Facing the problem of honor related violence (HRV) in Europe and recognizing the European Union’s commitment to gender equality, a conference on HRV was held in October 2004 in Stockholm, Sweden called “Honor Related Violence within a Global Perspective: Mitigation and Prevention in Europe.” The conference, part of two ongoing projects in the European Union dealing with HRV, was coordinated by the Swedish group Kvinnoforum with support from the European Commission in cooperation with various partners from eight additional countries in the European Union as well as groups from the Middle East.

The ambition of the conference was to exchange knowledge and experience between European countries, create networks to combat the abuse of human rights of mainly girls and women, and to share theories and good practice between organizations and states.

The report of this conference documents much of the knowledge, ideas and experiences shared at the conference including the speeches given by experts, panels, and workshop minutes. The report concludes with the Stockholm Declaration to Combat Honor Related Violence in Europe which calls for, among other things: the prevention of honor related crime and violence, increased efforts on integration and social inclusion as a means to prevent honor related violence and crime, and to further integrate legal, political, educational, social, health, and police sectors in the struggle to prevent honor related crime and violence.

To view the report, click below:

European Conference Report: Honor Related Violence within a Global Perspective: Mitigation and Prevention in Europe. (PDF, 122 pages)

Compiled from: European Conference Report: Honor Related Violence within a Global Perspective: Mitigation and Prevention in Europe. http://www.qweb.kvinnoforum.se. 22 April 2005.

According to a briefing paper by Human Rights Watch, the pervasive abuse of women’s and girls’ human rights throughout the world has contributed to the growth of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Domestic abuse, including marital rape, violations of property and inheritance rights, the traditional practices of bride price, widow inheritance, and ritual sexual cleansing, and sexual abuse of girls combined with the failure of governments to provide sufficient access to HIV/AIDS information and services have resulted in an HIV infection rates of women and girls that are many times higher than those of men and boys.

The briefing paper makes a number of recommendations with regard to this urgent problem. Recommendations for immediate action include: Legal reform of the laws that protect women’s equal rights in the areas of inheritance, domestic and sexual violence, marriage and divorce, land use and ownership, and access to housing and social services; the implementation of programs that address women’s rights abuses; the development of public education campaigns that include information in local languages and media outlets; and assistance from international donors and NGOs and other governments that can respond to and shed light on this problem.

Please click here to understand more about the link between women’s and girls’ human rights abuses and HIV/AIDS.

Compiled from: A Dose of Reality: Women’s Rights in the Fight against HIV/AIDS, Human Rights Watch, 2003.

Compiled from: “Qatari royal appears before Czech court on charges of abusing underage girls.” Radio Prague, 25 April 2005.

The Economist reported earlier this month that domestic violence in the United Kingdom is on the decline. Based on statistics found in the British Crime survey, the journal suggested that domestic violence is now less than half as common as it was in the mid-1990s.

According to the Economist, the decline in domestic violence may be attributed to one of a number of factors. First, the Metropolitan police have taken a more aggressive approach to arresting abusers, as they have found that men who abuse their partners also often mistreat others. Second, the Economist reports that British society has changed. Women are now more economically independent and marriage rates have decreased importantly. When couples do marry, they marry at a significantly older age and after a period of cohabitation during which abusive behavior may be identified and women find it easier to leave.

While the decline in domestic violence is documented, the police, women’s organizations and politicians are not ready to openly admit to it. The government continues to focus on passing new domestic violence legislation and area shelters report that beds remain full and the phones continue to ring. Domestic violence, the government claims, remains far too common.

Compiled from: Why Domestic Violence is Becoming Less Common, The Economist, 14 April, 2005; Cheers and Jeers of the Week, womensenews.org, 23 April 2005.

In 2000, 49% of the world’s migrants were women or girls. To address this important statistic the Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations recently released a report on women and international migration.

The report analyzes the ways in which migration empowers women. Migration works to remove women from places where they live under traditional, patriarchal authority to situations where they can maintain more independent lifestyles. Also analyzed are the important economic contributions migrant women make to both countries of destination and of origin.

