On 4 March 1994 the

Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

passed Resolution 1994/45 on the question of integrating the rights of women into the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations and the elimination of violence against women. This Resolution established the mandate of the "Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women its causes and consequences". The initial appointment was for a three-year period. the special rapporteur is .

Mandate

The special rapporteur is mandated to seek and receive information on

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...

, recommend ways to eliminate violence against women at national, regional and

intersectionality Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies multiple factors of adva ...

levels, and work collaboratively with the other United Nations human rights mechanisms.

Country visits

The special rapporteur is mandated to carry out country visits, often in conjunction with other special rapporteurs, independent experts or working groups.

Reports to the Human Rights Council

Each year the Special Rapporteur provides a written report to the Human Rights Council outlining the activities undertaken and themes analyzed.

Post-holders

Radhika Coomaraswamy Deshamanya Radhika Coomaraswamy (born 17 September 1953)is a Sri Lankan lawyer, diplomat and human rights advocate who served as the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict until 13 ...

(1994–2003) *

Yakin Ertürk Yakin Ertürk (born 1945) is a Turkish former United Nations special rapporteur on violence against women and board member of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), and was a professor of Sociology. Early life an ...

(2003–2009) *

Rashida Manjoo Rashida Manjoo is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Cape Town in Cape Town and a social activist involved in the eradication of violence against women and gender-based violence. Manjoo was the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on Violen ...

(2009–2015) * (2015–2021) *Reem Alsalem (2021–present)

Mandate

Country visits

Reports to the Human Rights Council

Post-holders

References

Further reading