International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to commemorate the date of the 1960 assassination of the Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic.

The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to commemorate the date of the 1960 assassination of the Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic.

In order to raise awareness about the violence against women and its consequences as well as to advance prevention, the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” international campaign starts today and lasts until December 10, the Human Rights Day.

The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs joins the commemoration of the day, stressing that the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened the inequalities between men and women, with a significantly higher risk of violence against women, especially domestic. Commemorating this day is an opportunity to highlight the fight against the violence, primarily through awareness raising, as well as to underline commitment to a climate in which women will not tolerate violence. In that context, it is necessary to stress the importance of recognizing and reporting violence as an unacceptable social behaviour that violates fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as the need to see violence as a form of discrimination. Eliminating this most common form of human rights violation includes improving victim protection, sanctioning the perpetrator and continuously raising public awareness.

Fighting all forms of violence, including violence against women, will remain one of Croatia’s foreign policy priorities. In April this year, Croatia supported the UN secretary-general’s call for the governments to do more to prevent violence against women. In addition, while drafting the Omnibus Resolution “Comprehensive and Coordinated Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic”, which Croatia coordinated with Afghanistan, embedded in the text were relevant principles on preventing violence against women. Traditionally, within the UN Human Rights Council and the Third Committee Croatia is actively advocating women’s rights. On the progress in women’s protection and empowerment as well as on the legal framework and examples of good practice, Croatia reported during the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review this month.

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