Experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Commend Panama on its Noteworthy Frameworks for Women, Ask about Gender Parity in Politics and the Gender Pay Gap
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today concluded its review of the eighth periodic report of Panama, with its Experts commending Panama on its noteworthy frameworks for women established since the last review, and asking about gender parity in politics and the gender pay gap.
A Committee Expert commended Panama on its efforts to develop an institutional framework to promote gender equality, highlighting judicial and other frameworks which had been established in Panama since the last review and calling them noteworthy. Another Committee Expert asked about achieving balance between women and men in politics, noting that woman needed to account for 50 per cent of candidates and highlighting a loophole where if a female candidate could not be found, they could be replaced by a male candidate, enquiring what was being done to change this rule. A Committee Expert was concerned that the gender pay gap still existed and stated that many women’s work contracts had been suspended due to the pandemic, asking what measures the State party was taking to narrow the gender pay gap.
In response to the questions on gender parity in politics, the delegation said that political institutions should incorporate measures guaranteeing gender parity and proposals which did not comply with parity had recently been blocked. Other mechanisms that Panama had included a mechanism to support political participation by women and it was anticipated that these innovations would be bought into force at the local elections in February, ensuring the quotas were properly applied – with 50 per cent women and 50 per cent men. Regarding the pay gap, the delegation said that in terms of pay equality, Panama had been able to roll out a national plan based on equal pay which established equal pay for men and women and involved the implementation of three monitoring tools to monitor pay gaps.
The delegation of Panama was led by Maria Ines Castillo De Sanmartin, Minister of Social Development, who said that the National Institute for Women had been promoting as of 2019 a programme for gender equality which worked across public sectors. Despite the progress achieved, challenges remained, but Panama was committed to continue progress as the rights of women and girls were human rights.
Also presenting the report were Angela Russo, Judge of the Supreme Court of Justice; Juana Lopez Cordoba, Vice Minister of the Interior; and Ana Luisa Castro, Deputy Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The delegation of Panama was comprised of representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Social Development; the Ministry of Labour Development; the Ministry of Public Security; the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of the Presidency; the Supreme Court of Justice; the Attorney General’s Office; the National Institute for Women; the National Secretariat of Disability; the National Women’s Institute; the National Migration Service; the Electoral Tribunal; the Office of the Controller of the General Republic; and representatives of the Permanent Mission of Panama to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
In concluding remarks, Ms. Castillo de Sanmartin noted that a transparent dialogue was fundamental to ensure the respect and safeguarding of women and girls’ human rights in Panama. She recognised that despite the progress reported, there were consistent challenges and that it was only through a constructive and sincere dialogue that they could progress.
Gladys Acosta Vargas, Chair of the Committee, congratulated Panama for the progress made and urged it to adopt all recommendations made by the Committee for the benefit of all women and girls in Panama.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women’s eighty-first session is being held from 7 to 18 February. All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage. Meeting summary releases can be found here. The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed at http://webtv.un.org/ .
The Committee will next meet in public at 11 a.m. on Thursday, 10 February to begin its consideration of the eighth periodic report of Senegal (CEDAW/C/SEN/8).
Report
The Committee has before it the eighth periodic report of Panama (CEDAW/C/PAN/8) .
Presentation of Report
MARIA INES CASTILLO DE SANMARTIN,Minister of Social Development of Panama and Head of Delegation, said the Panamanian delegation was pleased to attend the constructive dialogue, highlighting the great effort taken to prepare the report during the pandemic. Ms. Castillo De Sanmartin highlighted the value that Panama placed on the contributions of civil society during the process. The current priority was the fight against poverty and inequality as part of the national strategic plan and Panama’s voluntary commitment to the 2030 agenda. The gender approach was a tool to reduce the impact of poverty through social policies with programmes prioritising vulnerable populations.
Recent achievements for the promotion of women’s physical autonomy included the adoption of an action plan to strengthen police service on domestic and gender violence; a protocol for victims of violence covering all provinces and regions that had benefitted more than 15,000 women since 2014; a system designed to improve the quality of comprehensive care for women; the approval of a national and intersectoral strategy for the prevention and care of pregnancy in adolescents and girls; and promoting the economic autonomy and participation of women in decision-making through the National Council for Gender Parity, with women currently constituting 35.29 per cent of the executive body.
Five of the nine positions that made up the Supreme Court of Justice were occupied by women. The family network programme aimed at the empowerment of rural indigenous women and their families, benefiting more than 6,082 families represented by women. The Minister outlined the devastating impact that the pandemic had had, particularly on women in the informal sector, noting that they had needed to leave their work to care for their families. The National Institute for Women had been promoting as of 2019 a programme for gender equality which worked across public sectors. Ms. Castillo De Sanmartin noted that despite the progress achieved, challenges remained, stating that Panama was committed to continue progress as the rights of women and girls were human rights.
ANGELA RUSSO, Judge of the Supreme Court of Justice, said that women occupied the majority of justice positions in the Supreme Court. Women represented 61 per cent of the labour force. Many processes were being developed for the protection of the rights of women and girls, with free legal assistance offered to victims of violence. Ms. Russo highlighted the creation of three new children's courts and two family courts in 2021. Specialised training in human rights and gender was provided to judges and judicial support personnel.
JUANA LOPEZ CORDOBA, Vice Minister of the Interior, highlighted that indigenous people made up 13 per cent of the population in Panama, with a comprehensive development plan for the indigenous people of Panama. Ms. Lopez highlighted the economic empowerment plan for indigenous women 2022-2025. Indigenous women held four out of nine posts in a 2019 regional municipal election. Ms. Lopez underscored Panama’s commitment to those who had been traditionally excluded, highlighting the International Day for People of African Descent, with the Government committed to honouring Afro-Panamanians and making their contributions visible to national life. Effective measures were in place to punish racism and discrimination. Ms. Lopez said that Panama had received more than 70,000 people seeking international protection. There were more than 28,000 recognised refugees in Panama with 15,000 requests under way – 45 per cent of this population was made up of women.
ANA LUISA CASTRO, Deputy Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , said Panama was committed to the gender equality agenda nationally and internationally. In regard to gender parity in the political realm, as per an electoral reform in October 2021, Panama had been able to increase the parity of all pre candidates and candidates to include one of each gender. In political parties, there must be 50 per cent of males and 50 per cent of women in available posts. Ms. Castro recognised progress made and was aware of the challenges that lay ahead.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert noted that Panama had a history of legislation targeting discrimination against women. The Committee Expert congratulated the State party on the expansion of a law on anti-discrimination, but noted concerns, primarily around the non-implementation of new measures and the absence of strong monitoring and an evaluation mechanism. Did the State party have a clear timeline for strengthening the National Institute of Women and addressing the funding and human resource gaps to ensure implementation of the measures required by the promulgated legislation and to ensure women’s human rights? Would the State party consider establishing an independent mechanism to monitor legislative implementation in relation to women and gender? The Committee Expert welcomed several initiatives to improve women’s access to justice, including the judiciary’s agreement to offer free legal assistance to women victims of violence, irrespective of their socioeconomic status, with steps taken to purchase audio and video equipment so that oral proceedings could be conducted in family courts and the availability of mobile courts in indigenous communities. Did the new courts and special provisions for legal aid apply to all areas of the law and did they also provide access to justice for low-income women, Afro-descendent women, migrant women and women currently before the law or imprisoned in matters related to employment, land rights, criminal justice?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said there were plans to increase access to justice which had been carried out in courts and different regions and communities. A project had been implemented in 2019/2020 which was currently suspended due to the pandemic.
The delegation said that in certain regions, a series of mobile courts had been built by the judicial body which had authority in cases involving family courts – these had been developed for those seeking greater access.
Regarding awareness raising on justice and equality, the delegation said there was a justice unit which travelled around the country talking to judges and human rights defenders, with awareness raising for all stakeholders in the judicial system, specifically in regard to the rights of people of African descent.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert reiterated previous questions regarding the new-anti-discrimination act, the independent mechanism and anti-racism.
One Committee Expert commended Panama on its efforts to develop an institutional framework to promote gender equality, highlighting judicial and other frameworks which had been established in Panama since the last session, calling them noteworthy. What steps were being taken to elevate the National Women’s Institute to a full-fledged ministry and provide the Institute with a full budget and resources. What steps would be taken to ensure the Institute fulfilled its role in supporting the human rights of women?
A Committee Expert asked about achieving balance between women and men in politics, noting that women needed to account for 50 per cent of candidates and highlighting a loophole where if a female candidate could not be found, they could be replaced by a male candidate, enquiring what was being done to change this rule.
Responses by the Delegation
MARIA INES CASTILLO DE SANMARTIN, Minister of Social Development of Panama and Head of Delegation, said that setting up a Ministry for Women was a priority which had been jeopardised due to the pandemic, as funds had needed to be diverted to health priorities. She recognised the need for Panama to have a structure for equality for women which went up to the highest level of government and said this would be achieved as soon as it was financially viable. At present the Panamanian Government was focused on regional levels.
The delegation discussed the budget, stating that there was a need to strengthen efforts to support the regions; an indigenous county support centre for women would be opened with psychological, legal and social support staff. Regarding evaluation and monitoring, a manual of monitoring centres had been drawn up which aimed for a standardised model creating infrastructure for those regional and local centres. The delegation emphasised that since the implementation of the regional support centres, over 30,000 women had been reached.
It had been established that political institutions should incorporate measures guaranteeing gender parity. Proposals which did not comply with parity had recently been blocked. Other mechanisms that Panama had included a mechanism to support the political participation by women – one of the first in the Latin American region to do so. It was anticipated that these innovations would be bought into force at the local elections in February, ensuring the quotas were properly applied – 50 per cent women and 50 per cent men.
The delegation emphasised the importance of rights being applied universally to both Panamanians and foreigners. Panama was committed through a humanitarian lens to support those communities living in areas which were difficult to access, including the Darien province which had had a specialised support centre set up to receive the complaints of women in these vulnerable groups. Panamanians and foreigners were seen as equal before the law and that was how orderly and safe migration would be addressed.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert requested information on gender stereotypes, asking about legislative progress, and noting that stereotypes continued to be present in the Panamanian society. The Committee Expert asked about the programmes aimed at promoting principles of non-discrimination as well as awareness raising campaigns in the press targeted at men and boys?
One Committee Expert said that Panama had improved its stance on trafficking in many areas, asking how the State party identified and protected victims of national trafficking – were there shelters open to them? Had nationals from Panama been identified as perpetrators?
A Committee Expert noted that prostitution of children was a reality in Panama and that sexual relations between adults and adolescents were tolerated by many. The Committee Expert noted an increase in child sex tourism and asked what measures were being taken to stop children being a victim of this and subsequently being exploited as adult women. When would specific shelters for victims of trafficking be opened and how would the safety of these victims be guaranteed? The Committee Expert noted that there was an increase of sex traffickers using social media apps to recruit victims, a change brought on due to the pandemic – how was the State party reacting to this? What was being done to protect vulnerable migrant groups from being trafficked?
Responses by the Delegation
Regarding the topic of children’s shelters, the delegation said that Panama was committed to improving the standards of the shelters. Panama was promoting new measures for care and families in the communities and deinstitutionalising the shelters. Panama was passing a draft law the following week which would create a system guaranteeing the protection of children and teenagers, addressing the historic debt to the children.
The delegation identified a protocol for the victims of trafficking and noted a technical unit which worked to identify and support victims of trafficking – used for nationals and foreigners alike. Panama continued to fight the scourge and sentenced those responsible, with the highest sentencing reaching 25 years in prison.
A law would soon be passed to protect the human rights of children and teenagers with a series of guarantees and rights to protection. This included rights to refugee status and health care for victims of abuse or exploitation. A campaign was being promoted for foster parents to allow for a full transformation of the system, allowing for a transition from an institutional environment into a family environment.
Regarding migrant women, the delegation said around 2,000 women per year had been supported in centres since 2019. The aim was to ensure that dignified care was in place for the shelters in the country. The delegation addressed the issues in eliminating stereotypes and said that there were six academic programmes on non-sexist workplaces.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert asked when the State party planned to align the trafficking policy with the Palermo Protocol? Could the State party segregate data on trafficking for victims and perpetrators?
One Committee Expert asked for updated information to be provided on the effective measures to ensure gender parity in the lists of candidates in local and general elections. The Electoral Code provided that 50 per cent of all political parties’ candidates for all governance positions must be women, however, there was a loophole that if a female candidate could not be found, she could be replaced by a male candidate – what assurance could be given that the Electoral Code would be changed to remove that caveat? What measures were being implemented to combat negative attitudes toward the Gender Parity Initiative and/or gender quotas in politics? The Committee Expert then asked how Panama supported indigenous women and/or women with disabilities to participate as leaders in domestic and international spaces?
A Committee Expert congratulated Panama on the data presented and acknowledged the difficulties of the pandemic. How did the State resolve problems concerning the provision of legal aid to non-legal stateless people? Would the State party establish processes to ensure the protection of the most vulnerable stateless persons, including women and children?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation addressed the registration of children in remote areas, stating that Panama had a programme in place to address this issue, working near the borders in assisting the vulnerable population. Panama recognised that all children had the right to receive birth certificates and sought to ensure that all children had them to receive access to the proper programmes. Regarding parity, a law was recently passed which modified the Electoral Code for general elections, all political parties and internal elections.
The delegation provided statistics on trafficking, stating that 34 perpetrators had been identified along with 21 victims. The delegation said Panama had fully implemented the Palermo Protocol.
