Committee On The Elimination Of Discrimination Against Women Research Articles

UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies Talking to Domestic Adjudicators Through Their Quasi-judicial Work: An Examination of CERD and CEDAW

ABSTRACT: The article examines the merit of UN treaty bodies' accumulated case law as a resource for domestic adjudicators, i.e., courts and quasi-judicial bodies (such as national human rights institutions) addressing human rights complaints at the national level. It has the objective of assessing the extent to which treaty bodies are "talking to" an audience beyond the parties in the case. Starting from a view that sees impact on national adjudicators as the key issue for treaty bodies' rulings on individual complaints, the article assesses to what extent the way that treaty bodies are exercising this role fits in this view. The study's focus is on two UN treaty bodies with a broadly similar output in quantitative terms, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CmERD) and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CmEDAW).

السیاسات الاجتماعیة المستجیبة للنوع کمدخل لتحقیق التنمیة المستدامة

الملخص:- أولت المؤسسات الدولية والتي من بينها البرنامج الانمائي للأم المتحدة أهتمها بتحقيق المساواة بين الجنسين، کأحد أهم أهداف التنمية المستدامة، هذا ما جعل بعض الدول العربية ومن بينها مصر بتضمينه برؤها الاسترتيجية 2030، فتستهدف مصر الوصول للترتيب الدولى رقم 60 فى مؤشر الفجوة بين الجنسين فى عام 2030، أما السعودية فأنها تعمل على رفع نسبة مشارکة المرأة في سوق العمل من 22% إلى 30%، کذلک استهدفت الامارات تمکين المراة الاماراتية ضمن الاستراتيجية الوطنية لتمکين وريادة المرأة. لذا اتخذت مصر بعض الإجراءات وتبنت بعض السياسات في إطار تمکين المرأة وتحقيق المساواه بين الجنسين، من خلال القضاء على الفجوة النوعية بين أفراد المجتمع والتي تقدر بمقدار الاختلافات والتمايز بين الأفراد على أساس الجنس، وذلک فيما يتعلق بتوزيع الموارد والعائدات المجتمعية، وتوفير الخدمات والحقوق والواجبات، وزيادة معدلات مشارکة المرأة بالتنمية، بعبارة أخرى إعادة صياغة السياسات الاجتماعية لمواجهة الفجوة النوعية. لذا يهدف البحث الحالي، لتحليل السياسات الاجتماعية لوزارة التضامن تحليلا نوعيا، وتم بالترکيز على الخطط الاستراتيجية لإدارة المرأة بالوزارة، وذلک باستخدام نهج السياسات الاجتماعية المسجيبة للنوع، (Gender-Responsive of Social Policy) حيث يعتبر أحد المناهج التي طرحت لتحليل الأسلوب المتبع في توظيف موازنات الدول لتحقيق العدالة النوعية، وکذا يعتبر الأسلوب الذي تنتهجه الحکومات في استخدام التمويلات الموجهة للحد من الفقر، وتمکين المرأة لتعزيز المساواة بين الجنسين، حيث تم تطبيق استمارة استبيان على المستفيدات من خدماتها بمحافظة الفيوم والتي تعتبر من أفقر محافظات مصر طبقا لبيانات أخر تقارير لللتنمية البشرية، وخلصت الباحثة من نتائج التحليل النظري والميداني إلى أنه بالرغم من جهود الدولة لسد الفجوة النوعية في سوق العمل والتي تمت في إطار التزام مصر باتفاقية القضاء على کافة أشکال التمييز ضد المرأة (سيداو CEDAW)، إلا أن هناک حاجة لمزيد من الجهد واتخاذ بعض التدابير والإجراءات، لزيادة فاعلية السياسات المستجيبة للنوع. Abstract: Gender equality has got International institutions' attention including UNDP, as one of the sustainable development's goals, and Arab countries, including Egypt, add it in their strategic vision 2030, So Egypt targets getting 60th ranking of the indicator of gap gender 2030, but Saudi Arabia is working To raise the participation rate of women in the labor market from 22% to 30%, and UAE targeted empowering Emirati women that is a national strategy for empowering and women entrepreneurship. Egypt planned some policies in a way to achieve women empowerment and gender equality, because gender gap is a basic of unfair resources distribution and benefits in those communities, and presenting services, rights, and duties, as well as increasing rates of women participation in development, in other words, reframing social policy in facing gender gap. the current research targeted to apply gender analyzing for social policies of the Ministry of Solidarity, focusing on strategic plans of women department of the Ministry, by using Gender-Responsive of Social Policy method. This is one of the proposed methods to analyze the following technic to employ budgets of countries to achieve gender justice, which has been using in combating poverty, and women empowerment funds to enhance gender equality. This study is reported from applying a questionnaire on clients of policy services in Fayoum governorate which is the poorest governorate in Egypt according to human development report, the researcher deduced that government effort to combating gender gap in the labor market which is considered as applying COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN (CEDAW). however, work is needed to increase the effectiveness of gender-responsive policies.

