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WASHINGTON: STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR BOHLEN ON TOLERANCE AT THE OSCE HUMAN DIMENSION IMPLEMENTATION MEETING
US Official News
October 3, 2012 Wednesday
Department of US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, The
Government of USA has issued the following news release:
OSCE commitments to encourage equality of opportunity among women
and men go back to the Helsinki Final Act of 1975. These have been
further elaborated over the years, and in 2000 and 2004, we adopted
OSCE action plans addressing both the situation in participating
States as well as management and staffing within the OSCE itself. But
commitments are not enough - the commitments must be implemented. The
question is whether the human rights of women in our countries are
protected in practice as well as on as well as in law. Unfortunately,
the answer is "not always."
In some OSCE participating States, the legal framework to protect
the human rights of women is still not complete or is ineffectively
implemented. Law enforcement authorities do not always respond
adequately to sexual or other physical assaults against women,
particularly when these assaults are committed by intimate partners or
other family members. For the past several years, we have identified
those OSCE countries that do not yet have specific legislation
protecting women against domestic violence, sexual harassment,
or spousal rape. Unfortunately, the list this year has changed
very little.
Although some states prosecute domestic violence under general
assault laws, specific laws would strengthen authorities' ability to
hold abusers accountable and could be drafted to lift the burden of
pressing charges from the survivor. OSCE participating States that
do not have specific laws against domestic violence include Armenia,
Belarus, and Uzbekistan. Russia has no legal definition of domestic
violence, making prosecution difficult. One positive change occurred
in Lithuania, where a law criminalizing domestic violence for the
first time went into effect last December, providing a legal basis
for rapid police reaction to instances of domestic violence as well
as preventive measures and victim assistance. I also would like to
recognize the good work of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan in training
police to handle domestic violence cases.
Several OSCE participating States also lack specific laws addressing
sexual harassment, including Armenia, Belarus, Russia, Turkmenistan,
and Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan's legislation deals only with physical
assault, not verbal harassment. Though Kosovo's new criminal code
does not include a specific sexual harassment crime, it does include
a provision that covers sexual abuse by misuse of power.
Spousal rape is also not specifically outlawed in several OSCE
participating States. It can be prosecuted under general rape laws,
but specifically addressing it would help strengthen the response of
law enforcement authorities, who often view it as simply a private,
family matter. States in the OSCE region with no specific law against
spousal rape include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Latvia,
Ukraine, and Tajikistan. In Romania, prosecuting a rape requires both
a witness and a medical certificate, making it virtually impossible
for authorities to press charges even when they have independent
physical evidence.
States must do more to train law enforcement officials, social
workers, and others to respond to victims of domestic violence or
rape. Victims must be able to obtain information and assistance easily
and quickly. Governments should commit resources to help them do so,
and should support civil society efforts in this regard as well. We
strongly support OSCE programs in these areas, and believe the OSCE
should increase its assistance to participating States, including
those which do not host field missions.
Women in all OSCE States have proven that when given the same
opportunity as men, they also will succeed. Equality of access
for women to education, political participation, and economic
opportunities and freedom from all forms of violence are key to a
country's competitiveness and prosperity.
Moreover, women need to be better represented at the policy-making
table. Many OSCE activities focus on conflict prevention, crisis
management and resolution, and post-conflict rehabilitation. It is
important that women be involved in all stages of conflict-related
work. OSCE staff dealing with conflict management should be trained
to identify and include women in these efforts.
While we often refer to "women's rights," in fact women have the
same rights as men. All our citizens have the same human rights
and fundamental freedoms, which we must protect. Unfortunately,
women aren't always afforded these rights. We all must work harder
to ensure the human rights of women and men are both respected equally.
For more information please visit: http://www.humanrights.gov
US Official News
October 3, 2012 Wednesday
Department of US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, The
Government of USA has issued the following news release:
OSCE commitments to encourage equality of opportunity among women
and men go back to the Helsinki Final Act of 1975. These have been
further elaborated over the years, and in 2000 and 2004, we adopted
OSCE action plans addressing both the situation in participating
States as well as management and staffing within the OSCE itself. But
commitments are not enough - the commitments must be implemented. The
question is whether the human rights of women in our countries are
protected in practice as well as on as well as in law. Unfortunately,
the answer is "not always."
In some OSCE participating States, the legal framework to protect
the human rights of women is still not complete or is ineffectively
implemented. Law enforcement authorities do not always respond
adequately to sexual or other physical assaults against women,
particularly when these assaults are committed by intimate partners or
other family members. For the past several years, we have identified
those OSCE countries that do not yet have specific legislation
protecting women against domestic violence, sexual harassment,
or spousal rape. Unfortunately, the list this year has changed
very little.
Although some states prosecute domestic violence under general
assault laws, specific laws would strengthen authorities' ability to
hold abusers accountable and could be drafted to lift the burden of
pressing charges from the survivor. OSCE participating States that
do not have specific laws against domestic violence include Armenia,
Belarus, and Uzbekistan. Russia has no legal definition of domestic
violence, making prosecution difficult. One positive change occurred
in Lithuania, where a law criminalizing domestic violence for the
first time went into effect last December, providing a legal basis
for rapid police reaction to instances of domestic violence as well
as preventive measures and victim assistance. I also would like to
recognize the good work of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan in training
police to handle domestic violence cases.
Several OSCE participating States also lack specific laws addressing
sexual harassment, including Armenia, Belarus, Russia, Turkmenistan,
and Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan's legislation deals only with physical
assault, not verbal harassment. Though Kosovo's new criminal code
does not include a specific sexual harassment crime, it does include
a provision that covers sexual abuse by misuse of power.
Spousal rape is also not specifically outlawed in several OSCE
participating States. It can be prosecuted under general rape laws,
but specifically addressing it would help strengthen the response of
law enforcement authorities, who often view it as simply a private,
family matter. States in the OSCE region with no specific law against
spousal rape include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Latvia,
Ukraine, and Tajikistan. In Romania, prosecuting a rape requires both
a witness and a medical certificate, making it virtually impossible
for authorities to press charges even when they have independent
physical evidence.
States must do more to train law enforcement officials, social
workers, and others to respond to victims of domestic violence or
rape. Victims must be able to obtain information and assistance easily
and quickly. Governments should commit resources to help them do so,
and should support civil society efforts in this regard as well. We
strongly support OSCE programs in these areas, and believe the OSCE
should increase its assistance to participating States, including
those which do not host field missions.
Women in all OSCE States have proven that when given the same
opportunity as men, they also will succeed. Equality of access
for women to education, political participation, and economic
opportunities and freedom from all forms of violence are key to a
country's competitiveness and prosperity.
Moreover, women need to be better represented at the policy-making
table. Many OSCE activities focus on conflict prevention, crisis
management and resolution, and post-conflict rehabilitation. It is
important that women be involved in all stages of conflict-related
work. OSCE staff dealing with conflict management should be trained
to identify and include women in these efforts.
While we often refer to "women's rights," in fact women have the
same rights as men. All our citizens have the same human rights
and fundamental freedoms, which we must protect. Unfortunately,
women aren't always afforded these rights. We all must work harder
to ensure the human rights of women and men are both respected equally.
For more information please visit: http://www.humanrights.gov