership.aspx>.

Haq, Nisar-ul. (Jan. – March, 2005). The United Nations and the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. The Indian Journal of Political Science, 66 (1) – pp. 105-132.

Makina, Anesu. (2006). Same Old Challenges: Life 21 Years After the United Nations Decade for Women. Agenda: Empowering Women for Gender Equity, 69 (21) pp. 92-99.

Reanda, Laura. (May 1981). Human Rights and Women’s Rights: The United Nations Approach. Human Rights Quarterly, 3 (2) – pp. 11-31.

Wakefield, Penny. (2010). CEDAW Ratification: Backseated Once Again. Human Rights: Women’s Rights and Elusive Equality, 37 (3) – p. 22.

The World’s Women 2015: Trends and Statistics. (Spring 2015). The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Statistics Division Report, 17 (8) – pp. 1-25.

Downloads

Published

2018-05-24

How to Cite

Borst, C. (2018). The Illusion of Progress: Evaluating U.N. Women’s Rights Instruments. Perceptions, 4(2), 7. https://doi.org/10.15367/pj.v4i2.103