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Guyana - Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women - Concluding Observations [2012] UNCEDAWCO 17; CEDAW/C/GUY/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

Guyana

1. The Committee considered the combined seventh and eighth periodic report of Guyana (CEDAW/C/GUY/7-8) at its 1041st and 1042nd meetings, on 10 July 2012 (see CEDAW/C/SR.1041 and 1042). The Committee’s list of issues and questions is contained in CEDAW/C/GUY/Q/7-8 and the responses of the Government of Guyana in CEDAW/C/GUY/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, which in general followed the Committee’s guidelines for the preparation of reports. Nevertheless, it lacked some specific disaggregated data and was overdue since September 2006. The Committee notes the State party’s oral presentation, the written replies to the list of issues and questions raised by its pre-session working group and the further clarifications to the questions posed orally by the Committee.

3. The Committee commends the State party’s high-level delegation, which was headed by the Minister of Human Services and Social Security of Guyana, Jennifer Webster, and also included the Minister of Education. The Committee regrets, however, that no answers were provided to some of the questions raised and that some of the answers provided were not sufficiently clear, precise or detailed.

B. Positive aspects

4. The Committee welcomes the progress achieved since the adoption of its previous concluding observations in 2005, including the legislative reforms carried out and the legislative measures adopted. Specific reference is made to the following instruments:

(a) Amerindian Act (2006);

(b) Prevention of Crimes (Amendment) Act (2008);

(c) Protection of Children Act and Childcare and Protection Agency Act (2009);

(d) Sexual Offences Act (2010);

(e) Persons with Disabilities Act (2010).

5. The Committee also welcomes the State party’s accession to and ratification of the following international human rights treaties since the consideration of the State party’s previous report in 2005:

(a) International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, in 2010;

(b) Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and pornography, in 2010;

(c) Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, in 2010.

C. Principal areas of concern and recommendations

6. The Committee recalls the obligation of the State party to systematically and continuously implement all the provisions of the Convention 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 subsequent periodic report. Consequently, the Committee urges the State party to focus on those areas in its implementation activities and to report on actions taken and results achieved in its subsequent periodic report. The Committee calls upon the State party to submit the present concluding observations to all relevant ministries, to the parliament and to the judiciary so as to ensure their full implementation.

Parliament

7. 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 the Government and invites the State party to encourage the parliament, in line with its procedures, where appropriate, to take the steps necessary to implement the present concluding observations between now and the Government’s subsequent reporting process under the Convention.

Visibility of the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendations

8. The Committee is concerned at the general lack of awareness of the Convention and of the Committee’s general recommendations in the State party, in particular among the judiciary, other law enforcement officials and the population at large. It is further concerned that women themselves, especially those in rural and remote areas, are unaware of their rights under the Convention and thus lack the information necessary to claim their rights.

9. The Committee calls upon the State party:

(a) To take the steps necessary to ensure the adequate dissemination of the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendations among all stakeholders, including government ministries, parliamentarians, the judiciary, law enforcement officers and religious and community leaders, so as to create awareness of women’s human rights and establish firmly in the country a legal culture supportive of women’s equality and non-discrimination;

(b) To take all appropriate measures to enhance women’s awareness of their rights and the means to enforce them, including by providing women with information on the Convention in languages accessible to them in all regions of the State party, in particular in hinterland and rural areas and among the Amerindian communities, emphasizing ways to use the available legal remedies in cases of violations of their rights.

Legal status of the Convention

10. The Committee is concerned that, although Guyana ratified the Convention in 1980 without reservations, the legal status of the Convention in the State party’s legislation remains unclear. The Committee notes with concern that, according to article 154 A (1) of the Constitution, the protection of human rights of every person under the international treaties acceded to by the State party may be limited under article 154 A (6), which provides that the State party “may divest itself or otherwise limit the extent of its obligation under any of the treaties listed in the Fourth Schedule, provided that two thirds of the elected members of the National Assembly have voted in favour of such divestment or limitation”.

11. The Committee urges the State party to place high priority on the process of fully incorporating the Convention, without any limitations, into its national legal system in order to give central importance to the Convention as the basis for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.

Definition of equality and non-discrimination

12. The Committee notes the protection from discrimination on grounds of gender and sex provided for in articles 149 and 149F of the State party’s Constitution and in the provisions of the Equal Rights Act and the Prevention of Discrimination Act. The Committee is, however, concerned at the lack of a definition of discrimination against women in line with article 1 of the Convention.

13. The Committee urges the State party to include in its Constitution and other appropriate legislation the prohibition of discrimination against women, which encompasses both direct and indirect discrimination in the public and private spheres, in line with article 1 of the Convention, and to harmonize the various provisions at the constitutional and legislative levels dealing with equality and non-discrimination.

Access to justice and legal complaints mechanisms

14. The Committee notes that women’s access to justice is provided for in legislation and that since 2008 legal aid clinic services have been expanded to 6 of the 10 administrative regions of the country to facilitate greater access to justice for the poor and vulnerable. It is concerned, however, that women’s ability to exercise the right and to bring cases of discrimination before the courts is limited by such factors as the absence of permanent magistrates’ courts in all regions, the lack of information about women’s rights and other practical difficulties in gaining access to the courts. The Committee also notes that the State party has not yet established an independent national human rights institution, despite accepting the recommendation to do so made during the universal periodic review of Guyana in 2010 (see A/HRC/15/14). The Committee again notes that no ombudsman has been appointed since January 2005 and no specific information has been provided regarding such an appointment.

15. The Committee calls upon the State party:

(a) To establish permanent magistrates’ courts and to ensure that the judiciary is familiar with the Convention and the State party’s obligations;

(b) To provide legal aid services in all regions, to implement legal literacy programmes, to disseminate knowledge of ways to use available legal remedies against discrimination and to monitor the results of such efforts;

(c) To take steps to establish an independent national human rights institution in accordance with the Principles relating to the status of national institutions (the Paris Principles);

(d) To appoint an ombudsman with a mandate to consider complaints and to ensure that the institution is provided with sufficient human, financial and technical resources to function effectively and so that its composition and activities will be gender sensitive and will fully address the issue of women’s human rights.

National machinery for the advancement of women

16. The Committee reiterates its previous concern that it did not obtain a clear picture of the State party’s national machinery for the advancement of women (see CEDAW/C/GUY/CO/3-6, para. 27). While noting the existence of the Women and Gender Equality Commission, the Committee is concerned about the lack of information on its authority, human and financial resources and capacity to ensure that gender equality policies are properly developed and fully implemented throughout the work of all ministries and government offices. The Committee is also concerned that the Human Rights Commission, which has a mandate to “uphold human rights and investigate abuses, resolve disputes or rectify acts or omissions” and is intended to act as the secretariat of the Women and Gender Equality Commission, is not operational.

17. The Committee encourages the State party:

(a) To clearly define the mandate and the responsibilities of the national machinery for the advancement of women and to expeditiously strengthen that machinery by providing it with adequate human, financial and technical resources for it to coordinate and work effectively for the promotion of gender equality and gender mainstreaming;

(b) To provide training in women’s rights to women and men working in the national machinery for the advancement of women;

(c) To strengthen its impact assessment of measures taken so as to ensure that such measures achieve their goals and targets.

Temporary special measures

18. The Committee is concerned that temporary special measures in accordance with its general recommendation No. 25 are not systematically applied as a strategy necessary to accelerate the achievement of substantive equality of women and men in all areas covered by the Convention, especially in the areas of employment, education and participation in political and public life.

19. The Committee encourages the State party to strengthen the use of temporary special measures, in accordance with article 4 (1) of the Convention, as interpreted in general recommendation No. 25 of the Committee, in all areas covered by the Convention in which women are underrepresented or disadvantaged. To that end, it recommends that the State party:

(a) Set time-bound targets and allocate sufficient resources for the implementation of strategies, such as outreach and support programmes, the creation of quotas and other proactive and results-oriented measures aimed at achieving substantive equality of women and men in all areas, in particular in the areas of employment, education and participation in political and public life; and

(b) Raise awareness among parliamentarians, government officials, employers and the general public about the need for temporary special measures and provide comprehensive information on the use of such measures and their impact in its subsequent periodic report.

