The Independent Commission for Human Rights Development of Women’s Rights in International Conventions UN support for the rights of women began with its founding Charter. Among the declared purposes of the UN, 1 of its Charter sets out “to achieve international co-operation … in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.” Within the UN’s first year, the Economic and Social Council established its Commission on the Status of Women as the principal global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. Among its earliest accomplishments was ensuring gender-neutral language in the draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The landmark Declaration, adopted by the General Assembly on 10 December 1948, reaffirms that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” and “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, birth or other status.” As the international feminist movement began to gain momentum during the 1970s, the General Assembly declared 1975 as International Women’s Year and organized the first World Conference on Women, held in Mexico City. At the urging of the Conference, it subsequently declared the years 1976-1985 as the UN Decade for Women, and established a Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women. The Universal Declaration for Human Rights contributed much to women’s rights by clearly and expressly recognizing gender equality and encouraging the issuance of further conventions specific to women. The most important of these conventions are featured below. Convention on the Political Rights of Women 1952 In 1952, the UN General Assembly approved of (Resolution No. 640 \ D 7), a special convention relevant to women’s political rights which is considered to be the first world-wide convention in which the States Parties pledge to legally commit themselves to fulfilling the political rights of their citizens. These rights would include the right of all to vote in all elections, the right to hold public office and other functions, and 8