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Female circumcision 1990, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Noting with satisfaction that Governments, where such practices exist, national women's organizations, non-governmental organizations, specialized agencies, such as the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, as well as the Commission on Human Rights and its Submission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, remain seized of the issue having particularly recognized that such traditional practices as female circumcision have serious health and other consequences for women and children,
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 1990
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Female circumcision 1990, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Noting with interest the study of the Special Rapporteur on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children, as well as the study of the Special Working Group on Traditional Practices,
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 1990
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Female circumcision 1990, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that women are taking important action themselves to identify and to combat practices that are prejudicial to the health and well-being of women and children,
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 1990
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Violence against women 1992, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Compulsory sterilization or abortion adversely affects women's physical and mental health, and infringes the right of women to decide on the number and spacing of their children.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 1992
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. Article 9.2
- Paragraph text
- [Article 9]: States parties shall grant women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- Domicile is a concept in common law countries referring to the country in which a person intends to reside and to whose jurisdiction she will submit. Domicile is originally acquired by a child through its parents but, in adulthood, denotes the country in which a person normally resides and in which she intends to reside permanently. As in the case of nationality, the examination of States parties' reports demonstrates that a woman will not always be permitted at law to choose her own domicile. Domicile, like nationality, should be capable of change at will by an adult woman regardless of her marital status. Any restrictions on a woman's right to choose a domicile on the same basis as a man may limit her access to the courts in the country in which she lives or prevent her from entering and leaving a country freely and in her own right.
- 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
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. Article 16.1f
- 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 with regard to guardianship, wardship, trusteeship and adoption of children, or similar institutions where these concepts exist in national legislation; 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
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- As provided in article 5 (b), most States recognize the shared responsibility of parents for the care, protection and maintenance of children. The principle that "the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration" has been included in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (General Assembly resolution 44/25, annex) and seems now to be universally accepted. However, in practice, some countries do not observe the principle of granting the parents of children equal status, particularly when they are not married. The children of such unions do not always enjoy the same status as those born in wedlock and, where the mothers are divorced or living apart, many fathers fail to share the responsibility of care, protection and maintenance of their children.
- 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
- Families
- Year
- 1994
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Equality in marriage and family relations 1994, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Some reports disclose coercive practices which have serious consequences for women, such as forced pregnancies, abortions or sterilization. Decisions to have children or not, while preferably made in consultation with spouse or partner, must not nevertheless be limited by spouse, parent, partner or Government. In order to make an informed decision about safe and reliable contraceptive measures, women must have information about contraceptive measures and their use, and guaranteed access to sex education and family planning services, as provided in article 10 (h) of the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 1994
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Political and public life 1997, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Public and private spheres of human activity have always been considered distinct, and have been regulated accordingly. Invariably, women have been assigned to the private or domestic sphere, associated with reproduction and the raising of children, and in all societies these activities have been treated as inferior. By contrast, public life, which is respected and honoured, extends to a broad range of activity outside the private and domestic sphere. Men historically have both dominated public life and exercised the power to confine and subordinate women within the private sphere.
- 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
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 1997
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Political and public life 1997, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Stereotyping, including that perpetrated by the media, confines women in political life to issues such as the environment, children and health, and excludes them from responsibility for finance, budgetary control and conflict resolution. The low involvement of women in the professions from which politicians are recruited can create another obstacle. In countries where women leaders do assume power this can be the result of the influence of their fathers, husbands or male relatives rather than electoral success in their own right.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 1997
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women and health 1999, para. 15a
- Paragraph text
- [The obligation to protect rights relating to women's health requires States parties, their agents and officials to take action to prevent and impose sanctions for violations of rights by private persons and organizations. Since gender-based violence is a critical health issue for women, States parties should ensure:] The enactment and effective enforcement of laws and the formulation of policies, including health-care protocols and hospital procedures to address violence against women and sexual abuse of girl children and the provision of appropriate health services;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 1999
