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Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Democracy and human rights are mutually reinforcing. Women's rights are human rights and hence are an integral element of the democracy and human rights axis. The General Assembly, in its resolution 59/201 (para. 1), declared the "essential elements of democracy" to consist of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, inter alia, freedom of association and peaceful assembly and of expression and opinion; the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; to vote and to be a candidate in free elections by universal and equal suffrage; a pluralistic system of political parties and organizations; respect for the rule of law; the separation of powers; the independence of the judiciary; transparency and accountability in public administration; and free, independent and pluralistic media.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Reform of family laws provides a firm basis to overcome structural and cultural impediments to women's equal and full participation in political and public life. Family laws have been the focus of reform throughout history, as part of whole movements of States and societies towards modernity. In most cases, religious hermeneutic projects, particularly when initiated as part of broader reforms during times of political transition, have been an integral part of making these changes possible, with a prominent role played by women's rights movements, as in the case of Morocco, which achieved significant reform on many fronts in the family code (Moudawana), and by reform-minded religious institutions. The political will for these reforms, in State-sponsored modernization projects and social engineering agendas, has existed in diverse contexts of colonial power, the post-colonial State and communist regimes.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Effective political participation of women requires not only admission to political institutions but also integration into their decision-making forums. Women's full participation requires concerted action to overcome the de facto segregation of women's political participation in sectors which are stereotypically associated with women's gender roles. It requires that women be integrated into positions with decision-making power across the spectrum of issues dealt with by the institutions to which they have been elected or appointed. During political transitions, the same applies to all transitional authorities and mechanisms.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- The focus of the Working Group on political transition has been carried out through its communications, country visits and regional and global expert input. Experience in countries in transition has varied greatly. In the Russian Federation and Eastern Europe during the 1990s, as in some of the recent political transitions in the Middle East and North Africa, there was backsliding on key gains for gender equality and/or the numerical representation of women was reduced. In contrast, in some political transitions in various countries in many regions, the introduction of quotas facilitated a significant rise in representation of women, producing, for instance in sub-Saharan Africa, some of the highest percentages of women members of parliament. Good practice in these States included the active engagement with the international community in the peacebuilding process and an emphasis on democracy, human rights and women's rights as human rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Plural legal systems are systems in which various laws coexist. They may include various combinations of codified civil law, religious law systems, indigenous or customary legal codes, community arbitration or other dispute settlement procedures. Plural legal systems may be formal or informal. They most often affect personal status law and family law. In States with plural legal systems, the State legal system, which is generally civil and codified, and the State courts address matters relating to the public sphere.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Several States have adopted this type of legal system as a way of acknowledging cultural diversity. However, legal pluralism is also used by some actors to promote political and ideological interests. Approximately 80 per cent of claims or disputes are resolved by parallel justice systems, signifying that most women in developing countries access justice in a plural legal environment. The existence of social, economic, institutional and cultural barriers and the lack of confidence in formal systems may explain the widespread use of these parallel systems. Poverty and a lack of information on accessing formal justice and education are the main factors that lead women to use parallel justice systems.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Parallel justice systems apply religious, customary or indigenous laws, which, as shown above, are patriarchal. These systems are mostly dominated by men and therefore tend to perpetuate inequalities and patriarchal interpretations of culture, resulting in discrimination against women. Regardless of whether the law is religious or customary, its provisions are often interpreted differently for men and women. The rulings and procedures of these legal mechanisms generally discriminate against women. Moreover, gender-based violence is seldom punished and is sometimes downplayed by religious or customary law courts.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Criminalization of termination of pregnancy is one of the most damaging ways of instrumentalizing and politicizing women's bodies and lives, subjecting them to risks to their lives or health in order to preserve their function as reproductive agents and depriving them of autonomy in decision-making about their own bodies. Restrictive laws apply to 40 per cent of women worldwide. In some countries, as a result of retrogressive anti-abortion laws, women are imprisoned for having had a miscarriage, imposing an intolerable cost on the women, their families and their societies.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- Women’s participation and self-determination in the development and application of the laws that shape the parameters of their lives is a human right. Supporting the existence of and collaborative engagement with autonomous women’s movements is a core component of State obligation to end discrimination against women. The case studies investigated for the present report demonstrate the centrality of an active citizenry, autonomous women’s movements and civil society organizations with progressive frameworks that align with women’s human rights standards as key factors in achieving positive changes in the development and application of the law.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 108
- Paragraph text
