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消除对妇女歧视委员会审议亚美尼亚妇女的状况（部分翻译）
亚美尼亚接受审议
2016年11月4日
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日内瓦（2016年11月4日）——消除对妇女歧视委员会今日审议了亚美尼亚关于其落实《消除对妇女一切形式歧视公约》条款情况的第五和第六次合并定期报告。
亚美尼亚司法部副部长维根·科恰良（Vigen Kocharyan）在呈交报告时表示，一年前通过的新《宪法》保障了男女平等并禁止基于性别、种族、肤色和其他社会特征的歧视。确保男女平等权利和机会的法律已在2013年通过，而亚美尼亚正在制定反歧视法，将于2017年通过。《选举法》于2015年进行修改，以到2025年将妇女在国家选举机构的参与配额从25%提高到30%。出生前的性别选择是一项严重问题，鉴于每100名女童出生就有115名男童出生，亚美尼亚在2016年禁止了针对胎儿性别进行的选择性人工流产。高度关注打击家庭暴力和支持受害者；2013年《社会援助法》的通过加强了这一工作，用于追责的高效法律机制和防止家庭暴力法的制定符合国际标准，已于今年开始。
在随后的对话中，委员会专家称赞了建立立法、制度和政策框架以改善妇女处境的努力，包括在新《宪法》中肯定性别平等以及在2013年通过《性别平等法》。专家十分担忧社会上仇视同性恋的氛围，这妨碍了妇女实现事实上的平等，专家还敦促亚美尼亚在反歧视法草案中加入对歧视妇女的广泛定义，并禁止基于性取向和性别认同的歧视妇女行为。对性别根深蒂固的陈规定型和负面的传统惯例阻止了妇女的声音被听到：妇女占总人口的52%，其中有58%的妇女持有高等学位，然而她们在各个领域和层面参与决策的程度却依然很低。另一项尤为值得担忧的问题是将堕胎用作家庭计划的手段，尤其是选择孩子的性别：亚美尼亚针对胎儿性别进行的选择性人工流产率居世界第二位。
科恰良先生在总结发言中感谢了委员会专家并表示，这一举措将为未来保护亚美尼亚妇女权利的工作提供支持。
委员会主席林阳子（Yoko Hayashi）称赞了亚美尼亚的努力并鼓励其解决委员会提出的不同建议，以在该缔约国更综合地落实《公约》。
亚美尼亚代表团包括司法部、外交部、教育与科学部、政府官员社会事务部、卫生部、劳动与社会问题部以及亚美尼亚常驻联合国日内瓦办事处代表团的代表们。
委员会将于11月7日（周一）下午4点公开复会，与孟加拉国、爱沙尼亚及荷兰民间社会组织进行会面，上述国家的报告将于下周进行审议。
Reports
The combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Armenia can be read here: CEDAW/C/ARM/5-6.
Presentation of the Reports
VIGEN KOCHARYAN, Deputy Minister of Justice of Armenia, said that despite difficulties it was facing, Armenia continued to take actions to address discrimination against women which still existed in the society, and to ensure gender equality. Armenia had adopted a new Constitution in December 2015 which guaranteed equality between women and men and prohibited discrimination on grounds of gender, race, skin colour and other social characteristics. The law on ensuring equal rights and opportunities between women and men in political, social, economic, cultural and other spheres of life had been adopted in May 2013; it contained the concept of gender equality and had laid legal grounds for equal rights of women and men. Armenia had adopted the National Strategy on Human Rights Protection in 2012, and on its basis had developed the Programme of Action for Human Rights Protection 2014-2016. It had mandated the Ministry of Justice to conduct a study and develop the law on the fight against discrimination; the drafting of the law was ongoing and it was expected that it would be adopted in 2017. The National Council on Equal Rights and Opportunities between Women and Men had been established in 2014 as a national mechanism for coordinating actions aiming to achieve gender equality, and was chaired by the Prime Minister.
The new Electoral Code adopted in 2015 contained clear mechanisms for the protection of the rights of women in the political sphere and would ensure more active participation of women in decision-making processes. It had increased the quotas for the participation of women in State elected bodies and Government bodies to 30 per cent by 2025. Sex selection before birth was a serious issue in Armenia, with 115 boys born for every 100 girls. The amendments to the Law on Reproductive Health and Rights adopted in 2016 had prohibited sex-selective abortions. The Gender Policy 2017-2021 aimed to address gender stereotypes and harmful traditional practices, including though the integration of gender equality themes and issues in school curricula. Progress was being made in the participation of women in the judiciary, and today women held 25 per cent of judicial positions.
Armenia accorded high attention to the fight against domestic violence. The new Law on Social Assistance had been adopted in 2013 and it contained definitions of violence and domestic violence, and identification of victims of violence. The financing of the programmes on support to victims of violence would start in 2017. The Programme Action on Human Rights Protection stipulated the introduction of effective legal mechanisms for liability and prevention of domestic violence in accordance with international standards, and the Inter-ministerial Working Group had been established in 2016 to develop draft law. Armenia had completely overhauled its system for the fight against trafficking in persons and had adopted in December 2014 the new law on identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and exploitation. The Commission on Identifying Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings had been set up and the legal regulations had been developed which identified responsibilities in victims’ identification, support and protection, and defined new forms of support to victims.
Questions from the Experts
A Committee Expert welcomed the efforts to improve the legislative framework and in particular the affirmation of gender equality in the new Constitution and the adoption in 2013 of the Law on Gender Equality.
Noting the fierce opposition to the enactment of the law on gender equality by some parts of the society, the Expert asked about measures being taken to implement the law and to ensure de facto equality of women.
Was the Convention part of the mandatory training of civil servants and members of the legal profession?
The definition of discrimination was narrower than contained in Article 1 of the Convention – would the new law on the fight against discrimination enlarge the definition in line with the Convention, and also include sexual orientation as prohibited ground for discrimination?
What attention was being given to the specific needs of women in the conflict-affected areas of Nagorny Karabakh? What were the intentions concerning the development of a comprehensive national action plan for the implementation of the United Nations Security Council’s resolution 1325 and subsequent resolutions on women, peace and security? What attention was being given to ensuring the systematic participation of women in peace negotiations?
Responses by the Delegation
Responding, the delegation said that mechanisms for the implementation of the Law on Gender Equality had been put in place; Armenia recognized that there were difficulties in its implementation, including the lack of budgetary resources. Despite the resistance of the society, the Government was committed to the implementation of this law and addressing gender stereotypes which constrained the acceptance of the law.
In this, the role of education was crucial and Armenia was working on changing the education system to ensure that gender stereotypes among the youth were eliminated. Secondly, the Government was working with civil servants and legal professionals with the aim of eliminating gender stereotypes.
The new Law on Preventing and Combatting Discrimination would cover violence on the basis of sexual orientation, and would also provide for a wider definition of discrimination which would be in line with most advanced standards in this sphere.
Armenia had the real tool for the fight for gender equality: the Law on Gender Equality, which was adopted in 2013. Prior to the adoption of the law, Armenia had developed the Gender Policy Concept Paper in 2010, on the basis of which two programmes had been developed: the strategic programme for gender policy and the programme for the fight against gender-based violence 2011-2015. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was the core document which guided the elaboration of those programmes, which were being implemented through annual national action plans.
With regard to the United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, the delegation said that an inter-ministerial Working Group had been set up to consider the resolution, assess the situation and prepare a proposal for its implementation. Only then would a decision be taken on the adoption of the National Action Plan.
The conflict unleashed by Azerbaijan against the people of Nagorny Karabakh in 1991 and 1992 had led to the flight of 400,000 people who sought refuge in Armenia; a new wave of displacement was the result of the recent aggressive actions of Azerbaijan in this area. The conflict in Syria which ravaged the country had also caused the flight of millions and Armenia had raised the importance of the protection of cultural and religious minorities there. Armenia had received 20,000 refugees from Syria and was doing its utmost to ensure their economic, social and cultural integration.
Following up on the responses, the Experts asked about the legal order of the Convention and the procedures applied in case of conflict between its provisions and the provisions of the domestic laws. More information was asked about complaints for discrimination and action taken to address them, and about access of women to justice in general. There was a homophobic atmosphere in Armenia, Experts noted, and asked how stereotypes about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons were being addressed, and whether the law against discrimination would specifically prohibit discrimination against lesbian, bisexual and trans women.
With regard to the draft Discrimination Act, the delegate said that the work had started a year ago, it was progressing and discussions were ongoing. It was very difficult to comment now on the exact content of the law and exact wording.
On the questions on the legal order, a delegate explained that in Armenia, international treaties had primacy over domestic law in case of a conflict. The new Constitution had clearly established that human rights must be interpreted in line with the relevant international bodies that worked on human rights protection. This Committee was one such body and its interpretations would be a part of the legal system in the country.
Women in Armenia experienced problems in accessing justice and free legal aid. The Office of the Public Defender employed around 80 public defence lawyers financed by the State, who provided legal services to individuals who could not afford a lawyer. One of the main human rights priorities contained in the Programme of Action on Human Rights Protection 2014-2016 was the reform of the system of free legal aid, which the Government would address within the next six months.
Negotiations on the Nagorny Karabakh conflict continued at the highest level; no women were involved in the process at the moment. The new Programme of Action for Human Rights Protection 2017-2020 was being elaborated and it would continue the fight against gender stereotypes.
Questions from the Experts
A Committee Expert raised issues on the national machinery for gender equality and asked whether the National Council on Equal Rights and Opportunities between Women and Men had permanent staff, a clear mandate and continued financing.
Armenia had made commendable efforts in establishing legal, institutional and policy frameworks to promote gender equality; however, gaps remained, especially in the political representation of women. Although women represented 52 per cent of the population and 58 of those with higher education, their participation in decision-making remained low and their voices were not being heard.
What efforts were being made to increase the understanding of temporary special measures and their application in all sectors where women remained disadvantaged? Would temporary special measures be applied in sectors where vertical segregation persisted, such as in education and in employment, and would they be used to address the situation of vulnerable and marginalized populations?
Responses by the Delegation
The national gender mechanism had been introduced in 2014 to address gender policies at the highest levels, and that was why the National Commission had been created at the level of a Ministry in order to ensure that all decisions on gender equality were directly applied by each ministry without going through an intermediate body. The Commission was very high-level and was composed of Ministers and representatives of their offices who were real decision-makers in key areas of education, judiciary, social assistance, and others. The decisions they made gave impetus to new policies and activities of each ministry. Civil society was not left outside of the decision-making process; they were operating at the level at which they were most effective. In addition, there was a Working Group at the level of the Prime Minister which brought together many high-level officials; it cooperated with international organizations and it issued directives to ministries. At the moment, this machinery was sufficient.
Changing people’s attitudes was the hardest thing to do, and that was why Armenia implemented and would continue to implement educational and awareness raising programmes to address stereotypes. The programme on gender policy and the programme on gender-based violence would continue to be implemented, in conjunction with new programmes that would be put in place.
Questions from the Experts
A Committee Expert asked about concrete measures to address entrenched attitudes on the role of women and men and to eliminate gender stereotypes and negative practices in rural areas. Did the campaigns in school also include parents and how were teachers equipped and trained to create a gender sensitive environment in classrooms? Were textbooks revised to remove all references to gender stereotypes?
What were the results of the evaluation of the programmes on the fight against gender-based violence which concluded last year and what were future plans? What measures were being taken to address persistent negative attitudes towards women among civil servants, judicial professionals and law officers, which limited access to justice and sometimes hampered investigations and prosecutions?
The Expert welcomed the drafting of the law on domestic violence and asked about the timetable for its adoption, whether it included civil and criminal sanctions for domestic violence, if it criminalized marital rape, and how the implementation of the law would be monitored? Would the new law be in line with the Istanbul Convention which Armenia intended to sign by the end of 2017?
What other measures were being applied to crack down on femicide and gender-based violence?
Prostitution was not allowed in Armenia; sanctions were directed at prostitutes while no measures were being taken to address the demand side. What measures were in place to address factors driving women into prostitution, to support women who wished to leave, and to address the asymmetry in legal responsibility for prostitution?
The Expert commended the extensive activities in the framework on preventing and fighting human trafficking and supporting the victims, and in particular the adoption of the law on identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and exploitation, which had brought the legislation in line with the Palermo Protocol and the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings.
What were the future plans to improve efforts to identify victims, strengthen their protection and train the officials and the media on the subject?
Responses by the Delegation
Answering the questions on the elimination of gender stereotypes in rural areas, the delegation said that Armenia employed activities on three axes. First, it promoted the election of women to the leadership and decision-making bodies; today, 17 women were leaders of rural communities who also served as role models to other communities. Every year, the Prime Minister identified the best woman leader and gave her an award, while measures were taken to support communities with women leaders by providing financial subsidies and development projects. A second set of measures addressed the economic position of women, and a programme had been set up to support women in starting up businesses.
Permanent Gender Commissions had been created in regions, which had representatives in the communities and this created a vertical structure through which information and initiatives were passed.
The Law on Social Assistance covered people in difficult situations, including victims of domestic violence. At the moment there were no State shelters and support to victims was being provided in collaboration with civil society. A request had been put in to the Ministry of Finance for the setting up of a shelter, which would be run by civil society organizations.
There was a shelter for victims of trafficking in persons which was partially State funded, while the Commission on Identifying Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings had been set up. Armenia would start the work on developing guidelines on victims’ identification which would be disseminated to the regions, with the aim of developing capacities to identify victims as early as possible.
In 2015, a review of several school curricula had been conducted with a gender sensitive approach; the report with recommendations was not yet officially published but it had been transferred to the authorities in charge of developing school curricula.
Armenia would sign the Istanbul Convention by the end of 2017 and was doing its utmost to ensure that the new law on domestic violence was aligned with the Convention as much as possible. The aim of the law was to set up a protection mechanism for victims of violence. There were regular consultations with civil society which were also invited to submit their proposals. The law also stipulated the creation of State shelters and supporting those run by civil society organizations.
Victims of human trafficking identified since January 2016 were mainly victims of forced labour, and there were only a few cases of sexual exploitation.
The approach to prostitution was indeed unilateral: persons engaged in prostitution were fined and not the buyers of services, but administrative sanctions were rarely applied, said the delegate.
Questions from the Experts
A Committee Expert welcomed the amendments to the Electoral Code which aimed at 30 per cent representation of women by 2025, and noted that despite of the current quota of 25 per cent, very few women had been elected in Parliament and the gender balance persisted in the Government. Not one of the mayors was a woman, and more worryingly, there were no female candidates for mayors. Armenia was unable to reach the target under the Millennium Development Goal 3 and the concern was about the capacity to transform de iure into de facto equality.
Which measures would be introduced to support the career advancement of women, introduce positive discrimination to increase the representation of women in local governments, and employ the media in promoting positive female role models in government and businesses?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegate agreed that the law on quotas had not led to the expected results during the last Parliamentary elections. The analysis had shown that the key factor was not the legislation, as the compliance with the law by political parties was in form only. For example, they put on the electoral lists women who were not in any way fit to serve as members of Parliament, or had their elected female candidates resign and replaced them with the next candidate from the list, usually a male. The amendments to the Electoral Law had increased quotas but also introduced a provision stipulating that if an elected woman resigned, she would be replaced by the next female candidate on the list.
The delegation agreed that there was a problem with the representation of women in higher levels of the judiciary and the Government, in spite of all the efforts to raise awareness. Under the Programme of Action for Human Rights Protection 2017-2021, a study would be undertaken into the reasons of women’s passivity or reluctance in taking part in processes which would increase their representation and participation.
There were four women ambassadors, representing 10 per cent of all ambassadors, and women were widely represented in the middle levels of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The number of female applicants to the Diplomatic School had increased and it would hopefully lead to a greater number of women ambassadors.
Questions from the Experts
A Committee Expert recommended the extension of the Healthy Lifestyle Programme into university levels, and also said that it should be taught by health staff and not psychical education teachers, and should be void from gender stereotypes. There was a concern about the low representation of women in the decision-making structures in the education sector, despite the fact that 70 per cent of the education sector employees were women.
What measures were in place to increase the understanding of gender stereotypes by students and teachers, and to promote the entry of women into non-traditional fields of study?
There was concern about the high drop-out rates among girls, particularly minority and Yazidi girls, of whom only 25 per cent completed obligatory education. What studies were available about the role of early marriages and teenage pregnancy in school drop-out rates?
The Committee was very concerned about the lack of progress in addressing specific problems that women experienced in the labour market and the very high proportion of unemployment among women – they made up 73.5 per cent of the unemployed.
Would Armenia amend article 178.2 of the Labour Code to fully reflect the principle of equal remuneration of women and men for the work of equal value? What were the intentions concerning the inclusion of a clear definition of sexual harassment in the legislation and how would it ensure that the Labour Inspectorate could effectively deal with complaints of sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination in the workplace? What measures would be taken to alternatively reduce the number of jobs prohibited to women – there were 400 such jobs and they largely reflected gender stereotypes?
A Committee Expert was particularly concerned about the use of abortion as a family planning measure and the delegation was asked what was being done to increase knowledge about modern contraceptives, to ensure access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, particularly in rural areas, and to address sex-selective abortion as Armenia had the second-highest sex-selective rate in the world.
Replies by the Delegation
Responding to the questions and comments made by the Committee Experts, the delegation said that the principle of equal pay for equal work was being implemented in the public sector, where pay differences were due to experience and not gender. In the private sector, the implementation of the principle was more problematic and the challenge at the moment was that the full functioning of the Labour Inspectorate was hampered by the ongoing reform.
The delegation explained that the figure of 73.5 per cent of unemployed were women in fact referred to administrative unemployment; in reality, there was hidden unemployment of men and hidden employment of women; 55 per cent of all informal work was done by women who were not officially calculated as workers as they did not pay income tax, while 40 per cent of women’s employment was agriculture. This meant that women were employed but did not figure as such in official figures.
The creation of a complaint mechanism for sexual harassment at work was a priority for the Government. The issue needed to be considered not only as a labour issue but as a criminal offence, and this would be addressed in the next reform of the Criminal Code.
The 2014 amendments to the Law on General Education had established the criteria for teaching in State schools, and teachers had been given three years to obtain the bachelor degree in education in order to remain in service. In 2011, a new Code on Standards in Education System had been adopted and it had introduced gender education elements in some subjects, and this process was continuing.
Compulsory education had been extended to 12 years. The amendment to the law would enter into force in June 2017 and it was hoped that it would contribute to the reduction of the school drop-out rate which stood at 10 per cent at the secondary level.
Armenia had implemented all recommendations issued by the World Health Organization concerning sexual and reproductive health. Every pregnant woman received the medical care she needed, including in rural areas, and data showed that 99 per cent of pregnant women received anti-natal care, and 96 per cent had six or more health visits. Abortions were a problem and efforts were being taken to ensure access to specialist services in order to preserve the health and reproductive health of women.
In spite of the fact that almost all women knew at least one modern method of contraception, only 28 per cent of women used modern contraceptive methods. A lot was being done to address sex-selective abortions; civil society organizations funded by the European Union worked in communities to create networks, address causes of preference for boys and raise awareness.
Sexual harassment was not included in the Criminal Code; workers could submit a complaint to the court, but there was no such case to date.
Questions from the Experts
A Committee Expert raised the issue of poverty among women, particularly rural women, and asked how this question was included in the projects implemented in the domain of social protection.
Some of the factors that affected the economic situation of rural women included the conflict in Nagorny Karabakh, poor infrastructure, and migration of men - how were those being addressed? What was the situation of pensions and financial support for rural women, especially disabled and pregnant women?
The delegation was asked about the state of play concerning the drafting of a bill on disabilities, access of women with disabilities to sexual and reproductive health services, and measures to address discrimination on the grounds of disability.
Responses by the Delegation
Women who were formally employed received social protection and support as other employed persons; women belonging to vulnerable categories received social payments of that category, regardless of their employment status.
The Family Code established the age of marriage at 18 for men and women; marriage was permitted at the age of 17 in some circumstances. A proposal had been made to establish a system of benefits for children with disabilities and their families. When a child was born, the mother received a one-off payment which aimed to help the mother and the child at that phase of life.
The delegation confirmed that applications for asylum were never refused on the grounds of race, religion, gender or ethnic origin.
The draft law on disabilities had been submitted to the Parliament yesterday, and it covered broad aspects of disabilities, discussed rights and capacities of persons with disabilities, but did not mention specific groups of persons with disabilities, nor did it discuss details of the annual programme of work for persons with disabilities or the budget for the programme.
Social protection of persons in the rural areas and informal workers was a very important and sensitive issue in Armenia, and in many other countries in the world, and had not been resolved with the recent pension reforms.
Questions from the Experts
A Committee Expert commended Armenia for entrenching the principle of equality of all before the law in its Constitution but was concerned about the provision in the Law on Administration which allowed grounds for application of unequal approach by administrative bodies.
Another area of inequality before the law involved lack of awareness among the law enforcement officers who dealt with victims of domestic violence. There were reports of sexist behaviour by the police in such cases. State measures to combat violence against women were insufficient – what were considerations concerning free legal aid to women who were victims of violence?
It seemed that divorce rates were decreasing in Armenia, which was now one of the 10 countries in the world with the lowest rate of divorce. This however was not evidence of harmony in the family, especially as there was high stigma attached to divorce and a negative stereotype of single divorced women, which all contributed to women staying in unsatisfactory marriages, including in violent ones.
It was commendable that the legal age of marriage had been raised to 18 for women and men, but it was still possible to marry at the age of 16 or 17 with the permission of parents or guardians.
Responses by the Delegation
In response to the issues raised by the Experts, the delegation said that the wording in the Law on Administration had been designed to take into account a possibility of adopting special measures, and there were no cases in which the provision had been used to the detriment of women. With regard to the proposal to review the language in the Law on Gender Equality, there was no intention to review the law at the present time.
A department on combatting domestic violence had been set up in the police, and was headed by a woman. Some police officers still behaved improperly; all reports or complaints to this effect were taken seriously and adequately addressed.
Statistics had shown that 25 per cent of children were born outside of marriage, but in fact they were born outside of civil marriage; the Government was encouraging new families married in church to register their marriages in the civil office.
Concluding Remarks
VIGEN KOCHARYAN, Deputy Minister of Justice of Armenia, thanked the Committee Experts and said that this exercise would support the future work to protect the rights of women in Armenia.
YOKO HAYASHI, Committee Chairperson, commended Armenia for its efforts and encouraged it to address various recommendations which the Committee would issue with the purpose of the more comprehensive implementation of the Convention throughout the State party.
亚美尼亚司法部副部长维根·科恰良（Vigen Kocharyan）在呈交报告时表示，一年前通过的新《宪法》保障了男女平等并禁止基于性别、种族、肤色和其他社会特征的歧视。确保男女平等权利和机会的法律已在2013年通过，而亚美尼亚正在制定反歧视法，将于2017年通过。《选举法》于2015年进行修改，以到2025年将妇女在国家选举机构的参与配额从25%提高到30%。出生前的性别选择是一项严重问题，鉴于每100名女童出生就有115名男童出生，亚美尼亚在2016年禁止了针对胎儿性别进行的选择性人工流产。高度关注打击家庭暴力和支持受害者；2013年《社会援助法》的通过加强了这一工作，用于追责的高效法律机制和防止家庭暴力法的制定符合国际标准，已于今年开始。
在随后的对话中，委员会专家称赞了建立立法、制度和政策框架以改善妇女处境的努力，包括在新《宪法》中肯定性别平等以及在2013年通过《性别平等法》。专家十分担忧社会上仇视同性恋的氛围，这妨碍了妇女实现事实上的平等，专家还敦促亚美尼亚在反歧视法草案中加入对歧视妇女的广泛定义，并禁止基于性取向和性别认同的歧视妇女行为。对性别根深蒂固的陈规定型和负面的传统惯例阻止了妇女的声音被听到：妇女占总人口的52%，其中有58%的妇女持有高等学位，然而她们在各个领域和层面参与决策的程度却依然很低。另一项尤为值得担忧的问题是将堕胎用作家庭计划的手段，尤其是选择孩子的性别：亚美尼亚针对胎儿性别进行的选择性人工流产率居世界第二位。
科恰良先生在总结发言中感谢了委员会专家并表示，这一举措将为未来保护亚美尼亚妇女权利的工作提供支持。
委员会主席林阳子（Yoko Hayashi）称赞了亚美尼亚的努力并鼓励其解决委员会提出的不同建议，以在该缔约国更综合地落实《公约》。
亚美尼亚代表团包括司法部、外交部、教育与科学部、政府官员社会事务部、卫生部、劳动与社会问题部以及亚美尼亚常驻联合国日内瓦办事处代表团的代表们。
委员会将于11月7日（周一）下午4点公开复会，与孟加拉国、爱沙尼亚及荷兰民间社会组织进行会面，上述国家的报告将于下周进行审议。
Reports
The combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of Armenia can be read here: CEDAW/C/ARM/5-6.
Presentation of the Reports
VIGEN KOCHARYAN, Deputy Minister of Justice of Armenia, said that despite difficulties it was facing, Armenia continued to take actions to address discrimination against women which still existed in the society, and to ensure gender equality. Armenia had adopted a new Constitution in December 2015 which guaranteed equality between women and men and prohibited discrimination on grounds of gender, race, skin colour and other social characteristics. The law on ensuring equal rights and opportunities between women and men in political, social, economic, cultural and other spheres of life had been adopted in May 2013; it contained the concept of gender equality and had laid legal grounds for equal rights of women and men. Armenia had adopted the National Strategy on Human Rights Protection in 2012, and on its basis had developed the Programme of Action for Human Rights Protection 2014-2016. It had mandated the Ministry of Justice to conduct a study and develop the law on the fight against discrimination; the drafting of the law was ongoing and it was expected that it would be adopted in 2017. The National Council on Equal Rights and Opportunities between Women and Men had been established in 2014 as a national mechanism for coordinating actions aiming to achieve gender equality, and was chaired by the Prime Minister.
The new Electoral Code adopted in 2015 contained clear mechanisms for the protection of the rights of women in the political sphere and would ensure more active participation of women in decision-making processes. It had increased the quotas for the participation of women in State elected bodies and Government bodies to 30 per cent by 2025. Sex selection before birth was a serious issue in Armenia, with 115 boys born for every 100 girls. The amendments to the Law on Reproductive Health and Rights adopted in 2016 had prohibited sex-selective abortions. The Gender Policy 2017-2021 aimed to address gender stereotypes and harmful traditional practices, including though the integration of gender equality themes and issues in school curricula. Progress was being made in the participation of women in the judiciary, and today women held 25 per cent of judicial positions.
Armenia accorded high attention to the fight against domestic violence. The new Law on Social Assistance had been adopted in 2013 and it contained definitions of violence and domestic violence, and identification of victims of violence. The financing of the programmes on support to victims of violence would start in 2017. The Programme Action on Human Rights Protection stipulated the introduction of effective legal mechanisms for liability and prevention of domestic violence in accordance with international standards, and the Inter-ministerial Working Group had been established in 2016 to develop draft law. Armenia had completely overhauled its system for the fight against trafficking in persons and had adopted in December 2014 the new law on identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and exploitation. The Commission on Identifying Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings had been set up and the legal regulations had been developed which identified responsibilities in victims’ identification, support and protection, and defined new forms of support to victims.
Questions from the Experts
A Committee Expert welcomed the efforts to improve the legislative framework and in particular the affirmation of gender equality in the new Constitution and the adoption in 2013 of the Law on Gender Equality.
Noting the fierce opposition to the enactment of the law on gender equality by some parts of the society, the Expert asked about measures being taken to implement the law and to ensure de facto equality of women.
Was the Convention part of the mandatory training of civil servants and members of the legal profession?
The definition of discrimination was narrower than contained in Article 1 of the Convention – would the new law on the fight against discrimination enlarge the definition in line with the Convention, and also include sexual orientation as prohibited ground for discrimination?
What attention was being given to the specific needs of women in the conflict-affected areas of Nagorny Karabakh? What were the intentions concerning the development of a comprehensive national action plan for the implementation of the United Nations Security Council’s resolution 1325 and subsequent resolutions on women, peace and security? What attention was being given to ensuring the systematic participation of women in peace negotiations?
Responses by the Delegation
Responding, the delegation said that mechanisms for the implementation of the Law on Gender Equality had been put in place; Armenia recognized that there were difficulties in its implementation, including the lack of budgetary resources. Despite the resistance of the society, the Government was committed to the implementation of this law and addressing gender stereotypes which constrained the acceptance of the law.
In this, the role of education was crucial and Armenia was working on changing the education system to ensure that gender stereotypes among the youth were eliminated. Secondly, the Government was working with civil servants and legal professionals with the aim of eliminating gender stereotypes.
The new Law on Preventing and Combatting Discrimination would cover violence on the basis of sexual orientation, and would also provide for a wider definition of discrimination which would be in line with most advanced standards in this sphere.
Armenia had the real tool for the fight for gender equality: the Law on Gender Equality, which was adopted in 2013. Prior to the adoption of the law, Armenia had developed the Gender Policy Concept Paper in 2010, on the basis of which two programmes had been developed: the strategic programme for gender policy and the programme for the fight against gender-based violence 2011-2015. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was the core document which guided the elaboration of those programmes, which were being implemented through annual national action plans.
With regard to the United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, the delegation said that an inter-ministerial Working Group had been set up to consider the resolution, assess the situation and prepare a proposal for its implementation. Only then would a decision be taken on the adoption of the National Action Plan.
The conflict unleashed by Azerbaijan against the people of Nagorny Karabakh in 1991 and 1992 had led to the flight of 400,000 people who sought refuge in Armenia; a new wave of displacement was the result of the recent aggressive actions of Azerbaijan in this area. The conflict in Syria which ravaged the country had also caused the flight of millions and Armenia had raised the importance of the protection of cultural and religious minorities there. Armenia had received 20,000 refugees from Syria and was doing its utmost to ensure their economic, social and cultural integration.
Following up on the responses, the Experts asked about the legal order of the Convention and the procedures applied in case of conflict between its provisions and the provisions of the domestic laws. More information was asked about complaints for discrimination and action taken to address them, and about access of women to justice in general. There was a homophobic atmosphere in Armenia, Experts noted, and asked how stereotypes about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons were being addressed, and whether the law against discrimination would specifically prohibit discrimination against lesbian, bisexual and trans women.
With regard to the draft Discrimination Act, the delegate said that the work had started a year ago, it was progressing and discussions were ongoing. It was very difficult to comment now on the exact content of the law and exact wording.
On the questions on the legal order, a delegate explained that in Armenia, international treaties had primacy over domestic law in case of a conflict. The new Constitution had clearly established that human rights must be interpreted in line with the relevant international bodies that worked on human rights protection. This Committee was one such body and its interpretations would be a part of the legal system in the country.
Women in Armenia experienced problems in accessing justice and free legal aid. The Office of the Public Defender employed around 80 public defence lawyers financed by the State, who provided legal services to individuals who could not afford a lawyer. One of the main human rights priorities contained in the Programme of Action on Human Rights Protection 2014-2016 was the reform of the system of free legal aid, which the Government would address within the next six months.
Negotiations on the Nagorny Karabakh conflict continued at the highest level; no women were involved in the process at the moment. The new Programme of Action for Human Rights Protection 2017-2020 was being elaborated and it would continue the fight against gender stereotypes.
Questions from the Experts
A Committee Expert raised issues on the national machinery for gender equality and asked whether the National Council on Equal Rights and Opportunities between Women and Men had permanent staff, a clear mandate and continued financing.
Armenia had made commendable efforts in establishing legal, institutional and policy frameworks to promote gender equality; however, gaps remained, especially in the political representation of women. Although women represented 52 per cent of the population and 58 of those with higher education, their participation in decision-making remained low and their voices were not being heard.
What efforts were being made to increase the understanding of temporary special measures and their application in all sectors where women remained disadvantaged? Would temporary special measures be applied in sectors where vertical segregation persisted, such as in education and in employment, and would they be used to address the situation of vulnerable and marginalized populations?
Responses by the Delegation
The national gender mechanism had been introduced in 2014 to address gender policies at the highest levels, and that was why the National Commission had been created at the level of a Ministry in order to ensure that all decisions on gender equality were directly applied by each ministry without going through an intermediate body. The Commission was very high-level and was composed of Ministers and representatives of their offices who were real decision-makers in key areas of education, judiciary, social assistance, and others. The decisions they made gave impetus to new policies and activities of each ministry. Civil society was not left outside of the decision-making process; they were operating at the level at which they were most effective. In addition, there was a Working Group at the level of the Prime Minister which brought together many high-level officials; it cooperated with international organizations and it issued directives to ministries. At the moment, this machinery was sufficient.
Changing people’s attitudes was the hardest thing to do, and that was why Armenia implemented and would continue to implement educational and awareness raising programmes to address stereotypes. The programme on gender policy and the programme on gender-based violence would continue to be implemented, in conjunction with new programmes that would be put in place.
Questions from the Experts
A Committee Expert asked about concrete measures to address entrenched attitudes on the role of women and men and to eliminate gender stereotypes and negative practices in rural areas. Did the campaigns in school also include parents and how were teachers equipped and trained to create a gender sensitive environment in classrooms? Were textbooks revised to remove all references to gender stereotypes?
What were the results of the evaluation of the programmes on the fight against gender-based violence which concluded last year and what were future plans? What measures were being taken to address persistent negative attitudes towards women among civil servants, judicial professionals and law officers, which limited access to justice and sometimes hampered investigations and prosecutions?
The Expert welcomed the drafting of the law on domestic violence and asked about the timetable for its adoption, whether it included civil and criminal sanctions for domestic violence, if it criminalized marital rape, and how the implementation of the law would be monitored? Would the new law be in line with the Istanbul Convention which Armenia intended to sign by the end of 2017?
What other measures were being applied to crack down on femicide and gender-based violence?
Prostitution was not allowed in Armenia; sanctions were directed at prostitutes while no measures were being taken to address the demand side. What measures were in place to address factors driving women into prostitution, to support women who wished to leave, and to address the asymmetry in legal responsibility for prostitution?
The Expert commended the extensive activities in the framework on preventing and fighting human trafficking and supporting the victims, and in particular the adoption of the law on identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and exploitation, which had brought the legislation in line with the Palermo Protocol and the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings.
What were the future plans to improve efforts to identify victims, strengthen their protection and train the officials and the media on the subject?
Responses by the Delegation
Answering the questions on the elimination of gender stereotypes in rural areas, the delegation said that Armenia employed activities on three axes. First, it promoted the election of women to the leadership and decision-making bodies; today, 17 women were leaders of rural communities who also served as role models to other communities. Every year, the Prime Minister identified the best woman leader and gave her an award, while measures were taken to support communities with women leaders by providing financial subsidies and development projects. A second set of measures addressed the economic position of women, and a programme had been set up to support women in starting up businesses.
Permanent Gender Commissions had been created in regions, which had representatives in the communities and this created a vertical structure through which information and initiatives were passed.
The Law on Social Assistance covered people in difficult situations, including victims of domestic violence. At the moment there were no State shelters and support to victims was being provided in collaboration with civil society. A request had been put in to the Ministry of Finance for the setting up of a shelter, which would be run by civil society organizations.
There was a shelter for victims of trafficking in persons which was partially State funded, while the Commission on Identifying Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings had been set up. Armenia would start the work on developing guidelines on victims’ identification which would be disseminated to the regions, with the aim of developing capacities to identify victims as early as possible.
In 2015, a review of several school curricula had been conducted with a gender sensitive approach; the report with recommendations was not yet officially published but it had been transferred to the authorities in charge of developing school curricula.
Armenia would sign the Istanbul Convention by the end of 2017 and was doing its utmost to ensure that the new law on domestic violence was aligned with the Convention as much as possible. The aim of the law was to set up a protection mechanism for victims of violence. There were regular consultations with civil society which were also invited to submit their proposals. The law also stipulated the creation of State shelters and supporting those run by civil society organizations.
Victims of human trafficking identified since January 2016 were mainly victims of forced labour, and there were only a few cases of sexual exploitation.
The approach to prostitution was indeed unilateral: persons engaged in prostitution were fined and not the buyers of services, but administrative sanctions were rarely applied, said the delegate.
Questions from the Experts
A Committee Expert welcomed the amendments to the Electoral Code which aimed at 30 per cent representation of women by 2025, and noted that despite of the current quota of 25 per cent, very few women had been elected in Parliament and the gender balance persisted in the Government. Not one of the mayors was a woman, and more worryingly, there were no female candidates for mayors. Armenia was unable to reach the target under the Millennium Development Goal 3 and the concern was about the capacity to transform de iure into de facto equality.
Which measures would be introduced to support the career advancement of women, introduce positive discrimination to increase the representation of women in local governments, and employ the media in promoting positive female role models in government and businesses?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegate agreed that the law on quotas had not led to the expected results during the last Parliamentary elections. The analysis had shown that the key factor was not the legislation, as the compliance with the law by political parties was in form only. For example, they put on the electoral lists women who were not in any way fit to serve as members of Parliament, or had their elected female candidates resign and replaced them with the next candidate from the list, usually a male. The amendments to the Electoral Law had increased quotas but also introduced a provision stipulating that if an elected woman resigned, she would be replaced by the next female candidate on the list.
The delegation agreed that there was a problem with the representation of women in higher levels of the judiciary and the Government, in spite of all the efforts to raise awareness. Under the Programme of Action for Human Rights Protection 2017-2021, a study would be undertaken into the reasons of women’s passivity or reluctance in taking part in processes which would increase their representation and participation.
There were four women ambassadors, representing 10 per cent of all ambassadors, and women were widely represented in the middle levels of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The number of female applicants to the Diplomatic School had increased and it would hopefully lead to a greater number of women ambassadors.
Questions from the Experts
A Committee Expert recommended the extension of the Healthy Lifestyle Programme into university levels, and also said that it should be taught by health staff and not psychical education teachers, and should be void from gender stereotypes. There was a concern about the low representation of women in the decision-making structures in the education sector, despite the fact that 70 per cent of the education sector employees were women.
What measures were in place to increase the understanding of gender stereotypes by students and teachers, and to promote the entry of women into non-traditional fields of study?
There was concern about the high drop-out rates among girls, particularly minority and Yazidi girls, of whom only 25 per cent completed obligatory education. What studies were available about the role of early marriages and teenage pregnancy in school drop-out rates?
The Committee was very concerned about the lack of progress in addressing specific problems that women experienced in the labour market and the very high proportion of unemployment among women – they made up 73.5 per cent of the unemployed.
Would Armenia amend article 178.2 of the Labour Code to fully reflect the principle of equal remuneration of women and men for the work of equal value? What were the intentions concerning the inclusion of a clear definition of sexual harassment in the legislation and how would it ensure that the Labour Inspectorate could effectively deal with complaints of sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination in the workplace? What measures would be taken to alternatively reduce the number of jobs prohibited to women – there were 400 such jobs and they largely reflected gender stereotypes?
A Committee Expert was particularly concerned about the use of abortion as a family planning measure and the delegation was asked what was being done to increase knowledge about modern contraceptives, to ensure access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, particularly in rural areas, and to address sex-selective abortion as Armenia had the second-highest sex-selective rate in the world.
Replies by the Delegation
Responding to the questions and comments made by the Committee Experts, the delegation said that the principle of equal pay for equal work was being implemented in the public sector, where pay differences were due to experience and not gender. In the private sector, the implementation of the principle was more problematic and the challenge at the moment was that the full functioning of the Labour Inspectorate was hampered by the ongoing reform.
The delegation explained that the figure of 73.5 per cent of unemployed were women in fact referred to administrative unemployment; in reality, there was hidden unemployment of men and hidden employment of women; 55 per cent of all informal work was done by women who were not officially calculated as workers as they did not pay income tax, while 40 per cent of women’s employment was agriculture. This meant that women were employed but did not figure as such in official figures.
The creation of a complaint mechanism for sexual harassment at work was a priority for the Government. The issue needed to be considered not only as a labour issue but as a criminal offence, and this would be addressed in the next reform of the Criminal Code.
The 2014 amendments to the Law on General Education had established the criteria for teaching in State schools, and teachers had been given three years to obtain the bachelor degree in education in order to remain in service. In 2011, a new Code on Standards in Education System had been adopted and it had introduced gender education elements in some subjects, and this process was continuing.
Compulsory education had been extended to 12 years. The amendment to the law would enter into force in June 2017 and it was hoped that it would contribute to the reduction of the school drop-out rate which stood at 10 per cent at the secondary level.
Armenia had implemented all recommendations issued by the World Health Organization concerning sexual and reproductive health. Every pregnant woman received the medical care she needed, including in rural areas, and data showed that 99 per cent of pregnant women received anti-natal care, and 96 per cent had six or more health visits. Abortions were a problem and efforts were being taken to ensure access to specialist services in order to preserve the health and reproductive health of women.
In spite of the fact that almost all women knew at least one modern method of contraception, only 28 per cent of women used modern contraceptive methods. A lot was being done to address sex-selective abortions; civil society organizations funded by the European Union worked in communities to create networks, address causes of preference for boys and raise awareness.
Sexual harassment was not included in the Criminal Code; workers could submit a complaint to the court, but there was no such case to date.
Questions from the Experts
A Committee Expert raised the issue of poverty among women, particularly rural women, and asked how this question was included in the projects implemented in the domain of social protection.
Some of the factors that affected the economic situation of rural women included the conflict in Nagorny Karabakh, poor infrastructure, and migration of men - how were those being addressed? What was the situation of pensions and financial support for rural women, especially disabled and pregnant women?
The delegation was asked about the state of play concerning the drafting of a bill on disabilities, access of women with disabilities to sexual and reproductive health services, and measures to address discrimination on the grounds of disability.
Responses by the Delegation
Women who were formally employed received social protection and support as other employed persons; women belonging to vulnerable categories received social payments of that category, regardless of their employment status.
The Family Code established the age of marriage at 18 for men and women; marriage was permitted at the age of 17 in some circumstances. A proposal had been made to establish a system of benefits for children with disabilities and their families. When a child was born, the mother received a one-off payment which aimed to help the mother and the child at that phase of life.
The delegation confirmed that applications for asylum were never refused on the grounds of race, religion, gender or ethnic origin.
The draft law on disabilities had been submitted to the Parliament yesterday, and it covered broad aspects of disabilities, discussed rights and capacities of persons with disabilities, but did not mention specific groups of persons with disabilities, nor did it discuss details of the annual programme of work for persons with disabilities or the budget for the programme.
Social protection of persons in the rural areas and informal workers was a very important and sensitive issue in Armenia, and in many other countries in the world, and had not been resolved with the recent pension reforms.
Questions from the Experts
A Committee Expert commended Armenia for entrenching the principle of equality of all before the law in its Constitution but was concerned about the provision in the Law on Administration which allowed grounds for application of unequal approach by administrative bodies.
Another area of inequality before the law involved lack of awareness among the law enforcement officers who dealt with victims of domestic violence. There were reports of sexist behaviour by the police in such cases. State measures to combat violence against women were insufficient – what were considerations concerning free legal aid to women who were victims of violence?
It seemed that divorce rates were decreasing in Armenia, which was now one of the 10 countries in the world with the lowest rate of divorce. This however was not evidence of harmony in the family, especially as there was high stigma attached to divorce and a negative stereotype of single divorced women, which all contributed to women staying in unsatisfactory marriages, including in violent ones.
It was commendable that the legal age of marriage had been raised to 18 for women and men, but it was still possible to marry at the age of 16 or 17 with the permission of parents or guardians.
Responses by the Delegation
In response to the issues raised by the Experts, the delegation said that the wording in the Law on Administration had been designed to take into account a possibility of adopting special measures, and there were no cases in which the provision had been used to the detriment of women. With regard to the proposal to review the language in the Law on Gender Equality, there was no intention to review the law at the present time.
A department on combatting domestic violence had been set up in the police, and was headed by a woman. Some police officers still behaved improperly; all reports or complaints to this effect were taken seriously and adequately addressed.
Statistics had shown that 25 per cent of children were born outside of marriage, but in fact they were born outside of civil marriage; the Government was encouraging new families married in church to register their marriages in the civil office.
Concluding Remarks
VIGEN KOCHARYAN, Deputy Minister of Justice of Armenia, thanked the Committee Experts and said that this exercise would support the future work to protect the rights of women in Armenia.
YOKO HAYASHI, Committee Chairperson, commended Armenia for its efforts and encouraged it to address various recommendations which the Committee would issue with the purpose of the more comprehensive implementation of the Convention throughout the State party.
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