WOMEN'S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS

Nancy H. Rubin has been the head of the U.S. delegation to the U.N. Human Rights Commission since March 1997.

As we mark the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is with pride that we celebrate Eleanor Roosevelt's achievements, and the remarkable efforts of women and men throughout the world to advance human rights in the past half century.

One of the most important developments in evolution of the human rights movement has been the increasing importance that women's rights have taken on since 1948. In virtually every country, there are now officials, lawyers, scholars, and nongovernmental organizations working to change attitudes and practices to benefit women and recognize more fully their universal human rights. Like all social change, this is an uneven process, benefiting some women more than others.

Yet the trend is undeniable. Women's participation has transformed international development strategies and the human rights agenda over the last 15 years.

At the Vienna Conference in 1993 and the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women, North, South, East and West acclaimed that "women's rights are human rights." While the U.N. Charter prohibited discrimination on the grounds of sex, it was not truly until these meetings that the logjams were broken. At long last came the shared recognition that the progress of nations depends on the progress of women.

Progress! The voices of multitudes of women were heard! And now a strong international consensus has evolved and expanded the women's rights movement. But engaging the system and forcing the world to take note is not yet enough, and it will not be enough until all women enjoy the full range of human rights. We proclaim this with an ever louder and larger chorus, particularly to break the silence for those women whose voices cannot yet be heard.

Women's aspirations are the same the world over. We all want strong families, economic security, personal safety, improved access to health and education, and the realization of basic legal and human rights.

In some countries, where advances have been made, women are working on family-friendly work policies and equal pay. In others, they are reeling from oppression and lack of basic human needs such as water and sanitation. In some countries, women are top executives of banks or lending institutions. Yet in many countries today, women still cannot inherit property, have access to credit, have a say in the choice of their husband, or control their reproductive lives or their bodies. Many also acknowledge that neither custom, tradition or religion can be used to justify or trivialize injustice to women. In some areas of the world, women are not fully enfranchised, and across the globe only 10 percent are legislators. While rape has just now been recognized as a war crime, it is being talked about more openly than ever before, and governments, police and courts are discussing how to respond. Despite these obstacles, women continue to contribute substantially to their families and society, remaining the primary caregivers.

It is important to note that 70 percent of the world's poor are women, as are two-thirds of the world's illiterate people. In times of economic tensions, the impact on women is particularly adverse. Today, where these conditions prevail, we must be particularly vigilant, not only for poor women, but for the elderly, the indigenous, the disabled, the refugees, the internally displaced, the migrants and the women living in areas of armed conflict.

With an enhanced understanding of links between gender and development, we now know that providing the foundation of human rights for women will provide the foundations of sound economic and social policies. Therefore, out of self-interest, all governments, all men and all women should see the value of pushing the boundaries of understanding and implementation of the human rights of women.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary, each of us can add to the effectiveness of the human rights system by holding states responsible for human rights abuses and join the advocates around the world who have educated and empowered women and begun to stop violations and redress wrongs. We must marshal the courage of our own convictions and our own voices, for we are all shaping our societies on a daily basis...in the messages we give through our daily acts, in the work we do, the events we participate in, and in the lives we lead as homemakers, students, professionals...as citizens.

We should collect more facts about human rights, assist individuals with human rights grievances, develop effective strategies to prevent further human rights abuses, organize public education on human rights, and mobilize constituencies. This is our everyday call to action.

We salute governments who are mainstreaming women's human rights and who are enlivening the Beijing Platform for Action. We salute the millions of NGOs and individuals who lay their lives on the line on a daily basis as protectors of women's human rights.

We salute the United Nations, the Commission on Human Rights and its mechanisms, the Commission on the Status of Women and the international U.N. community, which is increasingly responding to the challenge by fostering new institutions of justice, accountability, democratic and civil societies...such as Country Commissions and the International Criminal Tribunals. Another example is a broad-based diplomatic and law enforcement initiative to combat trafficking in women and girls, where a group of nations are striving to educate the public, protect the vulnerable, and apprehend the perpetrators.

Most importantly, we salute the individuals who are human rights defenders. The task of advancing human rights is comprised of a series of individual moments and acts.

So we shall continue to make waves, to bring about change for women...and girls...and families. We shall not be mere witnesses. We must tell the story of those who are oppressed. We must stand up and be counted. This is our planet. We are now integrated in an era of global diversity. We are interconnected by technologies, and we are interdependent as borders for trade and AIDS disappear. In a world of closely balanced good and evil, we must cry out against human rights violations wherever they occur. And there will be justice for women, men and children when those who are not injured are as indignant as those who are. A human right denied to some ultimately puts us all at risk.

It is the personal commitment to universal justice and the full application of the Universal Declaration of Human rights that will mark the history of our times. It will tell the tale of who we are -- of our love for humankind -- of our willingness to take action until we get it right. It is what we shall leave behind.

So in this anniversary year, now more than ever, we shall mount up with wings as eagles and spread words and actions worthy of the Declaration, and our enormous possibilities.