GQUAL briefs the Chairs of the UN human rights treaty bodies

On June 23rd 2015, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) briefed the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies during the twenty-seventh yearly meeting held in San Jose, Costa Rica. As a result, GQUAL was included in a report published in early August on the yearly meeting. We’re excited that GQUAL was invited to participate in the briefing and was subsequently included in the report. One of cornerstones of the campaign is to engage with international organizations to develop transparent election processes and adoption of rules that will encourage gender parity. During the meeting, GQUAL representatives called for support from the Chairs to establish guidelines and mechanisms at national and international levels to guarantee parity in positions involving international responsibility, including international tribunals, human rights bodies, special procedures and regional and international organizations.

Additionally, the report cited the Chair’s request that information about the campaign be made available to all treaty body members. Since treaty bodies are responsible for implementing various human rights decisions and treaties, we hope that the information GQUAL provided will further guide the bodies’ election processes. We look forward to continuing to work with the various international organizations within the UN, as well as other regional human rights systems and civil society organizations across the world in our pursuit of global gender parity within international bodies.