Promoting and Protecting the Human Rights of Women and Girls A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions KEY POINTS: CHAPTER 4 • A country’s legal framework should provide the foundation for ensuring that the human rights of all persons within its jurisdiction are promoted and protected. • National laws and policies should fully reflect the needs of women and girls and fully protect their rights. NHRIs can contribute to strengthening national laws and policies by: – Encouraging ratification or accession by the State to key human rights treaties to which it is not yet party – Promoting compliance with the human rights treaties to which the State is party – Encouraging the withdrawal of reservations to treaties to which the State is party – Helping develop tools, such as human rights indicators and national action plans, to assist States implement their obligations and monitor the situation with respect to the rights of women and girls – Promoting community awareness about national laws and policies and practices, as well as relevant international laws, policies and good practices. • NHRIs can examine the national legal framework to identify weaknesses in national laws and policies that affect women and girls and the realization of their human rights. This involves asking whether laws and policies have the purpose or effect of impacting negatively on women and their rights. • Areas for analysis may include: the general legal framework, including anti-discrimination laws; election laws; laws and policies on marriage and the family; laws related to violence against women; laws and policies on trafficking in persons; labour and workplace laws; laws and policies affecting minority groups; social security laws; and laws and policies affecting people with disabilities. • NHRIs should seek to engage and collaborate with a range of stakeholders, including government, civil society, business and industry. This can enhance the NHRI’s ability to influence changes in law and policy around the human rights of women and girls. • NHRIs can help ensure that national human rights action plans integrate a gender perspective and explicitly commit to promoting and protecting the human rights of women and girls. They can also play an important role in monitoring the implementation of these commitments. 50