Justice and Civil Liberties on Sex Work in Contemporary International Human Rights Law

To fulfil obligations in international law State parties have to take the issue of human trafficking seriously. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) provides General Recommendations (GR) to member states on the interpretation of the Women’s Convention. In 2018 the CEDAW Committee started to develop a GR on trafficking in women and girls in a process planned to conclude in 2020. The first stage towards this was through the publication of a Concept Note to serve as a basis for dialogue during the two-year international consultation period. The Concept Note is a vital link in a textual chain because it frames the policy problem and actively constructs its own ‘documentary reality’. This article provides a critical analysis of the CEDAW Concept Note on the grounds that such analysis provides an understanding of its discursive construction of trafficking, migrant labour and sex work, by an institution responsible for international jurisprudence on human rights. Analysis of the Concept Note explores the documentary constructions including narratives that merge adult women with girls, the symbolism of exploitation, the silencing of scientific research, the elision of sex worker voices, and sex work as work. The analysis leads us to conclude that the General Recommendation should define what counts as ‘exploitation’, and ‘forced labour’, and address the growing international recognition of best evidence on the wider impact of sex work laws, in order that legal framing and constructions of sex trafficking are not erroneously used to curtail rights of sex workers.

El feminismo de la gobernanza en la CEDAW: la cuestión sobre el trabajo sexual y la prostitución*

Resumen A partir del debate sobre el feminismo de la gobernanza, este artículo investiga las recomendaciones generales del Comité de la Convención sobre la Eliminación de Todas las Formas de Discriminación contra la Mujer (CEDAW) y las observaciones finales de los informes de los Estados parte presentadas ante el mismo. El objetivo consiste en analizar el enfoque que este órgano ha incorporado para abordar la comercialización del sexo desde una perspectiva crítica. En este sentido, se encuentra que el Comité de la CEDAW ha promovido un enfoque de descriminalización parcial o abolicionista que pretende penalizar a aquellos que participen en el comercio sexual, salvo a la mujer en prostitución, la cual es considerada primordialmente como una víctima. Así, el artículo provee hallazgos empíricos que permiten entender las aproximaciones a la sexualidad que predominan en la regulación y organismos internacionales y sus posibles implicaciones para el feminismo de la gobernanza.

Chinese Legal Professionals and Transformation of Gender Roles. A Case Study

Gender equality is a part of global policy, as specified for instance in The UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the body of independent experts that monitor the implementation of the convention. China has reported her initiatives to advance the rights of women to CEDAW. However, China studies indicate that there is a link missing between traditional Chinese values rooted in Confucianism on the one hand and Marxist political policy on the other. This deficiency could be a barrier to gender equality. Inspired by classical feminist theory and sociology of law, the article explores how members of the legal profession in a Chinese provincial city function when they deal with gender roles. The article builds on a small sample of qualitative data. It concludes that legal professionals may seek to get an effect on the construction of gender roles and equality for women. In their professional work, they have a potential for forging a link between Marxist modernization and commercialization on the one hand and traditional values on the other. Their function may depend on their individual awareness of their role, their support of gender equality, and their position vis-à-vis the state and party.

