Essay Example For High School about Israel and Human Rights

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights II.

Legal Status of Women in Israel Israel’s Declaration of Independence Basic Laws NGO’s III. Marriage and Divorce Concluding Observations State Reports IV. Critique of Observation V. Conclusion IntroductionWomen make up close to fifty percent of the workforce in Israel, yet are paid an average of only sixty-two percent of men's salaries and women also constitute seventy percent of those earning minimum wage or less.

1 The Orthodox religious monopoly over marriage, divorce, and other issues of personal status impinges on the rights of Jewish women to marry whomever they choose or obtain a divorce without their husband's consent. 2 The hallmark of any enlightened, free and democratic state is evidenced by its treatment of minorities.Women are perhaps the ultimate minority in the world because, ironically, account for fifty percent of the population. A 2012 estimate shows world population of women versus men to be 1.

0 female to 1. 01 males,3 while in Israel at the end of 2009, there were 3,816,900 women (50. 5%) and 3,735,200 men. 4 The United Nations Human Rights Council in its seminal document.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “…the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world…. 5 In attempting to set forth a document outlining basic human rights such as, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex…,”6 it does not present a clear definition of discrimination.The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Article Seven states: “All are equal before the law and are entitled without New Israel Fund, Working for Women's Rights, Retrieved 8 May 2012 from http://www.

nif. org/issueareas/womens-rights. 2 New Israel Fund, www. nif.

org. 3 Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook: Israel, Retrieved 8 May 2102 from . 4 Central Bureau of Statistics: State of Israel, Populations and Demography, Retrieved 8 May 2102 from . 5 United Nations, Human Rights, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Retrieved 8 May 2102 .

6 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). any discrimination to equal protection of the law.All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination. ”7 What is discrimination? Various United Nations human rights instruments define the meaning and content of the principles of discrimination and equality. The Charter of the United Nations prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, language or religion.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, enlarged the list to include color, sex, political or other opinion, national or social origins and other status. Non-discrimination is also established in regional human rights instruments, including the European Convention, the European Social Charter and the Declaration Regarding Intolerance: A Threat to Democracy, all adopted by the Council of Europe; the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, adopted by the Organization of African Unity; and the American Convention of Human Rights, adopted by the Organization of American States. 9 Some United Nations conventions define discrimination.Article 1, paragraph 1, of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (General Assembly resolution 2106 A (XX) annex) defines the term “discrimination” as “any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). 8 United Nations, Report on the World Social Situation 1997, Chapter VIII, United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Managing Diversity in the Civil Service, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 3 - 4 May 2001. 9 Report on the World Social Situation 1997, Chapter VIII 10 Report on the World Social Situation 1997, Chapter VIII A concise definition of discrimination against women is found in the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.In Article One: “For the purposes of the present Convention, the term ‘discrimination against women’ shall mean any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.

Among the international human rights treaties, the Convention takes an important place in bringing the female half of humanity into the focus of human rights concerns. 12 “The Convention was the culmination of more than thirty years of work by the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, a body established in 1946 to monitor the situation of women and to promote women's rights. The Commission's work has been instrumental in bringing to light all the areas in which women are denied equality with men.These efforts for the advancement of women have resulted in several declarations and conventions, of which the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is the central and most comprehensive document.

”13 In the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article Twenty-Six, State Parties agree upon “the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, 1 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Retrieved 8 May 2012 from . 12 CEDAW. 13 CEDAW. color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.Legal Status of Women in Israel Israel's Declaration of Independence was one of the first of its kind to include sex as a group classification for the purpose of equal rights. It stated, “The State of Israel will maintain equal social and political rights for all citizens, irrespective of religion, race or sex.

15 Since then, there have been a number of pieces of legislation aimed at implementing the principle of gender equality. In 1951, shortly after the State of Israel was established, Parliament passed the Women's Equal Rights Law equating the legal status of women to that of men and prohibited discrimination on grounds of sex. 16 This legislation provides: “With regard to any legal act, the same law shall apply to a woman and a man, and any provision of law that discriminates against women as women shall be of no effect.