Report - Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

Gender Equality 3
Women and men are guaranteed <strong>the</strong> enjoyment <strong>of</strong> equal human rights under international law. The
substantive equality model applied in CEDAW (Art. 2) emphasises <strong>the</strong> need for both equality <strong>of</strong>
opportunity (de jure) and equality <strong>of</strong> results (de facto), <strong>the</strong> goal being <strong>the</strong> practical realisation <strong>of</strong>
women’s rights.
This approach recognises that in order to redistribute benefits equally between women and men,
approaches to promoting women’s rights must transform <strong>the</strong> unequal power relations between women
and men in <strong>the</strong> process. For this to happen, policies, laws and programmes must aim to provide:
• Enabling conditions (i.e. <strong>the</strong> social, economic and cultural contexts within which women may
be able to lead <strong>the</strong>ir lives with dignity);
• Affirmative action (i.e. temporary special measures that recognise and accommodate women’s
needs in <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> employment, education, financial services, politics and all o<strong>the</strong>r spheres
<strong>of</strong> life, in order to enable women to overcome both historical barriers as well as those that arise
from male domination <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> system. (Art 4.1, CEDAW)
Therefore, <strong>the</strong> prerequisites <strong>of</strong> gender equality are:
• Equality <strong>of</strong> opportunity (law, policy and programmes);
• Equality <strong>of</strong> access;
• Equality <strong>of</strong> benefit;
State obligations 4
Three levels <strong>of</strong> State obligation:
• Respect – to abstain from violations;
• Protect – to prevent violations from occurring;
• Fulfil – to facilitate and provide for <strong>the</strong> realisation and free exercise <strong>of</strong> rights through legal
and policy measures.
Core minimum obligations
• To immediately address <strong>the</strong> basic housing needs <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> population.
Non-regression
• To refrain from undertaking any measure deliberately or flagrantly in retrogression <strong>of</strong> legal
obligations under international and human rights treaties, especially <strong>the</strong> practice <strong>of</strong> forced
eviction.
Progressive Realisation
• The concept <strong>of</strong> “progressive realisation” imposes upon States a clear obligation to take measures
as expeditiously and effectively as possible to provide for <strong>the</strong> full realisation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> human
right to adequate housing.
3
Materials for this section are based on <strong>the</strong> work and materials <strong>of</strong> IWRAW-AP.
4
For fur<strong>the</strong>r details on State obligations see <strong>the</strong> Maastricht Guidelines on Violations <strong>of</strong> Economic Social and
Cultural Rights,as well as General Comments and findings <strong>of</strong> Treaty Committees.
108 WOMEN’S RIGHTS TO ADEQUATE HOUSEING AND LAND