E/CN.4/2002/73/Add.2 page 22 the crucial mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1995/6, para. 51). 76. Notwithstanding its general scope, the World Conference on Human Rights similarly recognized the extension of violence to include harmful cultural practices. As stated in the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, “[g]ender-based violence and all forms of … exploitation, including those resulting from cultural prejudice” and religious extremism, are “incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person, and must be eliminated” (A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. I, para. 18, and chap. II, paras. 38 and 48). The Conference stressed the importance of eradicating harmful traditional or customary practices, including female infanticide, and recommended to States that they should take effective measures to combat them. 77. At the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women, violence against women was given a definition allowing the incorporation of harmful traditional practices such as dowry-related violence, female genital mutilation, female infanticide and prenatal sex selection.79 Similarly, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, arguing that many of these practices should be construed as violence against women, rightly observed that such practices “cannot be overlooked nor be justified on the grounds of tradition, culture, or social conformity” (E/CN.4/1995/42, para. 144). That can greatly help to clarify the debate on universality and diversity in human rights from the standpoint of violence against women. It shows that States may not avoid their obligations with respect to the elimination of all forms of violence against women by invoking any custom, tradition or religious consideration, given that such violence encompasses certain cultural practices, whether religion-based or otherwise (E/CN.4/1996/53, paras. 101 and 102). 78. Through the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities a working group was established on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children80 and two regional seminars on the issue were held respectively in Burkina Faso in 1991 and in Sri Lanka in 1994.81 Also, a Special Rapporteur on traditional practices affecting the health of women and children was appointed by the Subcommission specifically to study the matter.82 79. Several other human rights organizations and committees have voiced their concerns about harmful traditional or cultural practices, especially female genital mutilation, which still prevail. That is especially true of the Human Rights Committee in relation to a number of African countries.83 In general, many such practices—the most significant example being female excision—are deeply rooted in the cultures and traditions of peoples and it is not easy to raise the issue of their incompatibility with the observance of human rights (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/14, paras. 21 ff.). While certain practices can offend some societies and even clash with the universal concept of human rights, they can appear as basic moral values to other traditional societies. Consequently, for the success of any action in this connection it is essential to demonstrate the adverse effects of some practices on the health of women and children and their incompatibility with many human rights instruments without giving rise to a debate on their cultural and, more importantly, religious justification or on values that may appear alien or could conflict with the dominant values of traditional societies.84