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<P> *** Learn more about the International Day for the Elimination of
Violence Against Women, 25 November 2007: <A
href="http://www.hrea.org/feature-events/vaw-day.php">http://www.hrea.org/feature-events/vaw-day.php</A>
<BR><BR><BR></P>
<P>UNITED NATIONS Press release<BR>23 November 2007</P>
<P>On the occasion of the International Day on the Elimination of Violence
against Women (25 November), the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human
Rights Council on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Yakin
Ertürk, and the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council on
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred
Nowak, issued the following press statement: <BR><BR>Over the years there has
been considerable progress in making the scale of violence against women widely
known and in developing legal and practical instruments to strengthen the
protection of women from violence. Yet significant gaps in protection remain.
Many countries fail to recognize some forms of violence against women as crimes.
Cultural or religious paradigms are still invoked to condone female genital
mutilation, the execution and murder of women, marital rape and other forms of
violence. On the other hand, the application of international instruments and
the development of strategies to condemn and punish torture have been slow to
take into account gender-based aspects of torture, such as sexual violence, and
have treated severe pain or suffering inflicted on women in the private sphere
as a "domestic affair". Consequently, avenues for redress have been limited and
women have not been adequately protected from all forms of violence against
them. <BR><BR>In recent years, there have been an increased and explicit
recognition of some forms of violence against women in international and
national courts as amounting to torture and ill-treatment, the best known
examples being rape by private or public actors in conflict or in custodial
settings. Other forms of violence against women, such as physical or sexual
violence in an intimate relationship or female genital mutilation, if committed
with the acquiescence of the State, may qualify as torture or cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment as well. <BR><BR>The term "torture" carries a strong
protection potential since it brings with it a considerable stigma and triggers
well-established international legal obligations for the State, derived notably
from the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment. These include obligations to criminalize acts of
torture, prosecute perpetrators and provide reparation to victims.
<BR><BR>International standards to combat violence against women, including the
UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, contain an
obligation to condemn and prevent all forms of violence against women,
independently of whether acts are perpetrated by the State or a private person,
and give specific guidance on how obstacles to gender based violence can be
overcome. <BR><BR>These sets of instruments and standards should be used more
systematically to inform and strengthen one another. If taken together they will
considerably reinforce women's protection from violence and render it more
effective, as well as contribute towards transforming unequal patriarchal values
and structures that underlie acts of violence and discrimination against women.
<BR><BR>In our capacities of Special Rapporteurs on Violence against Women and
Torture, we appeal to the international community, to States, and civil society
to make full use of all existing instruments and mechanisms in a comprehensive
fashion, in order to ensure women the full protection from all forms of violence
against them and their access to all available remedies. </P>
<DIV class=emailfooter>--<BR>HREA - <A
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Associates (HREA) is an international non-governmental organisation that
supports human rights learning; the training of activists and professionals; the
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