NHRI Engagement with UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies: A Goal-based Approach

ABSTRACTUN Human Rights Treaty Bodies (TBs) are a central pillar of the international human rights system, essential in their independent, quasi-judicial monitoring of State Parties’ respect for and implementation of ratified UN human rights treaties. National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) function in a similarly independent and quasi-judicial manner and are today recognised as crucial components of a functioning National Human Rights System. The 2020 UN Human Rights TB Review presents an opportunity to analyse current challenges inherent to the domestic institutionalisation processes specific to NHRI engagement, considers variances amongst different TB procedures and develops innovative proposals and solutions. Although exploring the effectiveness of TB–NHRI engagement presents inherent difficulties, this article proposes such evaluation against the backdrop of a goal-based approach to organisational effectiveness. This approach may facilitate the development of a framework for understanding the relations between TBs and key stakeholders, such as NHRIs. In other words, by identifying the key generic goals of these two quasi-judicial bodies – monitoring norm-compliance, regime support, and legitimisation – this paper attempts to systematise the interaction between NHRIs and two specific TBs, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), in view of a possible harmonisation of procedures following the 2020 Review process.

Paridad y justicia de género. Algunas reflexiones críticas sobre las políticas de igualdad en España

En la última década España se convirtió en un referente a nivel internacional en materia de políticas de igualdad de género. Sin embargo, la crisis económica ha provocado un aumento de desigualdad, lo que ha puesto de manifiesto la debilidad de los instrumentos adoptados. A pesar de la abundante legislación en esta materia, la realidad social no ha cambiado del todo, incluso se han producido evidentes retrocesos en los últimos años. Esta situación fue puesta de manifiesto en el Informe realizado en 2015 por el Comité de Naciones Unidas para la Eliminación de la discriminación contra la Mujer (CEDAW). Por lo tanto, es urgente revisar el concepto de mainstreaming de género y la adopción de instrumentos de “hard law”. El objetivo debe ser alcanzar una justicia de género basada en tres elementos —identidad, redistribución y participación— y una real democracia paritaria.

Abortion in Northern Ireland: Has the Rubicon Been Crossed

There appears to be very little public and moral furore over the question of the legality of abortion in the United Kingdom compared to the position abortion takes in the public debate in, say, the United States of America. Yet despite this the legal position of abortion is markedly different in both countries. In the United States, there is a constitutional right to abortion. Contrastingly, in the United Kingdom abortion remains a criminal offence. Instead, abortion has been decriminalized in certain therapeutic situations and circumstances, as expounded by the Abortion Act 1967. However, the 1967 Act applies only to England, Wales and Scotland. It did not extend to Northern Ireland. Given the nature of the polity of the UK, there exist today three separate legal regimes for abortion – England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Writing in 1985, Madeleine Simms argued that “the 1967 Abortion Act was a half-way house. It handed the abortion decision to the medical profession. The next stage is to hand this very personal decision to the woman herself” (Simms 1985: 94). Despite this, the half-way house remains the governing statute in Great Britain, and Northern Irish abortion law is still governed by a Victorian statute, the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (OAPA). Recent events, however, have placed renewed focus on Northern Irish abortion law. In February 2018, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) released a report stating that: [T]housands of women and girls in Northern Ireland are subjected to grave and systematic violations of rights through being compelled to either travel outside Northern Ireland to procure a legal abortion or to carry their pregnancy to term (UN CEDAW 2018). On 25 May 2018, Ireland held a referendum on the Thirty-Six Amendment to the Constitution Bill 2018, which completed its passage through the Oireachtas, the Parliament of Ireland, in March 2018. Under Articles 46 and 47 of the Irish Constitution the Constitution can be amended by way of a Bill which is passed by both houses of the Oireachtas, and then put to the Irish people in a referendum. If the referendum is successful then the Bill is signed into law by the Irish President. The referendum was successful in May, approved by 66.4% of voters (Referendum Ireland 2018). The Bill sought to replace Article 40.3.3 of the Irish Constitution with the following words: Provision may be made by law for the regulation of termination of pregnancy. The passing of the May 2018 referendum meant that Northern Ireland will have the most restrictive abortion laws in the British Isles. In part due to the Irish Referendum result, on 5 June 2018, the Labour MP Stella Creasy rose in the Commons Chamber to call for the repeal of the relevant sections of the OAPA across the United Kingdom, which make abortion a criminal offence. Such a repeal, if successful, would force both the Westminster Parliament and the Stormont Assembly in Belfast to legislate on the matter of abortion. Then, on 7 June 2018, the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court dismissed an appeal from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) challenging the legality of the abortion law in Northern Ireland, claiming that it was incompatible with Articles 3 and 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). The Supreme Court held by a majority of 4-3 that procedurally, the NIHRC did not have standing to bring proceedings and therefore the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to make any substantive declaration. Despite this, however, on the substantive issues Lady Hale made clear that a majority (Lord Mance, Lord Kerr, Lord Wilson and Lady Hale) held that the current Northern Irish law was incompatible with the right to respect for private and family life, protected by Article 8 ECHR, “insofar as it prohibits abortion in cases of rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormality”. Lady Black agreed with that holding in the case of fatal foetal abnormality. Lord Kerr and Lord Wilson also held that it is incompatible with the right not to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, guaranteed by Article 3 ECHR. Lady Hale made clear that the “unusual circumstances” of this judgment, it was not possible to follow the Court’s usual practice to identify a single lead judgment which represents the majority view. The Supreme Court decision, alongside the Parliamentary debate, places renewed focus upon the abortion laws of Northern Ireland, as well as those which apply to the rest of Great Britain, which suggests that the ‘half-way house’ of the 1967 Act may finally be close to being reformed to hand the decision of abortion to women themselves.

