Chapter I Relevant International Human Rights Documents Introduction International human rights conventions aim to guarantee the right of women to physical safety and prohibition of sexual assaults against them. Sexual assaults, according to these conventions, are a form of sexual violence practiced against women due to the imbalance and inequality between men and women. International conventions and agreements have not allocated special provisions addressing sexual violence against women whether occurring in public or in private life. They address such violence as part of general violence practiced against women. This chapter discusses the international conventions and agreements addressing sexual violence against women within the family, including the World Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993), Resolution (1) of the Beijing World Conference on Women (1995), the Action Agenda of the Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as issued by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948. 1. World Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (1993) The World Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women issued by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1993 emphasized that violence against women constitutes a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and nullifies their enjoyment of those rights and freedoms. The General Assembly of the United Nations expressed its “concern about the long-standing failure to protect and promote those rights and freedoms in the case of violence against women”. This declaration recognizes violence against women as a manifestation of the historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women. It further recognizes that violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms where women are more forced into subordinate positions compared with men. The declaration also stressed that women are entitled to the equal enjoyment and protection 9