UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Press release
25 November 2002

"VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IS AN AFFRONT TO ALL OF US"

The following message from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, was sent today to participants at 'Not A
Minute More', a UNIFEM event on the occasion of the International Day for
the Elimination of Violence against Women:

Violence against women is a universal problem that is a persistent obstacle
to the promotion and protection of women's rights. The range and frequency
of gender-based acts of violence is profoundly disturbing. It is an affront
not only to the victims and to women everywhere, but to us all. Many women
continue to suffer violence on a daily basis, committed by both the state
and by private actors: in the home, in the workplace, in the community, in
detention and during armed conflict.

Violence against women has its root cause in women's unequal status in
society. Therefore, if we are to overcome the scourge of gender-based
violence, we must also address these warped attitudes and the resultant
discrimination that perpetuate them by preventing women from participating
in society on an equal basis with men. Human rights provide us with a
framework to do just that.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women, and its Protocol, which provides a complaints mechanism, offer
important guidance. What we need is greater commitment to take the
necessary steps for its full implementation. The international community
must continue to advocate ratification of the Convention and its Protocol;
the removal of reservations incompatible with the treaty; and compliance
with States' reporting obligations. States must incorporate the standards
into national legislation and develop a broad range of policies and
programmes to ensure complete implementation in accordance with the spirit
and letter of the Convention.

The UNIFEM Trust Fund in Support of Actions for the Elimination of Violence
against Women is an important element of this process because of its role
in identifying and supporting innovative projects which seek to implement
effective, action-based strategies to eliminate gender-based violence. The
Fund is also a good example of constructive collaboration by States,
international organizations and civil society. The women's movement
deserves strong praise for its role, not only in putting violence against
women on the global agenda, but also in following through with the
development of the very action-based strategies which the Fund supports.

Today's event provides an opportunity to give due recognition to such
projects - as well as their architects - with a view to applying best
practices in similar contexts elsewhere. In this regard, I urge you all to
consider valuable resources such as the Convention, as well as the work of
its monitoring Committee; the landmark Declaration on the Elimination of
Violence against Women; and the work of the Special Rapporteur on violence
against women, who has been so effective in highlighting the many
manifestations of this blight and making concrete recommendations for action.

I would like to offer my encouragement and support to you all in your
important work towards a world free of violence against women.