Alongside some of the more positive aspects of migration exists a number of problems. For example, many national laws on migration include discriminatory provisions, affecting the wellbeing of migrant women and girls. In addition, many migrant women and girls face increased sexual violence and exploitation, as traditional communal support networks break down and dependency on aid skews power relations in camp situations. Further, migration contributes to the problem of trafficking in humans and affects the health and wellbeing of women and girls. Women and girls are exposed to a number of infectious diseases, post traumatic stress disorder and other physical and mental health problems with insufficient access to health services and insurance.

In response to the issues raised above, the report offers a number of recommendations that may work to improve the lives of migrant women and girls. Some of the recommendations include: The ratification and implementation of all international legal instruments that promote and protect the rights of migrating women and girls; review of national emigration and immigration laws and policies to identify the discriminatory provisions therein; the development of policies that enhance migrant refugee and trafficked women’s livelihoods and education and communication programs to inform migrant women of their rights; and the gender-specific collection of data and dissemination of information that will allow policy makers and advocates to better understand the phenomenon.

Please click here to read the report.

Compiled from: 2004 World Survey on the Role of Women in Development, Women and International Migration, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for the Advancement of Women, United Nations, 2005.

News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International

AI Index: EUR 44/015/2005 21 April 2005

Turkey: Protecting the torturers?

Grave concerns at trial proceedings in Iskenderun

A trial of police officers in Turkey accused of the torture and rape of two teenagers is to resume on Friday 22 April. The two young women have still not received justice six years after the judicial process first began. Amnesty International has serious concerns about the proceedings and will send observers to monitor the trial.

"The repeated delays have called into question the ability of the courts to bring suspected perpetrators of human rights violations to justice," said Amnesty International. "The Turkish authorities must take steps to ensure that all allegations of torture are immediately investigated thoroughly, independently and impartially, and any perpetrators are brought swiftly to justice."

Nazime Ceren Salmanoglu, then 16 years old, and Fatma Deniz Polattaş, then 19 years old, were detained by police officers and taken to the Anti-Terror Branch of Police Headquarters in Iskenderun in early March 1999. They say they were subjected to horrific torture including rape, beatings, suspension by the arms as well as forced "virginity tests" by doctors. The "confessions" obtained under this torture provided the basis for sentencing the women to long prison terms.

There is an increasing risk that the case will reach the statute of limitations -- in this case seven and a half years - and charges against the suspects will be dropped. Amnesty International is also calling on the Turkish government to remove the statute of limitations in cases of serious human rights violations such as torture and killings by the security forces.

From the start obstacles have impeded the case's progress. State doctors' reports initially covered up the torture, which led the prosecutor to decide there were no grounds for a trial to be opened. Extensive psychiatric evaluations subsequently corroborated the allegations of torture, so that the prosecutor's decision was overturned. The trial finally began on 14 April 2000, but then the court waited 28 months for medical reports to be forwarded from Turkey's Forensic Medical Institute.

This is not the first time the Turkish justice system has failed victims of human rights violations, particularly where police officers stand accused of torture and other abuse. In November last year Amnesty International highlighted several other cases in which, despite the Turkish government's declaration of 'zero tolerance for torture', the courts were unwilling or unable to take action.

For background information please see press releases:

Turkey: Kurdish girls raped and sexually abused in police custody, http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maadqYiabgg2CbdTh3Ob/

and

Turkey: Insufficient and inadequate -- judicial remedies against torturers and killers, http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maadqYiabgg2DbdTh3Ob/

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This World Bank publication covers the gender dimensions of conflict with regard to issues surrounding female combatants, sexual violence, formal and informal peace processes, the legal framework, work, the rehabilitation of social services and community-driven development. Specifically, the work analyzes the role of conflict in the transformation of gender roles and offers possible policy considerations to address this area of concern.

Please click here to read the publication.

Compiled from: New Publications: Gender, Development and Conflict, E-letter Instraw News, 20 April 2005.

