Experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Praise Azerbaijan’s Support for Rural Women, Ask about the Amended Laws Affecting Foreign Grants for Non-Governmental Organizations and the Draft National Action Plans Promoting Gender Equality
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today concluded its consideration of the sixth periodic report of Azerbaijan, with Committee Experts praising Azerbaijan’s support for rural women, and raising questions about amended laws that affected foreign grants for non-governmental organizations, as well as the draft national action plans promoting gender equality.
A Committee Expert praised the action plan for supporting rural women, and the association for rural women established in collaboration with the World Bank. Strict gender roles and stereotypes persisted in rural areas, however. How would Azerbaijan support women’s access to land, loans from banks and advisory services?
Dalia Leinarte, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Azerbaijan, addressed legislation on non-governmental organizations, saying that amendments passed on laws in 2014 were negatively affecting these organizations. Under these amendments, non-governmental organizations were prevented from receiving foreign grants. What was being done to ensure funding for non-governmental organizations?
Ms. Leinarte said that Azerbaijan’s draft national action plans promoting gender equality demonstrated that Azerbaijan was fully focused on creating an equal and egalitarian society. However, neither the Constitution nor the 2006 law on gender equality covered both direct and indirect discrimination against women in the private and public spheres, and instead took a gender-neutral approach. Another Expert also commended the State party on the policies it had prepared on gender equality and women’s empowerment and asked what was the timeframe for the implementation of these draft plans.
Introducing the report, Bahar Muradova, Chairperson of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs and head of the delegation, said that draft legislation aiming to improve the rights of women included draft action plans on ensuring gender equality and women’s employment, and implementing Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.
The delegation said that the draft national action plans on Security Council resolution 1325 and on gender equality had been prepared. After being signed by the President’s office, these plans would be implemented immediately. The war and the pandemic had slowed progress, but the delegation hoped that these plans would be approved in the coming days.
On support for non-governmental organizations, Ms. Muradova said that during 2018-2021, the Agency for State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations had allocated around 1.4 million AZN to non-governmental organizations to implement 200 projects. The delegation added that the State Council on Supporting Non-Governmental Organizations had been expanded into this State Agency last year, and this had increased its powers and ability to defend non-governmental organizations.
In closing remarks, Ms. Murdova said that the dialogue with the Committee would contribute to the development of Azerbaijan. She said that the State party would work to implement the recommendations of the Committee.
In her closing remarks, Ana Peláez Narváez, Committee Vice-President, thanked the delegation for the constructive dialogue, and congratulated the State for all its efforts in promoting the rights of women and girls. She called on the State party to fully implement the Committee’s recommendations.
The delegation of Azerbaijan consisted of representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; Ministry of Economy; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Education; Ministry of Labour and Social Protection; Ministry of Youth and Sports; Ministry of Agriculture; State Statistics Committee; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Finance; State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs ; and the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan to the United Nations Office at Geneva
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women’s eighty-second session is being held from 13 June to 1 July. 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 at 10 a.m. on Friday, 17 June to consider the sixth periodic report of Namibia (CEDAW/C/NAM/6).
Report
The Committee has before it the sixth periodic report of Azerbaijan (CEDAW/C/AZE/6).
Presentation of Report
Chairperson of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs of Azerbaijan and head of the delegation , said that the State party had worked to improve legislation to ensure the rights of women, as well as strengthen institutional mechanisms during the reporting period. A three-year national action plan on the prevention of domestic violence was approved in 2020. The Government had also focused on raising awareness and strengthening inter-agency relations on eliminating gender stereotypes.
Draft legislation aiming to improve the rights of women included draft action plans on ensuring gender equality and women’s employment, and implementing Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.
New Child and Family Support Centre buildings were opened in three regions in 2019-2021, and another would be constructed in the recently liberated Aghdam district. These centres offered community-based services for women in the regions. The Agency for Development of Small and Medium Businesses had also been established to promote the development of women's entrepreneurship activities.
A project raising awareness on the Istanbul Convention had been launched by the Council of Europe. The Committee for Family, Women and Children Issues had also been established in Parliament.
In 2019, the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs, the Azerbaijan Bar Association and the United Nations Country Office in Azerbaijan signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding on the provision of legal assistance to the victims of domestic violence. Recently, penitentiary institutions for women and juvenile prisoners had been constructed and modernised. A hotline had also been launched to receive reports of domestic violence.
A woman was appointed to the position of the First Vice-President of Azerbaijan in 2017. The newly elected speaker of Azerbaijan’s Parliament was also a woman. The number of women members of parliament and women in municipalities had increased since the last report. In 2020, women prosecutors were appointed in two districts, and the number of women lawyers had tripled, reaching 18 per cent in the last four years.
During 2018-2021, the Agency for State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations had allocated around 1.4 million AZN to non-governmental organizations to implement 200 projects.
The Government of Azerbaijan had identified the provision of quality education services to the population, in particular women, as a strategic direction. Before publication, textbooks were evaluated to ensure a sensitive approach to gender, race, ethnicity and religion. Meetings with high school students were conducted by Government agencies and non-governmental organizations to encourage girls to pursue careers in engineering and information and communication technology, as well as to boys to pursue careers in education and culture.
The share of women in the total employed population was 48.3 per cent, and their share in the civil service was 27.5 per cent. Activities had also been carried out to increase the number of women in small and medium enterprises, and currently they accounted for 21.4 per cent of individual entrepreneurs.
Measures had also been taken to empower women in rural areas.
The ruling New Azerbaijan Party had established a Department of Gender Issues, which conducted awareness-raising events in the regions to combat gender stereotypes. A draft law has been prepared to provide 14-day paid leave for fathers. New amendments had been prepared to the Labour Code to remove legal barriers to women’s employment in Azerbaijan. Under these amendments, the list of 674 hazardous professions and jobs for women would be decreased to 204. These restrictions would only apply to pregnant women and women with children under one year of age.
Projects had been implemented to prevent sex-selective abortions, and to support female entrepreneurship and prevent domestic violence. The State would continue to make every effort to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women.
Questions by a Committee Expert
DALIA LEINARTE, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Azerbaijan, said that Azerbaijan’s draft national action plans promoting gender equality demonstrated that Azerbaijan was fully focused on creating an equal and egalitarian society. However, neither the Constitution nor the 2006 law on gender equality covered both direct and indirect discrimination against women in the private and public spheres, and instead took a gender-neutral approach. Was this approach a reason why Azerbaijan was reluctant to sign and ratify the Istanbul Convention?
Did the Government engage with civil society when drafting its report and national action plans on gender equality? The Committee was concerned that the amendments passed on laws concerning non-governmental organizations in 2014 were negatively affecting these organizations. Under these amendments, non-governmental organizations were prevented from receiving foreign grants. What was being done to ensure funding for non-governmental organizations?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the definition of gender equality within the 2006 law was in line with the Convention, except for the definition of sexual harassment. Work was underway to improve the implementation mechanisms and amend laws to make progress on promoting gender equality. Specific articles of the Convention were included in the law on domestic violence. International treaties ratified by Azerbaijan superseded domestic law. The Government was working to pass relevant decisions to strengthen the rights of women.
Concerning the Istanbul Convention, the Azerbaijan Government was working to raise awareness about it and promote it. A guidebook on the Convention had been prepared for members of parliament.
There were over 3,000 non-governmental organizations in Azerbaijan, including almost 200 women’s organizations. The State Council on Supporting Non-Governmental Organizations had been expanded into a State Agency last year, and this had increased its powers and ability to defend non-governmental organizations.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert commended the State party on the policies it had prepared on gender equality and women’s empowerment and asked what was the timeframe for the implementation of these draft plans. The State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs had a lack of authority to promote gender perspectives across the Government. Did the State plan to promote this Committee to a full Ministry?
The Human Rights Commissioner for Azerbaijan was accredited “A” status in the past, but this status was downgraded to “B” in 2018 as the Commissioner did not respect the Paris Principles. What was being done to restore the Commissioner’s “A” status?
Another Committee Expert asked about measures in place to improve women’s political participation in public life. The Expert called for the introduction of quotas for female representatives in parliament, and the implementation of temporary special measures to protect vulnerable women.
The draft national action plans on Security Council resolution 1325 and on gender equality had been prepared. After being signed by the President’s office, these plans would be implemented immediately. The war and the pandemic had slowed progress, but the delegation hoped that these plans would be approved in the coming days. The Government aimed to make changes to restore the “A” status of the Human Rights Commissioner.
Specific temporary measures had been proposed, including policies to support female entrepreneurs. Gender focal points had been nominated in Government agencies. An integrated gender portal had also been created, and the actions of gender focal points had been uploaded to this portal.
Questions by a Committee Expert
A Committee Expert congratulated the State party on its progress in recognising gender equality and combatting domestic violence. However, there was a lack of implementation of the law on domestic violence, and there was only a small number of shelters for victims and a lack of support for non-governmental organizations supporting victims. The Expert commended the State’s legislation on combatting sex-selective abortions. However, there were issues with the implementation of this legislation. Would the State party consider implementing a national campaign to promote the eradication of sex-selective abortions and promote the rights of women and girls? What mechanisms were in place to implement the national action plan on gender-based violence, to establish shelters for victims, and to strengthen local capacities for implementing the action plan through education programmes?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that Azerbaijan was united in its efforts to fight the issues raised. An extensive campaign was underway to prevent sex-selective abortions; it was being carried out in collaboration with international organizations and civil society organizations. In 2020, an action plan on preventing sex-selective abortions had been passed. Fifty civil servants had undertaken international training and were working in different regions to promote the rights of girls and prevent sex-selective abortions.
Data on abortions was being collected to address shortcomings. Twenty-two telephone hotlines had been established by the State, including a hotline for issues related to domestic violence and support for children.
The Government was working with civil society to prevent domestic violence. In recent years, an increasing number of protection orders had been issued. Groups had been created to monitor domestic violence and violence against children, and training was provided to members of these groups.
Training courses for judiciary members included courses on preventing gender-based violence and human trafficking. Over 2,000 members had undertaken this training. The Council of Europe had partnered with the Ministry of Justice to promote the Istanbul Convention and the access of women to justice.
Gender specialists had been employed within higher education institutions, and conferences had been held on gender equality. The Ministry of Education had investigated reasons for the low number of women in engineering faculties and had organised a campaign to promote more women to study engineering.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs had received 7,500 calls to its violence hotline and duly responded to each call. Almost seven per cent of crimes related to violence against women and children. Public councils including celebrities had been created to raise awareness on women’s rights in local regions.
A special centre for victims of domestic violence had been created in 2021, and work was underway to establish more centres. These centres were working to raise awareness on domestic violence. A databank on domestic violence cases had also been established. It had recorded 87 incidents so far in 2022. There were issues with incidents not being input into the databank, and so training on the databank was being carried out, and work was underway to improve the system. The data it provided allowed the Government to analyse trends regarding domestic violence.
Questions by a Committee Expert
A Committee Expert commended Azerbaijan on its national action plan on human trafficking, including its guidelines for identifying victims and opening care centres. However, there was room for improvement in punishing human traffickers and identifying victims. The coordination mechanisms in place between non-governmental organizations did not conform to international standards. How did the State party intend to develop indicators for identifying victims of trafficking? Did the State provide free legal aid for victims of trafficking? When would new centres for victims be opened, and did the State plan to increase funding for non-governmental organizations working to prevent trafficking? Did the State intend to appeal provisions punishing women who were victims of forced prosecution, and introduce harsher legislation for punishing pimps and traffickers?
Responses by the Delegation
Several governmental bodies were involved in aiding victims of human trafficking. A special service within the Ministry of Internal Affairs had been created to address trafficking issues. New methods of trafficking were arising, and this had compelled the State to create a national action plan and working group to fight trafficking. There were around 250 human trafficking crimes identified in 2021. Victims of trafficking were placed in shelters and provided with financial and psychological support and translation services. These shelters also helped these women to integrate into society and obtain qualifications in various professions. Awareness campaigns on the dangers of fake jobs and education were being carried out. In 2021, 103 victims of trafficking had been supported by the State. Tenders were provided to non-governmental organizations to provide social services to victims. Within the national action plan on trafficking, there were specific measures to protect children, including monitoring of adopted children. Rules on identifying children involved in prostitution were also in place.
Questions by a Committee Expert
A Committee Expert welcomed progress made in women’s participation in political and public life, including the addition of two female members to parliament, and the increase in female deputy ministers and judges. However, the State ranked 141 out of 156 countries with regards to political empowerment according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021 of the World Economic Forum. Women were significantly underrepresented in elective offices, and the number of women appointed to senior decision-making positions in the Government was very low. What efforts had the State party made to promote the participation of women in parliament, the Government and the judiciary? What were the barriers in this regard? Did the State party plan to introduce quotas for female candidates in elections? What country-wide awareness measures were in place to promote women’s participation in public and political life? Were there any capacity-building programmes for women on leadership? Were there legal mechanisms to promote the participation of women human rights defenders in civil society?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that the Government was trying to increase opportunities for women to participate in public life and in entrepreneurship. A Children’s Forum was held to encourage girls to debate political issues and question members of parliament. The Women’s Congress was also held, in which women raised issues that they wished to be included in State programmes. Various campaigns were also being developed to stimulate women’s interest in politics. Each political party had a women’s council working to increase the number of female candidates. As a result, in recent municipal elections, 49 per cent of candidates were women.
In 2022, the President of Azerbaijan presented an award to three female human rights defenders acknowledging their work, and a project was underway to increase the number of female lawyers in the country.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert congratulated the State party for its law on education, which made secondary education compulsory, and for women’s high level of participation in education. Despite the commendable performance of women, there was a low participation of girls in summer camps. What was the timeline for removing gender stereotyping from textbooks? What was the impact of restrictions on occupations for women on education? What measures were in place to support women obtaining management positions within education institutions? There were barriers to girls in rural areas accessing education. What had been done to tackle these? Was work being carried out to clear mines to improve access to education institutions? What measures were in place to make primary and secondary education free? What plans did the State have to support female students’ access to information technology and distance learning?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that Azerbaijan had been trying to improve access to education and distance learning in rural areas. It was also working to strengthen training courses for teachers.
Fifteen science, maths, engineering and technology units had been created in education institutions across the State, and these had promoted female participation in these subjects through various events. Female students had a 51 per cent share of total enrolments in bachelor-level courses, and a 50 per cent share of enrolments in master-level courses. Fifty-seven per cent of doctorate students were women.
A digital schooling platform had been developed and the State had supported teachers and students in accessing this platform. In remote villages, there were challenges for accessing education. The State had thus started constructing modular schools in these areas to improve access to education.
Questions by a Committee Expert
A Committee Expert commended the national action plan on social-economic development of the regions of Azerbaijan and plans to increase pensions. What measures had been implemented to support women in regional areas? Women carried out a significant proportion of unpaid domestic work. What measures had been implemented to reduce this burden and support women’s participation in the labour force?
A very small percentage of women had managerial positions in formal sectors. What measures had been implemented to correct the gender imbalance across sectors? Had the State party considered repealing the restrictions on women’s participation in certain occupations, and if not, why not? Women faced institutional discrimination, with many firms hesitant to employ women of child-bearing age. What measures were in place to support women’s employment? Would the State party consider amending legislation to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and ensure effective redress for victims?
Responses by the Delegation
The State Committee on Sexual Harassment was working to create draft legislation that prohibited sexual harassment. The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection had provided jobs for 6,000 women during the reporting period; 611 women were being paid unemployment benefits. The Government had also implemented programmes to support women with disabilities in obtaining employment, and established day care centres in remote areas to support vulnerable women in entering the workforce. Women with children below 14 years and women with disabilities were provided with State-sponsored paid leave. The State labour inspectorate was investigating barriers to women’s employment.