The Fragility of Gender Equality Policies in Spain

Within the last decade, Spain has become a model in legislative policies for gender equality at the international level. However, the economic crisis has led to a growth in inequality, which has revealed the weaknesses of the adopted instruments. Despite the large amount of legislation in this area, the social reality has not changed at all, even experiencing a setback over the past few years. This situation was exposed in our country by a report issued in 2015 by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This report showed the negative effects of the economic crisis and austerity policies on women, even in a context necessitating increased efforts towards women’s rights. Therefore, it is imperative that the concept of gender mainstreaming and the adoption of instruments of “hard law” be revisited. The goal should be to achieve gender justice based on three elements—distribution, identity, and representation—and a real parity democracy.

Igualdade, Equidade de Gênero e Feminismo, uma visão histórica da conquista dos direitos das mulheres

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) defines equality and says how to achieve it. The policies propose frameworks to live equally, but: how do you do this if it is society that teaches us to be unequal? This paper provides a historical overview of progress and setbacks on gender equality. By examining this phenomenon perhaps we get to know a social reality that impacts men and women differently. Currently, progress on gender equality can be seen, but in turn, inequitable ways that continue to favor male roles over the female are manifested.

The Women Employees within the Frame of Social Responsibility and an Analyse

Abstract: In many resources, corporate social responsibility is defined as an organization's ethic and responsible attitude towards all the partners in and outside of the instruction, it’s taking the decisions accordingly and apply them.In the researches that have been carried out recently, the concept of "partner" stands out. Institutions have relations with some certain partners such as consumers, advertisers and workers and so on as these groups include women as well. That is the reason why the studies should be carried out considering the women.This concept has a great role in increasing the number of the social responsibility projects of the institutions that put emphasize on women.Although Turkey signed CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) which is a legally binding contract and many contracts of ILO which aimed at protecting the equality of men and women, and made some certain laws to protect the equality, it was the 126th country of 130 countries according to the Index of Gender Mainstreaming report published by WEF (World Economic Forum) in 2013. In this regard, the need to replace women in the centre of social responsibility projects is inevitable.

The Protection and Rights of Black and Minority Ethnic Women Experiencing Domestic Violence in Northern Ireland

This report examines the support sought by and provided to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) women, including immigrant women, in the context of domestic violence in Northern Ireland. It was undertaken as a scoping study and forms part of a submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).Northern Ireland has experienced an increase in migration, particularly from the European Economic Area with the most recent census showing an increase in the ‘non-national’ population over the past ten years - from 1.8% (2001) to 4.5% (2011). This figure, although increasing, is an under-representation of the proportion of those residing in Northern Ireland who form part of the BME population as it does not include those who hold British or Irish nationality.The findings reveal the challenges faced by BME women such as isolation, language barriers, unfamiliarity with laws and services, and institutional racism. These factors act as barriers in the help-seeking process and increase women’s vulnerability to domestic violence. Some of the most compelling findings are the ways in which immigration law and policy and the benefits system fail to address the needs of immigrant women who experience domestic violence in Northern Ireland. The report highlights the failings in terms of the UK’s human rights obligations and makes a number of recommendations to CEDAW as part of its periodic examination in July 2013. Following its publication, the CEDAW Committee requested the UK government to address, in particular, the report’s findings in relation to the application of the ‘domestic violence’ rule.

