ÿþ<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?> <html> <head> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="data:text/css;base64,77u/Ym9keSB7IA0KCWZvbnQtZmFtaWx5OnNlcmlmOyANCgltYXJnaW46MCBhdXRvOyANCgl3aWR0aDo5NjBweDsgDQp9DQp0YWJsZSB7IA0KCXdpZHRoOjEwMCU7IA0KCWJvcmRlci1ib3R0b206MnB4IHNvbGlkICMwMDA7IA0KfQ0KdGFibGUgdHI6Zmlyc3QtY2hpbGQgdGQgeyANCglib3JkZXItYm90dG9tOjFweCBzb2xpZCAjMDAwOyANCn0NCmRpdi5jb250ZW50IHsgDQoJd2lkdGg6ODAwcHg7IA0KCW1hcmdpbjoyMHB4IGF1dG8gMCBhdXRvOyANCn0NCmRpdi5jb250ZW50IHRhYmxlLCBkaXYuY29udGVudCB0YWJsZSB0ZCB7DQoJYm9yZGVyOm5vbmU7DQp9" /> </head> <body> <div class="content"> <p style="font-size:0.85em;">* Adopted by the Committee at its sixty-ninth session (19 February 9 March 2018).</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">Concluding observations on the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of Luxembourg *</p> <p>1.The Committee considered the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of Luxembourg (CEDAW/C/LUX/6-7) at its 1586th and 1587th meetings (see CEDAW/C/SR.1586 and CEDAW/C/SR.1587), held on 1 March 2018.</p> <h3>A.Introduction</h3> <p>2.The Committee appreciates the submission by the State party of its combined sixth and seventh periodic reports, prepared in response to the list of issues prior to reporting (CEDAW/C/LUX/QPR/6-7). It welcomes the oral presentation by the delegation, the further clarifications provided in response to the questions posed orally by the Committee during the dialogue and the additional information provided in writing.</p> <p>3.The Committee commends the State party on its high-level delegation, which was headed by the Minister for Equal Opportunities, Lydia Mutsch and included representatives of the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth and the Ministry of Health, as well as the Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, Pierre-Louis Lorenz.</p> <h3>B.Positive aspects</h3> <p>4.The Committee welcomes the progress achieved since the consideration in 2008 of the State party s fifth periodic report (CEDAW/C/LUX/5) in undertaking legislative reforms, in particular the adoption of the following:</p> <p>(a)Penal Code amendment of 6 February 2018 strengthening the fight against the exploitation of prostitution, procuring and human trafficking for sexual purposes;</p> <p>(b)Act of 8 March 2017 allowing women who have lost their Luxembourg citizenship as a result of their marriage to reclaim it as second nationality;</p> <p>(c)Regulation of 15 December 2016 strengthening the principle of equal pay for work of equal value and introducing the obligation for political parties to ensure a quota of 40 per cent of the underrepresented sex on candidate lists for legislative elections and 50 per cent for European elections;</p> <p>(d)Amendment of 30 July 2013 to the law on domestic violence, inter alia, introducing legal provisions on services that provide assistance to victims;</p> <p>(e)Act of 13 May 2008 implementing the principles of equal opportunities and equal treatment of women and men in matters of employment.</p> <p>5.The Committee welcomes the State party s efforts to improve its institutional and policy framework aimed at accelerating the elimination of discrimination against women and promoting gender equality, such as the adoption of the following:</p> <p>(a)National action plan on prostitution, in 2016;</p> <p>(b)Gender equality plan, 2015 2018, in 2015;</p> <p>(c)Strategy to achieve a better balance between women and men in economic and political decision-making, in 2014;</p> <p>(d)National sexual and reproductive health programme, in 2013</p> <h3>Sustainable Development Goals</h3> <p>6.The Committee notes with satisfaction the commitment of the State party to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and the existence of a mechanism, as well as a budget allocation for that mechanism, to attain them. The Committee recalls the importance of indicator 5.1.1 and commends the State party on its positive efforts to implement both gender-sensitive and sustainable development policies, including measures to combat climate change.</p> <h3>C.Parliament</h3> <p style="font-weight:bold;">7. The Committee stresses the crucial role of the legislative power in ensuring the full implementation of the Convention (see the statement by the Committee on its relationship with parliamentarians, adopted at the forty-fifth session, in 2010). It invites the Chamber of Deputies, in line with its mandate, to take the necessary steps regarding the implementation of the present concluding observations between now and the submission of the next periodic report.</p> <h3>D.Principal areas of concern and recommendations</h3> <h3>Visibility of the Convention, the Optional Protocol thereto and the Committee s general recommendations</h3> <p>8.The Committee notes with concern that the Convention has been invoked in court only once and that the level of engagement of civil society in the reporting process to the Committee is low. It is concerned that that may indicate insufficient knowledge within the Government and the judiciary and among civil society and the general population, in particular among foreign women and girls, about the Convention, the Committee s jurisprudence under the Optional Protocol to the Convention and its general recommendations.