UN SR VAW Seeks Input for Report on Due Diligence & VAW

The
2013 annual report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its
Causes and Consequences, Ms Rashida Manjoo, will be devoted to a study on the
“Due Diligence Obligation to address Violence Against Women.” 

The Special Rapporteur is seeking information in preparation of a global
study that analyses the interpretation and implementation of the due diligence
obligation by States to be submitted to the Human Rights Council.

Article 4 (c and d) of the UN Declaration on Elimination of Violence
against Women requires States to ‘exercise due diligence to prevent,
investigate and in accordance with national legislation punish acts of violence
against women whether those actions are perpetrated by the State or private
persons.’ The Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women and the work of the Committee reiterates the need for states
to take appropriate measures to ensure women are free from all forms of
violence.  To achieve this, States must develop penal, civil, labour and
administrative sanctions in domestic legislation to punish and redress the
wrongs caused to women who are subjected to violence. Thus a state not only has
a negative obligation to refrain from acts of violence against women, but also
has positive duties to prevent and protect women from violence, punish
perpetrators and compensate victims of violence. Due to the multiplicity of
forms of violence against women, and the fact that this violence often occurs
in an intersectional manner, States must adopt more holistic, multi-pronged
approaches to effectively implementing their due diligence obligations. State
interventions must also be designed at the different levels at which violence
occurs, namely at the individual, community, State and transnational levels.
The state may be held responsible under international law for the failure to
provide reasonable and adequate measures to prevent or address the violations
of women’s rights. In essence, due diligence provides a standard of care used
to measure whether a state has complied with its international obligations. A
determination of compliance will require an assessment of the adequacy of the
domestic measures in the state.

The mandate has consistently paid attention to the principle of due
diligence over the last seventeen (17) years and is keen to further the
discussion and compile emerging practices that have the potential to reach the
common goal of elimination of all forms of violence against women.  

The Special Rapporteur notes that various individuals and organisations may
wish to develop documents and reports of consultations to submit for consideration.
In accordance with the established practice of mandate-holders, the Special
Rapporteur welcomes all relevant submissions that NGO’s and other independent
experts may wish to transmit for her consideration in preparation of the annual
report on due diligence. The Special Rapporteur is particularly interested in
receiving submission on specific country situations. These submissions should
be sent by 31 October 2012 to vaw@ohchr.org.

Kindly note that the Special Rapporteur will, in due course, provide a
detailed plan for the process she will follow in generating the annual report.

Summary
Paper on the Due Diligence Standard for Violence against Women

Sample
questionnaire