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Older women and protection of their human rights 2010, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The issue of ageing is shared by both developed and developing countries. The proportion of older persons in less developed countries is expected to increase from 8 per cent in 2010 to 20 per cent by 2050, while the proportion of children will decrease from 29 to 20 per cent. The number of older women living in less developed regions will increase by 600 million within the period 2010 to 2050. This demographic shift presents major challenges for developing countries. The ageing of society is a well-established trend and a significant feature in most developed countries.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Women may be barred from claiming property rights for lack of recognized capacity to own or manage property, or the property regime may not recognize property accumulated during the marriage as subject to division between the parties. Interrupted education and employment histories and childcare responsibilities frequently prevent women from establishing a path to paid employment (opportunity cost) sufficient to support their post-dissolution family. These social and economic factors also prevent women living under a regime of separate property from increasing their individual property during marriage.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- In situations that meet the threshold definition of non-international or international armed conflict, the Convention and international humanitarian law apply concurrently and their different protections are complementary, not mutually exclusive. Under international humanitarian law, women affected by armed conflicts are entitled to general protections that apply to both women and men and to some limited specific protections, primarily protection against rape, forced prostitution and any other form of indecent assault; priority in the distribution of relief consignments to expectant mothers, maternity cases and nursing mothers in international armed conflict; detention in separate quarters from men and under the immediate supervision of women; and protection from the death penalty for pregnant women or mothers of dependent or young children.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- International humanitarian law also imposes obligations upon occupying Powers that apply concurrently with the Convention and other international human rights law. International humanitarian law also prohibits a State from transferring part of its own civilian population into the territory that it occupies. Under international humanitarian law, women under occupation are entitled to general protections and the following specific protections: protection against rape, forced prostitution or any other form of indecent assault; free passage of consignments of essential clothing intended for expectant mothers and maternity cases; safety or neutralized zones that may be established to shield the civilian population, including in particular expectant mothers and mothers of children under 7 years of age; and detention in separate quarters from men and under the immediate supervision of women. Women civilian internees must receive sanitary conveniences and be searched by women.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 57d
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that States parties:] Provide protection and assistance for internally displaced and refugee women and girls, including by safeguarding them from gender-based violence, including forced and child marriage; ensure their equal access to services and health care and full participation in the distribution of supplies, as well as in the development and implementation of assistance programmes that take into account their specific needs; provide protection against the displacement of indigenous, rural and minority women with special dependency on land; and ensure education and income-generation and skills training activities are available;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- In section III, the Committee seeks to ensure that gender equality and non- discrimination obligations are upheld by States parties to the Convention in respect of women asylum seekers and refugees throughout the displacement cycle, with a focus on asylum processes. In section IV, the Committee seeks to ensure that gender equality and non-discrimination principles are upheld by States parties in relation to women's right to nationality, including the right to acquire, change or retain their nationality and to confer their nationality on their children and spouses.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- 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. 11
- Paragraph text
- Given that the Convention applies at every stage of the displacement cycle, it serves to prohibit sex- and gender-based discrimination at every stage: during the refugee status determination procedure, throughout the return or resettlement process and throughout the integration process for women who have been granted asylum. It also applies to processes of statelessness determination and to processes relating to women acquiring, retaining or changing their nationality or conferring their nationality on their children and spouses.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- 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. 26
- Paragraph text
- In addition, articles 2, 15 (1) and 16 require States parties to recognize that women may present independent claims to asylum. In this respect, their claims may also be based on fears relating to their children. For example, claims to refugee status may arise from a fear that their daughters will suffer female genital mutilation, be forced into marriage or be subjected to severe community ostracism and exclusion for being girls. The child's protection claim should also be considered on its own merits in a child-sensitive manner in the best interests of the child. Once the principal claimant is recognized as a refugee, other members of the family should normally also be recognized as refugees ("derivative status").
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- 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. 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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 50f
- 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 childcare is made available during the interviews so that the claimant does not have to present her claim, involving sensitive information, in front of her children;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- 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. 56
- Paragraph text
- Birth registration is also closely linked to the enjoyment by women and their children of the right to a nationality. Birth registration provides proof of a person's identity and acquisition of nationality based either on descent (jus sanguinis) or place of birth (jus soli). In practice, indirect discrimination, cultural practices and poverty often make it impossible for mothers, especially unmarried mothers, to register their children on an equal basis as fathers. Failure to register a child's birth may impair or nullify the child's effective enjoyment of a range of rights, including the right to nationality, to a name and identity, to equality before the law and to recognition of legal capacity.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- 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. 57
- Paragraph text
- Discriminatory laws or practices may lead to women and their children being unable to gain access to documentation that proves their identity and nationality. In the absence of proof of identity and nationality, a woman and her children may be faced with restrictions on freedom of movement, problems gaining access to diplomatic protection, prolonged detention pending determination of proof of identity and nationality and, ultimately, to a situation in which no State considers them to be nationals and they are rendered stateless.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- 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. 58
- Paragraph text
- Given the critical importance of nationality to the full participation of women in society, the significant number and nature of reservations made by some States parties to article 9 of the Convention undermine the object and purpose of the Convention. The rights to nationality and non-discrimination contained in many other international human rights instruments, which reinforce the equal right of women to nationality, also raise the question of the validity and legal effect of such reservations. The Committee notes with interest the trend towards the withdrawal or, at least, the narrowing of reservations to article 9 and the related tendency of States parties to introduce formal equality of men and women in nationality laws, thereby reducing the risk of discrimination against women and in particular of statelessness among women and their children.
- 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
- Children
- 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. 61b
- 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 laws of the father's country do not permit him to confer nationality in certain circumstances, such as when the child is born abroad;
- 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
- Children
- Men
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph