UN Women’s Rights Committee Publishes Findings On Benin, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Japan, Lao, New Zealand And Saudi Arabia

GENEVA (29 October 2024) - The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) today issued its findings on Benin, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Japan, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia, after reviewing these eight States parties during its latest session.

The findings contain positive aspects of each country’s implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Committee’s main concerns and recommendations. Some of the key issues include:

Benin

The Committee remained concerned about the high prevalence of gender-based violence against women, including domestic and sexual violence, female genital mutilation (FGM), and child marriage. The spillover of the conflict in the Sahel, the Committee stated, increased the risk of gender-based violence among refugees, internally displaced women, migrants, and asylum seekers. It called on Benin to take concrete steps, such as working with health care providers and cultural and religious leaders, to combat FGM, including among infants. It also asked the State party to ensure sufficient shelters and other protection and support services for women victims of gender-based violence.

The Committee observed that women are underrepresented in decision-making positions in the Government, National Assembly, public service, foreign service, armed forces, international organizations, and the private sector. It recommended that Benin revise its legal and legislative framework to call for 50:50 gender parity in all decision-making mechanisms. It also called upon Benin to identify and combat the underlying causes of women’s underrepresentation in leadership positions in both the public and private spheres.

Canada

The Committee was concerned about the lack of policies targeting men at all levels of society to combat gender stereotypes and patriarchal attitudes about the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and community. It asked Canada to include men in efforts to eliminate discrimination against women and promote gender equality. These measures, the Committee emphasised, should challenge traditional ideas of masculinity and femininity, reduce all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls, and transform societal norms to break down patriarchal stereotypes about gender roles in both family and society.

The Committee expressed its deep concern that, despite amendments to the Indian Act, gender-based discrimination against Indigenous women and girls continues in Canada. It called on the State party to further revise the Act to ensure that women and men have equal rights to pass on their Indian status to their children. The Committee also called upon Canada to grant status to Indigenous women and their descendants who were previously denied that status, and to remove any legal barriers that limit access to full reparations for human rights violations against Indigenous women and their descendants, including those tied to the Indian Act.

Chile

The Committee commended the establishment of the Technical Secretariat for Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination in the Supreme Court. However, it remained concerned about persistent gender stereotypes that reinforce traditional roles of mothers and wives for women. These stereotypes limit women’s social status, autonomy and career prospects. The Committee also raised its concern about the prevalence of xenophobic and racist remarks and the machoistic ideals in the media, portraying women political leaders as “fragile” and “sensitive”. The Committee urged Chile to adopt policies against hate speech targeting women and girls and provide training to officials and media professionals on the use of gender-sensitive language and positive media portrayals of women.

The Committee voiced deep concern about widespread gender-based violence against women in Chile, including sexual violence and high rates of femicide. It also highlighted the rise of online abuse through cyberstalking, harassment, and non-consensual sharing of intimate images. The Committee urged Chile to raise public awareness about the criminal nature of all forms of gender-based violence against women and ensure better protection for survivors. It also called for stricter measures to combat online abuse, including explicit and adequate penalties and holding platform providers accountable for failing to report or remove harmful content.

Cuba

The Committee noted with concern that rural women have limited access to land use (10%), agricultural technology, education and health services, including sexual and reproductive health services, and that they spend 80% of their working time in unpaid work. It called on Cuba to strengthen its agricultural support services to women farmers, including infrastructure, access to seeds, machinery, equipment, extension services and research information, as well as adequate remuneration.

The Committee reiterated its previous concerns about the lack of comprehensive legislation criminalising all forms of gender-based violence against women in both the public and private spheres. It asked the State party to promptly elaborate and adopt comprehensive legislation on gender-based violence that criminalises all its forms, in consultation with women’s rights organisations.

Japan

The Committee noted with concern that several of its previous recommendations regarding existing discriminatory provisions had not been addressed, particularly that no steps had been taken to revise article 750 of the Civil Code requiring married couples to use the same surname, which in practice often compels women to adopt their husband’s surname. It called on Japan to amend legislation regarding the choice of surnames for married couples in order to enable women to retain their maiden surnames after marriage.

The Committee was also concerned about the limited access to legal abortion under the restrictive exceptions of article 14 of the Maternal Health Act, which specifies that prior spousal consent is required. It called upon the State party to reform legislation to remove the requirement for spousal consent for women seeking abortion and to legalize abortion in all cases. The Committee also asked Japan to ensure that safe abortion services, including abortifacients, are accessible, affordable, and available to all women and girls.

Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Concerned by the high prevalence of child marriage in the State party, with 30.5% of women marrying before 18 despite legal prohibition, the Committee particularly highlighted the Family Code, which allows marriage from age 15 in undefined “special and necessary cases”. It asked Lao to amend the Family Code to remove all exceptions to the minimum marriage age of 18. It also called for public awareness campaigns to challenge social norms supporting child marriage, involving traditional leaders and media. The Committee also urged the State party to criminalise child betrothal, prosecute perpetrators, and ensure adequate support services for victims.

The Committee expressed concern about undue restrictions on the work of non-governmental organisations and women activists. It was also concerned by cases of reprisals against women activists. It asked the State party to review the registration requirements for NGOs to ensure that women’s rights and other organisations can freely undertake their activities without undue restrictions. It also called for investigations and punishment of reprisals against women human rights defenders and other activists.

New Zealand

The Committee took note of the State party’s public quarterly report on gender-based violence against women and special measures, such as the “She is Not Your Rehab” programme addressing men’s trauma and their families and relationships. It was, however, gravely concerned about the 60% increase in family violence and intimate partner violence in the last five years, with even higher rates faced by Māori and Pacifica women, ethnic and religious minority women, and women with disabilities. It called on New Zealand to develop policies to address the root causes and compounding factors of gender-based violence against women. It also asked the State party to provide adequate victims’ support services and strengthen protection from gender-based violence through enhanced law enforcement for disadvantaged groups of women.

Regarding Wāhine Māori, the Committee underlined its concern about the State party’s withdrawal of its support for the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and the lack of steps it had taken to implement the Treaty of Waitangi, which may be seen as a reinterpretation of its provisions. The Committee called upon New Zealand to reaffirm its commitment to UNDRIP, ensure that its national policies and legislation align with the Declaration’s principles and provisions, and integrate a gender perspective.

Saudi Arabia

Concerning Saudi Arabia’s retention of the death penalty in its law and practice and the execution of 11 women of different nationalities between January 2020 and July 2024, the Committee urged the State party to adopt a moratorium on the death penalty, halt the execution of all women on death row, and consider commuting all death sentences into prison terms. About Saudi Arabia’s Counter-Terrorism Law (2017) and the Anti-Cyber Crime Law (2007), which are reportedly used to subject women human rights defenders to intimidation, threats, arrest detention and travel bans, the Committee urged Saudi Arabia to guarantee that women human rights defenders and activists, in particular those advocating for the abolishment of the male guardianship system and travel bans, can carry out their legitimate work and exercise their rights free from harassment, surveillance, arbitrary arrest and prosecution, as well as from reprisals for engaging or seeking to engage with the Committee.

The Committee underscored its concern about the lack of protection for all migrant workers, including women migrant domestic workers, who are explicitly excluded from the Labour Law’s provisions on maximum working hours, overtime pay, annual leave, and medical leave. It also highlighted that migrant domestic workers, predominately women, are governed by a system that still links the legal status of migrant workers to their employers, exposing them to a risk of economic and physical abuse, trafficking and exploitation. The Committee urged Saudi Arabia to amend the Labour Law to extend its protection to all migrant workers. It also asked the State party to establish confidential and independent complaint mechanisms for women migrant workers to report abusive employment contracts and conduct regular labour inspections of workplaces and dormitories of women migrant workers.

The above findings, officially named Concluding Observations, are now available online on the session page.

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