Human Rights

This publication provides practical guidance on the integration of a gender perspective throughout the work of investigative bodies or entities, from the planning phase to the investigations and to writing the report and presenting its findings. It should be read in conjunction with existing OHCHR guidance in the Manual on Human Rights Monitoring and Commissions of Inquiry and Fact-finding Missions on International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law: Guidance and Practice. The publication specifically aims to strengthen the content of human rights reports in order to accurately depict the different experiences of women, men, girls and boys. It is primarily aimed at United Nations Human Rights Officers, especially those performing investigative functions, including with CoIs/FFMs. It may also be used as a reference material for the human rights monitoring, analysis and reporting performed by OHCHR field presences or as part of peace operations mandated by the Security Council and overseen, managed and supported by OHCHR. States Parties, regional mechanisms, national human rights institutions, national commissions of inquiry, civil society organizations and others could also benefit from guidance on how to integrate a gender perspective into monitoring and investigating human rights violations and abuses.

One of the most significant achievements of the United Nations is the creation of a comprehensive body of human rights law (www.un.org/en/sections/ universal-declaration/human-rights-law)—a universal and internationally protected code to which all nations can subscribe and all people aspire. The United Nations has defined a broad range of internationally accepted rights, including civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. It has also established mechanisms to promote and protect these rights and to assist states in carrying out their responsibiliti

Inequalities have a direct bearing on dignity—and thereby on human security. This chapter is concerned with horizontal inequalities—those experienced between groups of people based on some shared characteristic, including aspects of how they choose to self-identify. The chapter considers inequalities in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and age, among others. It describes how discrimination, violence and violations of human rights parallel horizontal inequalities. It points to the importance of understanding intersectionality: because each person’s identity is plural, some face discrimination on multiple fronts. For instance, Black women face different forms of sexism from White women and different forms of racism from Black men. Horizontal inequalities often persist despite measures to outlaw or regulate their underlying drivers (through antidiscrimination laws, for example). Even when groups are formally protected against discrimination, social, political and cultural practices of exclusion can still erode people’s dignity. Many groups have little to no formal protection at all, as is the case for large numbers of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or another sexual minority (LGBTI+ people) around the world.