Conference documents are not legally binding, but the human rights treaty bodies can take their recommendations into account in setting standards. These conference documents express the international

conscience on matters of human rights, and are therefore powerful tools for change.

The 1993 World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna) declared human rights to be a universal norm, independent of the standards of individual states. It emphasized that the rights of women and girls are "an inalienable, integral, and indivisible part of human rights" requiring special attention. It urged that greater priority be given to "the eradication of all forms of discrimination on grounds of sex" and to the eradication of all forms of gender-based violence. The conference called for universal ratification of the Women’s Convention by the year 2000, and for a special rapporteur to monitor the issue of violence against women.

In 1994, the International Conference on Population and Development convened in Cairo, Egypt. The ICPD Programme of Action stated that development and human (and, specifically, women’s) rights are interdependent, and that reproductive rights are included in human rights that are already recognized in international law.

Speaking of women, the Programme of Action is quite specific (Chapter 2, Principle 4): "Advancing gender equality and equity and the empowerment of women, and the elimination of all kinds of violence against women, and ensuring women’s ability to control their own fertility, are cornerstones of population- and development-related programmes. . . . The full and equal participation of women in civil, cultural, economic, political, and social life at the national, regional, and international levels, and the eradication of all forms of discrimination on grounds of sex, are priority objectives of the international community."

The Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995) reaffirmed and underlined the Cairo consensus. Signatories agreed that women must be freed from all forms of discrimination, coercion, and violence, and be empowered to make free and responsible decisions about their sexuality and reproductive health.

top