UN Human Rights chief warmly welcomes move towards equal inheritance rights for women in Tunisia

Arabic | French

GENEVA/TUNIS (27 November 2018) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday said the Tunisian Cabinet’s approval of a draft law that provides for equal inheritance rights for women is a significant step towards gender equality in the country, and sets an example for the region.

The Council of Ministers in Tunisia on Friday decided to send a draft law to parliament that would give male and female heirs automatic and full equality, unless there is an explicit objection in the will of the deceased.

“I warmly welcome this significant move to secure equal rights for women and men in Tunisia,” High Commissioner Bachelet said.

“In many ways, Tunisia sets an example for other countries in the region. Over the past few years, we have seen the Tunisian parliament reform a number of laws to bring them in line with the commitment to human rights, equality and non-discrimination enshrined in its Constitution and its ratification of international human rights treaties.”

The High Commissioner cited World Bank data from 2018 indicating that in 36 out of 189 economies, widows are not granted the same inheritance rights as widowers. In 39 economies, daughters are prevented from inheriting the same proportion of assets as sons.

“Unequal inheritance rights can mean that women are left even more vulnerable in an already difficult phase of their lives, following the loss of a loved one,” she said. “It can leave them exposed to dependence on the goodwill of male relatives and limits their ability to make decisions for themselves and their family.”

“To grant women equal inheritance rights is to empower them and to ensure protection of their economic and social rights.”

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women has recommended that States parties provide “explicit constitutional protection for formal and substantive equality and non-discrimination in the public and private spheres, including all matters of personal status, family, marriage and inheritance law, and across all areas of law.”*

ENDS

* Tunisia ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in 1985 – with some reservations. In 2014, it withdrew all its reservations to the provisions of the Covenant.

For more information and media requests, please contact: Rupert Colville - + 41 22 917 9767 / rcolville@ohchr.org or Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org or Liz Throssell - + 41 22 917 9466 / ethrossell@ohchr.org 

2018 is the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN on 10 December 1948. The Universal Declaration – translated into a world record 500 languages – is rooted in the principle that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” It remains relevant to everyone, every day. In honour of the 70thanniversary of this extraordinarily influential document, and to prevent its vital principles from being eroded, we are urging people everywhere to Stand Up for Human Rights: www.standup4humanrights.org.  

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