CIVIL SOCIETY REPRESENTATIVES BRIEF CEDAW ON SITUATION OF WOMEN IN NORWAY, DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA AND GUATEMALA

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this afternoon held an informal meeting with non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions that spoke about the situation of women in Norway, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Guatemala, whose reports will be reviewed by the Committee this week. The report of Monaco will also be considered but no civil society representatives were present from that country.

In the ensuing discussion, non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions highlighted issues concerning violence against women and the rights of part-time workers in Norway; problems facing domestic workers and textile workers in Guatemala, and the effect of extractive industries on indigenous women’s land ownership in Guatemala; and serious human rights violations of women from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea upon their repatriation from China, and restrictions of their right to pass on their nationality to their children.

Speaking were Shelter Movement of Norway, Amnesty International, Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees and the Confederation of Unions for Professionals, Women’s Front of Norway, PION, Forum for Women and Development, and Resource Centre for Black, Immigrant and Refugee Women from Norway; Database for North Korean Human Rights, and Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; and Indigenous Women’s Movement, Association of Women Workers of Maquila, Youth Network for Advocacy Policy, and Trade Union of Domestic Workers (SITRADOMSA) from Guatemala.

Also speaking were the Ombudsman of Guatemala, Norwegian National Institution for Human Rights, Norwegian Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombudsman, and Saami Parliament of Norway.

The Committee will next meet in public on Tuesday, 7 November, at 10 a.m., to consider the ninth periodic report of Norway (CEDAW/C/NOR/9).

Statements by Non-Governmental Organizations from Norway

Shelter Movement of Norway noted that every fourth murder in Norway was a partner homicide, adding that women in Norway who were subjected to violence were not being given adequate protection. Private individuals’ duty to contact emergency services in such situations should be clarified. One out of 10 women had experienced rape, and only 11 per cent had reported the incident. It was very important that Norwegian law defined rape in compliance with international conventions: sex without consent was rape.

Amnesty International voiced concern about the persistence of rape myths and gender stereotypes of female and male sexuality in Norway, and the Government’s inaction to counter them, including a failure to undertake awareness-raising and education against rape and sexual violence in schools, appropriate training for judges and jurors, and adoption of a consent-based rape law. The Norwegian Government had to take appropriate measures to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish rape and sexual violence in accordance with their due diligence obligations.

Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees and the Confederation of Unions for Professionals reminded that the Norwegian Government had proposed new provisions on part-time employees’ preferential rights to extended positions so that they could claim preferential rights. However, a proposition to permit employers unilaterally to determine the working schedules had been put forward. Working day and night, all week and year-round was stressful and potentially harmful. Night work, long hours and short rest time also increased the risk of making mistakes, injuries and accidents. Furthermore, the proposal would even further limit women’s influence on their own working conditions.

Women’s Front of Norway said that the act prohibiting the buying of sexual services was an important policy instrument in the Government’s work against human trafficking. Yet other parts of the sex industry, such as strip clubs, pornography and websites were nonetheless allowed. Those were the arenas for recruiting to prostitution at the national and international levels alike. The Government should strengthen the exit programmes for those who wanted to exit prostitution, and the police should not deport women without considering whether women were victims of sexual trafficking.

PION pointed out to flaws and dangers of the Scandinavian model and explained why it should not be used. Sex workers could no longer carry condoms because the police would confiscate them and use them as evidence against customers. The police actively evicted them from city centres where their health service providers were, which drastically increased the risk of getting sexually transmitted diseases. Under the Scandinavian model it was legal to sell sex, but there was nowhere to legally sell it from.

Forum for Women and Development noted that the Norwegian Government had to ensure women’s access to legal aid. In most cases, provisions were gender neutral, but women often were not able to invoke their rights to the same extent as men. The Government had proposed to cut legal aid for women which would mean that they would suffer a massive loss of rights. The proposed cuts and administrative charges would be in breach of the principle of providing justice to all. Female refugee and asylum seekers reported lack of such services.

Resource Centre for Black, Immigrant and Refugee Women expressed deep concern about the recent developments within the State apparatus where issues of gender equality related to racialized minority women were gradually transferred and defined under the Ministry of Immigration. The racialized minority women who were victims of violence faced structural barriers, such as lack of independent legal status, economic dependency, housing situation, the lack of opportunities in the labour market due to racial and ethnic discrimination, and lack of social networks. Racialized women who wore head scarves faced direct discrimination and unemployment.

Statements from Non-Governmental Organizations from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Database for North Korean Human Rights noted that violence against women had been persistently committed by public officials, victims of human trafficking had faced serious human rights violations upon their repatriation from China, and North Korean women had been left without any proper legal remedies for gender-based violations of rights. Those three points should be urgently addressed by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women during the session, urging the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to comply with the Convention as a responsible State party and to improve ordinary women’s lives.

Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights noted that as there were no voluntary organizations which promoted women’s issues or advocated for women’s causes, it was difficult to envision how the Democratic People's Republic of Korea’s Government was gathering feedback on issues women were facing and gathering data for its reports. At present, the Women’s League served as a platform to enforce central policies which required women to provide quotas of raw materials and money that sponsored the Government’s and military expenditures. The organization also drew attention to the issue of women in detention.

Statements from Non-governmental Organizations from Guatemala

Indigenous Women’s Movement of Guatemala drew attention to the high maternal death rate, illiteracy and malnutrition suffered by indigenous peoples and women, noting that 79.2 per cent lived in poverty, whereas indigenous women occupied only 0.58 per cent of elected posts. Indigenous women were not the priority of the State. The organization called for guarantees of security, freedom and integrity of women affected by evictions, criminalization and persecution, especially indigenous women.

Association of Women Workers of Maquila voiced great concern about the setback in the progress made in women’s issues, for example limiting the participation of women’s organizations, violence against women, high rates of femicide and sexual violence, non-application of relevant laws protecting women from violence, withdrawal of funds for women’s organizations, exploitation of rural women and limited access to land, and violence against female human rights defenders. Only two per cent of the budget was earmarked for women’s projects and there was no budget for the implementation of comprehensive rural projects.

Youth Advocacy Policy noted that in Guatemala 68 per cent of the population was under the age of 30, adding that the living and social conditions of girls and young women was particularly alarming. There was a constant increase in the number of early pregnancies and forced marriages. To ensure the implementation of a comprehensive sexual education, access to contraceptives and access to legal and safe interruption of pregnancy, there was a need for the allocation of budgetary resources that adequately met needs.

Trade Union of Domestic Workers (SITRADOMSA) stated that Guatemala did not support domestic workers and ensure their social equality. The organization also drew attention to the situation of the Maquila textile workers who suffered from the lack of protection of their basic rights.

Questions by Committee Experts

Experts asked the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights to clarify the term “daily taxes.” The State party had withdrawn the reservation on women’s right to grant nationality to their children. Had some remedies been provided with respect to discriminatory provisions of the Nationality Law?

Turning to the issue of legal aid cuts in Norway, what was the relationship between Governmental legal aid and that provided by non-governmental organizations?

With respect to the definition of rape in Norway, what kept the law from being changed? Was there an automatic evaluation of laws after their implementation? Was there any plan to evaluate the effects of the Nordic model? Regarding the issue of pension rights, was there any possibility of buying back the missing years of contribution?

What was the prevalence of early marriage in Guatemala? How did the “extractive” model in Guatemala and land-use conflicts affect women in Guatemala? Concerning the Maquila textile industry: what was the scope of the new labour inspection model for women? As for domestic work, what were the gravest violations of rights of indigenous girls and women? What measures were the most urgent to be adopted to protect and promote the rights of indigenous women in Guatemala? What was the situation of abortion and maternal mortality in Guatemala? What body received complaints about land evictions?

Replies by Non-governmental Organizations from Norway

Non-governmental organizations explained that the Penal Code did not define rape by the absence of consent, but by the threats of physical coercion and violence. There was no political majority to change the law. The current Government had not followed up on those proposals. As for legal aid cuts, they would predominantly affect a lot of women and vulnerable women. Concerning the new scheme for the anti-discrimination tribunal, it was a major flaw that one could only apply in writing. The last pension reforms did not mention migrants at all. One could buy private savings, but not pensions. Many minority women who were part-time workers or unemployed would not be covered by the scheme. Norway had no automatic evaluation of adopted laws, but there was an evaluation of the Nordic model on sex workers in 2014.

Replies by Non-governmental Organizations from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Since the 1990s and economic hardships in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, unofficial (black) private markets had begun to appear in the country to generate foreign currency. Women had to pay daily seating taxes in order to be able to sell at those private markets. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea did not provide any remedies for the children born before 2015. Those born in China did not enjoy legal protection. It was highly unlikely that any children of foreign blood would gain the nationality of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Replies by Non-governmental Organizations from Guatemala

As for legislative measures for women, Guatemala did not recognize the plurality of the country. There was no public policy against racism and non-discrimination. The maternal mortality for indigenous women was very high. Abortion continued to be the second cause of maternal mortality. With respect to the Marriage Law, even though the legal marriage age was 18, early marriages persisted.

Multinational companies had caused the expropriation of lands from indigenous communities. There had not been substantive reform of the legislation on land ownership. Violent evictions from land continued to be problematic. Women were undergoing a very difficult situation in that respect. As for the Maquila textile workers, the main violations were illegal workshops and lower wages without social welfare payments. With respect to domestic workers, the problem was the obsolete legislation and lack of social security for girls. There was a clear case of girls being trafficked. There was no labour inspection in that regard.

Statements by National Human Rights Institutions

Ombudsman of Guatemala highlighted the problem of violence against women, citing 564 cases of murder of women and girls. Sentences had been handed down for 408 cases. The increased number of complaints had not resulted in the reduction of cases of violence against women. As for trafficking in women, the State did not have legislative and other measures to prevent that crime. There were no sufficient efforts to punish perpetrators and no rehabilitation for victims, particularly for indigenous women. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women should have specific disaggregated data on indigenous women in that respect. Sexual violence had increased in recent years. Early pregnancies were another problem. The pregnancy of a girl under the age of 14 was considered a crime in Guatemala and it was prosecuted. Women in detention made up some 10 per cent of the total population. Pregnant women in detention did not receive appropriate prenatal care. There were still discriminatory provisions in the employment sector. Regrettably, there were only isolated efforts made by associations to protect the rights of domestic workers.

Norwegian National Institution for Human Rights stated that United Nations treaty bodies played a key role in monitoring human rights protection nationally. It highlighted four topics: the conditions of female inmates; the quality of police investigations of sexual violence; linguistic and cultural barriers facing Saami women that affected their receiving protection from domestic violence; and the revision of legislative drafting instructions. The conditions of female inmates were inferior to those of men due to the fact that prisons were largely organised around the needs of male inmates. Women risked serving in a prison with higher security conditions than warranted by their case. The State party should address the inferior conditions of female inmates. The underreporting of sexual violence against women remained a problem, and there was a significant disparity between reported and processed cases. Some 40 per cent of cases were not investigated in a satisfactory manner. Abused individuals from Saami communities faced several difficulties in receiving protection from domestic violence. Further measures were required to address that problem, namely to address the root causes of domestic violence in Saami communities, and culturally sensitive measures. Finally, there was an obligation to evaluate whether legislation was in line with human rights standards.

Norwegian Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombudsman drew attention to the root causes of gender-based violence, such as negative gender stereotypes. Youth cultures were increasingly marked by sexualisation of girls. Some 34 per cent of Norwegian children had watched online pornography, twice as much as their European counterparts. The Government needed to implement targeted strategies to combat gender-based violence and to address negative gender stereotypes in education. The Government should also study the persistence of gender-based violence. Another problem was gender-based discrimination in the labour market. Immigrant women from non-European backgrounds were overrepresented in part-time labour. Finally, digital violence against women and girls was an emerging problem which often had a devastating effect on victims.

Saami Parliament of Norway stated that 49 per cent of Saami women had reported that they had been victims of various forms of violence. That rate was higher than among the rest of the population. The police in Norway generally lacked the knowledge of the Saami language and culture. Many Saami people struggled with the policy of assimilation and, thus, did not trust the authorities. The topics of violence and abuse in Saami communities were kept within the family framework. There was a need for more research-based knowledge about violence and abuse in the Saami population, and needs-based services. The Norwegian Government should provide statistics on the violence faced by Saami women.

Questions by Committee Experts

Experts observed that very little was said about the economic empowerment of women. What could concerned Governments do about that issue?

As for part-time jobs in Norway, what was the outcome of the High Court’s decision?

What were concerns regarding the extractive industries and extraterritorial obligations in Guatemala and Norway?

Replies by National Human Rights Institutions

The High Court ruling on part-time workers being able to claim full-time jobs had not been amended. As for the economic empowerment of women in Norway, there was no clear link between violence and economic empowerment. The restructuring of the Norwegian Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombudsman should not weaken the existing competences.

In Guatemala, there was no economic and educational empowerment of women. Access to education was very limited. The combat against extractive industries was a continuous fight for indigenous communities.



For use of the information media; not an official record

CEDAW/17/39E