UN / DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN

STORY: UN / DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
SOURCE: UNTV
TRT: 1.48
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ NATS

DATELINE: 12 OCTOBER 2010, NEW YORK CITY/ FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior UN building

12 OCTOBER 2010, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, delegates
3. Med shot, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Xiaoqaio Zou, Vice Chair, Committee on the Elimination of the Discrimination Against Women:
“At least one out of every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or abused in some other way, usually by an intimate partner or family member, according to a new report by the United Nations Population fund. Many rapes go unreported because of the stigma and the trauma associated with them. In some countries charges are dropped against the rapist if he marries his victim.”
5. Med shot, photographer
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Xiaoqaio Zou, Vice Chair, Committee on the Elimination of the Discrimination Against Women:
“The United Nations reported that more than 500 systematic rapes have been committed by the armed combatants in Eastern Congo, right? since late July. So, I think the state party, really, when they ratify the convention or when they ratify the optional protocol, it doesn’t mean that everything will stop. It only means that we need the state party have political will.”
7. Med shot, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Xiaoqaio Zou, Vice Chair, Committee on the Elimination of the Discrimination Against Women:
“I must say none of the countries now really reached the substantive gender equality, none. That is why on October the first, this year, the Human Rights Council adopted another resolution to establish the working group on discrimination against women in law and practice.”
9. Med shot, journalists
10. Zoom out, dais

STORYLINE:

A United Nations (UN) official told reporters today (12 October) that despite progress in the realization of women’s rights across the world, many challenges remain.

According to Xiaoqaio Zou, Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee), prime among these challenges are discrimination and violence against women, in particular sexual violence, which are prevalent in many parts of the world and are on the rise.

Zou said that a new report by the UN Population fund (UNFPA) indicates that “at least one out of every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or abused in some other way”. She noted that “many rapes go unreported because of the stigma and the trauma associated with them.”

The CEDAW Committee oversees and assists States parties in their implementation of the CEDAW Convention through reporting and dialogue, issuing recommendations and decisions on individual complaints and follow-up.

Referring to the more than 500 reported “systematic rapes” committed by armed combatants in Eastern Congo, Zou said that when a state party ratifies the Convention or the Optional Protocol, “it doesn’t mean that everything will stop”, and “only means” an expression of political will.

She said that out of the 186 States parties to the Convention and 99 signatories to the Optional Protocol, “none of the countries now really reached the substantive gender equality.”

She added that for that reason the Human Rights Council adopted another resolution “to establish the working group on discrimination against women in law and practice.”

The CEDAW Committee was established in 1992 to monitor implementation of UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979). The Convention is the most comprehensive treaty on women's rights issues, establishing legally binding obligations to end discrimination.