Stereotypes and harmful practices

20. While noting the State party’s efforts to counter stereotypes and prejudices through education and awareness campaigns in the mass media, the Committee expresses its serious concern about the persistence of harmful norms, practices and traditions, patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes regarding the roles, responsibilities and identities of women and men in all spheres of life. The Committee is concerned that such customs and practices perpetuate discrimination against women and girls, that they are reflected in women’s disadvantageous and unequal status in many areas, including education, public life and decision-making, and that, to date, the State party has not taken adequate and sustained measures to modify or eliminate stereotypes and negative traditional values and practices.

21. The Committee urges the State party:

(a) To put in place, without delay, a comprehensive strategy to modify or eliminate patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes that discriminate against women, in conformity with the provisions of the Convention. Such measures should include efforts, in collaboration with civil society and community and religious leaders, to provide education about and raise awareness of the subject, targeting women and men at all levels of society;

(b) To use innovative measures that target the media to strengthen understanding of the equality of women and men and to use the education system to enhance a positive and non-stereotypical portrayal of women;

(c) To monitor and review the measures taken so as to assess their impact and to take appropriate action.

Violence against women

22. The Committee notes the enactment of the Sexual Offences Act in 2010 and the launch of a national policy on domestic violence for the period 2008-2013 under the slogan “Break the Cycle Take Control”. The Committee expresses its concern, however, at the high prevalence of violence against women in the State party, in particular domestic and sexual violence, which is culturally accepted and in many cases remains underreported. The Committee is further concerned that there is only one centre in the country providing services to victims of violence, which is funded by the State party and run by a non-governmental organization. The Committee also expresses its concern about the acts of violence against lesbian and bisexual women and transgender persons.

23. The Committee urges the State party:

(a) To accord high priority to the full implementation of the Sexual Offences Act and to put in place comprehensive measures to prevent and address violence against women and girls, recognizing that such violence is a form of discrimination against women and constitutes a violation of their human rights under the Convention and a criminal offence and ensuring that women and girls who are victims of violence have access to immediate means of redress and protection and that perpetrators are prosecuted and punished, in accordance with general recommendation No. 19 of the Committee;

(b) To provide mandatory training for judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials in procedures to deal with women victims of violence;

(c) To encourage women to report incidents of domestic and sexual violence by de-stigmatizing victims and raising awareness about the criminal nature of such acts;

(d) To provide adequate assistance and protection to women victims of violence by strengthening the capacity of shelters and crisis centres, especially in hinterland areas, and enhancing cooperation with non-governmental organizations providing shelter and rehabilitation to victims;

(e) To collect statistical data on domestic and sexual violence disaggregated by sex, age and relationship between victim and perpetrator;

(f) To provide all groups of women with effective protection against violence and discrimination through the enactment of comprehensive antidiscrimination legislation that includes the prohibition of all forms of discrimination against them and the decriminalization of consensual adult same-sex relations, as indicated in the oral statement by the delegation.

Trafficking and exploitation of prostitution

24. The Committee is concerned at the continuing prevalence of trafficking in women and girls in the country, including internal trafficking, and at the low reporting rate. The Committee is also concerned at the lack of shelters and counselling services in the State party for victims of trafficking and the exploitation of prostitution.

25. The Committee calls upon the State party to fully implement article 6 of the Convention and:

(a) To address the root causes of trafficking and the exploitation of prostitution, including poverty, so as to eliminate the vulnerability of girls and women to sexual exploitation and trafficking, and to make efforts to ensure the recovery and social reintegration of victims;

(b) To provide training in how to identify and deal with victims of trafficking and in provisions of anti-trafficking legislation to the judiciary, law enforcement officials, border guards and social workers in all parts of the country, especially in rural and remote areas;

(c) To ensure systematic monitoring and periodic evaluation, including the collection and analysis of data on trafficking and exploitation of women in prostitution, and to include such data in its subsequent periodic report;

(d) To increase cooperation at the international, regional and bilateral levels with countries of origin, transit and destination to prevent trafficking through information exchange and to harmonize legal procedures aimed at prosecution of traffickers;

(e) To take the steps necessary to ensure that trafficked women and girls have access to high-quality medical care, counselling, financial support, adequate housing, training opportunities and free legal services.

Participation in political and public life

26. The Committee notes that female representation in the State party’s parliament increased from 18.5 per cent in 1992 to 32 per cent in 2012. The Committee is, however, concerned that obstacles to the advancement of women remain in political and public life, such as the lack of an effective quota system, the absence of temporary special measures, limited financial resources, insufficient affirmative action in the form of capacity-building for potential candidates, the persistence of gender-biased views and poor socioeconomic status. Such obstacles prevent women from gaining full access to the right to participate in public life, in particular at the level of decision-making. While noting with appreciation that in 2008 the first female and also the first Amerindian was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs, and that there are now four Amerindian women in the parliament, the Committee is concerned at the slow progress in ensuring the equal participation of Amerindian women in leadership and decision-making positions in political and public life.

27. The Committee calls upon the State party:

(a) To strengthen its efforts to amend or adopt legislation aimed at increasing the de facto participation of women in political and public life and to pursue sustained policies aimed at the promotion of women’s full and equal participation in decision-making as a democratic requirement in all areas of public, political and professional life by giving effect to general recommendation No. 23 of the Committee, on women in political and public life;

(b) To adopt and implement temporary special measures in accordance with article 4 (1) of the Convention and general recommendation No. 25 of the Committee in order to accelerate women’s full and equal participation in political and public life, in particular with regard to Amerindian women;

(c) To carry out awareness-raising campaigns targeting both men and women aimed at eliminating patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes regarding roles for men and women and at highlighting the importance of women’s full and equal participation in political and public life and in decision-making positions in the public and private sectors and in all fields.

Education

28. While noting that the State party has achieved parity in primary education, the Committee is concerned at the lack of statistical data, disaggregated by sex and geographical location, on enrolment and dropout rates at all levels of education. The Committee is also concerned at the high dropout rates among girls at the secondary level in administrative region 8 of the State party and at the difficulties faced in gaining access to education facilities in hinterland areas. The Committee is further concerned at the segregation of fields of study at the post-secondary level with women and girls concentrated in traditionally feminized areas, such as cooking and sewing, at their underrepresentation in technical and vocational education and at the consequences of such trends for women’s representation in the paid labour force. The Committee is also concerned that corporal punishment is accepted both in school and home settings, even though it constitutes a form of violence against children, including the girl child.

29. The Committee urges the State party to enhance its compliance with article 10 of the Convention and to raise awareness of the importance of education as a human right and as the basis for the empowerment of women. To this end, it urges the State party:

(a) To ensure equal access of girls and women to all levels and fields of education, to take steps to increase capacity for girls to pursue secondary education in all regions of the State party and to overcome traditional attitudes that in some areas may constitute obstacles to education of girls and women;

(b) To implement measures to eliminate traditional stereotypes and structural barriers in social settings (the family, schools and religious institutions) that might deter girls from enrolling in non-traditional areas of academic and vocational education at the secondary and tertiary levels;

(c) To step up efforts to provide girls with career counselling that introduces them to options regarding non-traditional career paths in science-related professions;

(d) To explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in all settings, including through the adoption of relevant legislation and the development of awareness-raising campaigns aimed at families, the school system and other educational settings;

(e) To provide access to education facilities, including safe transportation to and from schools, in particular in hinterland, rural and remote areas.

Employment

30. The Committee is concerned that, despite the provisions of article 22 (1) of the Constitution, according to which every citizen has a right to be rewarded according to the nature, quality and quantity of his or her work, to equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, and to just conditions of work, pay discrimination against women persists. The Committee is further concerned at the lack of information provided on the participation of women in the labour force in urban and rural areas, their employment rates, the continuing vertical and horizontal occupational segregation and the persistent wage gap between women and men. The Committee is also concerned about the concentration of women in the informal sector with no social security or other benefits and at the high proportion of women engaged in unpaid family work, especially in the agricultural sector.