A survey of informal employment and gender pay gaps had been carried out. The highly paid construction and mining industries had a low percentage of women, and this contributed to the pay gap. Bridging the pay gap was a target for the Government.
Questions by a Committee Expert
A Committee Expert said that the draft law on family planning was waiting for adoption. What was the progress of deliberations on this law?
There has a high maternal mortality rate. What was the reason for this? Why was the rate higher in urban areas than in rural areas? At least 60 per cent of women reported having at least one abortion. What was the State doing to improve access to modern contraceptives? Sixty-nine per cent of women were not covered by health insurance. What was being done to address this? What was being done to support the rising numbers of women with mental health issues?
Responses by the Delegation
Mandatory health insurance would soon be provided for the entire population, in accordance with a law passed in 2022. Persons with income paid two per cent of health care fees, and business owners paid monthly stipends.
For each 100,000 births, there were 20 mortality cases. This year, a mixed survey on maternal and child health would be carried out. A study would also provide insight for policies tackling high numbers of cases of mental health problems. A large percentage of these cases concerned internally displaced women. The Government covered educational and medical costs for internally displaced persons. More work needed to be done to support persons in liberated areas, and the State welcomed the help of international organizations in this regard.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert said that women had a higher unemployment rate than men did. Women’s contribution to the gross domestic product was 27 per cent. What measures could the State party implement to increase women’s contribution? What programmes were in place to assist small firms in reducing the gender gap, and aide women in accessing micro credit? What steps were being taken to address the burden of unpaid domestic work?
Another Committee Expert said that 77 per cent of women in Azerbaijan lived in rural areas. The Expert praised the action plan for supporting rural women, and the association for rural women established in collaboration with the World Bank. Strict gender roles and stereotypes persisted in rural areas, however. How would the State party implement the Committee’s past recommendation on supporting rural women? How would it support women’s access to land, loans from banks and advisory services? Only 20 per cent of women in rural areas were in formal employment. How could the State support the access of these women to insurance and other State services? When an internally displaced person married a non-displaced person, did they lose their status and privileges? What support measures were in place for the registration of refugees?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that Azerbaijan aimed to support the development of rural female entrepreneurs through knowledge-sharing programmes. Each year, the Government monitored the implementation of support programmes aimed at the development of female entrepreneurship. It aimed to address the economic disadvantages of rural women by creating day care centres and developing roads, water and gas infrastructure in rural areas. Around $ four billion was invested in infrastructure and social services in rural areas each year. In 2015, 15 per cent of individual entrepreneurs were women, but this had risen to more than 20 per cent in 2021. Tax privileges were provided to single entrepreneurs, and training courses were being held to upgrade women’s managerial skills.
Social pensions had been increased over the past few years in line with average salaries.
Women living in rural areas were able to document their land ownership rights through a new online platform. The number of female farmers who registered with the State was increasing. This electronic information system would also be used to assist the provision of loans to rural women.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert noted that the Criminal Code provided for sterilisation. Was forced sterilisation punished?
DALIA LEINARTE, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Azerbaijan, said that there was inequal division of property acquired through marriages, and this led to women losing land and property in cases of divorce. Did divorced women receive alimony payments? Ms. Leinarte also called for more information on children born out of wedlock. Statistics indicated that over 27,000 children were born out of wedlock.
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that 15 or 16 per cent of children were born out of wedlock. Starting in 2019, legislative measures requiring alimony payments had been implemented. A mediation council had been established to deal with claims related to alimony payments and divorce mediation.
Concluding Remarks
BAHAR MURADOVA, Chairperson of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs of Azerbaijan and head of the delegation , said that the dialogue with the Committee would contribute to the development of the State. Ms. Muradova thanked the contribution of the Committee in this regard. She invited the Committee to hold a meeting locally in Azerbaijan. The State party would work to implement the recommendations of the Committee.
ANA PELÁEZ NARVÁEZ, Committee Vice-President, thanked the delegation for the constructive dialogue, and congratulated the State for all its efforts in promoting the rights of women and girls. The Committee called on the State party to fully implement the Committee’s recommendations.
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CEDAW22.017E