Panama was seeking to provide all people with access to care through the public health care system. The delegation outlined support provided for people with disabilities. The role of indigenous women in power changing structures was underscored. Numerous laws had been adopted recognising indigenous lands and regulating the participation of indigenous women in public and private organizations.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert questioned how stereotypes were impacting equality and affecting violence against women, asking what changes were being made to recognise discrimination against women. What was being done to combat bullying in schools? What was being done to combat school dropout as a result of pregnancy? What solutions were being looked at to avoid teenage pregnancy? The Committee Expert noted a gap between rural and urban girls, particularly indigenous girls, and asked what was being done to address this.
A Committee Expert was concerned that the gender pay gap still existed and stated that many women’s work contracts had been suspended due to the pandemic, asking what measures the State party was taking to narrow the gender pay gap. The Expert asked what was being done to protect the basic rights of refugee women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex women and women with HIV/AIDS? The Expert asked what measures were being taken to ensure that all workers were treated equally, including fair working hours and access to social security.
Responses by the Delegation
MARIA INES CASTILLO DE SANMARTIN, Minister of Social Development of Panama and Head of Delegation, said significant steps forward in sex education and prevention of teenage pregnancy had been taken, which included guides being implemented by the Ministry of Education. The delegation said there was a law which enshrined the right to sex education, identifying this as progress.
On measures to reduce stereotypes, the delegation said documentation had been developed, with the inclusion of women’s rights. The documentation material was accompanied by educational videos which explained the development of human rights and was broken down into several modules dealing with gender-based violence.
In terms of pay equality, Panama had been able to roll out a national plan based on equal pay which established equal pay for men and women and three monitoring tools to monitor pay gaps. A number of programmes had been established, including support programmes for insertion in the labour market which benefited a number of people, including women and people with disabilities. A study was set up during the pandemic to look at the level of domestic workers in Panama and the conditions they were working in, in order to set up proper contracts to establish their rights and to regulate domestic work in Panama.
The delegation said the aim for social security in Panama was the right to ensure earnings and protection if accidents were to occur. The law of social security had several programmes set up to support the population regarding instances of illness, invalidity or death. The Ministry of Labour provided free legal aid to women in instances of harassment in the workplace, with 780 women supported in 2021 in cases of harassment in the workplace.
Questions by the Committee Experts
A Committee Expert commended the State party’s efforts on maternal health progress which had been made in Panama. However, it was noted that rural women faced difficulty accessing these resources around the country, resulting in high mortality rates, asking what would be done to ensure access to maternal health care for all women. The Committee asked what was being done to promote the decriminalisation of abortion. What kind of legislation had the State party implemented to enforce the right to sexual education in rural areas? In light of the specific impact of COVID-19 on women, what programmes was the State party considering in relation to economic and social justice, including health and human rights of women and the transgender community?
Regarding social security, could the State party advise on the timeline for the expansion of the social security system to self-employed women, and for the establishment of better systems to monitor the enrolment of women in low-income occupations in the national social security system? The Committee Expert noted that Panama was an important international and regional financial centre; however, there were concerns about money laundering activities. The Expert asked for information on the measures that the State party had taken to ensure that its domestic financial and professional services industries were not involved in transnational tax avoidance arrangements.
Responses by the Delegation
MARIA INES CASTILLO DE SANMARTIN, Minister of Social Development of Panama and Head of Delegation, said a strategy for the prevention of early pregnancy had been adopted. The delegation said that the national plan for sexual and reproductive health included free care for migrants in Panama. Decrees and resolutions had been instated which aimed to ensure that pregnant women had access to prenatal care and ongoing care following the birth. Indigenous women had free access to health care facilities in regional areas. Teenage pregnancy was an issue, and the Panamanian Government was working with partners to increase care for young pregnant girls. COVID had doubled the maternal mortality rate in the country, with this falling after the vaccination. Much had been done to address this issue, including the training of community members as midwives to assist with births. The national government had created a dialogue table for social security, including a maternity unit and a group on the informal market. This dialogue had been attended by women’s groups, informal workers, entrepreneurs and freelancers.
Follow up Question by a Committee Expert
A Committee Expert asked what proportion of maternal deaths were due to unsafe abortions, if contraception was available, and whether it was low or no cost, bearing in mind high abortion rates.
