Table 1: Detailed Timeline of United Nations Gender Equality Mechanisms and Canadian Actions
| Year | United Nations Mechanisms and Canadian Actions |
| 1945 | The Charter of the United Nations, the United Nation’s (UN’s) founding document, establishes equal rights for men and women and prohibits sex-based discrimination. As a founding member of the UN and an original signatory to the Charter, Canada is bound by these obligations. |
| 1948 | The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is adopted by the UN General Assembly, reaffirming equal rights for all persons, regardless of sex. Canadian lawyer John Humphrey is one of the drafters of the Declaration. Canada is one of 48 member states that vote in favour of adopting the UDHR. |
| 1966 | The UN General Assembly adopts the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Canada votes in favour of adoption. These treaties transform the principles of the UDHR into legally binding international obligations and enumerate the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights to which all people are entitled. Together, the UDHR, ICCPR, and ICESCR form the International Bill of Human Rights. |
| 1967 | UN member states adopt the non-binding Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (DEDAW), a human rights proclamation that will eventually lead to the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Canada is one of 111 countries that vote in favour of DEDAW. |
| 1971 | The Government of Canada establishes the position of Minister responsible for the Status of Women. |
| 1976 | Canada ratifies the ICCPR and the ICESCR, committing itself to legally binding non-discrimination requirements under international law for the first time. |
| 1976 | The Government of Canada establishes the Office of the Coordinator, Status of Women, as a departmental agency. |
| 1977 | The Canadian Human Rights Act is adopted by Parliament, protecting people from discrimination, including discrimination based on sex, when they interact with the federal government or federally regulated industries. |
| 1979 | The UN General Assembly adopts CEDAW, which defines discrimination against women and establishes an agenda for national and international action. Canada is one of 130 member states that votes in favour of the convention. |
| 1981 | Canada ratifies CEDAW. |
| 1982 | Inspired by the UDHR, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is enshrined in Canada’s Constitution Act, 1982. It sets out a number of fundamental rights and freedoms to which Canadians are entitled. |
| 1993 | The UN General Assembly adopts the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, defining and establishing goals to prevent violence against women, which had not been explicitly addressed in CEDAW. The Declaration recognizes that while an effective implementation of CEDAW would contribute to eliminating violence against women, the definition and actions in the new declaration are intended to strengthen and complement that process, building on the intent of CEDAW to define and prevent various forms of violence against women. |
| 1993 | The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action is adopted by consensus at the UN World Conference on Human Rights, emphasizing that women’s rights are human rights. The Declaration and Programme of Action are subsequently endorsed by the UN General Assembly. |
| 1995 | The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action are developed and adopted by Canada and 188 other UN member states during the Fourth World Conference on Women. The intent of the Declaration is to promote gender equality and the inclusion of women and girls throughout all areas of society. The Declaration is subsequently endorsed by the UN General Assembly. |
| 1995 | In response to the Beijing Declaration, the Government of Canada develops and adopts the Federal Plan for Gender Equality, committing to implementing Gender-based Analysis throughout the federal government. |
| 2000 | UN member states agree to eight Millennium Development Goals to be achieved by 2015. Millennium Development Goal 3 aims to promote gender equality and empower women. |
| 2000 | The UN Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 1325, urging all member states to increase the participation of women and include gender perspectives in all UN peace and security efforts, and to protect girls and women from gender-based violence. During this time, Canada is a non-permanent voting member of the Security Council. |
| 2000 | The UN General Assembly adopts the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto (CTOC). The referenced protocols are the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (also known as the Palermo Protocol); the Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air; and the Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition. CTOC and its protocols represent the first international agreement to prevent transnational organized crime, human trafficking and terrorism. |
| 2002 | Canada ratifies CTOC. |
| 2005 | In response to the obligations of CTOC, Canada adopts An Act to amend the Criminal Code (trafficking in persons), which prohibits human trafficking within Canada. This amendment to the Criminal Code builds on provisions in the 2002 Immigration and Refugee Act, which established the offence of human trafficking but focused on the context of travel across borders. |
| 2006 | The UN General Assembly unanimously adopts the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), explicitly enshrining the human rights of persons with disabilities. Article 6 acknowledges the additional challenges and barriers that women with disabilities may face and requires states to therefore ensure their rights are protected. When the Convention opens for signature on 30 March 2007, Canada is one of 82 signatories, which represents the highest number of signatories to a UN convention on its opening day. |
| 2007 | The UN General Assembly adopts the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), defining and protecting collective and individual rights for Indigenous persons internationally. Article 22 sets out protections for certain populations, including women and girls. Canada is one of four countries (the others being Australia, New Zealand and the United States) to vote against the Declaration. |
| 2010 | Canada ratifies CRPD. |
| 2015 | Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is adopted by all UN member states as the successor to the Millennium Development Goals. It establishes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets for 2030. SDG 5 aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. |
| 2016 | The Government of Canada fully reverses its status as an objector to UNDRIP and endorses it without qualifications. |
| 2017 | The Parliament of Canada adopts An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code, adding gender identity and expression to the list of prohibited grounds for discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act and extending protections against hate crimes in the Criminal Code to populations distinguished by gender identity or expression. These provisions build on existing protections for sexual orientation, which was included as a prohibited ground for discrimination in 1996 through An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and as an “identifiable group” that may be targeted by hate crime in 2004, through An Act to amend the Criminal Code (hate propaganda). |
| 2021 | The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act receives Royal Assent and immediately comes into force. The legislation provides a framework for the implementation of UNDRIP at the federal level. |
Source: Table prepared by the Library of Parliament.