Promoting and Protecting the Human Rights of Women and Girls A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions The Commission was instrumental in advocating for India’s ratification of the: • Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child • Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities • Trafficking Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. 4.4. ENGAGING AND COLLABORATING WITH STAKEHOLDERS The ability of NHRIs to influence changes in law and policy around the human rights of women and girls will depend, to a great extent, on their willingness and capacity to engage and collaborate with a range of stakeholders. This includes government stakeholders (for example, agencies and departments dealing with issues of concern to women, such as health, labour, migration and justice, as well as agencies and departments dealing specifically with women’s issues) and civil society stakeholders (for example, organizations working on human rights, women’s rights, women’s empowerment, children’s rights and issues of particular concern to women, such as traditional practices and domestic violence). Such engagement can be valuable on a number of fronts, including in helping NHRIs to: • Identify priorities for action in relation to legal and policy reform • Gather information and perspectives that can inform their advocacy, research, training and other work • Secure broad-based support for specific proposals related to the reform of laws or policies or for the adoption of international standards • Ensure that the voices of women and girls are adequately heard and their views taken into account in all aspects of their work. Business and industry are also important stakeholders who can add significant value to the work of NHRIs in advancing women’s human rights, particularly in areas within their sphere of responsibility. These may include issues around pay and work conditions: sexual harassment; pregnancy and maternity/paternity leave; and women in leadership. A girl lights incense at the Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, Busan, Korea. Photo by Justin De La Ornellas, reproduced under a CC BY-NC 2.0 license. 46