The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The Declaration outlined various forms of inalienable rights and freedom for human beings to which all were equally entitled. Envisaging a world of equal respect for all, the Declaration promise economic, social, political, civic and cultural rights. Member nations are required to uphold these rights and freedoms by making suitable policies and legal frameworks for their citizens. Non-discrimination and equality are the core principles of the Declarations. Any form of discriminatory practice on different grounds, including gender is prohibited. Equal treatment is applicable to all aspects of life such as health, food, security, and social protection. Universal Declaration of Human Rights laid ground for various subsequent UN resolutions specifically focusing on gender-based discrimination and violence.

The covenant asserts the belief in equality, dignity and inalienable rights of human beings. It recognizes that the mandates of UDHR can be realised only if certain basic preconditions of equality and freedom are met. Such preconditions are ensured by civil and political rights proposed under this covenant. Right to liberty and security, protection from torture, forced labour, and equality before law are some of the aspects covered under this covenant. Gender equality is a critical part of it. Article 3 states “The States Parties to the present covenant undertake to ensure the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights set forth in the present covenant.” Hence all the mandates of the covenant are essentially embedded with the mandate of gender equality.

While various treaties and covenants by the United Nations implicitly uphold gender equality and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is dedicated to rights of women. CEDAW notes that despite various efforts and commitment by member nations to uphold gender equality, women continued to experience discrimination, violence and lack of equal opportunity. CEDAW urges the member states to ensure equal rights and freedom to women in different but interrelated spheres such as education, employment, healthcare, conjugal matters, social and economic aspects, and to maintain equality before law. Protection of women from violence, trafficking and exploitation is also a critical responsibility of the state. Notably, the Convention draws attention to the need of addressing cultural prejudices and stereotypes associated with gender and gender differentiated roles within families. Special emphasis is laid on preventing discrimination against women in work sphere emerging from their reproductive and caregiving roles. CEDAW mandates the signatory states to formulate/amend their legal and policy framework and create strategies for full development and advancement of women. At the same time, it also states that special measures taken up by the states for upliftment of women are not to be viewed as discrimination against other gender.

This declaration focussed on the issue of violence against women and its detrimental impact on achievement of global development and peace. Any form of violence experienced by women was an obstacle to realization of various international ideals of equality, freedom and human dignity. The declaration defined violence against women and reemphasized women’s rights such as equality, security, favourable working conditions. The declaration highlighted the role of unequal power dynamics between genders in violence against women. Another critical aspect highlighted by the declaration was intersectionality of gender with other factors that amplified the impact of violence. The states are not supposed to invoke any customary law to justify violence or discriminatory practices against women or avoid obligations towards protection of women.

The Beijing Declaration announced at the Fourth UN Conference on Women held at Beijing in 1995 is a major milestone. It carried forward the agenda of gender equality and development of women. It recognseid the important role of women empowerment and participation on all fronts to achieve all round development of society; and expressed commitment to the ideals of equal freedom, rights, access and opportunity to women and girl children. The declaration was a landmark in gender equality initiatives as it established gender mainstreaming as a collective strategy by ensuring that gender perspective was included and reflected in all policies and programmes. The Declaration recognized men as allies in efforts towards creating a discrimination free and equal strategy. Intersectional issues of social, economic, and environmental factors were recognized as impacting development of women, especially those belonging to rural areas and economically disadvantages sections.

The United Nations Millennium Summit held in the year 2000 resulted in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by all nations. This addressed multifaceted issues being faced by the world through 8 targeted Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). MDG 3 pertained to promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women. Specifically, this aimed at eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005, and at all levels by 2015. After the 2015 deadline for the MDGs, transformative and action oriented Sustainable Development Goals were adopted to further the commitment towards development and progress.

In 2015, the United Nations formulated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to carry forward the unfinished agenda of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs.) The core objective continued to be achieving dignity and equality of all human beings. The SDGs are driven by a transformational vision and recognise the integrated nature of development in three dimensions, social, economic and environment. Goal 5 is dedicated to gender equality and empowerment of women which entails social, economic and political equality. Focus of the goal is elimination of all forms of violence, harassment and discrimination against women. Achievement of SDGs entails active engagement and strong commitment from all member nations all communities. Goal 5 assumes special significance as all genders are critical stakeholders and all round development is not possible without achieving gender equality.

The ILO convention is critical as it draws attention to discrimination and harassment faced at work. Impact of such incidences is more frequent and amplified in nature for women. The Convention reaffirms the ideals of equal right and opportunity in the work sphere; and freedom from all forms of violence and harassment including those based in gender for all. Such violence is deemed not just a human rights abuse but also a threat to equality of opportunity. Mutual respect and dignity have been considered essential for a workplace. It takes special note of the detrimental impacts of violence and harassment at workplace and the gendered nature of violence and harassment. The convention lays down the definition of harassment and violence and workplace and mandates member states to formulate commensurate laws and policies to address this issue at domestic level