English

Introduction The issue of violence against women within the family, or as it is widely known domestic violence, is appearing now firmly as much in European policies as in Greek legislation in order to tackle and prevent this phenomenon. Unfortunately, European and Greek laws do not fully cover this important subject and as the respective studies show, domestic violence rates are increased. In the present review we are going to refer, briefly, to the historical background of the actions and the Greek legislation on this topic. Materials and Methods We investigated in libraries as well as on the web for “domestic violence”related articles and Greek court decisions on the matter in question for the last two decades. Access to sensitive data was obtained by every governmental body involved in our study. Results Before of the implementation of the proper legislation, no clear conceptual framework existed. We have to mention that the Greek law has become more specialized and sociallyorientated, aiming mostly at the cure of the revealed cases, rather than the punishment itself. Conclusion The issue of violence against women is very important and requires the participation of both the State, as well as the non-governmental non-profit organizations. Introduction The term of domestic violence is defined as violence in any form, whether it regards physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, gendered violence, emotional abuse (verbal), economic exploitation and trafficking. The complex nature of domestic violence, the various different interpretations of the phenomenon, the lack of sufficient recognition of the severity and several other factors led to the formation of stereotypes and the perpetuation of them, and as a result confusion about the nature and characteristics of the abuse within or outside the family1,2. The aim of this review was to discuss the history of actions as well as the evolution of legislation in Greece for domestic violence. Historical background Domestic violence is a very old phenomenon regarding its origins, while on the contrary, very recent as far as its social identification concerns. Social recognition of the phenomenon, its accession into the European agenda, the role of nongovernmental organizations as parts of the mechanism of influence and pressure and the feminist movement led to adoption of practices towards integration of the principle of equality in all EU policies. In particular, within the United Nations, one may identify International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UNIFEM), Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which in collaboration with the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) of the United Nations focus both on an effort to minimize the phenomenon and also to empower position of women in society3,4. The first draft of the Declaration of Violence against Women was constructed in 1992 and ratified in 1993. According to the United Nations any form of violence and circumvention of human rights, especially against women is condemned. Specifically in the article 1, the term violence against women means any act of violence based on gender and the article 2 includes physical or sexual violence within the family, rape within marriage as well as physical, sexual or emotional violence perpetrated or overlooked by the State in general5. At the same year, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in accordance with the recommendation 19, condemned violence against women as the General Assembly of the United Nations in Vienna adopted the Declaration regarding the Elimination of Violence against Women6. In 1994, by decision of the Commission on Human Rights, specific measures to eliminate violence at national and international level were adopted through the causes and the consequences thereof, as well as the collection and analysis of data regarding to violence. The signalling that violence is no longer a private matter was established by the institution of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on Violence against Women. According to article 4 of the UN Convention, the submission of national reports on government actions regarding the implementation of gender equality is *Corresponding author Email: kumusidi@doctors.org.uk 1 Family Planning Unit, 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Athens, Aretaieion Hospital, Greece.

Upholding pregnant women's right to life

Recent decisions of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the High Court of Delhi have shown how the pregnancy-related deaths of individual women have been bases on which these authoritative tribunals have held Brazil, Paraguay, and India respectively accountable for avoidable maternal mortality not only in these cases, but also among their populations more generally. The right to life is the most fundamental of women's human rights, recognized in international human rights treaties and national laws. Failure of governments to apply their resources adequately to address, respect, and protect this right violates the law of human rights. These cases show, however, that governments may fail to allocate adequate resources to women's survival of pregnancy. Tribunals can build on the failures in individual cases to set standards of performance to which governments will legally be held to achieve safe motherhood.

