The international community has, through legally binding treaties as well as through declarations, resolutions and other statements, recognized that sexual violence is a human rights issue and has committed to preventing and addressing the consequences of sexual violence.

This section provides links to the key international and regional documents which address sexual violence.

• Status of Ratifications
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Relevant articles include 10 & 12
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Relevant articles include 6,7,20,23 & 26.
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Relevant articles include 1,5,6& 16
• Convention on the Rights of the Child, Relevant articles include 19,27,32,34,35,36,37, 38 & 39
• Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography
• Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minmum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages
• Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, Relevant articles include 1 & 17
• Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
• Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
• Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime

• Statute of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
• Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
• Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
• Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Relevant articles include 3 & 27
• Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions (Non-International Armed Conflicts), Relevant Articles include 4

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Relevant Articles include 1,2,3,4,5 & 16
• United Nations Millennium Declaration
• Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women
• Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS
• Beijing Declaration - Fourth World Conference on Women
• Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
• Programme of Action - International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD)
• Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development
• Elimination of Violence Against Women, Commission on Human Rights Resolution: 2004/46

• Status of Ratification
• African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
• African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
• Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa
• SADC Declaration on the Prevention and Eradication of Violence Against Women and Children

• Inter-American Convention on The Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women "Convention of Belem do Para"
• Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture
• American Convention on Human Rights

• Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundemental Freedoms

• SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution