CEDAW Research Articles

The Pitfalls of the Italian Response to the International Obligations of Criminalisation of Gender Violence

Abstract Gender oriented international law has historically been at the basis of the development of international sources of coercive obligations for addressing gender violence at the national level. The nature of these obligations range from implicit and presupposed obligations stemming from a framing of intimate partner violence as a serious human rights violation by the international jurisprudence of the ad hoc criminal tribunals as well as by the cedaw Committee and the ECtHR case law, on one hand and, on the other hand, explicit sources of the enactment of national criminal legislation for sanctioning any form of gender violence codified in the Istanbul and Lanzarote Conventions. In the light of such international rationale behind the obligation of criminalisation of gender violence, Italy’s full national compliance proposed and the choice to ‘neutralize’ the symbolic function of criminalisation will be queried and possible remedies for missing profiles of implementation will be proposed.

The problem of gender-based violence in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Case-Law

The phenomenon of gender-based violence is far from novel, it has been actively debated in academic and human rights circles for several decades already. However, gender-based violence has only recently become a focus of attention in international inter-governmental organizations and international courts. In the field of international humanitarian law, the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda declared sexualized violence as part of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the early 2000s, and approximately at the same time international human rights bodies started to examine this problem as well. The UN CEDAW Committee began its first deliberations in accordance with Optional Protocol to the CEDAW Convention (1999), and the Inter-American Commission and Court on Human Rights joined in as an active participant in this global struggle for women’s rights, making an impact on domestic law-making and law enforcement, and setting an important example for human rights groups and political actors. By looking at some of the most important decisions of the IACtHR in the field of combatting gender-based violence, we seek to identify major problem areas and the impact these decisions had in the region.

Discrimination of wife in the household: CEDAW and Islam mubādalah perspectives

This article analyzes wife discrimination in the household in regard to the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Islam Mubādalah . Regulation of wife obligation in the household are stated in the Marriage Law (UUP), Number 1 of 1974, article 34 paragraph (b) which explains “A wife has duty to manage household affairs as well as possible”. The facts show that the regulation is widely understood literally, hence it creates gender bias stigma and a wife discrimination. The study is a librabry research which uses a normative approach, xamines the Marriage Law with qualitative analysis and applies gender justice theories. The research shows that the regulation of the article 34 of the Marriage Law is interpreted textually, which has implications for discrimination on wife roles in the household. As result, this understandings effect on wife discrimination that againsts gender justice in regard to CEDAW and Islam Mubādalah . Novelty of this article, the authors find that the wife discriminations in the household are due to the strong pratiarchical perspective in the article 34 tends of the Marriage Law, and the article tends to be a masculine perspective.

Is CEDAW an Effective Tool in Preventing Femicide?

Gender based violence is perceived as the most pervasive human rights violation. Examples of gender-based violence range from physical abuse to femicide. Femicide is recognised as an extreme form of gender-based violence that can be “found in all societies where there are unequal gender relations”. The endemic nature of this form of violence is an affront to women’s human rights. The aim of this paper is to determine what role international human rights law can play in preventing femicide. Using Turkey as a case study, this paper demonstrates that the patriarchal bias that permeates in society and the domestic legal system limits the ability of CEDAW to eliminate femicide. The ongoing practice of honour killings in Turkey and the operation of the defence of ‘self-provocation’ enable the continuation of the practice of femicide (section 2.2). CEDAW, and the work of the CEDAW Committee are ineffective in preventing femicide in Turkey primarily due to its weak enforcement (section 2.3) and provides recommendations for a more effective response to femicide (section 2.4).

Transitional Justice Standards on Reparations for Women Subjected to Violence in the CEDAW Committee’s Evolving Legal Practice

Abstract Violence against women continues to be one of the most pressing global concerns. Reparations for women victims of violence have been addressed by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Committee over the last 15 years. This article critically examines the evolving practice of the Committee on reparations, in light of the transitional justice doctrinal and normative acquis on gender-sensitive reparations. We systematize legal interpretations, identify trends and milestones, and link them to transitional justice elements. We also suggest that the transitional justice reparations framework can be, and is in fact being, applied to non-transitional contexts, independent of armed conflict and authoritarian regimes. Further, we propose recommendations for the Committee to engage in a more explicit ‘dialogue’ with these ongoing developments to the benefit of women in their everyday lives and in recognition of the structural dimension of violence against women, even in what are other so-called peaceful and stable societies.

ACHIEVING GENDER EQUALITY IS A CRITERION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIETY

The article covers the history of women’s struggle for gender equality in the world and the work done in Uzbekistan to ensure women’s rights and freedoms after independence. In particular, the Declaration of the Rights of Women, adopted in the United States 150 years ago, defines “the history of women as the history of the constant domination of women by men”were analyzed by the helping scientific literatures and media materials as well. КEY WORDS: United Nations, gender equality, CEDAW Committee, Convention, Republic of Uzbekistan, Law, women, strategy.

The CEDAW Committee: Global leader in tackling violence against women and girls

The article examines how the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women has been instrumental in developing state obligations for tackling gender-based violence against women. The Committee first adopted a General Recommendation on violence against women in 1989 and then brought it unequivocally into international human rights law through its ground-breaking General Recommendation 19 in 1992. Twenty-five years later, in 2017, in light of the continuing and deadly violence against women that “remains pervasive in all countries, with high levels of impunity” the Committee updated its work in a further General Recommendation, No. 35. This Recommendation provides guidance to and an anchoring of the legal standards that have evolved over the last 25 years, while also looking forward in terms of current and emerging challenges and trends in this field.

Queering CEDAW? Sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) in international human rights law

ABSTRACT In 2020 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee) found for the first time that a state had breached its obligations to prevent discrimination against women in the case of a lesbian couple subjected to a homophobic hate crime. No international human rights treaty specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or sex characteristics (SOGIESC). The UN treaty bodies are developing a jurisprudence on the basis of such claims, with claimants sometimes forced to argue that they were discriminated against on the basis of ‘other status’. This article situates the CEDAW Committee's Views in ON and DP v Russian Federation in the context of attempts to queer international law, and international human rights law in particular. It analyses the costs and benefits of three strategies aimed at queering international human rights law: equality/universalism, special rights/a SOGIESC treaty; and queering CEDAW. The article aims to evaluate the significance of the first decision finding for the complainants on the basis of intersectional sexuality discrimination under CEDAW and to assess whether this amounts to queering CEDAW.

The Distance Between Us: Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights of Rural Women and Girls

Geography impacts the realization of sexual and reproductive health rights. The unspoken assumption is that rural life mirrors the characteristics of urban life and that geography plays little role in the enjoyment of human rights. But differences between urban and rural settings make a crucial difference to how rights materialize in rural life. In human rights law, little attention is given to how the rural-urban divide affects the realization of sexual and reproductive health rights of women and girls. The neglect of rurality is unwarranted. It is a meaningful, often lynch-pin, explanatory factor for rural girls and women’s lack of access to sexual and reproductive health rights. An exception to this overall global trend is the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW is unique among United Nations (UN) treaties in that art. 14 protects the equal rights of rural women in various fields of life. The analysis in this chapter, however, pays attention to how gender and rurality interact with other more well recognized inter-sectional identities. It explores how the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee), the body tasked with monitoring the implementation of CEDAW, has developed the treaty in relation to rural women and girls’ sexual and reproductive health rights. The analysis in this chapter serves as a call for action to conceptualizing rurality as an identity characteristic under an inter-sectional human rights framework and a springboard for deeper engagement with the difference rurality makes to all human rights in both international and domestic human rights law.

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEES: THEIR NATURE AND LEGAL RELEVANCE IN SPAIN

This article analyses the state of the enforcement mechanisms of human rights treaties, frequently constituted as «committees», evaluating the effectiveness of their resolutions and their incidence in Spain. In particular, a more in-depth examination of the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) will be carried out.

Reservations/Declarations under the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (cedaw) in Light of Sex/Gender Constitutional Debates

The decisions of the governments of Slovakia, Bulgaria and Latvia not to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) caused a turmoil within the Council of Europe system. This article first examines the respective rationales provided to justify the states’ decisions not to ratify the Convention. Against the background of the Bulgarian Constitutional Court’s recent decision, legal advice provided to the governments of Slovakia and Latvia and various public announcements, the present article examines legal, cultural, linguistic and societal arguments put forward by the respective governments against ratification. It then revisits the interpretative declarations submitted by Poland, Lithuania, Croatia and Latvia against the Convention’s narrow reservation regime. The article then compares the situation ignited by the Istanbul Convention with the reservation regime under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (cedaw) and the so-called Sharia reservations. It highlights the interconnectedness of the two treaties as well as their differences, while shedding light on the treaties’ reservations/declarations regimes. In so doing, a discussion is offered of the advantages and disadvantages of wider and narrower reservation regimes in treaties pertaining to the rights of women. The article concludes by pointing to the implications for the validity and effectiveness of the interpretative declarations submitted by the EU countries in question if the Istanbul Convention and cedaw are not treaties in conflict, and if the declarations are manifestly unfounded. The article also places emphasis on the role of grevio and the cedaw Committee to combat potential withdrawal tendencies via high-quality monitoring and evaluation output.

Gender (In)equality, Disaster and Human Rights – the cedaw Committee and General Recommendation No. 37

Gender (In)equality, Disaster and Human Rights – the cedaw Committee and General Recommendation No. 37

María de los Ángeles González Carreño v. Ministry of Justice

The ruling of the Spanish Supreme Court in Judgment No. 1263/2018, recognizing, for the first time, the binding character of the Views of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee), augmented the normative authority of the Views of the human rights treaty monitoring body, not only at the domestic level, but also within the international legal sphere. In the Judgment, the Spanish highest court held that the government must comply with the Views of the CEDAW Committee as a matter of the state's constitutional mandate as well as its international obligations. The Court's interpretation in this case meets the expectation of human rights treaty monitoring bodies that states are obligated to respond to their Views concerning individual communications, despite some states parties’ claims to the contrary.

The role of the CEDAW Committee in the implementation of public policies on gender issues: analysis through a study of the protection of girls’ rights in Spain

ABSTRACTThe CEDAW Committee plays a significant role as a mechanisms to stimulate States to advance in the elimination of all the forms of discrimination, both directly, through making States aware of the extent of their commitment and incentivising public policies and indirectly, by providing civil society with tools to put pressure on public authorities to fulfil their obligations and push for normative and policy reform. This article undertakes this analysis by focusing on one country: Spain, and one specific issue: the rights of girls. The case study explores the extent to which the decisions of the Committee have a real impact on Spanish public policy regarding the protection and promotion of the rights of girls, with a view to provide more general conclusions regarding the impact of the Committee's decisions. This analysis allows us to observe the legal and juridical force of CEDAW's guarantee mechanisms through its capacity to influence, and serve as a catalyst of public policy reform.

Assisting and Empowering Women Facing Natural Disasters: Drawing From Security Council Resolution 1325

In the wake of the tsunami that hit the coastal communities of the Indian Ocean, images of women were splashed over the media's reports of the catastrophe. But while sympathy for women has garnered a great deal of aid, [b]eyond the camera lens in the follow-up policies ... there is a trend for women to be rendered almost invisible. (1) Reports by women's groups streaming in from all over the region reflect the same message--women were among the hardest hit by the tsunami, and women continue to be the most marginalized in relief efforts. (2) While the relative lack of women-specific initiatives in the tsunami effort arguably could be attributed to the cultural norms of the region and the particular nature of the disaster there, a broader look at disasters worldwide shows that women's needs and abilities are systemically ignored in rehabilitation and restoration efforts. (3) Although this trend has been recognized by international organizations ranging from the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly, (4) the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), (5) the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee), (6) the U.N. Office for International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), (7) the International Labor Organization (ILO), (8) and the European Union (EU), (9) there is yet to be a binding global initiative that explicitly calls for gender-mainstreaming in disaster prevention and reconstruction efforts. As a result, when the time comes for nations to respond quickly and efficiently to disasters, the lessons learned in gender-sensitivity are lost in the tumult once again. While gender issues are sidelined in disaster contexts, however, this is not the case in other crisis situations. In 2000, the U.N. Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1325 (1325), which stress[es] the importance of [women's] equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of and (10) and [r]ecogniz[es] the urgent need to mainstream a gender perspective into peacekeeping operation. (11) The resolution calls for increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in conflict prevention, management, and resolution; attention to the specific protection of the needs of women in conflict, including refugees; increased support for women peace-builders; refusal to allow impunity for crimes against women, including gender-based violence; and combination of a gender perspective in U.N. operations, post-conflict processes, and Reporting and Security Council Missions. (12) Through the resolution, women must be integrated in reconstruction efforts, and local women's initiatives in maintaining and security must be supported by the U.N. and government officials. (13) Some aid groups have drawn on 1325 in their calls for a gendered perspective in disaster relief post-tsunami, but explicit support for this connection has not yet been articulated. This Article draws a connection between the interests protected by 1325 and those that would be protected by a similarly binding resolution for women in disaster situations, and argues for the realization of such an international agreement. Part II of this Article urges women's rights activists to acknowledge the capacity and the desirability of a binding Security Council resolution for gender-mainstreaming and female participation in disaster prevention and aid work. Further, this section argues for the recognition of disasters as a threat to the peace that can be reduced through the symbolic and legal powers of a Security Council resolution. Part III then establishes why the Security Council itself should seek such a resolution, based on the centrality of disaster relief in ensuring the success of core Security Council goals, such as resolving conflict and fostering sustainable development. Part V shows how gender-mainstreaming in natural disasters would further the goals of the Security Council; indeed, failing to pursue gender-mainstreaming would actually undermine the Security Council's objectives, particularly those relating to 1325. …

The Use of the ‘Vulnerability’ Label by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: Protecting or Stigmatizing Women and Girls in the Forced Migration Context?

This article sheds light on the explicit identification and labelling of forced migrant women and girls as vulnerable and the effect this seems to have on their human rights protection under the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (cedaw). The article focuses on the principal international body directly concerned with the human rights of women and girls, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (cedaw Committee) and combines legal doctrinal analysis with a critical reflection in light of the normative-theoretical notion of universal vulnerability. The notion of universal vulnerability has been suggested to close protection gaps and contribute to a more inclusive human rights framework; yet, the vulnerability label has been criticized as potentially stigmatizing and paternalizing. The article therefore critically assesses whether and to what extent explicit vulnerability references by the cedaw Committee contribute to the protection and/or stigmatization of forced migrant women and girls. The analysis reveals that the vulnerability label adopted by the cedaw Committee is not (yet) entirely in line with the universal vulne-rability notion’s potential for the protection of human rights. Yet, the article suggests that vulnerability references can nevertheless contribute to human rights protection since they help to identify protection priorities and clarify state obligations towards those identified as vulnerable. This positive effect for the protection of human rights is likely to be highest the more attention is being paid to the avoidance of stigmatization.

Women, Poverty, Equality: The Role of CEDAW by Meghan Campbell

Women, Poverty, Equality: The Role of CEDAW by Meghan Campbell

What’s at stake in the treaty reporting process? Cuba and the United Nations’ convention on women’s rights

What impact do U.N. human rights treaties have on the countries that ratify them? Most of the scholarly literature on this topic focuses on ratification, with little attention to the ways that the process of reporting can shape compliance. Ratification commits countries to a regular process of documenting and defending the extent to which they comply with a particular treaty. Many countries participate faithfully in the reporting process, devoting significant resources to it and subjecting themselves to vigorous review by the committees that oversee compliance. What is at stake in the reporting process? What can we learn from taking seriously the content of the exchanges between government officials and committee experts? This article examines Cuba's engagement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) across eight reporting cycles, from 1982 to 2016. Cuba has adopted many changes, but has strenuously resisted the CEDAW Committee's assessment of its progress on critical aspects of violence against women policy.

CEDAW AND THE SECURITY COUNCIL: ENHANCING WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN CONFLICT

AbstractThe proliferation of legal and normative standards regulating women's rights in conflict has been accompanied by concerns about their efficacy. The article examines the activities of the CEDAW Committee and the UN Security Council and considers how synergies might be advanced. The article finds that, while the Security Council has unique authority over UN system activities, sanctions and peacekeeping, the CEDAW Committee—as a human rights treaty monitoring body—possesses the more effective system of State accountability and the more robust commitment to women's equality and rights. The article proposes measures for the optimum interaction between both institutions in order to maximize overall accountability for women's rights in conflict.

The cedaw Committee and Gender-Based Violence against Women

On 14 July 2017, the un Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (cedaw Committee) adopted its General Recommendation No. 35 on gender-based violence against women. The purpose of this General Recommendation was to update the Committee’s General Recommendation No. 19 on violence against women, which had been adopted 25 years previously. This article examines General Recommendation No. 35 and analyses the extent to which this General Recommendation may contribute to addressing the issue of gender-based violence against women. However, although General Recommendation No. 35 is undoubtedly a positive development in the response of international human rights law to this issue, it is argued that further measures are necessary, in the form of a un treaty on violence against women.