On 31 March 2005, the Human Rights Committee considered Uzbekistan’s Second Periodic Report on its implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Committee praised the State party for its legal reform in the area of criminal law, induction of the Parliamentarian Ombudsman and invitation to national non-governmental organizations to actively participate in the reformation of the State’s Criminal Code.

Such praise was overshadowed by concerns the Committee raised regarding human rights violations in the country. Importantly, the Committee expressed concern about the ill-treatment of alleged criminals. In response to such treatment, the Committee suggested that the State party provide the Committee with more information on criminal cases and convictions, respond promptly and independently to claims of torture and other ill-treatment of prisoners, adopt laws forbidding the expulsion of foreigners to countries where they will be subjected to torture, curb the excessive detention time of suspects, and ensure those who are arrested have access to an attorney.

Concerns were also raised with regard to government repression of civil society. The Committee underscored the importance of adopting measures to prevent the harassment and intimidation of journalists, ensure the registration of political parties and public associations and encourage the free exercise of religion.

Violation of women and children’s rights also surfaced in the Committee’s Concluding Observations. The prevailing phenomenon of domestic violence, polygamy and child labor in the cotton industry provoked the Committee to recommend that the State party take appropriate steps to put an end to such practices.

Please click here to view the Concluding Observations.

Compiled from: Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 40 of the Covenant: Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee, Advance Unedited Version, Uzbekistan, 31 March 2005.

Officials of Albania and the EU signed an agreement in Luxembourg on 14 April obliging Albania to take back illegal migrants who enter EU countries via its territory, Reuters reported. Several EU officials stressed, however, that Tirana still has much to do to meet Brussels' demands regarding stopping human trafficking and other forms of organized crime. Albanian Minister for European Integration Ermelinda Meksi said that her country has already achieved "tangible results" in stopping the flow of illegal migrants.

The International Helsinki Federation of Human Rights has posted thirteen country chapters from the organization's soon-to-be-released review of human rights developments in Europe, Central Asia and North America.

Currently, human rights developments from the year 2004 are posted for the following countries:  Albania, Austria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, and Finland.

Additional country chapters will be posted on the website in the weeks to come.

Please click here to access the postings.

Compiled from: IHF Posts Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia et al. Country Chaptes on Human Rights Developments in 2004, Henriette Schroeder, Balkan Human Rights List, 15 April 2005.

The State Duma on 15 April rejected by a vote of 226 to 117 an amendment that would set a minimum 30 percent representation for women in the federal and regional legislatures, RosBalt reported. The amendment was introduced by Yekaterina Lakhova (Unified Russia), who said it was designed to increase the share of the women holding elected office. While 53 percent of the population is female, only 10 percent of Duma deputies are female, and in some regional legislatures, such as Novosibirsk's, there are no women at all, Lakhova said. But Deputy Aleksandr Moskolets, also from Unified Russia, said that Lakhova's proposal is unconstitutional and that the constitution "mentions only citizens, making no difference in gender." Liberal Democratic Party of Russia leader Vladimir Zhirinovskii, whose faction also voted against the amendment, said that a quota for women will mean also a 20 percent quota for young people, 20 percent for non-Slavs, and so on. VY

Copyright (c) 2005. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org.

The World Health Organization’s 2005 World Health Report entitled Make Every Mother and Child Count examines why 11 million children below the age of five will die this year, and why more than 500,000 mothers will die during pregnancy, child birth and soon thereafter. Gender-based violence, such as domestic violence and hazards in the workplace, “constitute major and underestimated public health problems.”

Unequal relations between men and women effect pregnancy in a number of ways. Not only does access to health care differ between men and women, the report found that seven to 48 percent of adolescent girls around the world reported that their first sexual experience was forced and that furthermore, “women who have experienced sexual assault often fear pregnancy and delay medical examination or health care.”

During pregnancy, women may continue to suffer from abuse and the report notes that studies from Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Mexico and Nicaragua have found that 14-32 percent of women report having been physically or sexually abused during pregnancy and often at the hands of their partner. Violence during pregnancy adds to risks of premature labor, low birth weight, sexually transmitted disease, depression and other mental health problems.

One recommendation the World Health Organization makes is to ensure that adequate antenatal care is provided to all women. Proper antenatal care with trained medical professionals can identify unhealthy aspects of life such as domestic violence and abuse. Providing adequate prenatal care can help women and caregivers identify problems early and provide remedies to women that can prevent serious harm to themselves and their children.

Ultimately, building societies that are supportive of pregnant women by addressing the low status of women, violence against women, and the lack of employment rights for pregnant women can help reduce the instances of death associated with pregnancy and childbirth. The report states: "Even in societies that value pregnancy highly, the position of a pregnant woman is not always enviable. A social environment that accords poor status to women generally also tends to marginalize pregnant women, a major public health challenge all over the world."

To view the report in its entirety, please click below: Make Every Mother and Child Count.

Compiled From: World Health Organization 2005 World Health Report: Make Every Mother and Child Count. World Health Organization. 15 April 2005

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have organized a seminar to help over 50 representatives from foreign consulates in Ukraine identify potential victims of human trafficking. The meeting will take place on 15 April 2005 in Kyiv, Ukraine and will help raise awareness on anti-trafficking issues in Ukraine, victim identification and provide best practices.

Speakers at the conference will include authorities from international organizations, civil society and Ukrainian ministries. Additionally, the International Labor Organization and the International Women Rights Center La Strada Ukraine will provide information on labor migration and anti-trafficking legislation. La Strada will also announce the first national, toll-free hotline service in Ukraine that provides information and help to people planning on going abroad for work, marriage and other reasons.

Compiled from: Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (www.osce.org). OSCE and IOM organized seminar for consular officials in Ukraine on human trafficking. 18 April, 2005

Florida authorities used for the first time a new Florida law banning human trafficking to arrest two men who had allegedly participated in an illegal immigrant smuggling ring that brought 17 Guatemalans into the United States. At the end of an intensive search, Florida police recovered a young Guatemalan girl from the arrested individuals’ SUV. Apparently, the girl had traveled for a month on foot from her country to the Arizona border where she and a number of other Guatemalans climbed into the alleged smugglers’ vehicle.

According to the Palm Beach Post, the two alleged traffickers were to deliver the Guatemalans to their relatives’ homes in the southern United States in exchange for over $1700 in cash per person. The police were able to apprehend the two alleged traffickers when the parents of the young Guatemalan girl called 911, claiming falsely that the men had abducted their child from a Kmart parking lot in Florida. Authorities learned later that the Kmart parking lot was the designated drop-off location for the girl and that a dispute over the amount of money that the parents were to pay the alleged smugglers caused the men to drive off without delivering the girl to her parents. The girl and her family were asked to report to the Federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Palm Beach for a determination of their immigration statuses.

While some question the need for a state-based law on human trafficking when a similar federal law exists on the books, state representatives in Florida deem such a law necessary because of the federal governments’ near-exclusive focus on fighting terrorism. According to Democrat state representatives, a state law was needed to afford local authorities the ability to prosecute traffickers without having to rely on the thinly-stretched resources of federal authorities.

Compiled from: Abduction Tale Evolves into Trafficking Saga, Andrew Marra and Tony Doris, Palm Beach Post, 31 March 2005.

The Republic of Tajikistan recently drafted a law on state guarantees of equal rights for men and women and equal opportunity in the exercise of such rights. The law is comprised of five chapters that guarantee equal opportunities for women and men in the implementation of election law, in the sphere of state service and in the social economic sphere. The law also lays out enforcement mechanisms that allow the state to ensure compliance with the law’s provisions.

Enforcement mechanisms in the draft law include: The development of a united state gender policy, the direction and supervision of executive organs and hukumats in the selection and appointment of women to higher government posts, the supervision of compliance with the law by the general prosecutor, the creation of rights for trade unions to participate in decisions regarding gender equality, and the authority of juridical entities to assess violations of the law.

