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Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Some countries provide for different ages for marriage for men and women. As such provisions assume incorrectly that women have a different rate of intellectual development from men, or that their stage of physical and intellectual development at marriage is immaterial, these provisions should be abolished. In other countries, the betrothal of girls or undertakings by family members on their behalf is permitted. Such measures contravene not only the Convention, but also a woman's right freely to choose her partner.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1994
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 26e
- Paragraph text
- [States parties in countries where migrant women work should take all appropriate measures to ensure non-discrimination and the equal rights of women migrant workers, including in their own communities. Measures that may be required include, but are not limited to, the following:] Non-discriminatory family reunification schemes: States parties should ensure that family reunification schemes for migrant workers are not directly or indirectly discriminatory on the basis of sex (article 2 (f));
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Core obligations of States parties under article 2 2010, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The Convention is part of a comprehensive international human rights legal framework directed at ensuring the enjoyment by all of all human rights and at eliminating all forms of discrimination against women on the basis of sex and gender. The Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities contain explicit provisions guaranteeing women equality with men in the enjoyment of the rights they enshrine, while other international human rights treaties, such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, are implicitly grounded in the concept of non-discrimination on the basis of sex and gender. The International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions No. 100 (1951) concerning Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value, No. 111 (1958) concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation and No. 156 (1981) concerning Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment for Men and Women Workers: Workers with Family Responsibilities, the Convention against Discrimination in Education, the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, the Cairo Programme of Action and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action also contribute to an international legal regime of equality for women with men and non-discrimination. Likewise, the obligations of States entered into under regional human rights systems are complementary to the universal human rights framework.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The entitlement of women to equality within the family is universally acknowledged, as evidenced by the related general comments of other human rights treaty bodies: Human Rights Committee general comment No. 28, on equality of rights between men and women (in particular paras. 23-27), and general comment No. 19, on protection of the family, the right to marriage and equality of the spouses; and Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights general comment No. 16, on the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights (in particular para. 27), and general comment No. 20, on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights. Important global political documents such as the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Development Goals also refer to equality in the family as a fundamental principle.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- The Committee has consistently concluded that the elimination of discrimination against women requires States parties to provide for substantive as well as formal equality. Formal equality may be achieved by adopting gender-neutral laws and policies, which on their face treat women and men equally. Substantive equality can be achieved only when the States parties examine the application and effects of laws and policies and ensure that they provide for equality in fact, accounting for women's disadvantage or exclusion. In respect of the economic dimensions of family relations, a substantive equality approach must address matters such as discrimination in education and employment, the compatibility of work requirements and family needs, and the impact of gender stereotypes and gender roles on women's economic capacity.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Asylum procedures of States parties should ensure that women are able to lodge independent asylum applications and be heard separately, even if they are part of a family seeking asylum. States parties should accept that, when the principal claimant is recognized as a refugee, other members of the family should normally also be recognized as refugees ("derivative status"). Just as a child can derive refugee status from the recognition of a parent as a refugee, a parent should be granted derivative status based on the child's refugee status. It is essential that women who are recognized as refugees, whether in their own right or as derivative status holders, be issued with individual documentation in order to prove their status, be protected from refoulement and secure associated rights.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- The presence of plural justice systems can, in itself, limit women's access to justice by perpetuating and reinforcing discriminatory social norms. In many contexts, the availability of multiple avenues for gaining access to justice within plural justice systems notwithstanding, women are unable to effectively exercise a choice of forum. The Committee has observed that, in some States parties in which systems of family and/or personal law based on customs, religion or community norms coexist alongside civil law systems, individual women may not be as familiar with both systems or at liberty to decide which regime applies to them.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- States parties should harmonize personal status and family laws with article 16, in line with general recommendations No. 21 (1994) on equality in marriage and family relations and No. 29 (2013) on the economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution, guarantee that rural women have equal rights in marriage, including to marital property upon divorce or death of their spouse and to maintenance or alimony, and raise awareness of women's rights within marriage in rural areas.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Article 16 provides for equality for women in marriage and family relations, which is something that many rural women do not enjoy owing to discriminatory social norms, practices and laws, plural justice systems where they exist, or the lack of enforcement of relevant laws. Girls from rural communities are at special risk of child and/or forced marriage and early pregnancy. Rural women are also disproportionately affected by polygamy, which severely undermines equality in marriage and family relations.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- When a woman cannot enter into a contract at all, or have access to financial credit, or can do so only with her husband's or a male relative's concurrence or guarantee, she is denied legal autonomy. Any such restriction prevents her from holding property as the sole owner and precludes her from the legal management of her own business or from entering into any other form of contract. Such restrictions seriously limit the woman's ability to provide for herself and her dependants.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 1994
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Women migrant workers may be unable to save or transmit savings safely through regular channels due to isolation (for domestic workers), cumbersome procedures, language barriers, or high transaction costs. This is a great problem since in general they earn less than men. Women may further face familial obligations to remit all their earnings to their families to a degree that may not be expected of men. For example, single women may be expected to support even extended family members at home.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Marriages may be formed through a variety of customs, ceremonies and rituals that may be sanctioned by the State. Civil marriage is sanctioned solely by the State and is registered. Religious marriage is solemnized through the performance of ritual(s) prescribed by religious law. Customary marriage is undertaken by the performance of ritual(s) prescribed by the customs of the parties' community.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Women’s right to a life free from gender-based violence is indivisible from and interdependent on other human rights, including the rights to life, health, liberty and security of the person, equality and equal protection within the family, freedom from torture, cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment, and freedom of expression, movement, participation, assembly and association.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. Article 16.1d
- Paragraph text
- [Article 16] [States parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations and in particular shall ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women:] The same rights and responsibilities as parents, irrespective of their marital status, in matters relating to their children; in all cases the interests of the children shall be paramount;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1994
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- There is general agreement that where there are freely available appropriate measures for the voluntary regulation of fertility, the health, development and well-being of all members of the family improve. Moreover, such services improve the general quality of life and health of the population, and the voluntary regulation of population growth helps preserve the environment and achieve sustainable economic and social development.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 1994
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- States parties are obligated to address the sex- and gender-based discriminatory aspects of all the various forms of family and family relationships. In respect of discrimination against women, they must address patriarchal traditions and attitudes and open family law and policy with the same scrutiny that is given to the "public" aspects of individual and community life.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- An examination of States parties' reports discloses that many countries in their legal systems provide for the rights and responsibilities of married partners by relying on the application of common law principles, religious or customary law, rather than by complying with the principles contained in the Convention. These variations in law and practice relating to marriage have wide-ranging consequences for women, invariably restricting their rights to equal status and responsibility within marriage. Such limitations often result in the husband being accorded the status of head of household and primary decision maker and therefore contravene the provisions of the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 1994
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- In most countries, a significant proportion of the women are single or divorced and many have the sole responsibility to support a family. Any discrimination in the division of property that rests on the premise that the man alone is responsible for the support of the women and children of his family and that he can and will honourably discharge this responsibility is clearly unrealistic. Consequently, any law or custom that grants men a right to a greater share of property at the end of a marriage or de facto relationship, or on the death of a relative, is discriminatory and will have a serious impact on a woman's practical ability to divorce her husband, to support herself or her family and to live in dignity as an independent person.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1994
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The Committee determined in its general recommendation No. 21 that the elimination of discrimination against women in de facto unions is included in State party obligations under article 16 (1). In States parties where such unions exist, and with regard to relationships in which neither partner is married to another person or is in a registered partnership with another person, the Committee recommends that the State party consider the situation of women in these unions, and of the children resulting from them, and take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of their economic rights. In countries where de facto unions are recognized by law, the recommendations contained below apply mutatis mutandis.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- In general recommendation No. 21, paragraph 16, the Committee notes that some State parties "allow marriage to be arranged for payment or preferment", which is a violation of a woman's right to freely choose her spouse. "Payment or preferment" refers to transactions in which cash, goods or livestock are given to the bride or her family by the groom or his family, or when a similar payment is made by the bride or her family to the groom or his family. This practice should not be in any way required in order for a marriage to be valid, and such agreements should not be recognized by the State party as enforceable.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- As stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the family is the basic unit of society. It is a social and legal construct and, in various countries, a religious construct. It also is an economic construct. Family market research has established that family structures, gendered labour division within the family and family laws affect women's economic well-being no less than labour market structures and labour laws. Indeed, women often do not equally enjoy their family's economic wealth and gains, they usually bear the greater cost of the breakdown of the family than men and may be left destitute upon widowhood, especially if they have children and particularly where the State provides little or no economic safety net.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Inequality in the family underlies all other aspects of discrimination against women and is often justified in the name of ideology, tradition and culture. An examination of the reports of States parties reveals that in many States, the rights and responsibilities of married partners are governed by the principles of civil or common law, religious or customary laws and practices, or some combination of such laws and practices that discriminate against women and do not comply with the principles set out in the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Under customary forms of landholding, which may limit individual purchase or transfer and may only be subject to right of use, upon the death of the husband, the wife or wives may be told to leave the land or may be required to marry a brother of the deceased in order to remain on the land. The existence of offspring, or lack of offspring, may be a major factor in such marriage requirements. In some States parties, widows are subject to "property dispossession" or "property grabbing", in which relatives of a deceased husband, claiming customary rights, dispossess the widow and her children from property accumulated during the marriage, including property that is not held according to custom. They remove the widow from the family home and claim all the chattels, then ignore their concomitant customary responsibility to support the widow and children. In some States parties, widows are marginalized or banished to a different community.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- In its 1998 statement on reservations to the Convention, the Committee expressed concern about the number and the nature of reservations. In paragraph 6, it specifically noted that: Articles 2 and 16 are considered by the Committee to be core provisions of the Convention. Although some States parties have withdrawn reservations to those articles, the Committee is particularly concerned at the number and extent of reservations entered to those articles. In respect of article 16, the Committee specifically stated in paragraph 17 that: Neither traditional, religious or cultural practice nor incompatible domestic laws and policies can justify violations of the Convention. The Committee also remains convinced that reservations to article 16, whether lodged for national, traditional, religious or cultural reasons, are incompatible with the Convention and therefore impermissible and should be reviewed and modified or withdrawn.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Some States parties that recognize polygamous marriages, under either religious or customary law, also provide for civil marriage, monogamous by definition. Where civil marriage is not provided for, women in communities that practice polygamy may have no choice but to enter into a marriage that is at least potentially, if not already, polygamous, regardless of their wishes. The Committee concluded in general recommendation No. 21 that polygamy is contrary to the Convention and must be "discouraged and prohibited".
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Registration of marriage protects the rights of spouses with regard to property issues upon dissolution of the marriage by death or divorce. The Convention obligates States parties to establish and fully implement a system of marriage registration. However, many States parties lack either a legal requirement of marriage registration or implementation of existing registration requirements, and in such instances individuals should not be penalized for failure to register, including where lack of education and infrastructure makes registration difficult.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- States parties should establish a legal requirement of marriage registration and conduct effective awareness-raising activities to that effect. They must provide for implementation through education about the requirements and provide infrastructure to make registration accessible to all persons within their jurisdiction. States parties should provide for establishing proof of marriage by means other than registration where circumstances warrant. The State must protect the rights of women in such marriages, regardless of their registration status.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The Committee reaffirms paragraph 14 of its general recommendation No. 21, which states that "polygamous marriage contravenes a woman's right to equality with men, and can have such serious emotional and financial consequences for her and her dependants that such marriages ought to be discouraged and prohibited". Since the adoption of this general recommendation, the Committee has consistently noted with concern the persistence of polygamous marriages in many States parties. In its concluding observations, the Committee has pointed to the grave ramifications of polygamy for the human rights and economic well-being of women and their children, and has consistently called for its abolition.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 61c
- Paragraph text
- [Article 9 (2) of the Convention requires States parties to ensure that women and men have equal rights to confer their nationality to their children. The non-fulfilment by States parties of their obligations under article 9 (2) places children at risk of statelessness. Nationality laws that grant nationality through paternal descent alone infringe article 9 (2) and may render children stateless if:] The father is unknown or not married to the mother at the time of the child's birth;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Men
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- States parties should recognize in their legislation that seeking asylum is not an unlawful act and that women asylum seekers should not be penalized (including by means of detention) for their illegal entry or stay if they present themselves to the authorities without delay and show good cause for their illegal entry or stay. As a general rule, detention of pregnant women and nursing mothers, who both have special needs, should be avoided, while children should not be detained with their mothers unless doing so is the only means of maintaining family unity and is determined to be in the best interest of the child. Alternatives to detention, including release with or without conditions, should be considered in each individual case and especially when separate facilities for women and/or families are not available.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph