MEPs hereby emphasise that despite commitments made by the vast majority of states to combat discrimination against women, in particular through the ratification of the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), women remain victims of grave violence and discrimination in all regions of the world.
By supporting this initiative, launched by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), MEPs recognise that concerted and systematic action by the European Union on women’s rights is required, as is already undertaken within the framework of EU Guidelines on Torture, the Death Penalty, Human Rights Defenders and Children’s Rights.
Please find attached the text of the FIDH Appeal to MEPs with list of signatories and the FIDH Position Paper calling for EU Guidelines on women’s rights.
For more information, please contact :
– FIDH Press Contacts :
- Gaël GRILHOT : ggrilhot@fidh.org tel : +33610600557
- amadelin@fidh.org - tel +33668226572
– FIDH delegation to the EU :
–* Grégoire Théry - gthery@fidh.org
FIDH APPEAL to MEPs
with full list of signatories
FIDH POSITION PAPER calling for EU Guidelines on women’s rights.
APPEAL
to Members of the European Parliament
on the occasion of International Women’s Day, 8 March 2008
Call for EU guidelines on women’s rights
Sixty years after its adoption, article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulating that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights", is still largely flouted by discriminatory legislations and practices against women.
Despite efforts from the international community and the commitment by the vast majority of States to combat discrimination against women, notably by means of the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), women still remain victims of violence and discrimination in all regions of the world.
Men’s continued legal guardianship over adult women, the impossibility of filing for divorce and the continuance of the practice of repudiation, inequality of inheritance, unequal terms of pay for equal responsibility positions, low political participation and the near total exclusion from poles of power, and the continuing violence, the still widespread practice of genital mutilation in many African countries, sexual slavery and gender specific crimes, are but some examples of the human rights violations and discrimination that women suffer particularly. Today, no society is exempted from one or many of these violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and over half of the world population is either directly or indirectly victim of gender discrimination.
Moreover, if the CEDAW has been ratified by more than 90% of the United Nations Member States, its lack of implementation within national constitutions or laws, the reservations, and the upholding of discriminatory national laws, continue to stand in the way of respect for women’s rights.
The defence and protection of women’s rights are a priority within the EU’s human rights policy. The EU has committed itself to making women’s rights violations a priority theme within the framework of its human rights dialogues with third countries. The action spearheaded by the EU in view of reinforcing respect for women’s rights is drawn from international and regional terms of reference on the subject.
Actions developed so far by the EU in this field are both strong political declarations and concrete projects. Nevertheless, because of their limited number and their disparity, they do not constitute a coordinated and systematic instrument to fight inequality, discrimination and violence against women in the world today.
Only a concerted and systematic action, like the ones existing within the framework of the guidelines on torture, death penalty, human rights defenders or children’s rights, will allow real political progress in the field of women’s rights in the countries concerned. We thus call upon the European Council to adopt promptly, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Universal declaration of Human rights, a set of concrete guidelines on the promotion and respect of women’s rights in third countries.
***
List of signatories (in alphabetical order)
1.Vittorio AGNOLETTO (IT) – GUE
2.Vincenzo AITA (IT)– GUE
3.Alfonso ANDRIA (IT) – ALDE
4.Kader ARIF (FR) – PSE
5.Elspeth ATTWOOl (GB) – ALDE
6.Margrete AUKEN (DK) – Verts
7.Edit BAUER (SK) – PPE
8.Angelika BEER(DE) – Verts
9.Danute BUDREIKAITE (LT) – ALDE
10.Marie-Arlette CARLOTTI (FR) - PSE
11.Giusto CATANIA (IT) – GUE
12.Guilietto CHIESA (IT) - PSE
13.Giovanna CORDA (BE) - PSE
14.Gabriela CRETU (RO) - PSE
15.Magor CSIBI (RO) - ALDE
16.Elly DE GROEN-KOUWENHOVEN (NL) - Verts
17.Véronique DE KEYSER (BE) - PSE
18.Mojca DRCAR MURKO (SI) - ALDE
19.Assuncao ESTEVES (PT) - PPE
20.Edite ESTRELA (PT) - PSE
21.Robert EVANS (GB) - PSE
22.Claudio FAVA (IT) - PSE
23.Francesco FERRARI (IT) - ALDE
24.Ilda FIGUEIREDO (PT) - GUE
25.Hélène FLAUTRE (FR) – Verts
26.Glyn FORD (UK) - PSE
27.Armando FRANCA (ES) - PSE
28.Monica FRASSONI (IT) - Verts
29.Patrick GAUBERT (FR) – PPE
30.Lidia GERINGER DE OEDENBERG (PL) - PSE
31.Adam GIEREK (PL) - PSE
32.Ana Maria GOMES (PT) – PSE
33.Genowefa GRABOWSKA (PL) - PSE
34.Lilli GRUBER (IT) – PSE
35.Ignasi GUARDANS (ES) – ALDE
36.Umberto GUIDONI (IT) - GUE
37.Fiona HALL (UK) – ALDE
38.Marian HARKIN (IE) - ALDE
39.Joel HASSE FERREIRA (PT) - PSE
40.Statu HASSI (FI) - Verts
41.Jens HOLM (SE) - GUE
42.Milan HORACEK (DE) - Verts
43.Alain HUTCHINSON (BE) - PSE
44.Iliana IOTOVA (BG) - PSE
45.Mikel IRUJO AMEZAGA (ES) – Verts
46.Marie-Anne ISLER BEGUIN (FR) - Verts
47.Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI (FI) - ALDE
48.Madeleine JOUYE DE GRANDMAISON (FR) – GUE
49.Sajjad KARIM (UK) - EPP
50.Piia-Noora KAUPPI (FI) - PPE
51.Evgeni KIRILOV (BG) - PSE
52.Eija-Riitta KORHOLA (FI) - PPE
53.Jean LAMBERT (UK) - Verts
54.Johannes LEBECH (DK) - ALDE
55.Roselyne LEFRANÇOIS (FR) - PSE
56.Eva LICHTENBERGER (AT) - Verts
57.Pia LOCATELLI (IT) - PSE
58.Andrea LOSCO (IT) - ALDE
59.Marusya LYUBCHEVA (BG) - PSE
60.Maria MATSOUKA (EL) - PSE
61.Emilio MENÉNDEZ DEL VALLE (ES) - PSE
62.Willy MEYER PLEITE (ES) - GUE
63.Luisa MORGANTINI (IT) - GUE
64.Robert NAVARRO (FR) - PSE
65.Gérard ONESTA (FR) - Verts
66.Atanas PAPARIZOV (BG) - PSE
67.Jozef PINIOR (PL) - PSE
68.Rovana PLUMB (RO) - PSE
69.Anni PODIMATA (EL) – PSE
70.Miguel PORTAS (PT) - PSE
71.Christa PRETS (AT) - PSE
72.Pierre PRIBETICH (FR) - PSE
73.John PURVIS (GB) - PPE
74.Raul ROMEVA (ES) - Verts
75.Martine ROURE (FR) - PSE
76.Heide RUEHLE (DE) - Verts
77.Adrian SEVERIN (RO) - PSE
78.Csaba SÓGOR (RO) - PPE
79.Bart STAES (BE) - Verts
80.Eva-Britt SVENSSON (SE) - GUE
81.Britta THOMSEN (DK) - PSE
82.Laszlo TOKES (RO) – Non inscrit
83.Elena VALENCIANO (ES) - PSE
84.Anne VAN LANCKER (BE) - PSE
85.Donato Tomaso VERALDI (IT) - ALDE
86.Bernadette VERGNAUD (FR) - PSE
87.Francis WURTZ (FR) - GUE
88.Gabriele ZIMMER (DE) - GUE