Widows without Rights Conference

Conference Declaration

London - 6-7 February, 2001

We the participants at THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WIDOWS, wish to draw the attention of governments, the UN and its agencies, the media, and civil society organisations, to the huge increase in the number of widows worldwide due to armed conflict, ethnic cleansing, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. We also wish to highlight the multiple but often hidden human rights violations experienced by widows and child widows in many countries. These violations are embedded in social, political, economic, religious, cultural and traditional beliefs and practices.

As a result of these beliefs and harmful practices, widows and child widows are rendered invisible and subjected to numerous human rights violations including:

• Violence in all its varied forms
  
• Extreme poverty
  
• Social and cultural exclusion and marginalisation
  
• Oppression and neglect
  
• Treatment as objects, commodities or chattels
  
• Denial of access to education, health and basic services
  
• Multiple obstacles to accessing justice systems
  
• Denial of their autonomy and independence

We strongly condemn

• The continuing formulation, use and enforcement of laws and customs that perpetuate violation of women's human rights, through legal, cultural and religious institutions
  
• The mental, physical, emotional and sexual violation of widows
  
• The absence of the right of widows to inheritance, property and land ownership
  
• The systematic victimisation, exploitation or neglect of older widows
  
• The neglect and abuse of children of widows and child widows

We therefore strongly recommend that

• action be taken to end cruel, dehumanising, repugnant and discriminatory practices and that laws be strengthened to ensure the punishment of perpetrators
  
• customary, religious and modern laws reinforcing discriminatory practices be abolished
  
• legal reforms in inheritance and landownership rights be enacted and enforced
  
• independent research be undertaken into the extent of violations against widows, old and young
  
• all aspects of government policy making agendas mainstream widows' concerns
  
• national, regional, international meetings be regularly convened to ensure that the collective voices of widows are heard
  
• the rights of widows be included in all appropriate international instruments.

We ask governments, the UN and its agencies, the media, and civil society organisations to recognise the contribution that widows have already made and will continue to make to the development of their societies and demand urgent and immediate action be taken to end these violations.