last updated 14 May 2007

Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is mandated to promote and protect human rights as set forth in the UN Charter and international treaties and laws and to prevent abuses of human rights worldwide. The OHCHR has four branches, the Treaties and Commission Branch, Special Procedures Branch, Research and Right to Development Branch, and Capacity Building and Field Operations Branch, which primarily support other human rights mechanisms and bodies and provide technical assistance. The Research and Right to Development Branch, which promotes and protects the right to development, also focuses on women’s rights, trafficking in persons, and developing gender initiatives.  According to the High Commissioner’s Strategic Mission Plan 2006-2007 (PDF, 80 pages), a Women’s Human Rights and Gender Unit will be established within the Research and Right to Development Branch during 2006-2007. The unit will focus on facilitating gender mainstreaming within the OHCHR, developing policies, research, and advice, coordinating the OHCHR’s activities on gender and women’s human rights, ensuring that OHCHR personnel receive gender-based and women’s human rights training, coordinating OHCHR’s involvement in activities across agencies that concern women, and developing partnerships with other UN bodies and civil societies to promote women’s human rights.  

UNAIDS

UNAIDS was created in 1994 by an ECOSOC resolution to coordinate and support a wider response to HIV/AIDS.  It coordinates the efforts from ten U.N. agencies, including UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank. In 2004, UNAIDS launched a project called Global Coalition on Women and AIDS to bring international attention to the impact of HIV/AIDS on women and girls and prevent its spread. Specifically, it aims to end violence against women, eliminate economic barriers for girls to attend school, implement legislation that protects women’s property and inheritance rights, improve access to prevention and treatment services, and value caregivers. There are six guiding principles of the Global Coalition on Women and AIDS:

1. “Women are leaders in many areas of the AIDS response but too often interventions are not adapted to their realities leaving them at greater risk of HIV infection and at a disadvantage when it comes to coping with AIDS.”
2. “Many women who are infected or at risk of becoming infected do not practise high-risk behaviours but are frequently married or in a monogamous relationship. They are vulnerable largely because of the behav­iour of others, through their limited autonomy and external factors, including social and economic inequi­ties beyond their control.”
3. “Women living with HIV and AIDS make a unique contribution to tackling the spread of HIV and fighting AIDS.”
4. “Women are not victims. Their vulnerability does not stem from inherent physical or psychological weak­nesses. Their resilience in the face of hardship and difficulty must be recognized and strengthened.”
5. “Men and boys and wider communities must be encouraged to fulfil their potential as positive forces for change in improving the situation of women and girls. Efforts to foster more equitable and respectful gender relations are essential.”
6. “Change is possible — Factors that make women and girls more vulnerable to HIV infection can be changed — if sufficient attention, commitment, and resources are invested.”