Mainstreaming Women’s Rights: Problems and Prospects Within the Centre for Human Rights

Abstract

Such recent conferences as the 1993 Vienna Conference on Human ig ts, th 1994 Ca ro Conference on Population nd Dev lopm nt, and the 1995 Beijing Co f r nce on Women made major strides f r ward in expanding the breadth of women's r ghts, in d ining them more subs a tially, and in pres ribing specific guid li es f r the r attainment. Thus, significa t la guage now xists to adv nce the sta us of women, and it is cri i a to ap t lize on thes adva ces. O e importan st p i his pro ces is o sure that women' rights are fully in eg a d to the UN h man r gh gim . I M ch 1 93, the Commissio on Hu a Rights pas ed he irst r s olution o integra e w e 's hum n rights wi h he UN hu a ights mec isms.1 The commitme t f r uch inte ration w r iter ted in h 1993 Vie na Decl ration a Pr g m f Actio 2 a d gain in 1995 in stronge nd more s ec fic la guage in the Beij g Decl ra on a d Pl t fo fo Ac ion.3 H nc , the mandate for in ra i n is well stablished. e p cess of in grati n, called mainstream ng, i volves incorpo at ing a is ue into th pr existi g fra work and s ructur ?in othe words, aki it e tral to every aspect of the work of t a tructure.4 T con cep mai s re ming is usual y derst od o exis juxtap ition to he ncepts of mar i alizat on nd of b ing r legated to he idelin s?con ts that all o aptly de cribe the posi n of women's righ s wi hi t e UN human rights re .5 This ar icl ass s es the progr ss b ing made ithi he Offi of the Hi h Co issioner fo H n Ri ts/Ce tre f r H a Righ s (HC/CHR) to ntegr te w m n's hum n ri hts i t t i er a ion l uman r gh s r ime. The i n ti nal huma righ s regime ulfills riteria ou l ned i St e Kras er's wi ly accept d d finiti of r gimes a sets of im plicit r explici p nciples, norms, rul s a d dec sio aking procedures around wh ch actors' expectat ns conv rge in a ven a ea of in er nat o al r lat .6 T pri a y sourc of th se pr nc les, n ms, a d ules are t e onve tions hu a righ s, w i h e le ally bi ding on ll s ates at r tify th . T e regim also embod es orm th are not