31. The Committee urges the State party:

(a) To effectively enforce the principle of equal pay for work of equal value through awareness-raising, increased sanctions and more effective labour inspections, and to narrow and close the wage gap between women and men in accordance with the International Labour Organization Convention concerning Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value (Convention No. 100);

(b) To establish a regulatory framework for the informal sector with a view to providing women in that sector with access to social security and other benefits;

(c) To intensify technical and vocational training for women, including in traditionally male-dominated fields and in the agricultural sector;

(d) To adopt temporary special measures, in accordance with article 4 (1) of the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 25, aimed at achieving de facto equal opportunities for men and women in the labour market.

Health

32. While welcoming the State party’s efforts in the area of the health-care system, such as the National Health Sector Strategy 2008-2012, the Committee is concerned at the lack of data on health, disaggregated by sex and geographical location, and at the lack of a monitoring system to evaluate the impact of measures taken in women’s health and to oversee and ensure women’s adequate access to health-care services. The Committee is also concerned that the rates of maternal mortality and morbidity remain high (the maternal mortality rate stands at 98 per 100,000 live births) and that women and girls have inadequate access to reproductive health-care services, information, education and contraceptive methods, especially in hinterland and rural areas. The Committee is also concerned at the lack of adequate mental health services, including psychosocial counselling for women and girls suffering from trauma, severe stress and other behavioural and mental health problems.

33. The Committee urges the State party:

(a) To take all measures necessary to improve women’s access to high-quality health care, health-related services and adequate facilities, within the framework of general recommendation No. 24 of the Committee;

(b) To take specific measures, such as education and awareness-raising campaigns on the importance of family planning contraceptive methods and safe pregnancy, targeting men and women of reproductive age, including those from rural and remote areas and the hinterland;

(c) To strengthen and expand efforts to increase access to affordable contraceptive methods throughout the country and to ensure that women in hinterland, rural and remote areas do not face barriers in gaining access to family planning information and services;

(d) To include sexual and reproductive health education in all school curricula, targeting adolescent girls and boys and paying special attention to prevention of teenage pregnancy and contraction of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS;

(e) To provide adequate and effective services, including psychosocial counselling for women and girls suffering from emotional trauma and other mental health problems, in particular in hinterland, rural and remote areas.

Economic and social benefits

34. While noting the efforts of the State party to achieve gender equality in access to financial services and the provision of training in entrepreneurship, the Committee is concerned at the general lack of information on the conditions for loan schemes, mortgages and other forms of financial credit. The Committee is further concerned that, the recent increase in pensions for women notwithstanding, women who did not contribute to the pension system while working part-time, at home or performing other types of low-paid or unpaid work do not qualify to receive pensions.

35. In accordance with article 13 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Address the barriers facing women entrepreneurs by devising specific programmes and developing evaluation mechanisms to determine whether entrepreneurship education programmes are helping such women;

(b) Review the current pension system so as to increase the percentage of women eligible for full benefits.

Rural and Amerindian women

36. While welcoming the enactment in 2006 of the new Amerindian Act, granting legal title to 135 Amerindian communities of 14 per cent of the country’s land mass, and noting the establishment of a special fund for the development of Amerindian communities and the launch of the Rural Electrification Programme, the Committee expresses its concern at the disadvantaged position of women in hinterland, rural and remote areas, who form the majority of women in the State party and who are characterized by poverty, difficulties in gaining access to health and social services and a lack of participation in decision-making processes at the community level.

37. The Committee calls upon the State party:

(a) To pay special attention to the needs of rural women to ensure that they enjoy access to health, education, clean water and sanitation services and income-generation projects;

(b) To address negative customs and traditional practices, especially in rural areas, which affect the full enjoyment by rural and Amerindian women of the rights enshrined in the Convention.

Marriage and family relations

38. While noting the adoption in 2006 of the Criminal Law (Offences) (Amendment) Act, colloquially termed the “Age of Consent Act”, and the consequential amendment to the Marriage Act in 2006, prohibiting children below the age of 16 years from entering into marriage, the Committee remains concerned at reports that the phenomenon of early marriage persists. The Committee also notes with concern that women bear the greater burden of the responsibilities of raising children and taking care of dependants and that such responsibilities deny them their right to education, employment and other activities relating to their personal development.

