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Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- In humanitarian crises, the pre-existing vulnerabilities of girls that are rooted in discriminatory traditions and customs persist and lead to negative coping mechanisms. Children seeking to survive are often compelled to exchange sexual services, and girls are even forced to marry for food, shelter, protection or safe passage. According to the Secretary-General, approximately 90 per cent of women and girls affected by conflict in north-east Nigeria do not have access to basic services. As a result, they are forced to exchange sex for food and other essential supplies, and the child or forced marriages of girls to older men are on the rise, as a supposed protection mechanism and source of income for desperate families.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 31c
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties implement the following protective measures:] Address factors that heighten the risk to women of exposure to serious forms of gender-based violence, such as the ready accessibility and availability of firearms, including their export, a high crime rate and pervasive impunity, which may increase in situations of armed conflict or heightened insecurity. Efforts should be undertaken to control the availability and accessibility of acid and other substances used to attack women;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 31a (iii)
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties implement the following protective measures:] Adopt and implement effective measures to protect and assist women complainants of and witnesses to gender-based violence before, during and after legal proceedings, including by: Ensuring access to financial assistance, gratis or low-cost, high-quality legal aid, medical, psychosocial and counselling services, education, affordable housing, land, childcare, training and employment opportunities for women who are victims/survivors and their family members. Health-care services should be responsive to trauma and include timely and comprehensive mental, sexual and reproductive health services, including emergency contraception and post-exposure prophylaxis against HIV. States should provide specialized women’s support services, such as gratis helplines operating around the clock and sufficient numbers of safe and adequately equipped crisis, support and referral centres and adequate shelters for women, their children and other family members, as required;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In addition, children, especially those who are unaccompanied or live in conflict and humanitarian crisis areas, may be sold or trafficked to serve as combatants in armed conflict. Children are also used as human bombs and human shields. For example, in Iraq, ISIL and other extremist groups traffic boys and young men, including members of the Yazidi minority, into armed conflict, radicalize them to commit terrorist acts, using deception, death threats or the offer of money and women as rewards. In Nigeria, between 2014 and 2016, a total of 90 children (70 girls and 20 boys) were used by Boko Haram in 56 suicide bombings. Children are also compelled to work as porters, cooks, guards and messengers, or are forced to commit crimes, such as looting and physical and sexual violence. In addition, boys and girls in those situations are often sexually abused.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- By the time children arrive at their destination, they have acquired debts with exploiters who take away their documents and use threats or violence to subdue them into labour exploitation. For example, Iranian and Afghani children who have crossed the English Channel find themselves pressured to send money to their families, while also repaying substantial debts related to their journeys. This heavy financial burden drives children to accept working conditions that constitute worst forms of child labour, including trafficking. At destination, many are trafficked for forced and exploitative labour in farms and factories and on fishing boats. For example, in France and the United Kingdom, young men are exploited in cannabis farms, while others are allegedly exploited in the agriculture sector in Europe.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteurs recommend to call upon States that have not yet done so to ratify and implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child, its Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and its Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court and the relevant International Labour Organization instruments.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- In general recommendation No. 28 (2010) on the core obligations of States parties under article 2 of the Convention, it is indicated that the obligations of States are to respect, protect and fulfil women’s rights to non-discrimination and the enjoyment of de jure and de facto equality. The scope of those obligations in relation to gender-based violence against women occurring in particular contexts is addressed in general recommendation No. 28 and other general recommendations, including general recommendation No. 26 (2008) on women migrant workers; general recommendation No. 27 (2010) on older women and the protection of their human rights; general recommendation No. 30 (2013) on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations; joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women/general comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (2014) on harmful practices; general recommendation No. 32 (2014) on the gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women; general recommendation No. 33 (2015) on women’s access to justice; and general recommendation No. 34 (2016) on the rights of rural women. Further details on the relevant elements of the general recommendations referred to herein may be found in those recommendations.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Gender-based violence affects women throughout their life cycle and, accordingly, references to women in the present document include girls. Such violence takes multiple forms, including acts or omissions intended or likely to cause or result in death or physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering to women, threats of such acts, harassment, coercion and arbitrary deprivation of liberty. Gender-based violence against women is affected and often exacerbated by cultural, economic, ideological, technological, political, religious, social and environmental factors, as evidenced, among other things, in the contexts of displacement, migration, the increased globalization of economic activities, including global supply chains, the extractive and offshoring industry, militarization, foreign occupation, armed conflict, violent extremism and terrorism. Gender-based violence against women is also affected by political, economic and social crises, civil unrest, humanitarian emergencies, natural disasters and the destruction or degradation of natural resources. Harmful practices and crimes against women human rights defenders, politicians, activists or journalists are also forms of gender-based violence against women affected by such cultural, ideological and political factors.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- At the regional and national levels, children on the move are also vulnerable to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation. There are also reports of missing children, some of whom fall into the hands of criminals to continue their journey to reach relatives or acquaintances in another country. In Africa, nearly 3 million children were refugees by the end of 2015. As of mid-2016, 390,000 Nigerian children had been displaced to the neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Chad and the Niger, and a further 1.1 million children had been internally displaced owing to the conflict in the Lake Chad basin. Children have been subjected to abhorrent abuses, mainly at the hands of Boko Haram, which has reportedly recruited and used more than 8,000 children since 2009, abducted at least 4,000 girls, boys and young women, and inflicted sexual violence on more than 7,000 girls and women, often leading to pregnancies. Since the beginning of the conflict in South Sudan, in 2013, children have constituted 66 per cent of the 1.3 million refugees, and the majority of the 1.9 million internally displaced persons. A direct consequence of the war has been the recruitment and use of more than 17,000 children, with a further 3,090 children abducted and 1,130 children sexually assaulted by armed forces and armed groups, among others.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- In general recommendation No. 28 and general recommendation No. 33, the Committee confirmed that discrimination against women was inextricably linked to other factors that affected their lives. The Committee, in its jurisprudence, has highlighted the fact that such factors include women’s ethnicity/race, indigenous or minority status, colour, socioeconomic status and/or caste, language, religion or belief, political opinion, national origin, marital status, maternity, parental status, age, urban or rural location, health status, disability, property ownership, being lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex, illiteracy, seeking asylum, being a refugee, internally displaced or stateless, widowhood, migration status, heading households, living with HIV/AIDS, being deprived of liberty, and being in prostitution, as well as trafficking in women, situations of armed conflict, geographical remoteness and the stigmatization of women who fight for their rights, including human rights defenders. Accordingly, because women experience varying and intersecting forms of discrimination, which have an aggravating negative impact, the Committee acknowledges that gender-based violence may affect some women to different degrees, or in different ways, meaning that appropriate legal and policy responses are needed.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- The present joint study by the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children and the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children addresses the vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking, and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vulnerabilities of children to sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis 2017, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- International law prohibits and ensures the protection of children from sale, trafficking and other forms of exploitation in situations of conflict and humanitarian crisis. This includes the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and on the involvement of children in armed conflict, under which States parties are required to prevent, prohibit and criminalize the exploitation and abuse of children. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights also provides for the protection of children from economic and social exploitation. Furthermore, the latter treaty, along with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, enshrines the need for marriage to be based on free and full consent.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- [Right to participate in and benefit from rural development (art. 14, para. 2 (a))] Rural women must be regarded as drivers of sustainable development. Notwithstanding the vital role of rural women in agriculture and rural development, policies and initiatives are often not gender-responsive and rural women often do not benefit from enabling frameworks. The rights of rural women are also often not taken into consideration in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration efforts in conflict and post-conflict environments.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 54f
- Paragraph text
- [To ensure the active, free, effective, meaningful and informed participation of rural women in political and public life, and at all levels of decision-making, States parties should implement general recommendations Nos. 23 and 25, and specifically:] In the case of States parties in conflict or post-conflict situations, ensure the participation of rural women as decision makers in peacebuilding efforts and processes, in line with general recommendation No. 30.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Article 6 on the suppression of the traffic in women and of the exploitation of prostitution has special relevance for rural women and girls, including indigenous women and girls, who face specific risks because they live in remote areas. The economic hardships of rural life, alongside the lack of information on trafficking and how traffickers operate, can make them especially vulnerable, in particular in conflict-affected regions.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 36c
- Paragraph text
- [Right to participate in and benefit from rural development (art. 14, para. 2 (a))] [States parties should establish enabling institutional, legal and policy frameworks to ensure that rural development, agricultural and water policies, including with respect to forestry, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, are gender-responsive and have adequate budgets. States parties should ensure:] The protection of the rights of rural women, specifically when planning rural development programmes linked to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration efforts in conflict and post-conflict environments, in line with general recommendation No. 30 (2013) on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Other factors that make it more difficult for women to gain access to justice include illiteracy, trafficking, armed conflict, status as an asylum seeker, internal displacement, statelessness, migration, being a female head of household, widowhood, living with HIV, deprivation of liberty, criminalization of prostitution, geographical remoteness and stigmatization of women fighting for their rights. That human rights defenders and organizations are frequently targeted because of their work must be emphasized and their own right to access to justice protected.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 19f
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to the provision of remedies, the Committee recommends that States parties:] Ensure that non-judicial remedies, such as public apologies, public memorials and guarantees of non-repetition granted by truth, justice and reconciliation commissions, are not used as substitutes for investigations and prosecutions of perpetrators when human rights violations occur in conflict or post-conflict contexts; reject amnesties for gender-based human rights violations, such as sexual violence against women, and reject statutory limitations for the prosecution of such violations (see general recommendation No. 30 on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations);
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 51i
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties:] Improve the criminal justice response to domestic violence, including through recording of emergency calls taking photographic evidence of destruction of property and signs of violence and considering reports from doctors or social workers, which can show how violence, even if committed without witnesses, has material effects on the physical, mental and social well being of victims;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 19g
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to the provision of remedies, the Committee recommends that States parties:] Provide effective and timely remedies and ensure that they respond to the different types of violations experienced by women, as well as adequate reparation, and ensure women's participation in the design of all reparation programmes, as indicated in general recommendation No. 30.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 16b
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to the availability of justice systems, the Committee recommends that States parties:] In cases of violence against women, ensure access to financial aid, crisis centres, shelters, hotlines and medical, psychosocial and counselling services;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Transitional and post-conflict situations may result in increased challenges for women seeking to assert their right to access to justice. In its general recommendation No. 30, the Committee highlighted the specific obligations of States parties in connection with access to justice for women in such situations.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 19e
- Paragraph text
- [With regard to the provision of remedies, the Committee recommends that States parties:] In cases of sexual violence in conflict or post-conflict situations, mandate institutional reforms, repeal discriminatory legislation and enact legislation providing for adequate sanctions, in accordance with international human rights standards, and determine reparation measures, in close cooperation with women's organizations and civil society, to help to overcome the discrimination that preceded the conflict;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 56d
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties:] Implement the recommendations on women's access to justice in transitional and post-conflict situations that are set out in paragraph 81 of general recommendation No. 30, taking a comprehensive, inclusive and participatory approach to transitional justice mechanisms;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In line with the Convention, States parties are required to take proactive measures to ensure that the legally recognized grounds of persecution, including those enumerated in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group and political opinion), are given a gender-sensitive interpretation. In addition, gender may be used as a factor in recognizing membership of a particular social group or indeed as an identifying characteristic of such a group for purposes of granting refugee status under the 1951 Convention. States parties are also encouraged to add sex and or gender as an additional ground for refugee status in their national legislation.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Gender-related claims to asylum may intersect with other proscribed grounds of discrimination, including age, race, ethnicity/nationality, religion, health, class, caste, being lesbian, bisexual or transgender and other status. The Committee is concerned that many asylum systems continue to treat the claims of women through the lens of male experiences, which can result in their claims to refugee status not being properly assessed or being rejected. Even though gender is not specifically referenced in the definition of a refugee given in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, it can influence or dictate the type of persecution or harm suffered by women and the reasons for such treatment. The definition in the 1951 Convention, properly interpreted, covers gender-related claims to refugee status. It must be emphasized that asylum procedures that do not take into account the special situation or needs of women can impede a comprehensive determination of their claims. For example, asylum authorities may interview only the male "head of household", may not provide same-sex interviewers and interpreters to allow women to present their claims in a safe and gender-sensitive environment or may interview women asylum seekers in the presence of their husbands or male family members who may in fact be the source or sources of their complaints.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- The Committee is aware that, in cases in which persecution is perpetrated by non-State actors, receiving States have advanced the option of internal flight alternative, according to which a person is not at risk of persecution by non-State actors if he or she is relocated to a safe place within the State of origin. The Committee recalls that articles 2 (d) and (e) of the Convention require that States parties ensure that women are protected against discrimination generated by non-State actors and, in the context of a refugee woman, it observes that the essence of refugee status is to provide effective protection to the refugee woman. It also notes that, should the internal flight alternative be considered by receiving States, the option should be subject to strict requirements, such as the woman's ability to travel to the area concerned and gain admittance and settle there. States should also take into account gender-related aspects and risks in the assessment as to whether internal relocation is permissible. Difficulties faced by women in relocating to other parts of their countries of origin can include legal, cultural and/or social restrictions or prohibitions on women travelling or living alone, practical realities such as problems of securing accommodation, childcare and economic survival without family or community support, and risk of harassment and exploitation, including sexual exploitation and violence.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 50e
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should institute gender-sensitive procedural safeguards in asylum procedures to ensure that women asylum seekers are able to present their cases on the basis of equality and non-discrimination. States parties should ensure:] That a supportive interview environment is established so that the claimant can provide her account, including disclosure of sensitive and personal information, especially for survivors of trauma, torture and/or ill-treatment and sexual violence, and that sufficient time is allocated for interviews;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- 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
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Articles 3 and 10 to 13 of the Convention entail that women seeking asylum and women refugees be granted, without discrimination, the right to accommodation, education, health care and other support, including food, clothing and necessary social services, appropriate to their particular needs as women. In addition, women refugees should be offered sources of livelihood and employment opportunities. Obligations include providing information on their rights and practical information on how to gain access to such services in a language that they understand. Given the high levels of illiteracy among women in some societies, special assistance may be required.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph