A/RES/65/228
(c) To promote the involvement and participation of all relevant sectors of
government and civil society and other stakeholders in the implementation process;
(d) To commit adequate and sustained resources and develop monitoring
mechanisms to ensure their effective implementation and oversight;
(e) To take into account in the implementation of the updated Model Strategies
and Practical Measures the varying needs of women subjected to violence.
II.
Criminal law
14.
Member States are urged:
(a) To review, evaluate and update their national laws, policies, codes,
procedures, programmes and practices, especially their criminal laws, on an ongoing
basis to ensure and guarantee their value, comprehensiveness and effectiveness in
eliminating all forms of violence against women and to remove provisions that
allow for or condone violence against women or that increase the vulnerability or
revictimization of women who have been subject to violence;
(b) To review, evaluate and update their criminal and civil laws in order to
ensure that all forms of violence against women are criminalized and prohibited
and, if not, to adopt measures to do so, including measures aimed at preventing
violence against women, protecting, empowering and supporting survivors,
adequately punishing perpetrators and ensuring available remedies for victims;
(c)
To review, evaluate and update their criminal laws in order to ensure that:
(i) Persons who are brought before the courts on judicial matters in respect
of violent crimes or who are convicted of such crimes can be restricted in their
possession and use of firearms and other regulated weapons, within the
framework of their national legal systems;
(ii) Individuals can be prohibited or restrained, within the framework of their
national legal systems, from harassing, intimidating or threatening women;
(iii) The laws on sexual violence adequately protect all persons against sexual
acts that are not based on the consent of both parties;
(iv) The law protects all children against sexual violence, sexual abuse,
commercial sexual exploitation and sexual harassment, including crimes
committed through the use of new information technologies, including the
Internet;
(v) Harmful traditional practices, including female genital mutilation, in all
their forms, are criminalized as serious offences under the law;
(vi) Trafficking in persons, especially women and girls, is criminalized;
(vii) Individuals who are serving in the armed forces or in United Nations
peacekeeping operations are investigated and punished for committing acts of
violence against women;
(d) To continually review, evaluate and update their national laws, policies,
practices and procedures, taking into account all relevant international legal
instruments, in order to effectively respond to violence against women, including to
ensure that such measures complement and are consistent with the criminal justice
system’s response to such violence and that civil law decisions reached in marital
dissolutions, child custody decisions and other family law proceedings for cases
involving domestic violence or child abuse adequately safeguard victims and the
best interests of children;
9