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Mexico - Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women - Concluding Observations [2012] UNCEDAWCO 12; CEDAW/C/MEX/CO/7-8 (7 August 2012)

Committee on the Elimination of

Discrimination against Women

Fifty-second session

9-27 July 2012

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Mexico

1. The Committee considered the combined seventh and eighth periodic report of Mexico (CEDAW/C/MEX/7-8) at its 1051st and 1052nd meetings, on 17 July 2012 (see CEDAW/C/SR.1051 and 1052). The Committee’s list of issues and questions is contained in CEDAW/C/MEX/Q/7-8 and the responses are contained in CEDAW/C/MEX/Q/7-8/Add.1.

A. Introduction

2. The Committee expresses its appreciation to the State party for its combined seventh and eighth periodic report. It expresses as well its appreciation to the State party for its written replies to the list of issues and questions raised by its presession working group. It welcomes the oral presentation of the delegation and the further clarifications provided in response to the questions posed orally by the Committee.

3. The Committee commends the State party for its large delegation, headed by María del Rocío García Gaytán, President of the National Women’s Institute, which included representatives from various ministries, the National Supreme Court, the Office of the Federal Attorney General, the Federal Electoral Tribunal, the Federal Electoral Institute, the National Council to Prevent Discrimination, the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples as well as women parliamentarians. The Committee appreciates the constructive dialogue that took place between the delegation and the members of the Committee.

B. Positive aspects

4. The Committee commends the constitutional reform on human rights (2011), which gives constitutional rank to the international human rights treaties ratified by the State party, including the Convention, and which enshrines the pro-personae principle.

5. The Committee takes note with appreciation of the amendments made to the 2008 Federal Code of Electoral Institutions and Procedures, which introduced a gender quota system to register candidates in a proportion of 40:60. It welcomes the preliminary results of the federal elections (2012), indicating that 36.46 per cent of the seats in the National Congress will be held by women.

6. The Committee takes note with appreciation of the progress of the State party’s legislative and institutional framework to address violence against women at the federal level, which includes, inter alia:

(a) The adoption of the 2007 General Act on Women’s Access to a Life Free of Violence and its accompanying regulations of 2008;

(b) The enactment of the 2012 General Law on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Crimes of Trafficking in Persons and the Protection and Assistance of Victims of Such Crimes, as well as of the Law for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists;

(c) The establishment of the National System to Prevent, Treat, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women to promote inter-institutional coordinated actions on violence against women.

7. The Committee notes with appreciation the adoption in 2009 of the Mexican Standard for Occupational Equality between Men and Women, a non-binding instrument which certifies public, social and private organizations that include a gender perspective in their employment practices.

8. The Committee also welcomes the ratification by the State party of the following international human rights treaties since the consideration of the sixth State party report in August 2006:

(a) The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, in 2007;

(b) The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in 2007;

(c) The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, in 2008.

C. Principal areas of concern and recommendations

9. The Committee recalls the obligation of the State party to systematically and continuously implement all the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and views the concerns and recommendations identified in the present concluding observations as requiring the priority attention of the State party between now and the submission of the next periodic report. Consequently, the Committee urges the State party to focus on those areas in its implementation activities and to report on the actions taken and results achieved in its next periodic report. The Committee calls upon the State party to submit the present concluding observations to all relevant ministries, to the National Congress and to the judiciary, so as to ensure their full implementation.

National Congress and local congresses

10. While reaffirming that the Government has the primary responsibility and is particularly accountable for the full implementation of the obligations of the State party under the Convention, the Committee stresses that the Convention is binding on all branches of Government and invites the State party to encourage its National Congress as well as the congresses of its states, in line with their procedures and where appropriate, to take the necessary steps with regard to the implementation of the present concluding observations between now and the next reporting process under the Convention.

General context and gender-based violence

11. The Committee is concerned that the high levels of insecurity and violence in the State party are not limited to the fight against organized crime and therefore are negatively impacting the population in the enjoyment of their human rights, in particular women and girls. It is deeply concerned that the public security strategy to combat organized crime, combined with persistent impunity and corruption, have contributed to the intensification of already existing patterns of widespread discrimination and violence against women in the State party, rooted in patriarchal attitudes, and to the minimization and invisibility of this phenomenon. The Committee is concerned that women and girls have been subjected to increasing levels and different types of gender-based violence, such as domestic violence, forced disappearances, torture and murders, especially feminicide, by state actors, including law enforcement officials and the security forces, as well as by non-state actors, such as organized crime groups.

12. The Committee urges the State party:

(a) To revise its public security strategy to combat organized crime to accord it with its international human rights obligations, including the Convention, and to end the high levels of insecurity and violence in the country, affecting women and girls disproportionately;

(b) To reverse the strategy’s negative impact on women and girls and comply with its due diligence obligations to prevent violence against women, including domestic violence, forced disappearances, torture and murders, especially feminicide; investigate, prosecute and punish state and non-state perpetrators, and provide redress to women who have been victims of violence regardless of the context and of the alleged perpetrators;

(c) To provide systematic training on human rights, in particular on women’s rights, to all law enforcement officials, the military and the navy forces involved in operations in the context of the public security strategy and establish and enforce a strict code of conduct so as to effectively guarantee the respect of human rights;

(d) To take all measures necessary to establish a standard system for the regular collection of statistical data on violence against women, disaggregated by type of violence and the circumstances in which the violence was committed, including information on perpetrators and victims and their relationship.

Harmonization of legislation and repeal of discriminatory laws

13. The Committee notes the State party’s federal legislative advances, such as the constitutional reform on human rights (2011). However, it is concerned that the different levels of authority and competences within the State party’s federal structure result in a differentiated application of the law depending on whether or not appropriate harmonization of the relevant legislation has been conducted at the state level, such as with respect to the principle of non-discrimination and equality between men and women. The Committee notes with concern that this situation results in discriminatory provisions against women or to different definitions and sanctions related to, inter alia, rape, abortion, forced disappearances, trafficking, injuries and homicide for reasons of so-called honour, as well as on adultery across the 32 states of the State party. It is further concerned about the lack of consistent harmonization of the State party’s legislation, for example, civil, penal and procedural laws at the federal and state level, with the General Act and/or local laws on women’s access to a life free of violence and with the Convention. It is concerned about the lack of effective mechanisms to implement and monitor the laws on women’s access to a life free of violence and relevant legislation and regulations related to women’s access to health-care services and education. The Committee is also concerned about the effects of the reform of the criminal justice system (2008) and its progressive implementation on the situation of women before the judicial authorities as well as about the lack of official data on the number of prosecutions, convictions and sentences inflicted against perpetrators of violence against women.

14. The Committee urges the federal authorities of the State party:

(a) To take the measures necessary to ensure, particularly through effective coordination, the coherent and consistent harmonization of the relevant legislation at all levels with the constitutional reforms on human rights (2011) and of the criminal justice system (2008);

(b) To take the necessary actions to eliminate the inconsistencies in the legal frameworks among the federal, state and municipal levels, including by integrating in relevant state and municipal legislation the principle of nondiscrimination and equality between men and women and by repealing discriminatory provisions against women, in line with article 2 (g) of the Convention, and by providing consistent definitions and sanctions, related to, inter alia, rape, abortion, forced disappearances, trafficking, injuries and homicide for reasons of so-called honour, as well as on adultery;

(c) To accelerate its efforts to consistently harmonize, inter alia, its civil, penal and procedural legislation with the General Act and/or local laws on women’s access to a life free of violence and with the Convention;

(d) To establish effective mechanisms at the federal and state levels to monitor the implementation of women’s access to a life free of violence laws, and legislation related to women’s access to health-care services and education;

(e) To put in place mechanisms to monitor and sanction law officials, including the judiciary, who discriminate against women and who refuse to apply legislation protecting women’s rights.

Violence against women and feminicide

15. The Committee notes with concern that key provisions of the General Act on Women’s Access to a Life Free of Violence of 2007 have not yet been implemented. It notes that the State party has put in place a national machinery to address violence against women, however it is concerned that the capacity and resources allocated to the national machinery have not been adequately strengthened to ensure effective coordination among the different bodies which compose it, such as between the National System to Prevent, Treat, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women and the National Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Violence against Women. It also notes with concern the deferrals in the implementation of the protection mechanisms provided in the General Act on Women’s Access to a Life Free of Violence for women victims of violence, in particular the slow progress at the state level in integrating protection orders in their legislation and implementing them. It further notes with concern the procedural inefficiencies that prevent the activation of the Gender Alert Mechanism.

16. The Committee calls upon the State party:

(a) To prioritize the full implementation of the General Act on Women’s Access to a Life Free of Violence, including by executing entirely the National Programme to Prevent, Treat, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women and by activating the National Data and Information Bank on Cases of Violence against Women, with the participation of all the 32 federal states;

(b) To revise the existing national machinery to address violence against women with the view to simplifying processes and enhancing coordination among its members and strengthening its capacity, at the federal, state and municipal levels, by providing it with sufficient human, technical and financial resources to increase its effectiveness in executing its overall mandate to prevent, treat, punish and eliminate violence against women;

(c) To expedite the implementation of protection orders at the state level, ensure that the relevant authorities are aware of the importance of issuing protection orders for women at risk and take the necessary measures to maintain the duration of the protection orders until the victim of violence is no longer at risk;

(d) To urgently address the obstacles that limit the activation of the Gender Alert Mechanism.

17. The Committee takes note that article 21 of the General Act on Women’s Access to a Life Free of Violence defines feminicide as the extreme form of gender violence against women, a product of the violation of their human rights, in both public and private, formed by the misogynistic set of behaviours that can lead to social and state impunity and may culminate in murder or other forms of violent death of women. However, it is concerned about deficiencies and different definitions of the crime of feminicide in the local penal codes. It expresses its deep concern about the high and increasing numbers of feminicides committed in several states, such as Chiapas, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, State of Mexico, Veracruz and Quintana Roo, as well as in Mexico City and Ciudad Juárez. It is further concerned about inaccuracies in the procedures to record and document killings of women, which undermine the proper investigation of cases, prevent the families of the victims of being promptly notified and preclude a fuller and more reliable assessment of feminicide.

18. The Committee is further concerned about:

(a) The increasing number of forced disappearances of women and girls in various states, such as Chihuahua, Nuevo León and Veracruz, that forced disappearances do not constitute a crime in several local penal codes, the lack of a consistent official registry of disappearances and the slow activation or not at all of the existing protocols of search, such as the Alba Protocol and the Amber Alert, by the authorities;

(b) The prevalence of sexual violence, including rape and the exposure of women and girls to vulnerability and risk in regions where the army and/or the law enforcement officials are conducting operations against organized crime;

(c) The low numbers of cases of violence against women that are reported before the authorities because women are fearful of retaliation measures and do not trust the authorities; and the lack of standardized protocols for investigating and prosecuting cases of violence against women, which hamper the right of victims to access to justice and leave a high proportion of cases unpunished, as pointed out by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the Campo Algodonero case;

(d) The persistent impunity with respect to the investigation, prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of acts of violence against women across the country, such as those committed by public authorities in 2006 in San Salvador Atenco.

19. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Take the steps necessary to ensure that the codification of feminicide is based on objective elements which allow its proper qualification in the local penal codes; accelerate its codification in those pending local penal codes; standardize the police investigation protocols for feminicide across the country; and inform without delay the families of the victims;

(b) Develop a consistent official registry of forced disappearances in order to be able to assess the magnitude of the phenomenon and adopt appropriate policies; review local penal codes in order to define forced disappearances as a crime; simplify the existing procedures to activate the Alba Protocol and the Amber Alert, with a view to launching the search of disappeared women and girls without delay; and standardize police protocols of search;

(c) Undertake actions to encourage the reporting of cases of violence against women, such as rape, and ensure that appropriate and harmonized procedures exist for investigating, prosecuting and punishing perpetrators of violence against women;

(d) Ensure women’s access to justice, including by enhancing the capacity of the women’s justice centres and making these centres accessible to women and girl victims of violence;

(e) Take measures to improve support services for women and girl victims of violence, including by guaranteeing their access to established care centres and shelters; and also by ensuring that education professionals, healthcare providers and social workers are fully familiar with the Mexican Official Standard NOM-046-SSA2-2005 for the prevention of violence against women and treatment of victims, are sensitized to all forms of violence against women and are fully capable of assisting and supporting victims of violence;

(f) Continue implementing the recommendations and decisions on violence against women made by various international and regional human rights mechanisms, including the decision of the Campo Algodonero case issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights;

(g) Expedite the arrest of alleged perpetrators relating to violence against women offences and provide information about the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators in its next periodic report, including those related to the Atenco case.

Trafficking in persons

20. The Committee expresses its concern about information received that indicates a connection between the increased numbers of disappearances of women, in particular girls, throughout the country and the phenomenon of trafficking in persons. It is concerned that victims of trafficking are being subjected not only to sexual and labour exploitation, but are also forced to serve, inter alia, as mules and sexual slaves. It reiterates its concern about the lack of uniformity in criminalizing trafficking at the state level. It notes with concern that the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes of Violence against Women and Trafficking in Persons does not have the mandate to follow up on complaints of trafficking in persons when the offence is committed by organized criminal groups. It is further concerned that the State party does not have a system in place to record disaggregated data on the incidence of trafficking and has failed to fully address internal trafficking.

21. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Ensure the effective implementation of the new General Law on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Crimes in Trafficking and the Protection and Assistance of Victims, with the view to standardizing the criminalization of trafficking in persons at the federal and state levels and ensuring adequate allocation of resources for its implementation;

(b) Elaborate a diagnosis of the phenomenon of trafficking in women and girls, including its scope, causes, consequences and purposes, as well as its possible links with the disappearances of women and girls and the emerging forms of exploitation;

(c) Systematically compile disaggregated data and analysis on trafficking in women, with a view to formulating a comprehensive strategy that includes measures of prevention, prosecution and punishment of offenders, as well as improved measures to rehabilitate victims;

(d) Conduct nationwide awareness-raising campaigns on the risks and consequences of trafficking targeted at women and girls, and train law enforcement, migration and border police officials on the causes, consequences and incidence of trafficking in women and girls and different forms of exploitation.

Participation in political and public life

22. The Committee notes that the State party has made substantial progress to ensure women’s equal participation with men in political life at the federal level. However, it is concerned about gaps in the federal and state electoral legal frameworks which may lead to the non-compliance of the gender quota system to register candidates in a proportion of 40:60 and that this quota system has not yet been incorporated in all the states’ electoral legislation. It is further concerned about the low number of indigenous women participating in the political life of the State party.

23. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Ensure that political parties are complying with the federal and state electoral legal frameworks, including by amending or repealing discriminatory provisions against women, such as paragraph 2 of article 219 of the Federal Code of Electoral Institutions and Procedure and by establishing sanctions in cases of non-compliance with the gender quota;

(b) Eliminate the obstacles preventing women from participating in the political life of their communities, in particular indigenous women, including by conducting awareness-raising campaigns aiming at increasing the participation of women in political life at the state and municipal levels;

(c) Ensure that the political parties comply with their obligation to allocate 2 per cent of the public funding received to the promotion of women’s political leadership, especially of indigenous women at the municipal level.

Human rights defenders and journalists

24. The Committee expresses its deep concern about the risks that women human rights defenders and journalists face in the exercise of their professional activities in the State party and at the fact that a number of them had to leave their domicile to seek a place where their life and security would not be threatened. It is concerned about information indicating that they are subjected to different manifestations of violence, such as threats and defamation campaigns, sexual abuse, harassment and feminicide. It is further concerned about the delays in the response of the relevant authorities to guarantee the human rights of women human rights defenders and journalists, in particular, freedom of expression, life, liberty and integrity of the person as well as access to justice. The Committee is also concerned about information alleging that most of the cases involving violence against women human rights defenders and journalists have been committed by state agents, and that there have been no efforts to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators.

25. The Committee urges the State party:

(a) To ensure the prompt implementation of the 2012 Law for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists at the federal and state levels in order to guarantee the life, liberty and integrity of the person of women human rights defenders and journalists and ensure that they are not subjected to any manifestation of violence;

(b) To prioritize the establishment of the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists provided for in the Law for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists and ensure that it includes a gender approach;

(c) To take concrete, adequate and effective measures to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish attacks and other forms of abuse perpetrated against women human rights defenders and journalists as well as take effective measures to combat impunity.

Education

26. While taking note of the Programa de Becas para Madres Jóvenes y Jóvenes Embarazadas (PROMAJOVEN programme), which provides basic education grants to pregnant teenagers and young mothers, the Committee is concerned that pregnant teenage girls are stigmatized and forced to drop out from school. It regrets that the contents of the curricula on sexual and reproductive health and rights have been reduced. It is also concerned about the disparities in illiteracy rates between women living in urban areas (5.3 per cent) and women living in rural areas (18.2 per cent). It is concerned about the feminization of certain fields of education, such as teaching, and the low participation of girls in technical vocational education, which ultimately results in sex segregation of the labour market and in low-paying jobs for women. It is further concerned that violence against women and girls in schools continues to be a problem with no clear mechanisms for preventing, punishing or eradicating sexual abuse and harassment and other forms of violence in schools.

27. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Enhance the visibility of the PROMAJOVEN programme and ensure that the contents of the curricula on sexual and reproductive health and rights are updated and based on scientific evidence, in conformity with international standards, and introduce a comprehensive, age-appropriate programme on sexual and reproductive health and rights for both girls and boys as a regular part of the curriculum at the basic and secondary levels of the education system;

(b) Take all appropriate measures, to reduce the gap in the illiteracy rates between women in urban and rural areas;

(c) Continue its efforts to encourage young women to choose

non-traditional fields of study and professions;

(d) Institute measures to prevent, punish and eradicate all forms of violence against women and girls in public educational institutions.

Employment

28. The Committee is concerned about the persistent discriminatory practices against women in the field of employment, such as the requirement of pregnancy tests to obtain or maintain employment, the practice of subjecting pregnant women to difficult or hazardous working conditions in order to force them to resign from their jobs and that further the reform of the Federal Labour Act has been pending for several years. It is also concerned about reports indicating that 3 out of 10 women reported having experienced violence in the workplace, including sexual harassment and abuse. The Committee is also concerned about the considerable pay differentials between men and women and that 56.6 per cent of the female working population is engaged in the informal labour sector and hence lacks access to social security benefits. It is further concerned about the unequal working conditions of domestic workers, 99 per cent of whom are women, and that they experience discrimination with respect to wages, working hours and benefits.

29. The Committee reiterates its previous recommendation to the State party to bring its labour legislation into full compliance with article 11 of the Convention and to expedite the adoption of the Federal Labour Act, which has been pending for years. It calls upon the State party:

(a) To take measures to ensure equal opportunities for women and men in the labour market, including through the use of temporary special measures, with time-bound targets, in accordance with article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 25 (2004) and by providing the general labour inspectorate directorate with the necessary and effective human and financial resources to monitor and sanction discriminatory practices against women in the field of employment, such as in the maquiladora industry;

(b) To ensure the effective implementation of the protocol on intervention in cases of sexual harassment within the public administration and envisage similar measures to prevent sexual harassment in the private sector;

(c) To take measures that enhance the situation of women in the informal sector, monitor their impact and ensure the continuation of the Seguro Popular programme, which aims at providing health services to these women;

(d) To revise the legal social protection framework to formulate a comprehensive policy that ensures domestic workers equal access to equal remuneration and treatment for work of equal value, including benefits, as well as equal access to social security and safety in working conditions;

(e) To ratify International Labour Organization Convention No. 156 on workers with family responsibilities, and No. 189 concerning decent work for domestic workers.

Health

30. The Committee notes that the State party has been implementing a campaign promoting condom use in order to prevent teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. It is concerned, however, about reports indicating that adolescents have limited access to quality sexual and reproductive health and education information and that the level of teenage pregnancy has been increasing in the country. Although it notes the establishment of the Observatory of Maternal Mortality, it is concerned that the current maternal mortality rate, 53.5 deaths per 100,000 live births (2010), is far from the proposed Millennium Development Goal target for 2015 of 22.2 deaths per 100,000 live births, which means that, as has been acknowledged by the State party, the target will not be reached.

31. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Ensure universal access to health-care services and to information and education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, particularly to adolescent girls, with the aim of preventing unwanted and teenage pregnancies;

(b) Enhance and continue its awareness-raising campaign “Un condón es más confiable que el destino”;

(c) Strengthen, with the guidance of the Observatory of Maternal Mortality, its efforts to decrease the maternal mortality rate including by adopting a comprehensive safe motherhood strategy which prioritizes access to quality antenatal, postnatal and obstetric services and by establishing monitoring and accountability mechanisms.

32. The Committee notes that abortion is decriminalized in Mexico City and that in the rest of the country, abortion is legal in cases of rape. It also notes inconsistencies with respect to other legal grounds for abortion in the legal frameworks of the 32 states. It is concerned that women’s enjoyment of their sexual and reproductive health and rights, including access to legal abortion, have been jeopardized as a result of the amendments in local constitutions that protect life from the moment of conception, even though those amendments have not modified the already established legal grounds for abortion. It is further concerned about cases of women who have been denied access to legal abortion, even when they fulfil the restrictive legal criteria, and who have been reported to the judicial authorities by medical care providers and social workers and consequently sentenced to long prison terms on grounds of infanticide or murder.

33. The Committee urges the State party:

(a) To harmonize the federal and state legislations relating to abortion with a view to eliminating the obstacles faced by women seeking legal abortions and also to extend access to legal abortion in the light of the constitutional human rights reform and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 24 (1999);

(b) To inform medical care providers and social workers that the local constitutional amendments have not repealed the grounds for legal abortion and also inform them of their responsibilities;

(c) To ensure that in all states, women whose cases fall under any of the legal grounds for abortion have access to safe health-care services, and ensure the proper implementation of the Mexican Official Standard NOM-046-SSA2-2005, in particular access of women victims of rape to emergency contraception, abortion and the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS.

Indigenous rural women

34. The Committee notes that the Convention has been translated into 10 indigenous languages. It notes as well the creation of indigenous women’s centres whose objectives are the prevention and treatment of violence and the promotion of sexual and reproductive health and rights for indigenous women. However, it remains concerned about the high levels of poverty, illiteracy and multiple forms of discrimination against indigenous rural women, in particular in Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca. It is also concerned about harmful cultural practices within the indigenous legal systems that are based on gender-stereotyped roles for men and women, such as the “bride price”, and that perpetuate discrimination against indigenous women and girls. It is further concerned about the lack of indigenous rural women’s access to land, property and justice. It is also concerned about information indicating that the State party’s public security policy against organized crime has had a negative impact on indigenous rural women, who have since been subjected to higher levels of violence, including feminicide, by the security forces.

35. The Committee reiterates its previous recommendations and calls upon the State party:

(a) To ensure that all policies and programmes aimed at the eradication of poverty include a gender perspective and an intercultural approach, with a view to eliminating discrimination against indigenous rural women;

(b) To adopt temporary special measures to address the disparities that indigenous rural women face with regard to access to land and property, as well as basic social services, including education and health, and participation in decision-making processes;

(c) To put in place a comprehensive strategy aimed at the elimination of harmful practices that discriminate against indigenous rural women, including by conducting awareness-raising campaigns targeting indigenous communities in collaboration with civil society and women’s organizations, with a view to enhancing a positive and non-stereotypical portrayal of women;

(d) To take all necessary measures to ensure the effective implementation of relevant legislation to prevent violence against indigenous women, to investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators of violence against indigenous women and to ensure that victims have effective and prompt access to justice, including redress mechanisms;

(e) To adopt appropriate measures to ensure that the army and law enforcement officials who are in or near communities of indigenous peoples respect the human rights of indigenous women.

Family and marriage relations

36. The Committee is concerned that while the Civil Code provides that, under the optional community property regime, property obtained during the time of the marriage is considered joint property to be divided equally upon divorce, this is limited only to tangible property (movable and immovable property), but does not encompass intangible assets, including work-related benefits (such as pensions and insurance benefits), nor does it adequately redress the economic disparities between spouses resulting from the existing sex segregation of the labour market and women’s greater share in unpaid work, as evidenced by the 2009 National Time Use Survey. The Committee is further concerned that the General Act on Responsible Paternity and the proposal to create a national public registry of defaulting alimony debtors are still pending.

37. The Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Take the legislative measures necessary to recognize both tangible and intangible property, such as pension and insurance benefits, as part of the joint property to be divided upon divorce;

(b) Establish adequate redress mechanisms for economic disparities between spouses resulting from sex segregation of the labour market and women’s greater share in unpaid work;

(c) Accelerate the adoption of the General Act on Responsible Paternity as well as the creation of the national public registry of defaulting alimony debtors.

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

38. The Committee urges the State party, in the implementation of its obligations under the Convention, to fully utilize the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which reinforce the provisions of the Convention, and requests the State party to include information thereon in its next periodic report.

Millennium Development Goals

39. The Committee emphasizes that the full and effective implementation of the Convention is indispensable for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. It calls for the integration of a gender perspective and explicit reflection of the provisions of the Convention in all efforts aimed at the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, and requests the State party to include information thereon in its next periodic report.

Dissemination

40. The Committee requests the wide dissemination in Mexico of the present concluding observations in order to make the people, government officials, politicians, parliamentarians, women’s and human rights organizations and gender scholars aware of the steps that have been taken to ensure the formal and substantive equality of women, as well as the further steps that are required in that regard. The Committee recommends that its concluding observations also be disseminated at the local community level. The State party is encouraged to organize a series of meetings to discuss progress achieved in the implementation of these observations. The Committee requests the State party to continue to disseminate widely, in particular to women’s and human rights organizations, the Committee’s general recommendations, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly on the theme “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”.

Follow-up to concluding observations

41. The Committee requests the State party to provide, within two years, written information on the steps undertaken to implement the recommendations contained in paragraphs 19 (b) and 33 (a) and (b) above.

Preparation of next report

42. The Committee requests the State party to ensure the wide participation of all ministries and public bodies in the preparation of its next report and to consult a variety of women’s and human rights organizations during that phase.

43. The Committee requests the State party to respond to the concerns expressed in the present concluding observations in its next periodic report under article 18 of the Convention. The Committee invites the State party to submit its eighth periodic report in July 2016.

44. The Committee invites the State party to follow the “Harmonized guidelines on reporting under the international human rights treaties, including guidelines on a common core document and treaty-specific documents” (HRI/MC/2006/3 and Corr.1), approved at the fifth inter-committee meeting of the human rights treaty bodies, in June 2006. The treaty-specific reporting guidelines adopted by the Committee at its fortieth session, in January 2008, must be applied in conjunction with the harmonized reporting guidelines on a common core document. Together, they constitute the harmonized guidelines on reporting under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The treaty-specific document should be limited to 40 pages, while the updated common core document should not exceed

80 pages.