The law was passed by Parliament and signed by the president in February. It became effective on 1 March 2005 upon publication. Draft versions of the law are available in English and in Russian.

The countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Bulgaria, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, and the UN Protectorate of Kosovo are the subjects of a report co-produced by UNICEF on the prevention of trafficking in human beings in South Eastern Europe (SEE).

The report describes the changing phenomenon of trafficking in these countries. For example, fewer trafficked women are returning to their countries of origin after their victimization abroad. Further, victims are refusing assistance that would enable them to return to their home countries, which suggests that such individuals are hesitant to go home.

Also changing are the SEE Governments’ responses to trafficking, as governments in this region have begun to take initiative in developing anti-trafficking measures through the enactment of legislation and NPAs (National Plans of Action). Although strong political commitment exists in the region to prevent trafficking, the measures that regional governments have taken have not always proven to be the most efficient means to respond to the problem. For example, migration, prostitution and organized crime have remained the focus of prevention campaigns whereas long-term strategies to curb trafficking have been left out of the equation. In addition, poorly organized educational campaigns, the inadequate number of re-integration programs and the ongoing problems of poverty, discrimination, lack of education and unemployment continue to thwart prevention efforts.

The report proposes that the region should remedy such deficiencies by recognizing the links between poverty reduction, development, gender equality and anti-trafficking programs, understanding and analyzing the problem of trafficking in a broader socio-economic context, developing flexible programs that facilitate cooperation between institutions focused on development issues and those focused on trafficking, and researching the impact of economic reform and the demand-side of trafficking.

Please click here to read the report.

Compiled from: Trafficking in Human Beings in South Eastern Europe, Barbara Limanowska, Published by UNDP, March 2005.

The feminist writer and antipornography campaigner, Andrea Dworkin, died at her home in Washington on Saturday. Through her writing and lectures, Ms. Dworkin spoke out against violence against women and pornography, which she believed one of the causes of such violence.  Ms. Dworkin's best know books include: "Pornography: Men Possessing Women" (Putnam/Perigee, 1981), "Intercourse" (Free Press, 1987) and "Heartbreak: The Political Memoir of a Feminist Militant" (Basic Books, 2002).  Ms. Dworkin was 58 years old.

Compiled from: Andrea Dworkin, Writer and Crusading Feminist, Dies at 58, Margalit Fox, The New York Times, 12 April 2005.

Separated into three parts, the paper presents the seven core human rights treaties, the work of the seven human rights treaty bodies and State’s parties responsibilities to them, as well as the challenges that confront the current and future United Nations human rights treaty system.  In addition to this informative guide, the paper includes a glossary of technical terms and acronyms to help the reader understand the operation of the system.

Taking a general approach, the paper stresses that while the treaties and the treaty bodies function in their capacities independently, they do work together as a holistic and integrated system for the promotion of human rights. As the paper states, all of the treaties covered are “inter-related and mutually re-enforcing, with the result that no rights can be fully enjoyed in isolation, but depend on the enjoyment of other rights.” Please click here to download and read Fact Sheet No. 30  (PDF, 59 pages)

Compiled from:  Fact Sheet No. 30 The United Nations Human Rights Treaty System: An introduction to the core human rights treaties and the treaty bodies.  Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.  7 April 2005

Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin has announced plans to open an antitrafficking center to curb human smuggling, BASA reported on 5 April. Vornonin made his comments following meetings with Jean Fournet, NATO's deputy secretary-general for public diplomacy, who was in Chisinau for an official visit. Voronin also requested some form of international monitoring of the Transdniester section of the Moldova-Ukraine border. International controls there "would put a barrier to smuggling, trafficking in people and weapons so typical of that region," Voronin said. Voronin also said his country wants to upgrade its participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace program, which Chisinau joined in 1994, and to continue joint research projects with the alliance. BW

Copyright (c) 2005. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org

From 4 to 11 March 2005, government officials and women’s rights advocates from across the globe came together in New York City to attend the 49th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The focus of this gathering was the 10-year review of the groundbreaking women’s rights initiative, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing Platform), which had been signed into force 10 years prior in Beijing, China.

The ten-year review got off to a rough start when the U.S. delegation led by Ellen Sauerbrey insisted that no new rights be incorporated into the text of the Beijing Platform. However, by the end of the session, delegates and advocates were able to bridge their differences on the matter and come to a consensus on a number of issues. Importantly, participants adopted a declaration that reaffirmed the commitments made ten years ago in Beijing and called on governments to take further action to promote gender equality and the advancement of women.

The newly drafted declaration welcomed governments' continued support of the Beijing Platform and stressed that the global community still faced enormous challenges with regards to women’s human rights. In light of these ongoing challenges, the declaration urges governments to continue to make efforts to implement the recommendations found in the Beijing Platform and encouraged the integration of a gender perspective in the high plenary review session of the Millennium Declaration. The declaration also recognized the combined importance of the Beijing Platform and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women. Finally, the declaration called on members of civil society, non-governmental organizations, as well as citizen women and men of to do their part to ensure the implementation of the Beijing Platform.

Kyung-wha Kang, Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women praised the declaration, calling it an “unqualified and unconditional reaffirmation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and a pledge of further action for full and accelerated implementation of Beijing.”

In addition to the declaration that reaffirmed the principles of the Beijing Platform, the CSW adopted ten diverse resolutions. Six formal resolutions addressed:

• gender mainstreaming in national policies and programs;
• the possible appointment of a special rapporteur on discrimination against women;
• trafficking;
• integrating a gender perspective in post-disaster relief, particularly in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami disaster;
• indigenous women; and women’s economic advancement.

The CSW also adopted four traditional texts on:

• women, the girl child and HIV/AIDS;
• the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW);
• the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan; and
• the assistance to Palestinian women.

Such resolutions are expected to aid in the implementation of the Beijing Platform and effect change in those communities most affected by these areas of concern.

Compiled from:

Declaration Adopted by the Commission on the Status of Women at its Forty-Ninth Session as Orally Amended, E/CN.6/2005/L.1, Commission on the Status of Women, Forty-Ninth Session, 3 March 2005.

Commission on the Status of Women Adopts 10 Wide Ranging Resolutions, But Fails to Conclude Current Session, Press Release, WOM/1504, Commission on the Status of Women, Forty-Ninth Session, 11 March 2005.

Governments Pledge to Accelerate Efforts to Achieve Equality for Women and Fulfill Beijing Commitments, as UN Concludes, Press Release, Published by the UN Department of Public Information, March 2005.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recently produced concluding comments on the combined fourth and fifth periodic reports submitted by Turkey in January 2005.

The Committee praised Turkey for its amendment to the country’s Constitution. The Constitution now requires the state to ensure that women and men are treated equally. It also commended Turkey on its revision of another article of the Constitution, giving international conventions, including the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, supremacy over all other national laws. The Committee was also pleased with the State’s enactment of a number of new laws that seek to promote gender equality and discourage discrimination, its initiative to increase compulsory basic education for girls, as well as its ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention.

In addition to its praises, the Committee expressed concern about a number of deficiencies in the system. For example, the Committee pointed out that Turkey’s Constitution failed to define discrimination of women. It suggested that such a definition be included to facilitate public awareness of the idea. In addition, the Committee expressed concern about the problem of violence against women in Turkey and suggested that the country make efforts to increase the number of shelters available to women as well as educate the public that such violence is morally and socially unacceptable. The deep rooted cultural stereotyping of women was also addressed. Concerned such stereotypes feed acceptability of violence such as “honour killings,” the Committee suggested that the Country focus on developing educational campaigns to promote more positive imaging of women.