Response by the Delegation
The delegation said there was a criminalisation of abortion. However, the Criminal Code allowed abortion in the case of rape, or in the case where the mother’s life was at risk, stating judges could allow abortions in these cases. While maternal mortality in Panama was high compared to other countries, it was continuing to fall with the primary cause of maternal death caused by post-partum haemorrhage and septic shock. The delegation said that for five years, there had been no reported deaths due to unsafe abortions. Family planning advice was free and accessible in Panama and contraception could be purchased without a prescription.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert underscored the important programmes which had been established in rural areas of Panama, asking what kind of guidance was provided under these programmes and what kind of access to loans were available. How many minority women were able to have access to this support during the pandemic? Had there been an environmental impact evaluation and human impact evaluation on Afro-descendants and indigenous women on the development projects in their areas? What measures had been adopted for repatriation for these women who had been affected? How were women being protected from violence when in transit through Panama, specifically refugees? What was the State party doing to prevent discrimination and stigmatisation of lesbians? What treatment did transgender women receive in prisons – were they given their own wing and access to justice? The Committee Expert asked for more information on women with disabilities, highlighting the concerning issue of sterilisation without consent and women being prohibited from caring for their children – how was the State party ensuring the right to justice for these women? How was support provided to women with HIV/AIDS?
Responses by the Delegation
MARIA INES CASTILLO DE SANMARTIN, Minister of Social Development of Panama and Head of Delegation, highlighted programmes which had been implemented and benefited 7,000 families, stating that guidelines and public policy for rural women in Panama had been initiated. Four key pillars had been established as part of the 2030 policy to help persons with disabilities, including a programme which provided women with seed capital, helping them to launch a business that suited their skills. In Panama, sterilisation of women with disabilities was not undertaken unless it was an urgent need and was only done working with the authorised guardian and with informed consent provided.
Regarding the rights of women of African descent, the delegation proposed the drafting and implementation of an economic empowerment plan for these women. There were also important indigenous programmes for women of African descent, aimed at transforming the conditions of those living in poverty. The delegation noted a programme called Panama shows Solidarity, which had delivered 1 million packages of food to indigenous communities in Panama.
MARIA INES CASTILLO DE SANMARTIN, Minister of Social Development of Panama and Head of Delegation, discussed three programmes which had been set up and had continued despite the pandemic to provide support to small businesses. On the topic of refugees, the delegation said that there had been significant steps taken in the area of gender, ensuring that any victim who had experienced discrimination or violence should be given international protection. Gender was being looked at in a comprehensive manner through the refugee lens in Panama.
The delegation said it was important to highlight that national support programmes which targeted women needed to also target non-Panamanian nationals, particularly in the cases of migrant women. Panama placed particular focus on women on migration flows, with the Panamanian State supporting those as they had signed an agreement to provide coordinated support to those migrating through their country.
Question by Committee Expert
A Committee Expert asked for a response on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people and women with HIV/AIDS and the treatment of transgender women in prisons.
Response by the Delegation
The delegation said police units received training on human rights issues, while capacity building around human rights, gender violence and domestic issues was recognised as a priority. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people received the same access to health care as everyone else, while women who suffered from HIV/AIDS received special access to a healthcare programme.
The delegation said that there was a plan with many different activities, including the amendment of the legal framework for sexually transmitted diseases and a plan to reduce the transmission of syphilis and HIV. Free care for all individuals and pregnant women – Panamanian or otherwise – was offered and free pregnancy support and neo-natal care, particularly for those with HIV/AIDS, was also provided.
Questions by Committee Expert
A Committee Expert asked about the new adoption bill which included provisions to ban same sex couples from adopting children. Panama had not legalised same sex marriage and this bill prevented lesbian and gay couples from adopting – how would the Government address this? The Committee asked about a survey held in 2010 on the composition of households and the division of responsibilities held within the household – with results showing that the division of care work and household management was borne disproportionately by women. Would the 2020 census show data on this issue?
Closing Remarks
MARIA INES CASTILLO DE SANMARTIN, Minister of Social Development of Panama and Head of Delegation, thanked the Chair and the Committee Experts, stating that more than 10 years had gone past since the presentation of the last report, noting that the transparent dialogue was fundamental to ensure the respect and safeguarding of women and girls’ human rights in Panama. Ms. Castillo de Sanmartin recognised that despite the progress reported there were consistent challenges and that it was only through a constructive and sincere dialogue that they could progress. She concluded that women’s rights were human rights
GLADYS ACOSTA VARGAS, Chair of the Committee, extended thanks to the representatives of the State party for the answers and explanations provided and said that it allowed the Committee to better understand the position of women in Panama throughout a challenging period. The Committee congratulated Panama for the progress made and urged it to adopt all recommendations made by the Committee for the benefit of all women and girls in Panama.
Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the information media;
not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.
CEDAW22.004E