GENEVA (February 28, 2023) – The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) today published its findings on Bahrain, Costa Rica, Georgia, Hungary, Mauritania, Norway, Slovenia and Tunisia, the States Parties it during reviewed its committee’s last meeting.
The findings contain positive aspects of each country’s implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as well as the Committee’s main concerns and recommendations. Some of the most important topics are:
Bahrain
The Committee was concerned about the shrinking civil society space for women human rights defenders and reports of intimidation, harassment, threats, physical abuse, sexual violence, travel bans and arbitrary detention against them. It urged Bahrain to further strengthen and enforce measures to protect women human rights defenders, including journalists and members of the political opposition, from reprisals.
The Committee noted with concern that there is no timetable for adopting a bill amending the Criminal Code to remove the exemption from criminal liability where a rapist marries the victim. It called on Bahrain to speed up the legislative process to prevent rapists from evading criminal responsibility by marrying the victims.
Costa Rica
The Committee expressed concern about the authorities’ plans to repeal the technical guidelines on therapeutic abortion. It called on Costa Rica to stop all efforts to repeal such policies, but to widely disseminate instructions and standards for therapeutic abortion and to provide mandatory training for healthcare professionals to discourage unsafe abortions.
The Committee questioned the lengthy refugee status determinations and asylum procedures that refugee and asylum-seeking women and girls face in order to obtain identification documents needed to access education, employment, health care, housing and social services. It suggested Costa Rica take action to reduce delays in refugee identification and appeals processes and increase all kinds of resources for the Refugee Unit and the Restricted Visas and Refugee Commission.
Georgia
The Committee expressed concern at the slow progress in revising legislation on gender-based violence, the high incidence and under-reporting of domestic and sexual violence, and the low number of protection orders issued. It recommended that Georgia accelerate its legislative reform to amend its penal code to define rape on the basis of the lack of free consent. It also called on Georgia to promote reporting of domestic violence and ensure that women victims have effective access to protection orders.
Regarding sexist and misogynistic political discourse, sexual harassment, sexism and intimidation of women in political and public life, the Committee recommended that Georgia strengthen measures to combat discrimination and hate speech against women in politics, such as awareness-raising and awareness campaigns among politicians, schools, the media and the general public.
Hungary
Although it is legal to terminate a pregnancy in Hungary, the committee noted with concern that medical abortion is still not possible and women must go through two counseling sessions and a mandatory three-day waiting period before having an abortion. She also expressed concern about limited access to affordable modern contraceptives in the country. The Committee proposed that Hungary repeal regulations on pre- and post-abortion counseling and ensure unimpeded access to legal abortion and aftercare services. It also called on Hungary to ensure that all women and girls have access to adequate sexual and reproductive health services, including modern and emergency contraception.
The Committee remained concerned that Hungary’s gender equality policy is based solely on the concept of the family, given that women’s main role is to be wives and mothers. He recommended that the State party take action to address anti-gender public discourse and expand gender equality training for government officials, parliamentarians, leaders of political parties and religious movements, and public and private media professionals.
Mauritania
The Committee was concerned at the high level of gender-based violence against women and girls in Mauritania and the near-complete impunity of its perpetrators, as women and girls are reluctant to report crimes of adultery (zina), for fear of reprisals or fear of prosecution. which is punishable by the death penalty. It urged Mauritania to immediately release all women and girls arrested on zina-related charges, to end prosecutions against them and to lift discriminatory procedural requirements for proving rape, including the requirement to produce four witnesses.
The committee recognized the important role rural women play in ensuring national food security, given their remarkable commitment as workers in fisheries and agricultural production. It deplored that rural women are largely unpaid or underpaid for their work and are excluded from land ownership and decision-making about the use of natural resources. It recommended that Mauritania break down patriarchal attitudes and gender stereotypes that impede rural women’s equal access to land, and strengthen their equal participation in decision-making processes about land use and other natural resources, and in strategies to mitigate natural disasters and climate change.
Norway
The Committee reiterated its concern that Norwegian legislation, policies and programs are still gender neutral, which could lead to insufficient protection of women from direct and indirect discrimination and hamper the achievement of substantive equality between women and men. It recommended Norway to adopt a gender-sensitive rather than gender-neutral approach in its legislation, policies and programmes.
The committee also expressed concern that the definition of rape in the country’s penal code is still based on the use of force or threats by the perpetrator. It recommended Norway to align the definition of rape with international standards on the basis of lack of consent.
Slovenia
The Committee welcomed the 2018 election of women as President of Slovenia and President of the National Assembly, as well as the appointment of women as Attorney General and Chief of Staff of the Army. However, it noted with concern that hate speech and targeted harassment persisted against female politicians, activists and journalists . It recommended Slovenia to pass legislation to prevent harassment and threats against women in political and public life, for example by holding social media companies accountable for discriminatory user-generated content.
The Committee expressed its concern that no civil society organization from Slovenia had worked with the Committee in preparing this country analysis. It recommended that Slovenia create an enabling environment for civil society and women human rights defenders to advocate for women’s rights.
Tunisia
The Committee was alarmed by the high rate of gender-based violence against women, particularly the high rate of femicide, which had continued to increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also concerned that the draft law criminalizing marital rape had still not been adopted. It urged Tunisia to adopt a national strategy to eliminate all forms of gender-based violence, to speed up legislative action to criminalize marital rape, and to provide more shelter and support services to women survivors of gender-based violence.
The Committee expressed concern about hate speech and harassment, including the non-consensual online use of images and video footage, which threaten women in political and public life. It also questioned the low representation of women in decision-making positions in the judiciary and the foreign service. It recommended that Tunisia take specific measures to increase the participation of women in parliament, the judiciary and the foreign service. It also called on Tunisia to pass legislation to criminalize hate speech and harassment against women in political and public life, and to hold social media companies accountable for discriminatory content posted by users.
The above results, officially called the Concluding Observations, are now available online at the session website.
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