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Core obligations of States parties under article 2 2010, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The Convention is part of a comprehensive international human rights legal framework directed at ensuring the enjoyment by all of all human rights and at eliminating all forms of discrimination against women on the basis of sex and gender. The Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities contain explicit provisions guaranteeing women equality with men in the enjoyment of the rights they enshrine, while other international human rights treaties, such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, are implicitly grounded in the concept of non-discrimination on the basis of sex and gender. The International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions No. 100 (1951) concerning Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value, No. 111 (1958) concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation and No. 156 (1981) concerning Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment for Men and Women Workers: Workers with Family Responsibilities, the Convention against Discrimination in Education, the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, the Cairo Programme of Action and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action also contribute to an international legal regime of equality for women with men and non-discrimination. Likewise, the obligations of States entered into under regional human rights systems are complementary to the universal human rights framework.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- As stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the family is the basic unit of society. It is a social and legal construct and, in various countries, a religious construct. It also is an economic construct. Family market research has established that family structures, gendered labour division within the family and family laws affect women's economic well-being no less than labour market structures and labour laws. Indeed, women often do not equally enjoy their family's economic wealth and gains, they usually bear the greater cost of the breakdown of the family than men and may be left destitute upon widowhood, especially if they have children and particularly where the State provides little or no economic safety net.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Inequality in the family underlies all other aspects of discrimination against women and is often justified in the name of ideology, tradition and culture. An examination of the reports of States parties reveals that in many States, the rights and responsibilities of married partners are governed by the principles of civil or common law, religious or customary laws and practices, or some combination of such laws and practices that discriminate against women and do not comply with the principles set out in the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Many of the States parties that maintain such legal arrangements have entered reservations to all or parts of articles 2 and 16. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has repeatedly noted with concern the extent of these reservations, which it considers invalid because they are incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention. It has consistently called upon these States parties to withdraw their reservations and ensure that their legal systems, whether civil, religious, customary, or ethnic or some combination thereof, conform to the Convention in general and to article 16 in particular.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- The economic consequences for women of marriage, divorce, separation and death have been of growing concern to the Committee. Research conducted in some countries has found that while men usually experience smaller, if not minimal, income losses after divorce and/or separation, many women experience a substantial decline in household income and increased dependence on social welfare, where it is available. Throughout the world, female-headed households are the most likely to be poor. Their status is inevitably affected by global developments such as the market economy and its crises; women's increasing entry into the paid workforce and their concentration in low-paying jobs; persistent income inequality within and between States; growth in divorce rates and in de facto unions; the reform of social security systems or the launching of new ones; and, above all, the persistence of women's poverty. Despite women's contributions to the economic well-being of the family, their economic inferiority permeates all stages of family relationships, often owing to their responsibility for dependants.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Regardless of the vast range of economic arrangements within the family, women in both developing and developed countries generally share the experience of being worse off economically than men in family relationships and following the dissolution of those relationships. Social security systems, nominally designed to improve economic status, may also discriminate against women.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Article 16 of the Convention provides for the elimination of discrimination against women at the inception of marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution by divorce or death. In 1994, the Committee adopted general recommendation No. 21, which elaborated upon many aspects of article 16 as well as its relationship to articles 9 and 15. General recommendation No. 21 notes that article 16 (1) (h) specifically refers to the economic dimensions of marriage and its dissolution. The present general recommendation builds upon the principles articulated in general recommendation No. 21, other relevant general recommendations, such as general recommendation No. 27, and the Committee's jurisprudence. It invokes the definition of discrimination contained in article 1 of the Convention and calls upon States parties to take legal and policy measures as required under article 2 of the Convention and general recommendation No. 28. It also integrates the social and legal developments that have taken place since the adoption of general recommendation No. 21, such as the adoption by some State parties of laws on registered partnerships and/or de facto unions, as well as the increase in the number of couples living in such relationships.
- 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
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The entitlement of women to equality within the family is universally acknowledged, as evidenced by the related general comments of other human rights treaty bodies: Human Rights Committee general comment No. 28, on equality of rights between men and women (in particular paras. 23-27), and general comment No. 19, on protection of the family, the right to marriage and equality of the spouses; and Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights general comment No. 16, on the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights (in particular para. 27), and general comment No. 20, on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights. Important global political documents such as the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Development Goals also refer to equality in the family as a fundamental principle.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- The Committee has consistently concluded that the elimination of discrimination against women requires States parties to provide for substantive as well as formal equality. Formal equality may be achieved by adopting gender-neutral laws and policies, which on their face treat women and men equally. Substantive equality can be achieved only when the States parties examine the application and effects of laws and policies and ensure that they provide for equality in fact, accounting for women's disadvantage or exclusion. In respect of the economic dimensions of family relations, a substantive equality approach must address matters such as discrimination in education and employment, the compatibility of work requirements and family needs, and the impact of gender stereotypes and gender roles on women's economic capacity.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- The present general recommendation will serve as a guide for States parties in achieving a de jure and de facto egalitarian regime under which the economic benefits and costs of family relations and the economic consequences of their dissolution are borne equally by men and women. It will establish the norm for evaluating implementation by States parties of the Convention with respect to economic equality in the family.
