(13 December 2013, New York) UN Women today launched a Constitutional Database (http://constitutions.unwomen.org) which for the first time examines constitutions through a gender lens, mapping the principles and rules which guarantee, deny, or protect the rights of women and girls around the world.
Constitutions have a tremendous impact on women. They are well-recognized markers for countries and their citizens, serving as the bill of rights and providing a framework for the rights and responsibilities of people and a mirror to the way people are governed. The United Nation’s CEDAW Committee has often commented on the contents of national constitutions, as has UN Women’s flagship report Progress of the World’s Women.
Expected to be of great use to gender equality and human rights activists and experts, the innovative searchable database, to be updated annually, provides a comprehensive overview of the current status of provisions relevant to women’s rights and gender equality across the world, including comparison of the data across various countries. The resource covers 195 countries, including all UN Member States and Observers, and is organized regionally into Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
The database makes the constitutions available in officially approved English translations as well as in their original language, with a total of 62 languages.
Read the announcement here.
