Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women concludes fifty-first session

ROUND-UP

6 March 2012

Adopts Concluding Observations on Reports of Congo, Grenada, Norway, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Algeria, and Jordan

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on 2 March concluded its fifty-first session and adopted its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Congo, Grenada, Norway, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Algeria, and Jordan on how these countries implement the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The Committee’s concluding observations and recommendations can be found on the Committee’s website http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/cedaws51.htm

Concerning the sixth periodic report of Congo, the Committee appreciated the efforts made by the State party for the empowerment of women, despite the existence of a difficult context, especially with regard to women’s rights. It recommended that the State party incorporate in its legislation a clear definition of all forms of discrimination against women, covering both direct and indirect discrimination, in accordance with articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. It also urged Congo to significantly increase the financial resources of the national machinery for the empowerment of women and allocate a higher percentage of the national budget and the international funding to gender issues.

With regard to the fifth periodic report of Grenada, the Committee appreciated the efforts being made by the State party for the empowerment of women and elimination of discrimination against women, including the adoption of legislative measures on national domestic violence and sexual abuse. The Committee urged Grenada to take steps to achieve substantive equality between men and women, including through the adoption of temporary special measures. The Committee also recommended that Grenada apply a comprehensive and results-oriented approach to its national policies for gender equality, and that it adopted in this regard an action plan with specific objectives and indicators.

With regard to the eighth periodic report of Norway, the Committee welcomed legislation which gave the Convention precedence over domestic laws, new action plans on gender equality and successful implementation of rules that required the boards of both publicly and privately owned companies to have a gender balance of at least 40-60 per cent. The Committee expressed concern about media-driven hyper-sexualised and commodified representations of girls and women and called for a study on the possible impact of over-sexualized media representation of girls and women on the increasing levels of gender based violence against women. It also expressed concern about the high prevalence of violence against women in Norway, in particular, domestic and sexual violence, including rape and, in some communities marital rape, the high level of acquittals and lenient sentences imposed on perpetrators and urged Norway to take comprehensive measures to prevent violence against women and girls.

With regard to the seventh periodic report of Brazil, the Committee welcomed the election of Ms. Dilma Roussef as the first female president of Brazil, in October 2010 and appreciated the appointment of 10 women ministers. The Committee recommended that the State party take further steps to expand the understanding of the concept of temporary special measures and the use of these measures as part of a necessary strategy towards the achievement of women’s substantive equality, in particular for women with disabilities, Afro-descendent, indigenous and rural women, in fields such as political participation, health, education and employment.

With regard to the combined second to fifth periodic reports of Zimbabwe the Committee noted with appreciation new legislation and other efforts to promote gender equality and protect women’s rights, in particular the 30 per cent quotas for women working in tourism and in mining. The Committee expressed serious concern about the persistence of harmful traditional practices which included polygamy, bride price (lobola), and in certain regions, virginity testing and witch hunting and urged Zimbabwe to vigorously address harmful practice by expanding public education programmes and by effectively enforcing the prohibition of such practices, in particular in rural areas. The Committee commended the State party for its progress in the education of girls and women since independence in 1980, but was concerned about the high dropout rate for girls due to early marriage, teenage pregnancy and poverty, especially in rural areas, and urged the State party to raise awareness of the importance of education as the basis for the empowerment of women.

With regard to the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Algeria the Committee welcomed new legislation on the transfer of nationality, promotion of the political rights of women and laws establishing the criminal offences of sexual harassment and trafficking in persons. The Committee remained concerned about the absence of a specific law on violence against women and of a definition of rape and at the low participation of women in employment, particularly in traditional male occupations. Algeria was urged to adopt legislation on violence against women, including domestic violence, and to define rape, including marital rape and other sex crimes, as sexual offences committed in the absence of one’s consent, and to eliminate overprotective restrictions on types of work regarded as hazardous for women.

With regard to the fifth periodic report of Jordan, the Committee welcomed the adoption of several legislative measures aimed at eliminating discrimination against women and at strengthening the protection of women, including migrant and domestic workers, against domestic violence, forced labour, slavery, sexual exploitation or so-called honour crimes. The Committee noted with concern Jordan’s reluctance to lift the remaining reservations to the Convention, and recommended that the Government ensure the primacy of the Convention over national laws. It encouraged Jordan to consider ratifying the human rights treaties to which it was not yet a party.

In her closing statement, Silvia Pimentel, Chairperson of the Committee, summed up the work accomplished by the Committee during the session, saying that they considered the reports of the seven States parties and held meetings with States parties, entities from the United Nations system and both international and national non-governmental organizations. The Committee met with the Independent Expert on cultural rights and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation. It also met with a representative of United Nations Women and discussed the need for long-term planning and coordination. The Committee furthermore met with representatives of the Human Rights Treaties Division to discuss treaty body strengthening and with the Chief of Programme Support and Management Services to discuss travel related issues.

Ms. Pimentel said that in conjunction with the Open Society Justice Initiative, the Committee held a public briefing on the implementation of its recommendations. The Committee also met with the Global Campaign for Education. The Committee continued with its discussion on a General Comment on the dissolution of marriage and its economic consequences.

The next session of the Committee will be held in New York from 9 to 27 July during which it will consider the reports of Bahamas, Bulgaria, Guyana, Indonesia, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand and Samoa.

Concluding Observations and Recommendations

Congo

Concerning the sixth periodic report of Congo, the Committee appreciated the efforts made by the State party for the empowerment of women, despite the existence of a difficult context, especially with regard to women’s rights. It welcomed the establishment of the Ministry for the Advancement of Women and the Integration for Women in Development. It also welcomed the development in 2008 of a national gender policy and its 2009-2019 Plan of Action. The Committee noted with appreciation the adoption of the electoral law 005/2007 of 25 May 2007 establishing a 15 percent quota for women in National Assembly and Senate and a 20 percent quota for women in local elections.

The Committee recommended that the State party incorporate in its legislation a clear definition of all forms of discrimination against women, covering both direct and indirect discrimination, in accordance with articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. It urged the State party to significantly increase, without delay, the financial resources allocated to the commission in charge of reviewing discriminatory provisions and provide it with adequate human and technical resources, including by seeking technical support from the international community, and that it enact, without delay, a comprehensive law on violence against women and a law on trafficking. Congo should facilitate women’s access to justice including by providing free legal aid to women without sufficient means, implement legal literacy programmes and provide systematic training to judges, lawyers, prosecutors, the police and non-governmental organizations on the application of legislation prohibiting discrimination, and take measures to sensitize the public on the importance of addressing violations of women’s rights through judicial rather than traditional justice mechanisms, with the aim to abandon the use of discriminatory practices and to ensure that victims hade access to effective remedies and reparations.

The Committee urged Congo to significantly increase the financial resources of the national machinery for the empowerment of women and allocate a higher percentage of the national budget and the international funding to gender issues. It recommended that Congo put in place, without delay, a comprehensive strategy with result-oriented approach to eliminate harmful traditional practices and stereotypes that discriminate against women; adopt within a clear timeframe a comprehensive law addressing violence against women, which prohibited and introduced adequate sanctions for domestic violence and sexual harassment and criminalized female genital mutilation and marital rape; and take comprehensive measures to provide medical and psychological support to women victims of sexual violence committed during the conflicts, and to establish counselling centres for women to address their traumatic experiences, specifically with regard to sexual violence; and adopt a comprehensive law on trafficking. The Committed urged Congo to take, without delay, concrete actions to protect indigenous women and girls from all forms of violence, establish mechanisms for redress and rehabilitation and take steps to investigate, prosecute and punish all perpetrators of violence against them.

Grenada

With regard to the combined initial to fifth periodic reports of Grenada, the Committee appreciated the efforts being made by the State party for the empowerment of women and elimination of discrimination against women despite the fact that many of the problems faced by Grenada originated from deeply rooted traditional and cultural norms as well as resulting from poverty and other economic challenges. Reforms commended included new laws criminalizing domestic violence, sexual abuse towards children and discrimination on the grounds of sex in the fields of employment and education. The Committee also commended the ratification by Grenada of five new international human rights treaties.

The Committee was concerned that provisions on non-discrimination in the legislation did not did not encompass both direct and indirect discrimination and did not cover discrimination by public and private actors. It urged Grenada to enact comprehensive national legislation to ensure the principle of equality between women and men with specific provisions prohibiting discrimination against women, to incorporate the Convention into its new Constitution and domestic legal system, and to amend gender-based discriminatory provisions in its legislation and administrative regulations. The Committee was concerned at the absence of a complaints mechanism for women to report cases of discrimination, and recommended that Grenada established a National Human Rights Institution. The Committee was deeply concerned at the persistence of stereotypes and traditional practices, which hampered women’s equal participation in all avenues of life, and called on the State party to take sustained measures to eliminate such negative stereotypes.

Grenada was recommended to apply a comprehensive and results-oriented approach to its national policies for gender equality, and that it adopt a specific action plan. Recalling its General Recommendation No. 19 (1992) on violence against women, the Committee urged Grenada to ensure the strict application of the law on domestic violence. The Committee also recommended that Grenada amend its laws on the property of married women and marriage, in order to align them with the provisions of the Convention. Grenada was also recommended to organise parental education to promote shared responsibility of both parents in the care and maintenance of the child, and also to enable single mothers to have sufficient means to support their children.

Norway

With regard to the eighth periodic report of Norway, the Committee welcomes the progress achieved since the adoption of its last concluding observations in 2007, including the incorporation of the Convention and its Optional Protocol into the Human Rights Act, which gave the Convention precedence over domestic legislation, adoption of the first National Action Plan on Gender Equality 2011 – 2014, adoption of the Action Plan to Promote Equality and Prevent Ethnic Discrimination 2009 – 2012, which contained measures to include minorities into the labour market, amendment of the Penal Code to recognize any purchase of sexual activity or a sexual act from adults as a criminal offence, and successful implementation of the rules that required boards of both publicly and privately owned companies to have a gender balance of at least 40-60 per cent of each gender.

The Committee regretted the decrease in women represented at local government level after the 2011 Municipal election (4,115 women and 6,670 men), compared to the outcome of the 2007 elections, and expressed concern about the low numbers of women professors and judges, and at the inadequate representation of women with minority backgrounds in public life, as well as reports on workplace discrimination against women on account of pregnancy and child-birth. The Committee recommended that Norway consider adoption of temporary special measures or permanent measures to achieve substantive equality of women and men in all areas and to encourage the participation of women of minority background in public and political life. The omnipresence of media-driven hyper-sexualised and commodified representations of girls and women was a further concern, which could potentially lead to gender discrimination of a more violent nature. Norway was urged to conduct a study on the possible impact of over-sexualized media representation of girls and women on the increasing levels of gender based violence against women, and to use innovative measures to enhance a positive and non-stereotypical portrayal of women through the media and educational system.

While it welcomed the new Plan of Action to Combat Domestic Violence the Committee expressed concern about the high prevalence of violence against women in Norway, in particular, domestic and sexual violence, including rape and, in some communities marital rape, the high level of acquittals and lenient sentences imposed on perpetrators. Regarding domestic violence, Norway was urged to take comprehensive measures to prevent violence against women and girls, including marital rape, to ensure that perpetrators were prosecuted and punished commensurate with the gravity of their crimes and to raise awareness among women that marital rape was criminalized; also to adopt a legal definition of rape in the Penal Code that had lack of consent at its centre and to strengthen the capacity of shelters and crisis centres for women victims of violence, including to women with disabilities.

Brazil

With regard to the seventh periodic report of Brazil, the Committee welcomed the election of Ms. Dilma Roussef as the first female president of Brazil, in October 2010 and appreciated the appointment of 10 women ministers. It noted with appreciation the sustained engagement of the State party in full participatory processes to define its priorities towards the advancement of women’s rights and gender equality, such as the Third National Conference for Policies for Women, held on December 2011. The Committee also noted the role of the Supreme Court in guaranteeing the rights of men and women in the implementation of the Maria da Penha Law and on its decision on equal rights and obligations for same-sex couples.

The Committee noted with concern that article 7 of the Constitution discriminated against domestic workers as it granted to this category of workers only 9 out of 34 rights enshrined therein and granted to other categories of workers. It recommended that Brazil expedite the work of the Special Commission entrusted to prepare an opinion of the Constitutional amendment proposal, adopt a regulatory legislative framework to protect the rights of domestic workers, in particular Afro-descendent women; and take appropriate measures to ensure substantive equality to women domestic workers as well as measures aimed at eliminating the multiple forms of discrimination against Afro-descendent women domestic workers.

The Committee recommended that the State party take further steps to expand the understanding of the concept of temporary special measures and the use of these measures as part of a necessary strategy towards the achievement of women’s substantive equality, in particular for women with disabilities, Afro-descendent, indigenous and rural women, in fields such as political participation, health, education and employment. On violence against women, the Committee urged Brazil, to provide systematic training to judges, prosecutors and lawyers on women’s rights and violence against women as well as on the Maria da Penha Law, strengthen its judicial system, and facilitate women’s access to justice by extending both the number of courts and expertise of judges dealing with domestic and family violence cases. The Committee also recommended that Brazil take steps to overcome the inequalities in the access to education for girls and women based on their race, ethnicity and socio-economic background with the view to ensure them de facto equal access to all levels of education. It made recommendations on addressing causes of maternal mortality, participation by rural women, women in detention, and data collection, among others.

Zimbabwe

With regard to the combined second to fifth periodic reports of Zimbabwe the Committee welcomed progress achieved since the adoption of its previous concluding observations in 1998, including the National Gender Policy, the Domestic Violence Act, the Gender Implementation Strategy, prohibition of sexual harassment, and amendments to the Labour Act which prohibit the demand of sexual favours in return for recruitment for employment, promotion or any other related activities. The Committee noted with appreciation other efforts to promote gender equality and protect women’s rights, in particular the 30 per cent quotas for women working in tourism and in mining. It welcomed Zimbabwe’s ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography on 14 February 2012.

The Committee expressed serious concern about the persistence of harmful traditional practices, patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes regarding the roles and identities of women and men in all spheres of life, as well as the State party’s limited efforts to address such discriminatory practices which included polygamy, bride price (lobola), and in certain regions, virginity testing and witch hunting. The Committee urged Zimbabwe to establish a comprehensive strategy to modify or eliminate patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes that discriminated against women and to vigorously address harmful practice by expanding public education programmes and by effectively enforcing the prohibition of such practices, in particular in rural areas.

The high prevalence of violence against women in Zimbabwe, including politically motivated violence and acts of violence perpetrated by state and non-state actors against lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, was another cause for concern. The Committee commended the State party for its progress in the education of girls and women since independence in 1980, as reflected in the parity in elementary school and near parity at lower secondary level, but was concerned about the high dropout rate for girls due to early marriage, teenage pregnancy and poverty, especially in rural areas.
To prevent and address violence against women and girls, the Committee recommended comprehensive measures be put in place, as well as mandatory training for judges, prosecutors and police officers on dealing with violence against women and women victims of violence, as well as measures to encourage women to report incidents of domestic and sexual violence. The Committee urged the State party to raise awareness of the importance of education as the basis for the empowerment of women, to address barriers to women’s and girls’ education and to provide safe educational environment free from discrimination and violence.

Algeria

With regard to the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Algeria the Committee noted with appreciation the State party’s amendment of the Nationality Code giving Algerian women the right to transfer their nationality to their children born to a foreign father. It welcomed new legislative measures aimed at eliminating discrimination against women, including a Constitutional amendment which reaffirmed the state’s commitment to promote the political rights of women by increasing their representation in elected bodies, and legislation prohibiting a wali from compelling a minor person under his guardianship to contract marriage, and the criminal offences of sexual harassment and trafficking in persons. The Committee noted with appreciation the establishment of the National Council for the Family and Women, the National Strategy for the Promotion and Integration of Women and programmes to strengthen women’s participation in political decision-making and to improve women’s access to employment.

The Committee remained concerned about the absence of a specific law on violence against women, including domestic violence, and of the absence in the Criminal Code of a definition of rape, including marital rape and other sexual crimes. The Committee urged Algeria to adopt legislation on violence against women, including domestic violence, and to define rape, including marital rape and other sex crimes, as sexual offences committed in the absence of one’s consent.

The Committee also expressed concern at the low participation of women in employment, particularly in traditional male occupations, and about reports that some refugee women and girls had suffered sexual and gender-based violence and abuse, and that those victims lacked access to shelters, medical and psychological services and justice. Algeria was encouraged to amend the Labour Law to ensure protection against sexual harassment in the workplace and to eliminate overprotective restrictions on types of work regarded as hazardous for women. Algeria was recommended to ensure that refugees and asylum-seekers, in particular women and girls, were not penalized for illegal entry and to ensure that refugee women and girls were not subjected to sexual and gender-based violence and abuse and had access to shelters, medical and psychological services and justice.

Jordan

With regard to the fifth periodic report of Jordan, the Committee welcomed the adoption of several legislative measures aimed at eliminating discrimination against women and at strengthening the protection of women, including migrant and domestic workers, against domestic violence, forced labour, slavery, sexual exploitation or so-called honour crimes. The Committee also noted with satisfaction the ratification by Jordan of a number of international instruments relating to women’s human rights.

The Committee noted with concern Jordan’s reluctance to lift the remaining reservations to the Convention, and recommended the Government ensure the primacy of the Convention over national laws. It encouraged Jordan to consider ratification of the human rights treaties to which it was not yet party, and recommended that the Government reform its legislation in order to allow women to fully enjoy freedom of movement, and to abrogate discrimination in the Nationality Law. The Committee recommended that the Government ensured information on the Convention and recommendations made by the Committee were disseminated and were included, together with information on discrimination and violence against women, in the training of law enforcement officers. The Committee was deeply concerned that women were not or poorly included in political and public life and that the prohibition of discrimination on gender basis was not incorporated in the amended Constitution. The Committee recommended Jordan adopt comprehensive legislation on gender equality, and prohibit discrimination against women and define trafficking in persons in law. It urged the Government adopt a comprehensive strategy against patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes that discriminated against women

The Committee expressed concern about the lack of clarity regarding complaints mechanisms and requested the State party to facilitate effective access to justice, including by providing women victims of discrimination or violence with necessary legal assistance. It recommended that the Government collected data on discrimination and violence against women, including on trafficking, and on sentences imposed on perpetrators. Jordan was recommended to provide the Jordanian National Commission for Women with necessary resources to enable it to carry out its role aiding the empowerment of women. Regarding political participation of women, Jordan was encouraged to enlarge the use of temporary special measures. The Committee expressed serious concern about the persistence of harmful practices and traditions, including polygamy, patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes, regarding the roles and identities of women and men in all spheres of life. Jordan was urged to amend Ministry of Education regulations to allow young women to access compulsory and free education without discrimination. Jordan was recommended to repeal legislation prohibiting abortion in cases of rape and incest, and to take measures for the empowerment and protection of women living in rural areas, migrant workers, women with disabilities, refuges and stateless women.

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