</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">9. The Committee recommends that the State party make the Convention sufficiently known, including by swiftly and widely disseminating the Convention, the Optional Protocol thereto and the general recommendations of the Committee among the judiciary, law enforcement authorities, civil society and the general public. In that regard, it reiterates its previous recommendation that the State party integrate the Convention, the Optional Protocol thereto and the general recommendations of the Committee into the university curricula for legal and related studies and into capacity-building programmes for the judiciary and law enforcement officers.</p> <h3>Legislative framework and definition of discrimination against women</h3> <p>10.The Committee notes with appreciation that international instruments ratified by the State party take primacy over national laws and welcomes planned measures to accelerate the integration of the principles embodied by such instruments into national legislation under its monist system. It reminds the State party that, under the obligation of due diligence, it may be held responsible should it fail to take all appropriate measures to prevent, as well as to investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators of and provide reparations for, acts or omissions by non-State actors, including actions taken by corporations operating extraterritorially.</p> <p>11.The Committee further takes note of the introduction, through the Act of 3 June 2016, of the prohibition of direct and indirect discrimination on the basis of sex into the Labour Code and the law containing general civil service regulations and the existence of such provisions in the law on equal treatment of women and men in the access to and supply of goods and services, as well as the definition of the grounds of discrimination in article 454 of the Penal Code. It is concerned, however, that the legal definition of discrimination does not adequately protect women from intersecting forms of discrimination. The Committee further expresses concern at the general policy of adopting gender-neutral legislation and considers that that may hinder the achievement of substantive equality between women and men, as explained in paragraph 5 of its general recommendation No. 28 (2010) on the core obligations of States parties under article 2 of the Convention.</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">12. The Committee calls upon the State party:</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(a) To legislate on multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination in all settings, in line with article 1 of the Convention, and integrate the prohibition of intersecting forms of discrimination in public policies;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(b) To revisit its approach to legislation, policies and programmes by taking a consistent cross-cutting, gender-sensitive approach, in line with paragraph 5 of general recommendation No. 28, and guarantee equality in results.</p> <h3>Data collection</h3> <p>13.The Committee is concerned about the lack of data, disaggregated by gender, on all areas of the Convention.</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">14. The Committee encourages the State party to address data collection in the framework of its efforts to implement Sustainable Development Goal 5 and recommends that it collect data disaggregated by sex, age, nationality, religion and socioeconomic background to accurately assess the situation of women and girls, in order to determine whether they suffer from discrimination, ensure informed and targeted policymaking and systematically monitor and evaluate progress made towards the achievement of substantive equality between women and men in all areas covered by the Convention.</p> <h3>Extraterritorial State obligations</h3> <p>15.The Committee welcomes the planned establishment of an interministerial monitoring committee for the examination of complaints from persons affected by the actions of enterprises or companies located in the State party and the State party s commitment to the development of a national action plan on business and human rights, in collaboration with civil society. It is concerned, however, that the State party s financial secrecy policies, its corporate reporting and taxation practices and its incentives for companies registered in Luxembourg and operating abroad have a severe impact on the ability of other States, in particular those already short of revenue, to mobilize the maximum available resources for the realization of women s rights.