- Resource allocation to support the progressive implementation of women’s human rights is part of State obligation. States must undertake a process of gender budgeting to ensure that their legal and policy commitments bear results. Key limiting factors of the good practices identified were insufficient funds, disproportionate burden of implementation on non-government actors and dependence on large-scale or single donor international funding resources. While involvement of autonomous women’s organizations has been seen as essential in the implementation of rights, the relationship between State and non-State actors should involve complementary efforts. Even States with limited resources make key decisions that support the implementation of rights when political will is present to do so. Budget allocation, whether originating from the State or a donor, must take into account the longitudinal nature of change to ensure that promising practices are not arrested before they can fully come into fruition.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- Women’s rights advocates pointed to some areas of concern in the constitutional framework that were illustrative of the ongoing political and cultural struggle between the protection and contestation of conservative gender roles. While a single State religion was recognized and protected in the Constitution, it also includes provisions reiterating that the country was a civil State based on the primacy of law that promoted moderation and tolerance. How those potentially conflicting interests would work out in practice remained to be seen, particularly given that the constitutional courts were not yet in place.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Political transitions present an opportunity for States to democratize and to advance women's equal representation in the reformed State institutions. However, they can also pose a danger of undermining or reversing human rights and women's gains in public and political life achieved under the previous regime. In some political transitions, women who had been pro-democracy activists have been excluded from formal political processes negotiating the new division of power.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 111b
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Ensure the active participation of women of all sectors of society in monitoring and implementing human rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 74c
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that international and regional human rights mechanisms:] Explore the establishment of an essential framework of minimum legal protection for all types of family, including self-created or self-defined families, that would guarantee women's fundamental rights in the family, in accordance with international law.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Annual Report of the WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice 2012, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- In 2012 and 2013, the Working Group will address the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice in the context of political and public life, with a focus on times of political transition. The Working Group's research on this topic will inform its annual report to the Human Rights Council in 2013 and the compendium of good practices that it is expected to complete by the end of its three-year mandate.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Annual Report of the WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice 2012, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group intends to examine measures taken by States in political transition to improve women's constitutional and political position and their status in society and protect them from all forms of violence. It recognizes the agency of women, including as conducted through international and regional institutions and networks, in influencing positive change at the national level. Recommendations will be made on improving legislation and the implementation of laws to empower women and to secure women's right to a full and equal political and public life.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Annual Report of the WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice 2012, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In order to develop its research on this thematic priority, the Working Group sent letters to all States Members of the United Nations on 8 December 2011 seeking information on: constitutional and other legislative initiatives and reforms put in place to promote women's rights and gender equality; the framework of State institutions, machineries and mechanisms to implement actions in order to fight against all forms of discrimination and violence against women; women's political participation, on equal terms with men, in the transitional and post-transitional process at all levels of decision-making; and women's access to justice, including transitional justice mechanisms. The Working Group takes this opportunity to thank the 40 States that had responded to the call for information at the time of submission of the document.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Annual Report of the WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice 2012, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group has decided to address the elimination of discrimination against women in law and in practice in all fields and from the perspective of States' obligations to respect, protect and fulfil women's human rights. In view of the work being carried out by international and regional human rights bodies and other special procedure mandate holders, the Working Group agreed that it would build on existing standards and initiatives, as well as on the available knowledge and tools produced to date by States, United Nations bodies, and civil society on the subject. Pursuant to paragraph 18 (d) of Human Rights Council resolution 15/23, the Working Group aims to draw on and reinforce the work of the Commission on the Status of Women, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and other United Nations bodies on the issue of eliminating all forms of discrimination against women.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Culture is a broad concept encompassing all forms of conduct, organization and human behaviour within society, including family, language, religion, philosophy, law, government, art and sport. Cultural diversity occurs when culture is expressed and develops in different contexts in society. Culture is not a static or unchanging concept, although some States tend to present it as such in order to justify inequality between men and women. This living, dynamic and evolving process permeates all human activities and institutions, including legal systems, in all societies across the world. Viewing culture and beliefs as immutable hinders the realization and development of all human rights, including those of women.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- In the event of violations and discrimination against women, the State has an obligation to investigate and prosecute. The State must take measures to guarantee privacy, confidentiality and safety of victims, and to address women's needs and fears, while ensuring that they are not subject to stigmatization, social ostracism or reprisals. The State must be able to foster confidence in the police and the judicial process, including within plural legal systems. To this end, it must ensure that State bodies and courts systematically apply the principle of equality when interpreting and enforcing the law and that they do so in conformity with international standards. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has pointed out that, where this is not possible, the State is still liable and must take appropriate action.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Significant progress in legal and policy frameworks for women’s rights has been made in the past decades. Nevertheless, while many countries have undertaken to repeal discriminatory laws, such laws persist in many parts of the world. Severely discriminatory laws and practices remain in particular areas of women’s human rights that continue to be contested, such as sexual and reproductive rights and equal rights in the family. Discriminatory laws also exist where the law is used punitively against women to maintain patriarchal values or to criminalize women’s struggles for their rights. In all contexts, there are ongoing challenges to the inclusion of an intersectoral approach to women’s full equality. Even in areas where the legal framework has advanced, or in societies with extensive and robust gender equality laws and policies, the test lies in the ability to implement progressive laws in practice. Innumerable barriers remain on many levels, not least of which is the male-controlled and discriminatory environment within which laws are operationalized. A good law requires a fully ameliorating environment in which it can be meaningfully implemented. No matter how strongly the law is drafted, it is filtered through the biases and limitations of the individuals and institutions, public and private, responsible for grounding it in reality, compounded by a social environment that disadvantages women through the perpetuation of historical discrimination, the patriarchal construction of gender and the perpetuation of stereotypes and prejudices. These factors must be considered closely when identifying which laws have become good practices.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 102
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group’s assessment of good practices in eliminating discrimination against women reaffirms the imperative that international human rights standards must be incorporated into national law and laws that contradict those principles must be repealed or modified, without exceptions based on cultural grounds, including cultural and customary grounds. Constitutional provisions that support gender equality create the foundation from which women’s rights can most comprehensively be supported throughout the legal system. States must also take measures to ensure that international and constitutional standards for women’s equality are infused at all levels of the legal framework, especially in federated and pluralistic legal systems.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- In 2015, the Court issued an order declaring the persistence of failures in the assistance, protection and access to justice for women victims of sexual violence. That decision consolidated the constitutional framework to address the gendered impact of armed conflict on the forced displacement of women in the country. That protection framework — effectively transforming a government response to forced displacement using a gender perspective — is a pioneering example globally. That extraordinary achievement was partly due to the longstanding efforts by Latin American women’s movements to strengthen the capacities of the constitutional courts in the field of women’s rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- The new Constitution, adopted in 2014, enshrined the equality of the sexes before the law without discrimination and committed the State to protecting and strengthening gains in women’s rights, guaranteeing the equality of opportunities in all domains and protecting against legal regression. Another progressive measure was the inclusion of the principle of parity in elected assemblies and a clear statement that men and women alike could run for president. The progressive framework of the constitution was protected in article 49, which affirmed that no amendment could undermine the human rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Compendium of good practices in the elimination of discrimination against women 2017, para. 97
- Paragraph text
- The bottom-up approach of the practice, which was developed at the impetus of women’s organizations — while demonstrative of the innovative means used by the community to address the structural reality of the situation of violence and discrimination in which they live — has raised the question as to why grave and well-documented human rights violations have not been addressed on a systematic or institutional level within the federal police and Government. Political will to support, expand and institutionalize this good practice is required for its replication and sustainability. In all post- and ongoing colonial contexts, the disproportionate and intersectional discrimination faced by indigenous women, often aided and abetted by legal systems, must be systematically addressed by State duty holders.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in the area of health and safety, with a focus on the instrumentalization of women's bodies 2016, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Throughout their life cycle, women's bodies are instrumentalized and their biological functions and needs are stigmatized and subjected to a politicized patriarchal agenda. States have also often treated women instrumentally as tools with which to implement population programmes and policies. This is sometimes carried out through the use of criminal sanctions and often under the guise of protecting women's health and safety and with cultural or religious justifications.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 97c
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Develop a bottom-up approach to building democratic and accountable relations between State and society, including in local governance and governance in the sectoral fields, with the active participation of institutions and organizations in which women's leadership is located and growing;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- Transitional justice mechanisms should provide accountability for gross violations of human rights affecting women, a comprehensive analysis of gender-based violence and abuse by past regimes, the means for transformative reparations for women victims, and the foundation for a gender-responsive reform of the political and legal institutions as part of the guarantee of non-recurrence.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Annual Report of the WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice 2012, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- In relation to its focus on times of political transition, the Working Group will look at countries that are presently going through processes of political transition, as well as countries with lessons learned from past political transitions, particularly since the entry into force of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1981. The Working Group is attentive to the fact that while political transitions provide a unique opportunity to improve respect for women's civil and political rights, including their participation in the political system, and women's status in the legal and social systems, there is also a danger of regression on women's human rights.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life with a focus on political transition 2013, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Women's participation in political and public life remains dynamic, multifaceted, and resilient, including in gaining access to power through alternative structures, as recognized in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Even as the glass ceiling in formal political institutions stays mostly intact, women actively open new spaces for discourse, build networks across long-standing divides and create new communities of engagement. Through the autonomous movements they build at the local to global levels, women's political engagements develop across formal administrative boundaries and are transnational in reach based on the universality of women's right to equality, challenging unequal power relations, demanding accountability, defending rights and achievements, and advocating for systemic and cultural change in societies, institutions and States. Women's autonomous civil society organizations are crucial to women's participation in public and political life.
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph