COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN MEETS WITH CIVIL SOCIETY STAKEHOLDERS

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this afternoon met with representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and a national human rights institution to hear information on the situation of women in Georgia, Lithuania and Swaziland whose reports will be considered by the Committee this week, together with the report of the Central African Republic.

Representatives of NGOs in Georgia drew attention to the feminization of poverty, sex selective abortions and the situation of women drug users who were regarded as social outcasts. Ineffective gender machinery and the lack of State resources had led to the ineffective protection of the rights of women.

The implementation of de facto gender equality, including the financing of gender machinery, was an issue of concern in Lithuania. Important concerns remained about the lack of gendered policies and temporary special measures, and high levels of violence against women, especially sexual violence.

Speakers from NGOs in Swaziland described problems women faced in that country, including the lack of political will to domesticate the Convention in the national legislation, the growing problem of violence against women, and harmful traditional practices, such as mourning and lack of the right to inherit.

Paata Beltadze, Deputy Public Defender of Georgia, said that the effective implementation of protective measures for victims of domestic violence remained problematic, and expressed concern about the growing number of cases of femicide, early marriages and abduction of girls. A key challenge for gender equality was the low level of political participation of women, only 21 per cent in the Parliament.

Speaking during the discussion were representatives of Union Sapari, Association Hera XXI, Georgian Harm Reduction Network, Women’s Information Centre, Social Innovation Fund, Centre for Equality Advancement, Swaziland Young Women’s Network and Gender Consortium.

There were no NGOs present to speak about the situation in the Central African Republic.

When the Committee reconvenes in public on Tuesday, 8 July at 10 a.m., it will begin its consideration of the combined fourth and fifth periodic reports of Georgia (CEDAW/C/GEO/4-5).


Statements by Non-Governmental Organizations

Georgia

A speaker for Union Sapari drew attention to the feminization of poverty and said that, irrespective of the legal norms, no sanctions were imposed for sexual harassment. Referring to the situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, the speaker said that the State was unwilling to implement non-discrimination measures.

Association Hera XXI spoke about child marriage, access to abortion and the practice of sex selective abortion.

Harm Reduction Network highlighted several issues of concern related to drug users and said that women who used drugs were regarded as outcasts and were often pushed away from families and communities, and even their children. The rate of violence against women who used drugs was extremely high, and 80 per cent of them experienced violence.

Women’s Information Centre spoke about the gender machinery and noted that ineffective mechanisms and lack of State resources led to the ineffective protection of the rights of women. There were no legal provisions guaranteeing the political participation of women and representation in decision-making which was extremely low.

Lithuania

A speaker from Social Innovation Fund expressed concern about the implementation of de facto gender equality, including the financing of gender machinery. The capacity of the unit set up by the Government to implement gender equality programmes was inadequate. Further, there was a huge gap between the demand and offer for child care services, which were often provided by women in need of money, and the sector was largely unregulated.

Important concerns remained about the lack of gendered policies and temporary special measures, as well as high levels of violence against women, especially sexual violence, said the Centre for Equality Advancement. The new law on protection from domestic violence was gender-blind, lacked an effective mechanism to enforce protection orders, and excessively relied on reconciliation measures.

Swaziland

A representative of Swaziland Young Women’s Network said that there was no political will to domesticate the Convention in the national legislation, while the Government had taken no steps to address the growing problem of violence against women. Harmful traditional practices, such as mourning and lack of the right to inherit, were still observed.

Gender Consortium said that political representation and the participation of women were affected by traditional values and by the low income status of women who could not afford to run for seats.

Questions by Committee Members

An Expert asked whether the National Human Rights Commission of Swaziland was operational, what the delays were in passing the law against violence against women, and about the procedure to obtain royal assent. Did the new security legislation restrict the operation of women’s NGOs?

Another Expert asked about child abuse, particularly against girls, in Lithuania and Georgia and the portrayal of women in the Lithuanian media.

Response by non-governmental organizations

Representatives of non-governmental organizations from Georgia said that the child abuse problem was related to the problems of street children, corporal punishment and the abduction of children for early marriages.

Children who were witnesses of violence in the family were considered victims in Lithuania. Trafficking of children was another problem.

In terms of amended legislation on gender equality in Swaziland, women were not satisfied because it still lacked in establishing gender equality as it was not linked to the administration of estates, and because the Government failed to ensure the right of women to access land which was practically free. The National Human Rights Commission had been in place since 2009, but it did not have clear terms of reference, and it was poorly resourced both financially and in terms of personnel. The Sexual Offences Bill was not yet in force because of the lack of the commitment of the Government to address many of the traditional practices such as polygamy, age of consent and others. The bill had not been prioritized because the Parliament was male-dominated.

Dialogue with National Human Rights Institution of Georgia

PAATA BELTADZE, Deputy Public Defender of Georgia, welcomed the adoption in May 2014 of the law on the elimination of all forms of discrimination and the signing of the Istanbul Convention. Domestic violence had been criminalized in 2012, and interagency coordination and effective implementation of protective measures for victims of domestic violence remained problematic. The growing number of cases of femicide was alarming, and 21 cases had been registered in 2013, mainly committed by husbands and partners; the Ministry of Interior must establish urgent strategies to address this issue and provide protection. A key challenge for gender equality was the low level of political participation of women, only 21 per cent in Parliament. Lack of attention and action by authorities to address the practice of early marriages and abduction of girls for purposes of marriages, particularly in the Azerbaijani ethnic communities, and exchange of young girls for money or cattle, was alarming.

An Expert asked whether resources were provided to the Office of the Public Defender to serve as an equality body as per the new act on the elimination of discrimination. Answering, Mr. Beltadze confirmed the new role for the Office and said that new resources had not yet been received.


For use of the information media; not an official record

CEDAW14/013E