Women’s and Girls’ Rights Campaign

GANHRI Focus

How NHRIs advance the rights of women and girls?

NHRIs serve as watchdogs monitoring compliance with international standards like CEDAW, investigate discrimination cases, advocate for stronger legal frameworks, and build partnerships with women’s organizations, civil society, and peer NHRIs to advance gender equality.

Regional Spotlight: APF

GANHRI Focus

How NHRIs advance women’s rights in business operations?

NHRIs monitor corporate practices against UN Guiding Principles, investigate workplace discrimination, advocate for gender-responsive policies, and build partnerships with businesses and civil society to strengthen accountability for women’s economic empowerment.

Regional Spotlight: NANHRI

• The Solutions for Supporting Healthy Adolescents Rights and Protection (SHARP) project drives forward the mission of gender equality by advocating for the eradication of gender-based violence and protection of adolescents in Africa’s Great Lakes Region, ensuring businesses operate with respect for women’s and girls’ rights.
• The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) works with stakeholders to combat gender-based violence, strengthen sexual reproductive health rights, and ensure workplace protections. Their recently launched advocacy compendium supports advocacy efforts.
• The Human Rights Commission of Zambia (HRCZ) collaborates with MedRAP through the SHARP partnership to address adolescents’ sexual reproductive health and rights.

GANHRI Focus

How NHRIs counter violence against women and girls?

NHRIs promote legal frameworks aligned with international standards, can facilitate access to justice, develop prevention strategies and protection mechanisms, gather evidence for policy development, report to international mechanisms and bodies, address intersectional discrimination, and support women human rights defenders working to end gender-based violence.

Regional Spotlight: RINDHCA

• The Ombudsman’s Office of Panama joined the No Excuse campaign on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women to combat violence against women and girls, which remains one of the most widespread human rights violations worldwide.
• Bolivia’s Defensoría del Pueblo developed a human rights training program with specific courses on “Women’s Rights, Children’s Rights, and Violence Prevention” to promote awareness and action in the protection and promotion of human rights.

GANHRI Focus

How NHRIs cooperate with international bodies?

NHRIs engage with UN mechanisms like CEDAW and other UN bodies to provide evidence-based information on women’s rights situations, support states in implementing international recommendations, foster regional collaboration through GANHRI and regional networks to share good practices, and forge strategic partnerships with UN agencies to promote gender equality norms and standards at the domestic level.

Regional Spotlight: ENNHRI

• The Public Defender of Georgia is turning international standards into national action by monitoring implementation of international recommendations in gender equality policies, working with UN Women to establish one of the region’s first Femicide Watch mechanisms, and engaging with the UN and Council of Europe to push for stronger enforcement of rulings in cases of gender-based violence.
• The German Institute for Human Rights developed the world’s first human rights indicator system to systematically monitor the Istanbul Convention while engaging with GREVIO during monitoring visits to ensure treaty obligations translate into stronger protections. The Institute also participates in UN hearings and state reporting processes, ensuring recommendations address in-country challenges in combatting violence against women.