Women are among the vulnerable categories of the population, as well as children and the elderly. Despite the proclaimed equality of men and women, women still experience various forms of discrimination, and in some states various forms of violence against women persist.
For the first time at the international level, equality between men and women was enshrined in the UN Charter in 1945, while stating that the UN Member States must ensure gender equality and create all the conditions for that. The following year, the UN Commission on the Status of Women was established. The organization worked to ensure women’s rights in a wide range of spheres of society, as well as to monitor the equality of men and women in different countries of the world. Thus, the commission sought to act on an international level.
In 1950, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was adopted, which repeated the already formulated guidelines.
An important step in affirming gender equality was the adoption in 1966 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The documents confirmed gender equality, and also pointed to the obligation of the state to ensure equality of men and women in the enjoyment of the above rights.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the aforementioned covenants formed the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. However, despite attempts to eliminate legal inequalities, women continued to be disadvantaged in their activities, social statuses and roles that they have followed for centuries were imposed on them. Therefore, the problem of protecting women’s rights has not been removed from the agenda. In 1967 the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was adopted. Article 2 of the declaration obliged participating states to include a clause on the equality of men and women in their state acts.
In 1979, the UN Convention ordered special temporary measures to accelerate the elimination of discrimination between the sexes. The aim was to eliminate various forms of discrimination against women and to ensure substantive equality. The measures were to be temporary and were to be lifted once the situation improved. Above all, these measures were aimed at combating prevailing stereotypes and customs.
The UN periodically holds conferences on women’s issues. For example, at the third conference in 1985 the Concept of an Integrated Approach to Gender Equality was adopted, in which the very notion of equality was clarified: equality not just in rights and actions, but also equality of opportunity. At the same time it was emphasized that the lack of true equality leads to conflicts in all spheres of society, while its observance ensures peace.
In 1998, a recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe noted the need for a comprehensive approach to gender equality, and pointed out that this principle guarantees a democratic state. Back in 1996 the European Union adopted an agreement on the introduction of equal opportunities for men and women, and the principle of equality itself was defined as the main one for the European society.