</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">16. The Committee reminds the State party, in line with general recommendation No. 28, about its responsibility for actions affecting the advancement of women and their human rights, irrespective of whether or not the affected persons are under the jurisdiction of the State party. It recommends that the State party:</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(a) Adopt a national action plan on business and human rights on the basis of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations  Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework and in consultation with civil society organizations in the State party;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(b) Expedite the establishment of the interministerial monitoring committee and allocate adequate human, technical and financial resources for its effective functioning and for the implementation of the national action plan on business and human rights;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(c) Undertake independent, participatory and periodic impact assessments of the extraterritorial effects of its financial secrecy and corporate tax policies and its commercial activities on women s rights and on the substantive equality of women and men in affected States, ensuring that those assessments are conducted impartially, with public disclosure of both the methodology used and the subsequent findings, and further reviewing its corporate and financial legislation, policies and practices with a view to fully realizing the enjoyment by women of their rights under the Convention, both domestically and abroad.</p> <h3>Access to justice</h3> <p>17.The Committee welcomes the information provided by the State party on the distribution of information sheets on the rights of victims and available services. It expresses concern, however, about the following:</p> <p>(a)The lack of court decisions on cases of discrimination against women since the adoption of the Acts of 13 May 2008 and of 3 June 2016 relating to equality of treatment between men and women;</p> <p>(b)The restricted capacities of the Centre for Equal Treatment, which prevent it from filing complaints on behalf of women who are victims of discrimination or investigating cases of discrimination against women;</p> <p>(c)Reports indicating the limited funding provided to legal aid services and the resulting reluctance of lawyers to represent victims of violence and discrimination against women, which restricts their capacity to claim their rights;</p> <p>(d)The low level of awareness among women and girls of their rights, as well as of available remedies and services.</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">18. The Committee recommends that the State party, in line with its general recommendation No. 33 (2015) on women s access to justice:</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(a) Raise awareness among the general public of legislation prohibiting discrimination against women and the remedies available to victims, and provide capacity-building for the judiciary on the strict application of such legislation;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(b) Broaden the capacities of the Centre for Equal Treatment to allow it to file complaints on behalf of women who are victims of discrimination, investigate and issue binding decisions in cases of discrimination against women and ensure that women who are victims of intersecting forms of discrimination have access to effective remedies for claiming their rights;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(c) Allocate sufficient resources to ensure that women who are victims of discrimination and gender-based violence but are without sufficient means have access to free legal aid;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(d) Strengthen measures to raise awareness among women and girls of their rights and of available remedies and services.</p> <h3>National machinery for the advancement of women</h3> <p>19.The Committee welcomes the State party s efforts to engage men and boys in initiatives for gender equality. It takes note of the multiplicity of entities engaged in the creation of equal opportunities in the State party. It welcomes the appointment of equality officers in several ministries and government departments. It notes the following with concern, however:</p> <p>(a)That the Ministry of Equal Opportunities concentrates on promoting equal opportunities, practices a gender-neutral approach and may not be giving sufficient priority to the advancement of women in order to achieve equal rights and substantive equality in all areas of the Convention;</p> <p>(b)The limited mandate of the Ministry of Equal Opportunities, which falls short of covering the advancement of women in all areas of the Convention and intersecting forms of discrimination;</p> <p>(c)The absence of a strategic framework for the implementation of the Convention that addresses multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, gender mainstreaming and gender-responsive budgeting;</p> <p>(d)The lack of indicators to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the national gender equality plan, 2015 2018, or a tracking system to identify resources allocated to carrying out corresponding activities;</p> <p>(e)The review of the role of the interministerial committee on equality of women and men, which ensures the coordination between ministries with regard to the implementation of the gender equality plan;</p> <p>(f)The abolition of gender units in all ministries, whereas equality officers have not yet been nominated in all ministries and government departments, and that not all equality officers have the necessary capacities to ensure cross-cutting implementation of the gender equality plan;</p> <p>(g)The absence of the collection, analysis and dissemination of data disaggregated by gender, which is necessary to assess the impact and effectiveness of planned and existing activities and programmes for the elimination of discrim