- 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
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
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
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- States parties should guarantee equality between women and men in their constitutions and should eliminate any constitutional exemptions that would serve to protect or preserve discriminatory laws and practices with regard to family relations.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Some States parties have multiple legal systems in which different personal status laws apply to individuals on the basis of identity factors such as ethnicity or religion. Some, but not all, of these States parties also have a civil legal code that may apply in prescribed circumstances or by choice of the parties. In some States, however, individuals may have no choice as to the application of identity-based personal status laws.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- The extent to which individuals are free to choose their religious or customary adherence and practice varies, as does their freedom to challenge the discrimination against women enshrined in the laws and customs of their State or community.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- The Committee has consistently expressed concern that identity-based personal status laws and customs perpetuate discrimination against women and that the preservation of multiple legal systems is in itself discriminatory against women. The lack of individual choice relating to the application or observance of particular laws and customs exacerbates this discrimination.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- States parties should adopt written family codes or personal status laws that provide for equality between spouses or partners irrespective of their religious or ethnic identity or community, in accordance with the Convention and the Committee's general recommendations. In the absence of a unified family law, the system of personal status laws should provide for individual choice as to the application of religious law, ethnic custom or civil law at any stage of the relationship. Personal laws should embody the fundamental principle of equality between women and men and should be fully harmonized with the provisions of the Convention so as to eliminate all 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
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- In general recommendation No. 21, paragraph 13, the Committee acknowledges that families take many forms and underscores the obligation of equality within the family under all systems, "both at law and in private".
- 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
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- Statements by other entities in the United Nations system confirm the understanding that "the concept of 'family' must be understood in a wide sense". The Human Rights Committee, in para. 27 of its general comment No. 28, acknowledges the "various forms of family". In his report on observance of the International Year of the Family, the Secretary-General confirms that "families assume diverse forms and functions among and within countries".
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- States parties are obligated to address the sex- and gender-based discriminatory aspects of all the various forms of family and family relationships. In respect of discrimination against women, they must address patriarchal traditions and attitudes and open family law and policy with the same scrutiny that is given to the "public" aspects of individual and community life.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Marriages may be formed through a variety of customs, ceremonies and rituals that may be sanctioned by the State. Civil marriage is sanctioned solely by the State and is registered. Religious marriage is solemnized through the performance of ritual(s) prescribed by religious law. Customary marriage is undertaken by the performance of ritual(s) prescribed by the customs of the parties' community.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Some States parties do not require registration of religious and customary marriages in order for them to be valid. Unregistered marriages may be substantiated by production of a marriage contract, witness accounts of the rituals or other means, as appropriate in the circumstances.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Some States parties that recognize polygamous marriages, under either religious or customary law, also provide for civil marriage, monogamous by definition. Where civil marriage is not provided for, women in communities that practice polygamy may have no choice but to enter into a marriage that is at least potentially, if not already, polygamous, regardless of their wishes. The Committee concluded in general recommendation No. 21 that polygamy is contrary to the Convention and must be "discouraged and prohibited".
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- In some States parties, the law also provides for registered partnerships and establishes rights and responsibilities between the parties. States may extend social and tax benefits to registered partnerships to varying degrees.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- De facto unions are not registered and often do not give rise to any rights. Some States, however, recognize de facto unions and establish equal rights and responsibilities for them that can vary in scope and depth.
- 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
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Certain forms of relationships (namely, same-sex relationships) are not legally, socially or culturally accepted in a considerable number of States parties. However, where they are recognized, whether as a de facto union, registered partnership or marriage, the State party should ensure protection of the economic rights of the women in those relationships.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Registration of marriage protects the rights of spouses with regard to property issues upon dissolution of the marriage by death or divorce. The Convention obligates States parties to establish and fully implement a system of marriage registration. However, many States parties lack either a legal requirement of marriage registration or implementation of existing registration requirements, and in such instances individuals should not be penalized for failure to register, including where lack of education and infrastructure makes registration difficult.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- States parties should establish a legal requirement of marriage registration and conduct effective awareness-raising activities to that effect. They must provide for implementation through education about the requirements and provide infrastructure to make registration accessible to all persons within their jurisdiction. States parties should provide for establishing proof of marriage by means other than registration where circumstances warrant. The State must protect the rights of women in such marriages, regardless of their registration status.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The Committee reaffirms paragraph 14 of its general recommendation No. 21, which states that "polygamous marriage contravenes a woman's right to equality with men, and can have such serious emotional and financial consequences for her and her dependants that such marriages ought to be discouraged and prohibited". Since the adoption of this general recommendation, the Committee has consistently noted with concern the persistence of polygamous marriages in many States parties. In its concluding observations, the Committee has pointed to the grave ramifications of polygamy for the human rights and economic well-being of women and their children, and has consistently called for its abolition.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- States parties should take all legislative and policy measures needed to abolish polygamous marriages. Nevertheless, as stated by the Committee in its general recommendation No. 27, "polygamy is still practised in many States Parties, and many women are in polygamous unions". Accordingly, with regard to women in existing polygamous marriages, States parties should take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of the economic rights of women.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution 2013, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- States parties that provide for registered partnerships must ensure equal rights, responsibilities and treatment between the partners in economic matters addressed by the legislation on those partnerships. The recommendations contained below apply mutatis mutandis in States parties that recognize registered partnerships in their legal order.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph