Statement

by Mr. Jens Wandel UN Resident Coordinator/UNDP Resident Representative

on the Human Rights Day

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, dear students,

Thank you for giving me an opportunity to address you on behalf of the United Nations on the occasion of the Human Rights Day. In the interest of time, I will focus my address on the rights of women and the girl child.

In fact, based on the Universal Declaration of Human rights, I could cover this subject in 30 seconds.

Article one of Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

If this article was respected by all there would be no reason to highlight the rights of women and children in our world.

However, given the reality the international community have had to revisit the rights of women over time. Most importantly in the Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, or in short CEDAW, - which is a standard setting instrument to reinforce women’s rights.

CEDAW states that women’s rights and equality are essential preconditions to women’s participation in development as both agents and beneficiaries. Its uniqueness lies in its mandate for the achievement of substantive equality for women, which requires not only legal equality but also equality in real terms.

Furthermore, the strengths of the Convention rests on an international consensus proven by the 161 countries’ ratification to date. Such a mandate shows that equality between women and men should not been seen as relative to culture.

What does this mean in practice?

Turkmenistan ratified the Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1996.

Since then Turkmenistan has taken some positive steps, such as the ratification of complementary Conventions, among them: Convention on political rights of Women, Convention on equal payment for equal work.

Of key relevance for women's rights is the 1951 Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, which explicitly guarantee the rights of women. Especially, when you consider that as many as 70% of refugees are women/children.

This Convention was ratified by Turkmenistan in March 1998 and like other Conventions affirmed the principle that human beings shall enjoy the fundamental rights and freedoms without discrimination. As one of the forms of its implementation there is the endorsement of national law on refugees by Turkmenistan.

The United Nation’s Convention on the rights of the child sets out what governments and individual should do to promote and protect the indivisible rights of all children. Unanimously adopted by the General Assembly on 20 November 1989, it has since been ratified by all the world’s government, except two countries.

Ratification means that the governments commit themselves to ensuring that children can grow up in safe and supportive conditions, with access to high quality education and health care, and a good standard of living.

It means Government agree to protect children from discrimination, sexual and commercial exploitation and violence, and to take particular care of orphans and young refugees.

It is also an acknowledgement that children like adults have their civic, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

Importantly it is calling on even those governments with scare resources to take action to protect children’s rights.

To date Turkmenistan has ratified 52 UN Conventions and as such increasingly move towards a rights based development in line with international norms and standards. The United Nations is working with the Turkmen people to achieve a rights based society, where the basic rule will be article one of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”.