39. The Committee calls upon the State party:

(a) To ensure de facto criminalization of early marriage;

(b) To carry out an awareness-raising campaign to better educate women about their rights under the Convention, including with regard to traditional negative stereotypes that prevent their free choice regarding reproductive health, and to promote the shared responsibility of both the father and mother to ensure the well-being and care of the child and to ensure the right of women to make their own choices with regard to marriage and family.

Data collection

40. The Committee is concerned at the general lack of available recent data provided by the State party. It notes that, given the diverse composition of the population of the State party, updated data disaggregated by, for example, sex, age, race, ethnicity, geographical location and socioeconomic background are necessary for an accurate assessment of the situation of women to determine whether they suffer from discrimination, for informed and targeted policymaking and for the systematic monitoring and evaluation of progress achieved towards the realization of women’s substantive equality in all areas covered by the Convention.

41. The Committee calls upon the State party to enhance the collection, analysis and dissemination of comprehensive data disaggregated by sex, age, race, ethnicity, location and socioeconomic background, and of measurable indicators to assess trends in the situation of women and progress towards the realization of women’s substantive equality in all areas covered by the Convention. In this regard, it draws the State party’s attention to its general recommendation No. 9 on statistical data concerning the situation of women and encourages the State party to develop gender-sensitive indicators that could be used in the formulation, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and, if necessary, review of women’s and gender equality policies.

Optional Protocol

42. The Committee calls upon the State party to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention.

Amendment to article 20 (1) of the Convention

43. The Committee encourages the State party to accelerate the acceptance of the amendment to article 20 (1) of the Convention concerning the meeting time of the Committee.

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

44. 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 subsequent periodic report.

Millennium Development Goals

45. The Committee emphasizes that full and effective implementation of the Convention is indispensable for attaining the Millennium Development Goals. The Committee calls for the integration of a gender perspective and an explicit reflection of the provisions of the Convention in all efforts aimed at the attainment of the Goals and requests the State party to include information thereon in its subsequent periodic report.

Dissemination

46. The Committee requests the wide dissemination in Guyana of the present concluding observations in order to make the people, government officials, politicians, parliamentarians and women’s and human rights organizations aware of the steps that have been taken to ensure the de jure and de facto equality of women, as well as the further steps that are required in this regard. The Committee recommends that the dissemination should include the local community level. The State party is encouraged to organize a series of meetings to discuss progress achieved in the implementation of the present 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 special session of the General Assembly entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”.

Ratification of other treaties

47. The Committee notes that the adherence of the State party to the nine major international human rights instruments^[1] would enhance the enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms in all aspects of life. The Committee therefore encourages the State party to consider ratifying the treaties to which it is not yet a party, i.e. the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Technical assistance

48. The Committee recommends that the State party consider seeking cooperation and technical assistance in the development and implementation of the above recommendations and the Convention as a whole. The Committee also calls upon the State party to strengthen further its cooperation with specialized agencies and programmes of the United Nations system, including the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, the United Nations Statistics Division, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Population Fund, the World Health Organization and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Follow-up to concluding observations

49. The Committee requests the State party to provide, within two years, written information on the steps taken to implement the recommendations contained in paragraphs 11 and 17 above.

Preparation of the subsequent report

50. The Committee requests the State party to ensure the wide participation of all ministries and public bodies in the preparation of its subsequent report and, at the same time, to consult a variety of women’s and human rights organizations.

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

52. 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 that were approved at the fifth inter-committee meeting of the human rights treaty bodies, in June 2006 (HRI/MC/2006/3 and Corr.1). The treaty-specific reporting guidelines adopted by the Committee at its fortieth session in January 2008 (A/63/38, annex I) 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. The treaty-specific document should be limited to 40 pages, while the updated common core document should not exceed 80 pages.

^[1] The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the Convention of the Rights of the Child; the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance; and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.