Aspects of UN Activities on the International Protection of Women's Rights

• Author: Jana Maftei
• Pages: 216-224

European Integration - Realities and Perspectives. Proceedings 2015

216

Aspects of UN Activities on the

International Protection of Women's Rights

Jana Maftei1

Abstract: Human rights and their protection represent the regulation object of a major part of all the legal

rules encompassing the international public law. The Members’ efforts to protect women's rights and to

promote gender equ ality have resulted in the adoption of important documents, fundamental to all mankind.

In the light of these international regulations, States have assumed obligations and they have created

mechanisms to achieve them. Through the analytical approach we have highlighted the activities of the

United Nations and international bodies for pro tecting women's rights and gender equality in all sectors of

public and private life. In p reparing this article we used as research methods the analysis of p roblems

generated by the subject in question with reference to the doctrinal views expressed in the Treaties and

specialized articles, documentary research, interpretation of legal norms in the field.

Keywords: Universal Declaratio n of Human Rights; Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of

Discrimination against Women; the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action; International Women's Day

1. Introduction

Year 2015 is a time of balance and reflection concerning the assertion of women's rights as it marks 20

years since the Fourth World Conference regarding Women of the UN, held in Beijing in 1995, on

which occasion there were established by the participating States a set of objectives to be met for the

effective achievement of women's rights and equality of chances between women and men,

commitments contained in the Beijing Declaration and Action Plan in Beijing.

Much of the history of states reflects a clear imbalance between women's rights and the rights of men,

and the condition of women in society has generated pros and cons of the feminists and conservative,

and sometimes heated disputes, protests, riots. The role and place of women in society of the 18th

century, for example, in relation to man (which is referential) was explained by Jean Jacques

Rousseau, who legitimized the sexual dichotomy and patriarchal hierarchy men / women as being

simple, natural (Rousseau, 1754).

The realities of international society shows that, although important steps were made concerning the

protection of women's rights and the fulfillment of gender equality goals, the states must intensify the

efforts to eliminate the idea of inferiority of woman towards the man, of stereotypes regarding the

1 Assistant Professor, PhD, Faculty of Law, “Danubius” University of Galati, Romania, Address: 3 Galati Boulevard, 800654

Galati, Romania, Tel.: +40.372.361.102, fax: +40.372.361.290, Corresponding author: janamaftei@univ-danubius.ro.