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Title | Date added | Template | Original document | Paragraph text | Body | Document type | Thematics | Topic(s) | Person(s) affected | Year |
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Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 47 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | With respect to social security, migrant children and their families shall have the right to the same treatment granted to nationals, insofar as they fulfil the requirements provided for by the applicable legislation of the State and the applicable bilateral and multilateral treaties. The Committees consider that in cases of necessity, States should provide emergency social assistance to migrant children and their families regardless of their migration status, without any discrimination. | Committee on Migrant Workers | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2017 | ||
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 47 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | With respect to social security, migrant children and their families shall have the right to the same treatment granted to nationals, insofar as they fulfil the requirements provided for by the applicable legislation of the State and the applicable bilateral and multilateral treaties. The Committees consider that in cases of necessity, States should provide emergency social assistance to migrant children and their families regardless of their migration status, without any discrimination. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2017 | ||
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 11 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In general recommendation No. 28 (2010) on the core obligations of States parties under article 2 of the Convention, it is indicated that the obligations of States are to respect, protect and fulfil women’s rights to non-discrimination and the enjoyment of de jure and de facto equality. The scope of those obligations in relation to gender-based violence against women occurring in particular contexts is addressed in general recommendation No. 28 and other general recommendations, including general recommendation No. 26 (2008) on women migrant workers; general recommendation No. 27 (2010) on older women and the protection of their human rights; general recommendation No. 30 (2013) on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations; joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women/general comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (2014) on harmful practices; general recommendation No. 32 (2014) on the gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women; general recommendation No. 33 (2015) on women’s access to justice; and general recommendation No. 34 (2016) on the rights of rural women. Further details on the relevant elements of the general recommendations referred to herein may be found in those recommendations. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2017 | ||
Gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19 2017, para. 12 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In general recommendation No. 28 and general recommendation No. 33, the Committee confirmed that discrimination against women was inextricably linked to other factors that affected their lives. The Committee, in its jurisprudence, has highlighted the fact that such factors include women’s ethnicity/race, indigenous or minority status, colour, socioeconomic status and/or caste, language, religion or belief, political opinion, national origin, marital status, maternity, parental status, age, urban or rural location, health status, disability, property ownership, being lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex, illiteracy, seeking asylum, being a refugee, internally displaced or stateless, widowhood, migration status, heading households, living with HIV/AIDS, being deprived of liberty, and being in prostitution, as well as trafficking in women, situations of armed conflict, geographical remoteness and the stigmatization of women who fight for their rights, including human rights defenders. Accordingly, because women experience varying and intersecting forms of discrimination, which have an aggravating negative impact, the Committee acknowledges that gender-based violence may affect some women to different degrees, or in different ways, meaning that appropriate legal and policy responses are needed. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2017 | ||
Children in street situations 2017, para. 63 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Committee calls upon States to strengthen international commitment, cooperation and mutual assistance in preventing children from ending up in street situations and protecting children already in street situations. This includes identifying and sharing rights-based practices that have been shown to be effective, research, policies, monitoring and capacity-building. Cooperation requires the involvement of States, United Nations bodies and agencies, regional organizations, civil society organizations (including child-led organizations and academics), children, the private sector and professional groups. The Committee encourages those actors to foster continuous, high-level policy dialogues and research in relation to quality, evidence-based interventions for prevention and response. This includes dialogues at the international, national, regional and local levels. Such cooperation may need to address the protection of children crossing borders as migrants, refugees and asylum seekers and as victims/survivors of cross-border trafficking. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2017 | ||
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 5 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Women with disabilities are not a homogenous group. They include: indigenous women; refugee, migrant, asylum seeker and internally displaced women; women in detention (hospitals, residential institutions, juvenile or correctional facilities and prisons); women living in poverty; women from different ethnic, religious and racial backgrounds; women with multiple disabilities and high levels of support; women with albinism; and lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender women, and intersex persons. The diversity of women with disabilities also includes all types of impairments which is understood as physical, psychosocial, intellectual or sensory conditions which may or may not come with functional limitations. Disability is understood as the social effect of the interaction between individual impairment and the social and material environment, as described in article 1. | Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 50 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Women with disabilities in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies are at an increased risk of sexual violence as outlined in the previous section. In addition, the lack of sanitation facilities increases discrimination against women with disabilities. They face a number of barriers to accessing humanitarian aid. Although women and children are prioritised in the distribution of humanitarian relief, women with disabilities cannot always obtain information on relief projects as this is often not available in accessible formats. If women with disabilities do receive information, they may not be able to physically access distribution points, and if they do get access, women with disabilities many not be able to communicate with staff. Likewise, if women with disabilities are subjected to violence, exploitation or abuse, information and communication helplines and hotlines may not be accessible. Refugee camps often lack child protection mechanisms for children with disabilities. In addition, accessible sanitation facilities to ensure hygienic menstrual management are often unavailable which can in turn increase their risk of violence. Single women with disabilities face barriers to accessible evacuation as a result of an emergency or disaster situation, particularly if they are accompanied by their children at the time of evacuation. This disproportionately affects internally displaced women with disabilities who are without an adult family member, friends or caregivers. There are additional barriers faced by displaced girls with disabilities, to access formal and non-formal education, especially in crisis settings. | Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
Women and girls with disabilities 2016, para. 49 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In situations of armed conflict, occupation of territories, natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies women with disabilities are at increased risk of sexual violence and are less likely to be able to have access to recovery and rehabilitation services or access to justice . Women refugees, migrants and asylum seekers with disabilities may also face an increased risk of violence because they are denied the right to access health and justice systems because of their citizenship status. | Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 79 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Situations of armed conflict and humanitarian disasters result in the breakdown of social norms and family and community support structures. They force many displaced and crisis-affected adolescents to assume adult responsibilities and expose them to risks of sexual and gender-based violence, child and forced marriage and trafficking. Furthermore, adolescents in such situations are likely to be denied education, skills training, safe employment opportunities and access to appropriate sexual and reproductive health services and information, and to face isolation, discrimination and stigma, mental health and risk-taking behaviour. | Committee on the Rights of the Child | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2016 | ||
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 9 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Other factors that make it more difficult for women to gain access to justice include illiteracy, trafficking, armed conflict, status as an asylum seeker, internal displacement, statelessness, migration, being a female head of household, widowhood, living with HIV, deprivation of liberty, criminalization of prostitution, geographical remoteness and stigmatization of women fighting for their rights. That human rights defenders and organizations are frequently targeted because of their work must be emphasized and their own right to access to justice protected. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2015 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 30 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In line with the Convention, States parties are required to take proactive measures to ensure that the legally recognized grounds of persecution, including those enumerated in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group and political opinion), are given a gender-sensitive interpretation. In addition, gender may be used as a factor in recognizing membership of a particular social group or indeed as an identifying characteristic of such a group for purposes of granting refugee status under the 1951 Convention. States parties are also encouraged to add sex and or gender as an additional ground for refugee status in their national legislation. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 16 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Gender-related claims to asylum may intersect with other proscribed grounds of discrimination, including age, race, ethnicity/nationality, religion, health, class, caste, being lesbian, bisexual or transgender and other status. The Committee is concerned that many asylum systems continue to treat the claims of women through the lens of male experiences, which can result in their claims to refugee status not being properly assessed or being rejected. Even though gender is not specifically referenced in the definition of a refugee given in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, it can influence or dictate the type of persecution or harm suffered by women and the reasons for such treatment. The definition in the 1951 Convention, properly interpreted, covers gender-related claims to refugee status. It must be emphasized that asylum procedures that do not take into account the special situation or needs of women can impede a comprehensive determination of their claims. For example, asylum authorities may interview only the male "head of household", may not provide same-sex interviewers and interpreters to allow women to present their claims in a safe and gender-sensitive environment or may interview women asylum seekers in the presence of their husbands or male family members who may in fact be the source or sources of their complaints. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 28 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Committee is aware that, in cases in which persecution is perpetrated by non-State actors, receiving States have advanced the option of internal flight alternative, according to which a person is not at risk of persecution by non-State actors if he or she is relocated to a safe place within the State of origin. The Committee recalls that articles 2 (d) and (e) of the Convention require that States parties ensure that women are protected against discrimination generated by non-State actors and, in the context of a refugee woman, it observes that the essence of refugee status is to provide effective protection to the refugee woman. It also notes that, should the internal flight alternative be considered by receiving States, the option should be subject to strict requirements, such as the woman's ability to travel to the area concerned and gain admittance and settle there. States should also take into account gender-related aspects and risks in the assessment as to whether internal relocation is permissible. Difficulties faced by women in relocating to other parts of their countries of origin can include legal, cultural and/or social restrictions or prohibitions on women travelling or living alone, practical realities such as problems of securing accommodation, childcare and economic survival without family or community support, and risk of harassment and exploitation, including sexual exploitation and violence. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 50e | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [States parties should institute gender-sensitive procedural safeguards in asylum procedures to ensure that women asylum seekers are able to present their cases on the basis of equality and non-discrimination. States parties should ensure:] That a supportive interview environment is established so that the claimant can provide her account, including disclosure of sensitive and personal information, especially for survivors of trauma, torture and/or ill-treatment and sexual violence, and that sufficient time is allocated for interviews; | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 49 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | 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. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 13 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Committee notes that asylum seekers seek international protection on the basis that they cannot return to their country of origin because they have a well- founded fear of persecution or are at risk of being ill-treated or subjected to other serious harm. It also notes that under article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees the reasons for persecution must be linked to one of the five grounds listed therein: race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. Gender-related persecution is absent from the text. The present general recommendation is intended to ensure that States parties apply a gender perspective when interpreting all five grounds, use gender as a factor in recognizing membership of a particular social group for purposes of granting refugee status under the 1951 Convention and further introduce other grounds of persecution, namely sex and/or gender, into national legislation and policies relating to refugees and asylum seekers. It should be noted that, in other international, national and regional contexts, asylum is also provided to persons who cannot be returned to their countries of origin owing to, among other things, threats to their lives or torture or inhuman or degrading treatment. Those forms of complementary protection are also covered herein. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 33 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Articles 3 and 10 to 13 of the Convention entail that women seeking asylum and women refugees be granted, without discrimination, the right to accommodation, education, health care and other support, including food, clothing and necessary social services, appropriate to their particular needs as women. In addition, women refugees should be offered sources of livelihood and employment opportunities. Obligations include providing information on their rights and practical information on how to gain access to such services in a language that they understand. Given the high levels of illiteracy among women in some societies, special assistance may be required. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 2 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Convention is a dynamic instrument that contributes and adapts itself to the development of international law. The present general recommendation builds on the Committee's earlier general recommendations, including No. 19 on violence against women, No. 26 on women migrant workers, No. 28 on the core obligations of States parties under article 2 of the Convention and No. 30 on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations, as well as on reports of States parties under the Convention and the Committee's concluding observations thereon. It also builds on the Committee's consideration of individual communications and its conduct of inquiries under the Optional Protocol. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 4 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The scope and purpose of the present general recommendation must be determined in the context of the overall scope and purpose of the Convention, which is to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women in the recognition, enjoyment or exercise of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field, irrespective of their marital status. Within this overall scope, the objective of the present general recommendation is to guide States parties on how to address all aspects of their obligations under the Convention and assume their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of refugee, asylum-seeking and stateless women to non-discrimination and substantive equality, in times of peace, in situations of international and non-international armed conflict and in situations of occupation. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 27 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Harm perpetrated against women and girls is often at the hands of non-State actors, including family members, neighbours or society more generally. In such cases, article 2 (e) of the Convention requires that States parties assume their due diligence obligation and ensure that women are effectively protected from harm that may be inflicted by non-State actors. It does not suffice to strive for vertical gender equality of the individual woman vis-à-vis public authorities; States must also work to secure non-discrimination at the horizontal level, even within the family. Harm perpetrated by non-State actors is persecution where the State is unable or unwilling to prevent such harm or protect the claimant because of discriminatory governmental policies or practices. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 46 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | States parties should establish adequate screening mechanisms for the early identification of women asylum seekers with specific protection and assistance needs, including women with disabilities, unaccompanied girls, victims of trauma, victims of trafficking and/or forced prostitution, victims of sexual violence and victims of torture and/or ill-treatment. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 40 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | States parties should ensure that adequate human and financial resources are made available for the implementation of the Convention in respect of asylum seekers and refugees, including gender-related aspects of that implementation, and seek technical advice and assistance as required. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 26 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | 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"). | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 12 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | While noting that the definition of a refugee under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees provides criteria for the determination of refugee status in relation to persons who are explicitly covered under the Convention, the Committee notes that the present general recommendation covers all women in need of international protection under the Convention and seeks to apply the protection of the Convention to all women in the context of refugee status and asylum. However, the criteria provided by the definition of the word "refugee" in the 1951 Convention are important for the identification of women in need of international protection. At the same time, the Committee notes that regional refugee instruments and national laws have accepted and also expanded upon the definition given in the 1951 Convention to cover a range of persons in need of international protection for reasons of, variously, international or internal/non-international armed conflict and occupation, events seriously disturbing public order, serious human rights violations or generalized violence. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 14 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | There are many reasons why women are compelled to leave their homes and seek asylum in other countries. In addition to aggravated or cumulative forms of discrimination against women amounting to persecution, women experience violations of their rights throughout the displacement cycle. The Committee recognizes that displacement arising from armed conflict, gender-related persecution and other serious human rights violations that affect women compounds existing challenges to the elimination of discrimination against women. It also recognizes the persistence of other forms of exploitation concomitant with displacement, such as trafficking for purposes of sexual or labour exploitation, slavery and servitude. The Committee therefore reiterates the obligation of States parties to treat women with dignity and to respect, protect and fulfil their rights under the Convention at each stage of the displacement cycle, as well as in the enjoyment of durable solutions, including integration and/or resettlement in receiving States and/or voluntary repatriation to their State of origin. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 34 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Gender sensitivity should be reflected in reception arrangements, taking into account the specific needs of victims of sexual abuse and exploitation, of trauma and torture or ill-treatment and of other particularly vulnerable groups of women and girls. Reception arrangements should also allow for the unity of the family as present within the territory, in particular in the context of reception centres. As a general rule, pregnant women and nursing mothers, who both have special needs, should not be detained. Where detention of women asylum seekers is unavoidable, separate facilities and materials are required to meet the specific hygiene needs of women. The use of female guards and warders should be promoted. All staff assigned to work with women detainees should receive training relating to the gender-specific needs and human rights of women. Pursuant to articles 1, 2, 5 (a) and 12 of the Convention, failure to address the specific needs of women in immigration detention and ensure the respectful treatment of detained women asylum seekers could constitute discrimination within the meaning of the Convention. Not least for the purposes of avoiding violence against women, separate facilities for male and female detainees are required, unless in family units, and alternatives to detention are to be made available. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women 2014, para. 37 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | States parties should adopt legislation and other measures to respect the principle of non-refoulement, in accordance with existing obligations under international law, and take all measures necessary to ensure that victims of serious forms of discrimination, including gender-related forms of persecution, who are in need of protection, regardless of their status or residence, are not returned under any circumstance to any country in which their life would be at risk or where they might be subjected to serious forms of discrimination, including gender-based violence, or to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2014 | ||
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 56 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Searches for durable solutions following conflict-related displacement frequently exclude the perspective of displaced women, either because they rely on decision-making by a family member or community in which women's voices are marginalized or because durable solutions are set as part of post-conflict processes that exclude women. In addition, female asylum seekers from conflict-affected areas can face gendered barriers to asylum, given that their narrative may not fit the traditional patterns of persecution, which have been largely articulated from a male perspective. | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2013 | ||
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 57b | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [The Committee recommends that States parties:] Address the specific risks and particular needs of different groups of internally displaced and refugee women who are subjected to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, including women with disabilities, older women, girls, widows, women who head households, pregnant women, women living with HIV/AIDS, rural women, indigenous women, women belonging to ethnic, national, sexual or religious minorities, and women human rights defenders; | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2013 | ||
Women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations 2013, para. 57d | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | [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; | Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women | General Comment / Recommendation |
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| 2013 |