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Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Women and adolescent girls who have been, or are at risk of being, subjected to harmful practices face significant risks to their sexual and reproductive health, in particular in a context where they already encounter barriers to decision-making on such issues arising from lack of adequate information and services, including adolescent-friendly services. Special attention is therefore needed to ensure that women and adolescents have access to accurate information about sexual and reproductive health and rights and on the impacts of harmful practices, as well as access to adequate and confidential services. Age-appropriate education, which includes science-based information on sexual and reproductive health, contributes to empowering girls and women to make informed decisions and claim their rights. To this end, health-care providers and teachers with adequate knowledge, understanding and skills play a crucial role in conveying the information, preventing harmful practices and identifying and assisting women and girls who are victims of or might be at risk of being subjected to them.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- The Convention is a significant tool in international efforts to prevent and reduce statelessness because it particularly affects women and girls with regard to nationality rights. The Convention requires full protection of women's equality in nationality matters. Nationality is the legal bond between a person and a State and is critical to ensuring full participation in society. Nationality is also essential to guaranteeing the exercise and enjoyment of other rights, including the right to enter and reside permanently in the territory of a State and to return to that State from abroad. Article 9 of the Convention is therefore essential to the enjoyment of the full range of human rights by women. While human rights are to be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of nationality status, in practice nationality is frequently a prerequisite for the enjoyment of basic human rights. Without nationality, girls and women are subject to compounded discrimination as women and as non-nationals or stateless persons.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The Committee acknowledges that, as a matter of international law, the authorities of the country of origin are primarily responsible for providing protection to the citizens, including ensuring that women enjoy their rights under the Convention, and that it is only when such protection is not available that international protection is invoked to protect the basic human rights that are seriously at risk. However, the Committee notes that the fact that a woman asylum seeker has not sought the protection of the State or made a complaint to the authorities before her departure from her country of origin should not prejudice her asylum claim, especially where violence against women is tolerated or there is a pattern of failure in responding to women's complaints of abuse. It would not be realistic to require her to have sought protection in advance of her flight. She may also lack confidence in the justice system and access to justice or fear abuse, harassment or retaliation for making such complaints.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Amending article 20 of the Convention 1995, para. N/A
- Paragraph text
- Considering that the articles of the Convention address the fundamental human rights of women in all aspects of their daily lives and in all areas of society and the State,
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Women have the right to be fully informed, by properly trained personnel, of their options in agreeing to treatment or research, including likely benefits and potential adverse effects of proposed procedures and available alternatives.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 1999
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CRC) 2014, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- States parties should widely disseminate the present joint general recommendation/general comment to parliaments, Governments and the judiciary, nationally and locally. It should also be made known to children and women and all relevant professionals and stakeholders, including those working for and with children (i.e. judges, lawyers, police officers and other law enforcement officials, teachers, guardians, social workers, staff of public or private welfare institutions and shelters and health-care providers) and civil society at large. It should be translated into relevant languages and child-friendly/appropriate versions and formats accessible to persons with disabilities should be made available. Conferences, seminars, workshops and other events should be held to share good practice on how best to implement it. It should also be incorporated into the formal pre-service and in-service training of all relevant professionals and technical staff and should be made available to all national human rights institutions, women's organizations and other human rights non-governmental organizations.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Migrant women who live and work temporarily in another country should be permitted the same rights as men to have their spouses, partners and children join them.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Men
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- For example, many migrant women workers in developed countries are employed in agriculture and often face serious violations of their human rights, including violence, exploitation and denial of access to services, including health care. In addition, the move to industrial farming in many developed countries has tended to marginalize small farmers, having a disproportionate impact on rural women. There is therefore a need to facilitate and support alternative and gender responsive agricultural development programmes that enable small-scale women producers to participate in and benefit from agriculture and rural development. In addition, while rural communities in developed countries may often be well connected to social services and have access to transportation infrastructure, water, sanitation, technology, education and health-care systems, among others, the situation is not equal across all rural communities. In many places, such access is noticeably lacking, and women living within those rural communities experience not only the deprivation of such rights but also an increased burden of care work as a result. This holds particularly true in peripheral or remote rural communities, including indigenous ones, which are isolated and tend to have higher levels of poverty.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Poverty
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- The rights of rural women and girls to water and sanitation are not only essential rights in themselves but also key to the realization of a wide range of other rights, including rights to health, food, education and participation.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Article 14 is the only provision in an international human rights treaty that specifically pertains to rural women. However, all rights under the Convention apply to rural women, and article 14 must be interpreted in the context of the Convention as a whole. When reporting, States parties should address all articles that have bearing on the enjoyment of rights by rural women and girls. Accordingly, the present general recommendation explores the links between article 14 and other Convention provisions. As many of the Sustainable Development Goals address the situation of rural women and provide an important opportunity to advance both process and outcome indicators, the specific intent of the present general recommendation is to provide guidance to States parties on the implementation of their obligations with respect to rural women. While general recommendation No. 34 focuses on rural women in developing countries, some of its components also pertain to the situation of rural women in developed countries. It is recognized that rural women, even in developed countries, suffer discrimination and challenges in various areas, including economic empowerment, participation in political and public life, access to services and the labour exploitation of rural migrant women workers.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 52f
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should further ensure rural women's rights to employment by:] Providing social security to rural women, including in cases of sickness or invalidity;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 52d
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should further ensure rural women's rights to employment by:] Protecting the rights of rural women workers to bargain collectively to ensure decent working conditions;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 65d
- Paragraph text
- [Many countries have made reservations to:] Article 16, which indicates that States parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 60a (ii)
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties:] [Take steps:] To ensure that the composition and activities of those institutions are gender-sensitive;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 58a
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties:] Inform women of their rights to use mediation, conciliation, arbitration and collaborative dispute resolution;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Articles 1-3, 5 (a) and 15 establish an obligation on States parties to ensure that women are not discriminated against during the entire asylum process, beginning from the moment of arrival at the borders. Women asylum seekers are entitled to have their rights under the Convention respected; they are entitled to be treated in a non-discriminatory manner and with respect and dignity at all times during the asylum procedure and thereafter, including through the process of finding durable solutions once asylum status has been recognized by the receiving State. The receiving State has a responsibility towards women granted asylum status when it comes to helping them to, among other things, find proper accommodation, training and/or job opportunities, providing legal, medical, psychosocial support for victims of trauma and offering language classes and other measures facilitating their integration. In addition, women asylum seekers whose asylum applications are denied should be granted dignified and non-discriminatory return processes.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The Committee further considers that, under article 2 (d) of the Convention, States parties undertake to refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women and to ensure that public authorities and institutions act in conformity with that obligation. That duty encompasses the obligation of States parties to protect women from being exposed to a real, personal and foreseeable risk of serious forms of discrimination against women, including gender-based violence, irrespective of whether such consequences would take place outside the territorial boundaries of the sending State party: if a State party takes a decision relating to a person within its jurisdiction, and the necessary and foreseeable consequence is that the person's basic rights under the Convention will be seriously at risk in another jurisdiction, the State party itself may be in violation of the Convention. The foreseeability of the consequence would mean that there was a present violation by the State party, even though the consequence would not occur until later.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Electoral reform and constitution-drafting processes in post-conflict contexts pose a set of unique challenges to ensuring women's participation and promoting gender equality, given that the designs of electoral systems are not always gender-neutral. The electoral rules and procedures that determine which interest groups are represented on constitution-building bodies and other electoral bodies in the post-conflict era are critical in guaranteeing the role of women in public and political life. Decisions on the choice of electoral systems are important to overcome the traditional gender bias that undermines women's participation. Substantive progress towards the equal participation of women as candidates and voters, in addition to the holding of free and fair elections, will not be possible unless appropriate measures are taken, including the creation of a gender-responsive electoral system and the adoption of temporary special measures to enhance women's participation as candidates and ensure a proper voter's registration system and that women voters and female political candidates are not subject to violence by State or private actors.
- 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
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- In conflict-affected areas, access to essential services such as health care, including sexual and reproductive health services, is disrupted owing to inadequate infrastructure and a lack of professional medical care workers, basic medicines and health-care supplies. Consequently, women and girls are at a greater risk of unplanned pregnancy, severe sexual and reproductive injuries and contracting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and AIDS, as a result of conflict-related sexual violence. The breakdown or destruction of health services, combined with restrictions on women's mobility and freedom of movement, further undermines women's equal access to health care, as guaranteed by article 12 (1). Power imbalances and harmful gender norms make girls and women disproportionately more vulnerable to HIV infection and these factors become more pronounced in conflict and post-conflict settings. HIV-related stigma and discrimination is also pervasive and has profound implications for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, especially when combined with the stigma associated with gender-based violence.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Women's rights in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict processes are affected by various actors, including States acting individually (for example, as the State within whose borders the conflict arises, neighbouring States involved in the regional dimensions of the conflict or States involved in unilateral cross-border military manoeuvres), States acting as members of international or intergovernmental organizations (for example, by contributing to international peacekeeping forces or as donors giving money through international financial institutions to support peace processes) and coalitions and non-State actors, such as armed groups, paramilitaries, corporations, private military contractors, organized criminal groups and vigilantes. In conflict and post-conflict contexts, State institutions are often weakened or certain government functions may be performed by other Governments, intergovernmental organizations or even non-State groups. The Committee stresses that, in such cases, there may be simultaneous and complementary sets of obligations under the Convention for a range of involved actors.
- 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
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The constitutions or legal frameworks of a number of States parties still provide that personal status laws (relating to marriage, divorce, distribution of marital property, inheritance, guardianship, adoption and other such matters) are exempt from constitutional provisions prohibiting discrimination or reserve matters of personal status to the ethnic and religious communities within the State party to determine. In such cases, constitutional equal protection provisions and anti-discrimination provisions do not protect women from the discriminatory effects of marriage under customary practices and religious laws. Some States parties have adopted constitutions that include equal protection and non discrimination provisions but have not revised or adopted legislation to eliminate the discriminatory aspects of their family law regimes, whether they are regulated by civil code, religious law, ethnic custom or any combination of laws and practices. All these constitutional and legal frameworks are discriminatory, in violation of article 2 in conjunction with articles 5, 15 and 16 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Older women and protection of their human rights 2010, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- States parties should adopt a comprehensive health-care policy aimed at protecting the health needs of older women in line with the Committee's general recommendation No. 24 (1999) on women and health. Such policy should ensure affordable and accessible health care to all older women through, where appropriate, the elimination of user fees, training of health workers in geriatric illnesses, provision of medicine to treat age-related chronic and non-communicable diseases, long-term health and social care, including care that allows for independent living and palliative care. Long-term care provisions should include interventions promoting behavioural and lifestyle changes to delay the onset of health problems, such as healthy nutritional practices and an active lifestyle, and affordable access to health-care services, including screening for and treatment of diseases, in particular those most prevalent among older women. Health policies must also ensure that health care provided to older women, including those with disabilities, is based on the free and informed consent of the person concerned.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 24b (v)
- Paragraph text
- [Countries of origin must respect and protect the human rights of their female nationals who migrate for purposes of work. Measures that may be required include, but are not limited to, the following:] [Education, awareness-raising and training with standardized content: States parties should develop an appropriate education and awareness-raising programme in close consultation with concerned non-governmental organizations, gender and migration specialists, women workers with migration experience and reliable recruiting agencies. In that regard, States parties should (articles 3, 5, 10 and 14):] Promote community awareness-raising concerning the costs and benefits of all forms of migration for women and conduct cross-cultural awareness- raising activities addressed to the general public, which should highlight the risks, dangers and opportunities of migration, the entitlement of women to their earnings in the interest of ensuring their financial security and the need to maintain a balance between women's familial responsibility and their responsibility to themselves. Such an awareness-raising progarmme could be carried out through formal and informal educational programmes;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women migrant workers 2008, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- The Committee recognizes that migrant women may be classified into various categories relating to the factors compelling migration, the purposes of migration and accompanying tenure of stay, the vulnerability to risk and abuse, and their status in the country to which they have migrated, and their eligibility for citizenship. The Committee also recognizes that these categories remain fluid and overlapping, and that therefore it is sometimes difficult to draw clear distinctions between the various categories. Thus, the scope of this general recommendation is limited to addressing the situations of the following categories of migrant women who, as workers, are in low-paid jobs, may be at high risk of abuse and discrimination and who may never acquire eligibility for permanent stay or citizenship, unlike professional migrant workers in the country of employment. As such, in many cases, they may not enjoy the protection of the law of the countries concerned, at either de jure or de facto levels. These categories of migrant women are: (a) Women migrant workers who migrate independently; (b) Women migrant workers who join their spouses or other members of their families who are also workers; (c) Undocumented women migrant workers who may fall into any of the above categories.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2008
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 31e
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should also, in particular:] Require all health services to be consistent with the human rights of women, including the rights to autonomy, privacy, confidentiality, informed consent and choice;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 1999
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 31d
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should also, in particular:] Monitor the provision of health services to women by public, non-governmental and private organizations, to ensure equal access and quality of care;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 1999
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- States parties should ensure that adequate protection and health services, including trauma treatment and counselling, are provided for women in especially difficult circumstances, such as those trapped in situations of armed conflict and women refugees.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1999
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- States parties are encouraged to include in their reports information on diseases, health conditions and conditions hazardous to health that affect women or certain groups of women differently from men, as well as information on possible intervention in this regard.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1999
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Political and public life 1997, para. 49b
- Paragraph text
- [When reporting under article 8, States parties should:] Describe efforts to establish objective criteria and processes for appointment and promotion of women to relevant positions and official delegations;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 1997
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Political and public life 1997, para. 47d
- Paragraph text
- [When reporting under article 7, States parties should:] Include statistical data, disaggregated by sex, showing the percentage of women relative to men who enjoy those rights;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1997
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph