ÿþ<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?> <html> <head> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="data:text/css;base64,77u/Ym9keSB7IA0KCWZvbnQtZmFtaWx5OnNlcmlmOyANCgltYXJnaW46MCBhdXRvOyANCgl3aWR0aDo5NjBweDsgDQp9DQp0YWJsZSB7IA0KCXdpZHRoOjEwMCU7IA0KCWJvcmRlci1ib3R0b206MnB4IHNvbGlkICMwMDA7IA0KfQ0KdGFibGUgdHI6Zmlyc3QtY2hpbGQgdGQgeyANCglib3JkZXItYm90dG9tOjFweCBzb2xpZCAjMDAwOyANCn0NCmRpdi5jb250ZW50IHsgDQoJd2lkdGg6ODAwcHg7IA0KCW1hcmdpbjoyMHB4IGF1dG8gMCBhdXRvOyANCn0NCmRpdi5jb250ZW50IHRhYmxlLCBkaXYuY29udGVudCB0YWJsZSB0ZCB7DQoJYm9yZGVyOm5vbmU7DQp9DQouaGlnaGxpZ2h0IHsNCgliYWNrZ3JvdW5kLWNvbG9yOiNGQ0YxOUE7DQp9" /> </head> <body> <div class="content"> <p style="font-weight:bold;">Forty-ninth session</p> <p>11-29 July 2011</p> <h2>Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women</h2> <h3>Djibouti</h3> <p>1.The Committee considered the combined initial, second and third periodic reports of Djibouti (CEDAW/C/DJI/1-3) at its 991st and 992nd meetings, on 21 July 2011 (CEDAW/C/SR.991 and 992). The Committee s list of issues and questions is contained in CEDAW/C/DJI/Q/1-3 and the responses of the Government of Djibouti are contained in CEDAW/C/DJI/Q/1-3/Add.1.</p> <h3>A.Introduction</h3> <p>2.The Committee welcomes the submission by the State party of its combined initial, second and third periodic reports, which were detailed and generally followed the Committee s guidelines for the preparation of reports, although they lacked some specific sex-disaggregated data and were overdue. The Committee notes with appreciation that the combined reports were prepared in a participatory process coordinated by an inter-ministerial committee and involving different ministries, members of the National Assembly, the National Human Rights Commission and civil society organizations. The Committee expresses its appreciation to the State party for the oral statement presented by the head of the delegation, the written replies to the list of issues and questions raised by its pre&#8209;session working group, and the further clarifications to most of the questions posed orally by the Committee.</p> <p>3.The Committee commends the State party for its high-level delegation, headed by the Minister for the Advancement of Women and Family Planning of the Republic of Djibouti, which included representatives of several Government departments and of the National Human Rights Commission. The Committee appreciates the constructive dialogue that took place between the delegation and the members of the Committee, while noting that some questions were not answered.</p> <p>4.The Committee welcomes the commitment of the State party to implement the provisions of the Convention despite the many challenges it is facing.</p> <h3>B.Positive aspects</h3> <p>5.The Committee welcomes the ratification by the State party of the following international human rights treaties since the entry into force of the Convention for the State party in 1998:</p> <p>(a)The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in 2002;</p> <p>(b)The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, in 2002;</p> <p>(c)The two Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in 2002;</p> <p>(d)The Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, in 2011; </p> <p>(e)The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, in 2005.</p> <p>6.The Committee welcomes the adoption, since the entry into force of the Convention, of the following legislative measures aimed at eliminating discrimination against women:</p> <p>(a)The Family Code (2002), which sets the minimum age of marriage at 18 years for women and men, albeit with exceptions, and improves the economic position of women in polygamous marriages, abolishes the practice of repudiation and criminalizes the refusal of a divorced husband to pay alimony ( family abandonment );</p> <p>(b)The amendment in 2009 of article 333 of the Criminal Code (criminalizing female genital mutilation) to define and criminalize failure to report female genital mutilation and of article 7 of the Criminal Procedure Code to relax the conditions to be met by women s rights organizations for bringing female genital mutilation cases to court;</p> <p>(c)The Human Trafficking Act (2007) which criminalizes engaging in or facilitating human trafficking and provides for victim assistance;</p> <p>(d)The Education System Act (2000) introducing free compulsory education for girls and boys aged 6 to 16 years; </p> <p>(e)The Labour Code (2006) providing for, inter alia, 14 weeks of paid maternity leave and three days of paid parental leave for fathers.</p> <p>7.The Committee also notes with appreciation the adoption by the State party of various institutional and policy measures, including:</p> <p>(a)The establishment in 2008 of the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, Family Welfare and Social Affairs, which was renamed Ministry for the Advancement of Women and Family Planning, in charge of relations with Parliament (Ministère de la Promotion de la Femme et du Planning Familial, chargé des Relations avec le Parlement);</p> <p>(b)The establishment in 2008 of the National Human Rights Commission and of an inter-ministerial committee to coordinate the submission of reports to treaty bodies; </p> <p>(c)The National Strategy for the Integration of Women in Development (2003-2010) and its action plan aiming at strengthening women s participation in political and economic life, improving maternal and child health, and increasing women s and girls access to education and literacy.</p> <h3>C.Principal areas of concern and recommendations</h3> <p style="font-weight:bold;">8. 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 next 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 next periodic report. The Committee calls upon the State party to submit the present concluding observations to all relevant ministries at the national and regional levels, to the National Assembly and regional assemblies, as well as to the judiciary, so as to ensure their full implementation. It also recommends that the State party integrate the concluding observations throughout its decentralization process.</p> <h3>National Assembly</h3> <p style="font-weight:bold;">9. 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. It invites the State party to encourage the National Assembly, in line with its procedures, where appropriate, to take the necessary steps with regard to the implementation of the present concluding observations and the State party  s next reporting process under the Convention.</p> <h3>Visibility of the Convention and the Committee s general recommendations</h3> <p>10.While noting that international treaties ratified by the State party form part of its national law and have supremacy over national laws (article 37 of the Constitution), the Committee is concerned about the perception that judges, magistrates and law enforcement officials need not apply the Convention, as domestic law adequately reflects its provisions. It notes with concern that the Convention has not been translated and widely disseminated in the national languages, namely, Afar, Somali and Arabic. It is further concerned that there is inadequate knowledge of the rights of women under the Convention, its concept of substantive gender equality and of the Committee s general recommendations among all branches of the Government and the judiciary, at both the national and regional levels. While welcoming the recent adoption of a law on legal aid which, although not limited to women, mitigates the impact of legal costs as a critical aspect that limits women s access to justice, the Committee is concerned that women, especially in rural areas, are not aware of their rights under the Convention and that their ability to claim those rights is further limited by the persistence of cultural stereotypes, traditional justice mechanisms, illiteracy, lack of access to information and other practical difficulties in accessing courts.</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">11. The Committee recommends that the State party:</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(a) Translate and widely disseminate the Convention in all national languages and to that end seek international assistance, if appropriate;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(b) Take measures to ensure that the Convention and the Committee  s general recommendations are sufficiently known and applied by all branches of Government and the judiciary at the national and regional levels as a framework for all laws, court decisions and policies on gender equality and the advancement of women;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(c) Ensure that the Convention be made an integral part of the legal education and training of judges and magistrates, including those in personal status courts, lawyers and prosecutors, so that a legal culture supportive of women  s equality with men and non-discrimination on the basis of sex is firmly established in the country;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(d) Enhance women  s awareness of their rights and the means to enforce them through, inter alia, legal literacy programmes, and to ensure that information on the Convention is provided to women in all parts of the State party through the use of all appropriate means, including the media;</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(e) Remove barriers that women may face in gaining access to justice by effectively implementing the law on legal aid to enable poor women to claim violations of their rights under the Convention and by disseminating knowledge of ways to utilize available legal remedies against discrimination.</p> <h3>Harmonization of laws</h3> <p>12.The Committee welcomes the efforts made by the State party to strengthen women s rights in relation to marriage and divorce in the Family Code, which is based on customary law, Islamic law and modern elements of law. However, it notes with concern the State party s position that discriminatory provisions of the Family Code, such as provisions concerning the husband s role as the head of the family and women s unequal inheritance share, cannot be changed as they are rooted in  higher socio-cultural and religious values . The Committee notes with concern that provisions of the Family Code which provide for unequal rights of women and men during marriage and its dissolution are incompatible with the Convention, and in this regard recalls that the State party ratified the Convention without reservations. It is also concerned that disputes concerning violations of women s rights, especially cases of sexual violence, are often settled through traditional justice mechanisms, such as payment of a symbolic amount to the victim s family without consulting or compensating the victim.</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">13. The Committee recalls its general recommendation No. 21 (1994) on equality in marriage and family relations , and calls up on the State party to amend discriminatory provisions of the Family Code, with a view to harmonizing them with the Convention. In doing so, the State party is advised to draw up on the successful experiences in other States parties in the region in reviewing personal status and family laws based on progressive interpretations of the Koran, in line with the Convention. The Committee also recommends that the State party take measures to sensitize the public on the importance of addressing violations of women  s rights through judicial rather than customary mechanisms so as to ensure that victims have access to effective remedies and reparation, and to train judges, magistrates and law enforcement officials to apply relevant laws in a gender-sensitive manner in conformity with the Convention.</p> <h3>National machinery for the advancement of women</h3> <p>14.While welcoming the establishment of a national machinery for the advancement of women, comprising the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, regional gender offices, and gender focal points in different government departments, the Committee is concerned that the capacity and resources of the national machinery have not been adequately strengthened, especially at the regional level, to ensure the effective coordination and implementation of the National Strategy for the Integration of Women in Development and the prioritization of women s rights in social and economic development strategies.</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">15. The Committee, recalling its general recommendation No. 6 (1988) and the guidance provided in the Beijing Platform for Action, in particular regarding the necessary conditions for the effective functioning of national mechanisms, recommends that the State party:</p> <p style="font-weight:bold;">(a) Strengthen the existing national machinery at all levels by providing it with adequate human, technical and financial resources to increase its effectiveness in formula