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

32 PRACTITIONERS GUIDE No. 12
Legal obligations on States to take specific action to
ensure that girls can claim their human rights in practice
A human rights analysis considers women in all their diversity,
including the specific rights of girls who face specific barriers to
their right to access to justice, particularly where they lack
social or legal autonomy. Girls can be forced into marriage and
other harmful practices and can lack the capacity to have
access to and control over the rights they are entitled to,
including education, health and sexual and reproductive
rights. 55 The CEDAW Committee has emphasised that States
must establish “independent, safe, effective, accessible and
child-sensitive complaint and reporting mechanisms which are
accessible to girls, and which have the girls’ best interests as a
primary consideration”. 56
Access to education and information
A human rights approach requires comprehensive initiatives,
especially the right to education. The CEDAW Committee said
that States parties have “treaty-based obligations to ensure
that all women have access to education and information about
their rights and remedies available, and how to access these,
and to competent, gender-sensitive dispute resolution systems,
as well as equal access to effective and timely remedies”. 57
There are also legal obligations to provide educational
awareness of the rights of women and access to information
about these rights. This applies to States parties to one of the
regional conventions on the elimination of violence against
women: the Convention of Belém do Pará, 58 the Maputo
Protocol, 59 and the Istanbul Convention. 60
55
CEDAW General Recommendation No 33, above note 18, paragraph
24.
56
Ibid, paragraph 25(b).
57
Ibid, paragraph 11.
58
Convention of Belém do Pará, above note 16, Article 8(e): “States
Parties [undertake to] promote and support governmental and private