March 13, 2013
RE: Uphold Women's Rights at 57th Commission on the Status of Women
Dear
Delegate,
We,
the
International
Campaign
to
Stop
Rape
&
Gender
Violence
in
Conflict,
call
on
you
as
a
member
state
taking
part
in
the
57th
United
Nations
Commission
on
the
Status
of
Women,
to
uphold
international
obligations
towards
women's
rights
and
conclude
the
session
with
a
strong
communiqué
that
will
pave
the
way
for
accelerated
action
to
end
gender
violence.
Members
from
the
International
Campaign
to
Stop
Rape
&
Gender
Violence
in
Conflict,
including
Nobel
Peace
Laureate
and
Campaign
Co‐Chair
Jody
Williams,
joined
allies
in
New
York last
week
to
call
on
member
states
for
strong
action
to
stop
rape
in
conflict.
As
negotiations
towards
a
final
outcome
enter
the
second
and
final
week,
we
are
alarmed
that
a
number
of
states
are
using
the
Commission
to
reverse
hard‐won
progress
the
global
community
has
made
in
the
past
couple
of
decades
to
eliminate
violence
against
women.
At
a
very
minimum,
the
Commission
on
the
Status
of
Women
must
uphold
the
universally
agreed‐upon
language
on
women's
rights
including
CEDAW,
the
General
Assembly's
Declaration
on
the
Elimination
of
Violence
Against
Women
(1993),
the
Beijing
Platform
for
Action
(1995),
and
UN
Security
Council
Resolution
1325
(2000).
The
Campaign
is
deeply
concerned
about
efforts
to
remove
reference
to
language
specific
to
these
international
agreements
on
women's
rights
from
the
Commission's
final
documents.
In
particular,
certain
states
adamantly
claim
that
religious
or
cultural
traditions
should
take
precedent
over
ending
violence
against
women.
As
an
international
Campaign
with
members
in
more
than
125
countries,
we
stress
that
religion
or
culture
must
never
be
used
as
an
excuse
to
perpetuate
gender
violence.
Furthermore,
we
are
concerned
that
some
states
are
again
making
sexual
and
reproductive
rights
a
point
of
contention,
and
equally
disturbing,
are
objecting
to
language
that
will
define
rape
to
include
forced
sexual
acts
with
a
partner.
Gender
violence
is
a
global
epidemic,
ranging
from
domestic
violence
to
systematic
rape
in
conflict.
To
end
a
UN
Commission
intended
to
address
gaps
in
current
responses
to
gender violence
with
weakened
global
cooperation
to
end
violence
against
women,
sends
a
message
to
perpetrators
that
they
can
continue
their
crimes
with
impunity.
Survivors
deserve
more
from
the
international
community.
It is
imperative
that
the
international
community
reaffirm
its
commitment
to
women's
rights.
We
remind
you
that
current
discussion
of
new
targets
for
when
the
Millennium
Development
Goals
expire
in
2015
is
ongoing,
and
the
statement
from
the
Commission
will
impact
this
process.
We
urgently
call
on
member
states
of
the
Commission
to
show
strong
leadership
to
prevent
violence
against
women
and
rape
in
conflict,
to
protect
women
and
girls
from
violence,
including through
provision
of
needed
psychosocial
and
medical
services,
and
to
provide
survivors
with
access
to
comprehensive
justice
mechanisms
including
prosecution
of
perpetrators.
In
order
to
advance
both
national
and
international
justice
mechanisms
to
address
serious
crimes
of
gender
violence,
we
call
on
you
to
support
the
adoption
of
an
amendment
proposed
by
Liechtenstein
that
would
further
justice
for
survivors
by supporting
the
complementary
and
necessary
work
of
the
International
Criminal
Court.
As
thousands
of
women
and
survivors
of
gender
violence
have
gathered
in
New
York
for
this
historic
moment
as
the
United
Nations
prioritizes
ending
violence
against
women,
and
millions
more
around
the
globe
watch
intently,
we
hope
you
will
listen
to
our
collective
call
for
action
and
emerge
with
a
final
statement
that
provides
a
clear
path
of
action
to
end
the
epidemic.
Sincerely,
Jody
Williams
Nobel
Peace
Prize,
1997
Co‐Chair,
International
Campaign
to
Stop
Rape
&
Gender
Violence
in
Conflict
Chair,
Nobel
Women's
Initiative
Autonomous
Women's
Center,
Serbia
Association
for
Women's
Rights
in
Development
Catholics
of
Choice
Fonds
pour
les
Femmes
Congolaises,
Democratic
Republic
of
Congo
Global
Fund
for
Women,
United
States
Human
Rights
Watch,
United
States
Infoteka,
Bosnia
&
Herzegovina
JASS
Just Associates
Liga
de
Mujeres
Desplazadas,
Colombia
Observatorio
Genero
Democracia
y
Derechos
Humanos,
Colombia
Physicians
for
Human
Rights,
United
States
Solidarité
Féminine
pour
la
Paix
et
le
Développement
Intégral,
Democratic
Republic
of
Congo
Sonke
Gender
Justice,
South
Africa
V‐Day
Women's
League
of
Burma
Women's
International
League
for
Peace
and
Freedom
Women's
Media
Center's
Women
Under
Siege
Project
Women's
Network
Croatia
World
Pulse