Timeline of international women’s rights agreements

Some landmarks in the recent history of women’s human rights, at the global level, include:

1946 – the UN Commission on the Status of Women established with mandate to set standards of women’s rights, encourage governments to bring their laws into line with international conventions and to encourage global awareness of women’s rights

1948 – adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which forms the basis for action for promoting equal rights and freedoms

1975 – first International Women’s Year, first global United Nations’ Women’s Conference held in Mexico City and beginning of the UN Decade for Women

1979 – adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the only international treaty on women’s human rights

1993 – adoption of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women; women successfully promote the message that women’s rights are human rights at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna

1994 – women secure another major step forward for women’s and girl’s right to control their own lives and bodies at International Conference on Population & Development in Cairo

1995 – women mobilise again at the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen to ensure that the problems they face are central to the global agenda; women achieve massive success both in terms of results and turn-out, at the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women, resulting in global Platform for Action for women’s equality, empowerment and justice

2000 – UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security adopted

2005 – women defend their gains at the ten year review of implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and successfully defeat a proposal led by the U.S government for an anti-abortion amendment to the declaration

2008 – UN Security Council Resolution 1820 adopted, recognizing that sexual violence can be categorized as a war crime, crime against humanity, and act of genocide and demanding protection and prevention measures from parties of armed conflict; protection from violence in refugee and displaced person camps; and affirming the need for women’s full participation in peace-building processes.

2009 – the UN commits to completely overhauling the systems and structures through which it supports women’s rights

2010 - 15-year review of the Beijing Platform for Action

2011 – UN Women, the new UN agency focussing on women and bringing together the previously fragmented ‘gender machinery’ starts work on 1st January.

These are remarkable achievements, and even more so given the lack of resources and access to power structures at the disposal of most ordinary women.

However, the gap between governments’ commitments and the reality of women’s lives, particularly those of women in the South, has not reduced and, if anything has widened in some parts of the world. This is largely due to the backlash against women’s human rights that is taking place on every continent and in many different forms today, including:

• religious or cultural fundamentalisms of different kinds
• power of ultra-conservative forces within governments and their influence on foreign and domestic policies
• backlashes in the media, judiciary, public opinion
• an increase in violence, conflict and war

The current global economic crisis and climate change are also responsible for current erosions of women’s rights. These are huge threats to the work of Womankind and our partners.

It is very important that we confront these challenges, both old and new, and continue to push for change at all levels. This means continuing to ensure that the concerns, interests and aspirations of the women we work with are foremost in the solutions we advocate.

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