cultural expectations and assumptions about the pehaviour, attitudes, personality traits, and physical and intellectual! capacities of men and women, based Gendersolely on their identity as men or women. phased assumptions and expectations generally place women at a disadvantage with respect to substantive enjoyment of rights, such as freedom to act and to pe recognized as autonomous, fully capable adults, to participate fully in economic, social and political development, and to make decisions concerning Gender based their circumstances and conditions. and cultural social economic, assumptions about roles preclude the sharing of responsibility between men and women in all spheres that is necessary to equality. Cc, Temporary special measures for men and women. However, the application of the principle of equality will sometimes require that States parties take measures in favour of women in order to attenuate or suppress conditions that perpetuate discrimination. As long as these measures are necessary to redress de facto discrimination and il. STATES A. General Specific legal obligations 1. Obligation to respect 18. The obligation to respect requires States parties to refrain from discriminatory actions that directly or indirectly result in the denial of the equal right of men and women to their enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. Respecting the right obliges States parties not to adopt, and to repeal laws and rescind, policies, administrative measures and programmes that do not conform with the right protected by article 3. In particular, it is incumbent upon States parties to take into account the effect of apparently gender-neutral laws, policies and programmes and to consider whether they could result in a negative impact on the ability of men and women to enjoy their human rights on a basis of equality. 15. The principles of equality and non-discrimination, by themselves, are not always sufficient to guarantee true equality. Temporary special measures may sometimes be needed in order to bring disadvantaged or marginalized persons or groups of persons to the same substantive level as others. Temporary special measures aim at realizing not only de jure or formal equality, but also de facto or substantive equality are terminated when de facto equality such differentiation is legitimate. B. is achieved, 2. Obligation to protect 19. The obligation to protect requires States parties to take steps aimed directly at the elimination of prejudices, customary and all other practices that perpetuate the notion of inferiority or superiority of either of the sexes, and stereotyped roles for men and women. States parties’ obligation and programmes, as well as public institutions, agencies PARTIES’ OBLIGATIONS to protect under article 3 of ICESCR includes, inter alia, the respect and adoption of constitutional and legislative provisions on the equal right of men and women to enjoy all human rights and the prohibition of discrimination of any kind; the adoption of legislation to eliminate discrimination and to prevent third parties from interfering directly or indirectly with the enjoyment of this right; the adoption of administrative measures the establishment and programmes of to protect women against discrimination. 20. States parties have an obligation to monitor and legal obligations 16.The equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights is a mandatory and immediate obligation of States Parties, regulate the conduct of non-State actors to ensure that they do not violate the equal right of men and women to enjoy economic, social and cultural rights. This obligation applies, for example, in cases where public services have been partially or fully privatized. 17.The equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, like 3. all human rights, imposes three levels of obligations 21. The obligation to fulfil requires States parties to take steps to ensure that in practice, men and women enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights on a On States parties - the obligation to respect, to protect and to fulfil. The obligation to fulfil further contains duties to provide, promote and facilitate, Article 3 sets a non-derogable standard for compliance Obligation to fulfil basis of equality. Such steps should include: with the obligations of States parties as set out in articles 6 through 15 of ICESCR. * To make remedies, available and accessible such as compensation, appropriate reparation, GENERAL COMMENTS AND StareMeNTS 45