Noting the under-representation of women and discrimination against women in political and public life, the Committee also recommended that the State take steps to ensure that women are employed in all sectors. Illiteracy remains a problem for women and girls. Therefore, the Committee also recommended that Turkey render basic and higher education more accessible to women and girls. The Committee also regretted the lack of information on diverse problems such as women asylum seekers in the country, the integration of a gender perspective in Turkey’s economic development, the number of women subjected to human trafficking each year, as well as the status of minority women in the country. The Committee encouraged Turkey to respond to such problems in its subsequent reports.

Please click here to read the Committee's concluding comments.

Compiled from: Concluding Comments: Turkey, CEDAW/c/2005/I/CRP.3/Add.8/rev.1, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Thirty-second session, 28 January 2005.

On 26 January 2005, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women assessed a claim brought by a Hungarian woman and victim of domestic violence. The claim alleged that Hungary violated the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women due to its failure to provide the woman with effective protection from her former common law husband.

In her claim, the Hungarian woman described a pattern of severe domestic violence to which her former husband subjected her. Armed with a firearm and habitually drunk, the former husband caused the hospitalization of the woman on a number of occasions, succeeded in breaking into the apartment where the woman and her children reside, and persistently threatened to rape and kill the woman and her children, one of whom is severely brain damaged.

The woman has been unable to escape such violence. Although shelters exist in Hungary, they do not accommodate disabled children so the woman felt she could not seek shelter therein. The woman has reported such abuse to the state on numerous occasions and has brought numerous criminal charges of domestic violence against her husband through the Hungarian judicial system. Such complaints have failed to persuade the State to take adequate steps to protect the woman. After exhausting all local remedies, the woman turned to the Committee for help.

After consideration of her claim, the Committee agreed with the woman that Hungary had failed to live up to its positive obligations to provide the woman with the requisite protection under the CEDAW. To remedy the situation, it recommended that the Hungarian Government take immediate and effective measures to secure the protection of the woman and her children by providing her with appropriate child support and legal aid as well as reparations for physical and mental harm she suffered. It also recommended that the Government take the necessary steps to protect Hungarian women in general against domestic violence. For example, it suggested that the Government enact legislation, provide training on the requirements of CEDAW for all judges, lawyers, and law enforcement officials, ensure prompt investigations of allegations of domestic violence and most importantly, provide women with access to the judicial system, as well as rehabilitation services.

It remains to be seen whether the Hungarian Government will actually act on the recommendations.

Please click here to read the Committee’s views on the case.

Compiled from: Views of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women under article 7, paragraph 3, of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, Communication No.: 2/2003, Ms. A.T. v. Hungary, 26 January 2005.

On 28 January 2005, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women examined Croatia’s second and third periodic reports on the country’s implementation of the Convention (CEDAW).

The Committee praised the State party for its achievements in promoting gender equality through recently passed legislation such as the Gender Equality Act of 2002, a new Family Law, the Law on the Protection from Family Violence, as well as amendments to the Criminal Code and Labour Code. It also commended the country on its current and future National Policy for the Promotion of Gender Equality.

The Committee made positive note of the increased number of women involved at the parliamentary level and in the National Government and commended the country for its ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against women.

The Committee also outlined some areas of concern regarding the State party’s implementation of the Convention. It noted, in particular, that the information the State party provided the Committee regarding the status of minority women and women with disabilities was insufficient. In addition, while Croatia has enacted anti-discrimination laws, it has not taken steps to ensure they are adequately implemented. Finally, the Committee suggested that the State party presented insufficient statistics on the progress made in the country.

To ensure that Croatia continues to promote gender equality under the Convention, the Committee suggested the country take the following measures among others: Strengthen the Government Office of Gender Equality; ensure de facto equal opportunities for women and men in the labour market through education, training and retraining measures; eliminate discrimination against Roma women; intensify efforts to eliminate gender stereotyping and bolster gender mainstreaming, and increase efforts to combat trafficking in women and girls.

Please click here to read the Committee’s concluding comments.

Compiled from: Concluding comments: Croatia, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Thirty-second session, 10-28 January 2005.