Part II Protecting and promoting the rights of women and girls: NHRIs in action
(iv) Drawing the attention of the Government to situations in any part of the country where
human rights are violated and making proposals to it for initiatives to put an end to
such situations and, where necessary, expressing an opinion on the positions and
reactions of the Government;
(b) To promote and ensure the harmonization of national legislation, regulations and practices
with the international human rights instruments to which the State is a party, and their
effective implementation;
(c) To encourage ratification of the above-mentioned instruments or accession to those
instruments, and to ensure their implementation.
AMMAN DECLARATION
NHRIs agree to the following broad principles and areas of work:
• Monitor States’ fulfilment of their human rights obligations and, where the NHRI mandate
permits, non-State actors’ compliance with human rights standards, including those relating
to the human rights of women and girls and gender equality (paragraph 3).
• Support efforts to ensure the right of women to de jure and de facto or substantive equality
with men, recognizing this may require special measures and differential treatment. These
efforts can include integration of the human rights of women and girls and gender equality
in Human Rights National Action Plans and other relevant laws and policies. The Beijing
Platform for Action and its twelve areas of critical concern should serve as the guiding
framework for assessing State action to ensure women’s and girls’ human rights (paragraph 3).
• Promote the realization of the human rights of women and girls, including as found in
CEDAW, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and other human rights norms and
standards, into national law and policies (paragraph 7).
• Encourage the withdrawal of reservations to [such] treaties with a view to strengthening the
implementation of all human rights treaties (paragraph 8).
• Develop guidelines, where applicable, relating to the human rights of women and girls and
monitor State compliance with such guidelines (paragraph 13).
AMMAN PROGRAMME OF ACTION
In relation to women’s public and political participation NHRIs agree to:
• Advocate for the removal of any discriminatory laws which inhibit women’s ability to
participate in public and political life (paragraph 1).
• Promote measures, including through education and the adoption of laws and practices,
to eliminate traditions and social and cultural barriers and stereotypes that discourage or
prevent women from exercising their right to vote or from otherwise participating in public,
peace and political processes (paragraph 2).
In relation to women’s economic, social and cultural rights, NHRIs agree to:
• Monitor and evaluate laws, public policies and budgets, including macroeconomic and trade
policies, as well as poverty reduction strategies, population strategies and other strategies
aimed at the achievement of the Millennium Declaration and Goals, and engage with relevant
sectors, with a view to promoting the removal of provisions which are discriminatory against
or have a discriminatory effect on women, and promoting corrective action, if and as
appropriate (paragraph 8).
Chapter 4: Supporting a strong national legal and policy framework | 39