Universal-Womens-accesss-to-justice-Publications-Practitioners-Guide-Series-2016-ENG

V
WOMEN’S ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE 17
and administrative bodies taking decisions affecting
women’s rights.” 20
Initiatives relating to gender-based violence in the
Middle East and Asian Regions
There are regional treaties specifically relating to violence
against women in the Americas region, in Europe and in Africa.
Women's right not to suffer violence has been recognized in the
general human rights treaties in these regions, each of which
has now led to a developed jurisprudence.
While the recognition of women's rights in human rights law is
not so developed in the Middle East and Asia region, there have
been some developments. Article 33(2) of the Arab Charter on
Human Rights addresses domestic violence, requiring that “the
State and society shall ensure the protection of the family, the
strengthening of family ties, the protection of its members and
the prohibition of all forms of violence or abuse in the relations
among its members, and particularly against women and
children”. The Arab Human Rights Committee, which oversees
the implementation of the Arab Charter on Human Rights, has
been questioning States on the way they give effect to the
prohibition of violence against women in law and in practice -
not only in domestic settings, but also in a more general
context.
The Arab Women's Organization, a specialized agency of the
Arab League, is working to implement the “Arab Strategy for
Combatting Violence against Women, 2011-2020”, which it
developed and adopted. This situates action to eradicate
gender-based violence in existing international human rights
law and standards, especially the Beijing Declaration of 1995
and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women. The Arab Women's Organization
has also prepared qualitative indicators to assist States in
implementing their obligations under the CEDAW Convention.
20
CEDAW General Recommendation No 33, above note 19, paragraph
20(a).