Human rights accountability for maternal death and failure to provide safe, legal abortion: the significance of two ground-breaking CEDAW decisions

In 2011, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) issued two landmark decisions. In Alyne da Silva Pimentel v. Brazil, the first maternal death case decided by an international human rights body, it confirms that States have a human rights obligation to guarantee that all women, irrespective of their income or racial background, have access to timely, non-discriminatory, and appropriate maternal health services. In L.C. v. Peru, concerning a 13-year-old rape victim who was denied a therapeutic abortion and had an operation on her spine delayed that left her seriously disabled as a result, it established that the State should guarantee access to abortion when a woman's physical or mental health is in danger, decriminalise abortion when pregnancy results from rape or sexual abuse, review its restrictive interpretation of therapeutic abortion and establish a mechanism to ensure that reproductive rights are understood and observed in all health care facilities. Both cases affirm that accessible and good quality health services are vital to women's human rights and expand States' obligations in relation to these. They also affirm that States must ensure national accountability for sexual and reproductive health rights, and provide remedies and redress in the event of violations. And they reaffirm the importance of international human rights bodies as sources of accountability for sexual and reproductive rights violations, especially where national accountability is absent or ineffective.

The Responses of States to the Comments of the CEDAW Committee on Domestic Violence

This article examines the question of how states have responded to the comments of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on the issue of domestic violence, through an analysis of 11 Western European States. It is argued that the majority of the states surveyed are complying with only some of the recommendations of the Committee in relation to domestic violence. This finding serves to highlight the fact that there are certainly major difficulties regarding the implementation of human rights law. This article focuses on the Concluding Observations made by the CEDAW Committee on the reports submitted by the Member States, and problems surrounding these Concluding Observations and the work of the Committee are also examined.

Examining Sexual Violence in the Military Within the Context of Eritrean Asylum Claims Presented in Norway

Discussion of rape by soldiers as a form of persecution has largely been directed towards the context of war or actual conflict. Nevertheless, there is a need for attention to be directed towards the phenomenon of rape within the military in the post-conflict period. This article discusses asylum claims presented in Norway by Eritrean female soldiers claiming risk of persecution in the form of sexual violence, rape, or torture within the military. First, presentation is made of the history of Eritrean women's participation in the war of independence and the ensuing political and legislative gains won at the end of the war against Ethiopia. Review of Eritrea's report and responses to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) reveal a state of backlash against women in the post-conflict period. Second, examination of how rape within the military and desertion may fall under the criteria of the definition of a refugee according the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees is pursued. Comparison is drawn to instances of rape of women soldiers in the US and Israel, as well as sexual violence by United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) peacekeepers, revealing common challenges affecting prevention and protection strategies. Third, a comparative review is conducted of evidentiary standards in order to highlight the importance of maintaining a flexible approach responsive to the special circumstances of sexual violence. The Norwegian practice indicated a tendency to provide protection for compassionate grounds or humanitarian protection, rather than asylum. This resulted in non-recognition of the legitimacy of claims based on gender related persecution as requiring legal protection under the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees.

Shadow report on Algeria to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Submitted by International Women's Human Rights Law Clinic and Women Living Under Muslim Laws, January 1999

Shadow report on Algeria to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Submitted by International Women's Human Rights Law Clinic and Women Living Under Muslim Laws, January 1999

UN Human Rights Committees advance reproductive rights

The significance of working with human rights covenants to advance reproductive health and self-determination has gained momentum through the work of: i) the Human Rights Committee, which monitors compliance of States with-their obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and ii) the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which was established to monitor States' compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. In 1996, in its ‘Concluding Observations’ on the third report of the Government of Peru, the Human Rights Committee recommended that Peru ensure that women do not risk their life because of the existence of restrictive legal provisions on abortion. CEDAW, in a meeting in January 1997, addressed law policy related to reproductive rights in Morocco, Venezuela, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Turkey and the Philippines, not only in relation to laws that make abortion dangerous but also maternal mortality more broadly, contraception and access to reproductive and sexual health services.

Salma Khan: The First Asian Woman to Chair the CEDAW Committee

I met Dr. Salma Khan, Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and President of the CEDAW Forum ,around mid October. She was invited by UNICEF and the Lebanese University to attend a workshop, held in Beirut, whose aim was the incorporation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) into the curriculum of Law Schools .