Discrimination against Women
* Adopted by the Committee at its fifty-eighth session (30 June-18 July 2014).
Concluding observations on the combined initial and second to fifth periodic reports of the Central African Republic *
1.The Committee considered the combined initial and second to fifth periodic reports of the Central African Republic (CEDAW/C/CAF/1-5) at its 1233rd and 1234th meetings, on 11 July 2014 (see CEDAW/C/SR.1233 and 1234). The Committee’s list of issues and questions is contained in CEDAW/C/CAF/Q/1-5 and the responses of the Central African Republic are contained in CEDAW/C/CAF/Q/1-5/Add.1.
A.Introduction
2.The Committee highly appreciates the presence of the State party’s delegation in the light of the conflict prevailing in the country. It welcomes the oral presentation and the written replies to the list of issues and questions raised by the pre-sessional working group. The Committee appreciates that the State party submitted its combined initial and second to fifth periodic reports. It regrets, however, that the document was submitted to the Committee only in March 2012, even though the State party acceded to the Convention in 1991, and that it includes information only until 2010.
3.The Committee acknowledges the State party’s delegation, which was headed by the Permanent Representative of the Central African Republic to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, Léopold Ismael Samba. The delegation also comprised an adviser on social affairs and gender, an inspector on social action, a legal adviser, the Director General of the Directorate General for the Advancement of Women and a representative of the Permanent Mission. The Committee appreciates the constructive dialogue that took place between the delegation and the Committee.
B.Positive aspects
4.The Committee welcomes the adoption of the following legislative measures:
(a)Act No. 06.005 of 20 June 2006 on reproductive health;
(b)Act No. 06.032 of 27 December 2006 on protecting women against violence.
5.The Committee notes with appreciation:
(a)The adoption, in 2005, of a national policy for the promotion of equality and equity and, in 2007, an action plan thereon;
(b)The establishment of a sectoral committee on gender and poverty reduction.
6.The Committee welcomes the ratification of the following international treaties since the accession of the State party to the Convention in 1991:
(a)Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1992;
(b)Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, in 2012.
C.Factors and difficulties preventing the effective implementation of the Convention
7.The Committee considers that the lack of good governance by previous Governments constitutes one of the root causes of the continuing conflict in the country. It has resulted in widespread insecurity, grave and systematic violations of human rights by various armed groups, including the Séléka and anti-balaka groups, and the quasi-collapse of the State, including the judiciary and the education and health systems. This poses a highly significant challenge to the implementation of the Convention.
D.Principal areas of concern and recommendations
Parliament
8. 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 provisional parliament and the future parliament to take the necessary steps regarding the implementation of the present concluding observations between now and the next reporting period under the Convention.
General context
9.The Committee is appalled by the impact on civilians, in particular women and girls, of the continuing conflict in the State party, following years of lower-intensity conflicts. It is concerned about the insecurity in the country, the absence of national security and defence forces outside Bangui and the insufficient numbers of international forces. The Committee is concerned that, owing to insecurity and displacement, farmers cannot engage in agricultural occupations, which may lead to food insecurity and aggravation of the conflict, further exacerbated by the lack of international assistance.
10.The Committee notes with concern the bankruptcy of the State party, resulting in funding gaps for programmes and non-payment of salary arrears to civil servants. It notes that the lack of taxable revenue results from the prevailing insecurity, which prevents civil servants from discharging their functions.
11.The Committee notes that decades of bad governance by previous regimes, social and economic inequalities and predation by State authorities and armed groups also laid the ground for the current quasi-collapse of the State. The Committee is concerned that the overall stagnation of efforts to eliminate discrimination against women before the conflict contributed to the current exacerbation of discrimination and violence against women and girls in the State party by all parties to the conflict. The Committee is also concerned about the urgent humanitarian situation and the financial and other needs for the reconstruction of the State and the shortage of funding and resources under the United Nations humanitarian appeal for the Central African Republic.
12. The Committee urges the State party to continue to seek a drastic increase in support from the international community to enable the Central African Republic:
(a) To fulfil the urgent humanitarian needs of the population, both in the Central African Republic and in neighbouring countries;
(b) To support initiatives to achieve peace and security throughout the State party;
(c) To rebuild State institutions, including the national security forces and the judiciary;
(d) To restore the capacity of the State party to generate domestic financial resources and to ensure the payment of salaries and financing of essential services for the population and, at the same time, to make an immediate request for financial support from States Members of the United Nations, international organizations and bilateral donors for such payment and financing;
(e) To ensure that everyone, in particular women and girls, has access to essential food and basic services, such as education and health services.
13.The Committee considers that the implementation of the Convention is the most effective safeguard to ensure full respect for and enjoyment of women’s rights at all times and stresses that women are key actors in achieving peace. The Committee reminds the State party that its obligations under the Convention to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, including violence against women and girls, are non-derogable and continue to apply during conflict situations, as indicated in its general recommendation No. 28 on the core obligations of State parties under article 2 of the Convention. It also recalls that in such situations the provisions of the Convention are complemented by the applicable international humanitarian, refugee and criminal law, as indicated in its general recommendation No. 30 on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations.
14. The Committee urges the State party:
(a) To comply with its obligations under the Convention and international humanitarian, refugee and criminal law so as to ensure protection for women and girls from all forms of discrimination, including violence;
(b) To give priority to and implement without delay the Committee’s recommendations contained in the present concluding observations relating to violence against women and impunity, internally displaced women, women and peace and security, education and health, giving due consideration to general recommendation No. 30;
(c) To ensure the implementation during the peacebuilding process of all other recommendations contained in the present concluding observations.
Violence against women in conflict and access to justice
15.The Committee is concerned about the:
(a)Significant number of murders, enforced disappearances, cases of torture and acts of rape, sexual slavery and ill-treatment, in addition to widespread looting and property destruction, having affected women since the beginning of the conflict and the announcement by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court that there are sufficiently serious allegations of crimes falling under the jurisdiction of the Court to trigger the opening of a preliminary examination;
(b)Large and increasing number of acts of rape and other forms of sexual violence against women perpetrated by armed combatants and civilians, with many of the victims requiring surgery, becoming pregnant as a result of rape or contracting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, as a result of sexual violence, and the lack of services available to them;
(c)Stigmatization faced by victims of rape preventing women from seeking medical care and filing complaints against perpetrators;
(d)Forced recruitment of women and girls, sexual slavery and forced marriages perpetrated by armed groups;
(e)Collapse of the judiciary and the prevalence of impunity, the lack of infrastructure for courts and detention centres, the collapse of the prison system, with the exception of the central prison in Bangui, and the lack of security at courts for judges, victims and witnesses;
(f)Absence of a screening process to remove suspected perpetrators of serious human rights violations, including against women and girls, from the national security and defence forces;
(g)Collapse of the health system, denying women who are victims of sexual violence medical treatment and psychological support.
16. The Committee recommends that the State party, with full support from the international community:
(a) Take measures to prevent gender-based violence, in particular sexual violence, by all actors in the conflict and ensure the protection of civilians, especially women;
(b) Develop a national strategy to combat impunity in order to ensure that perpetrators of sexual violence during the conflict are brought to justice; investigate, prosecute and punish all cases of violence against women, especially by high-profile leaders who had command responsibility; restore and strengthen the justice system, rebuild the court and prison infrastructure and ensure the security of courts and places of detention, in addition to that of persons working in those institutions; provide sufficient means to the special investigation units; and cooperate with the international commission of inquiry;
(c) Following the preliminary assessment of the situation by the investigation team of the International Criminal Court, continue to urge the Court to open an investigation into crimes committed by all parties against women and girls, in the light of the inability of the national courts to carry out the necessary proceedings;
(d) Make every effort to protect women and girls who are victims of sexual and other violence who seek access to justice from reprisals and prevent their exclusion from their families and communities by raising awareness among the population;
(e) Establish a screening and vetting system under international guidance to exclude perpetrators of violations of human rights, including women’s rights, from the national security and defence forces;
(f) Continue efforts to integrate a gender perspective into the security sector reform and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration processes and strive to combat the proliferation of small arms and light weapons among armed groups and the wider population;
(g) Ensure access for victims of sexual violence to medical treatment and psychosocial support and provide them with adequate compensation.
Internally displaced women and women refugees
17.The Committee expresses its concern at the high number of internally displaced persons, estimated at more than 900,000, the insufficient international resources to support them and the heightened risk among internally displaced women of falling victim to sexual violence. It is also concerned about the attacks perpetrated against camps for internally displaced persons. It is further concerned about the lack of security provided to civilians in their places of residence and about the absence of guarantees for their safe return to those places following flight and/or evacuation.
18. The Committee recalls that the Convention applies at every stage of the displacement cycle, as indicated in its general recommendation No. 30. The Committee urges the State party, with support from the international community:
(a) To consider as a priority and take all measures to ensure the security of civilians, in particular women and girls, in their places of residence and to proceed to evacuation only as a measure of last resort, in full consultation with the people concerned and in accordance with international standards;
(b) To guarantee to internally displaced persons and Central African refugees the right to return to their places of residence and to other benefits as nationals of the Central African Republic;
(c) To take measures, including securing the places of origin of internally displaced persons, to ensure safe return;
(d) To provide internally displaced women with security and access to basic services and food, and ensure that accountability services are available for victims of sexual and other forms of violence.
Women and peace and security
19.The Committee welcomes the adoption of a national action plan for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), the planned establishment of a reconciliation commission and a permanent dialogue commission and the important contributions of groups of women working together to achieve peace. The Committee recalls that, without the meaningful and inclusive participation of women — as key actors of peace — at all stages of the peace and reconciliation processes, as well as in transitional justice mechanisms, women’s priorities and experiences of the conflict will not be fully integrated, as required under the Convention and the resolution, which could set back the processes.
20. The Committee recalls its general recommendation No. 30 and urges the State party:
(a) To ensure the participation of women at all stages of the peace process in national reconciliation and all reconstruction initiatives, as well as in transitional justice processes, in particular at the decision-making level;
(b) To ensure the participation of women in the implementation of the national action plan for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) ;
(c) To continue its efforts to establish a reconciliation commission and a permanent dialogue commission and to ensure that their mandates include women’s rights and combating impunity in cases of sexual violence and that women are adequately represented;
(d) To support initiatives by women working together to achieve peace;
(e) To adopt a strategy to prevent any setback for women’s rights in the peace negotiations.
Legislative framework
21.While noting that the Convention has precedence over national law, the Committee regrets that no court decisions have to date contained references to the Convention, especially given that the State party has a monist legal system in which the provisions of the Convention may in principle be directly invoked before the national courts.
22. The Committee recommends that the Convention be directly implemented in the State party and included in the training of judges.
National machinery for the advancement of women
23.The Committee notes the existence, within the Ministry of Social Affairs, National Solidarity and the Family, of a directorate general for the advancement of women, a directorate for women’s programmes and projects, a directorate for women’s information and education and seven regional directorates of social affairs covering the entire country. The Committee notes the pivotal role played by the Ministry and the nomination of gender focal points in each ministry. It also welcomes the existence of a national policy for the promotion of equality and equity, adopted in 2005, and its action plan, adopted in 2007, in addition to the establishment in 2007 of an interministerial committee to monitor the implementation of the Convention. The Committee is concerned, however, about the:
(a)Lack, including before the conflict, of the human and financial resources necessary for the national machinery for the advancement of women to operate;
(b)Delay in finalizing the bill on parity, while appreciating the delegation’s statement that the Government is working on it and that a 35 per cent quota is envisaged for nominations to decision-making positions in the public sector;
(c)Delay in finalizing the bill establishing a national commission for human rights.
24. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Social Affairs, National Solidarity and the Family and provide it with adequate human, technical and financial resources to lead efforts for the advancement of women during the peacebuilding and reconstruction processes, ensure that it is effectively consulted on the formulation, design and implementation of public policies and strengthen its coordination and monitoring role at all levels of government;
(b) Ensure the effective implementation of the national policy for the promotion of equality and equity and its action plan;
(c) Accelerate the adoption of the bill on parity and include therein the 35 per cent quota for nominations to decision-making positions in the public sector;
(d) Finalize, without delay, the bill establishing a national commission for human rights in compliance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles), ensuring that its mandate includes gender equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex/gender and other intersecting factors.
Stereotypes and harmful practices
25.The Committee welcomes the measures taken before the conflict to combat harmful practices, such as the establishment of a national committee to combat traditional practices harmful to the health of women and girls and violence against them by Decree No. 010 and the adoption of a national action plan addressing traditional practices harmful to women’s health and gender-based violence. The Committee also welcomes the significant reduction, in recent years, in the prevalence of female genital mutilation. It is concerned, however, at the persistence of stereotypes and harmful practices that discriminate against women, including female genital mutilation, widowhood rites, levirate and sororate, notwithstanding the existence of legal provisions against them (paras. 112-116 of the Penal Code and article 10 of Act No. 06.032 of 27 December 2006 on protecting women against violence). The Committee is further concerned about the criminalization of witchcraft, which disproportionately affects women, and the persistence of violence, including what is termed “popular justice” and burying alive women perceived as witches.
26. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Ensure the effective implementation of the legal provisions criminalizing female genital mutilation, widowhood rites, levirate and sororate (paras. 112-116 of the Penal Code and article 10 of Act No. 06.032 of 27 December 2006 on protecting women against violence);
(b) Ensure the effective implementation of the national action plan addressing traditional practices harmful to women’s health and gender-based violence;
(c) Strengthen its activities to raise awareness, targeting women and girls and men and boys, in collaboration with civil society, of the adverse effects and consequences of harmful practices;
(d) Prevent violence against women perceived as witches, arrest, prosecute and punish perpetrators of such violence and repeal any discriminatory provisions criminalizing witchcraft.
Violence against women
27.The Committee welcomes the adoption of Act No. 06.032 of 27 December 2006 on protecting women against violence and the revised Penal Code (2010). It is concerned, however, about the pre-conflict prevalence of rape and other forms of sexual violence, sexual harassment and domestic violence and about the lack of shelters, counselling and rehabilitation services for women who are victims of such violence. The Committee is also concerned about the absence of legal provisions criminalizing marital rape.
28. The Committee recommends that the State party take the following action as soon as the security and judicial authorities are restored:
(a) Prosecute all acts of violence against women, whether upon complaint by the victim or ex officio, and adequately punish perpetrators;
(b) Provide reparations, assistance and rehabilitation to victims of violence, including measures to provide them with free legal aid, medical treatment and psychological support, shelter, counselling and rehabilitation services;
(c) Resume, as soon as the political situation allows, awareness-raising and educational activities, targeting both women and men, in cooperation with civil society organizations, with a view to eliminating violence against women;
(d) Adopt legal provisions criminalizing marital rape.
Trafficking in women and exploitation of prostitution
29.While the Committee notes that the revised Penal Code criminalizes trafficking in persons, it is concerned about the absence of a study on the extent and causes of trafficking in women and girls in the State party. It is also concerned about the absence of data on the prevalence of prostitution in the State party.
30. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Carry out a study on the prevalence of trafficking in women and girls and prostitution in the State party to inform the development of a strategy to combat trafficking and forced prostitution and to address the root causes, including poverty, in order to eliminate the vulnerability of women and girls to sexual exploitation and trafficking, and ensure the rehabilitation and social reintegration of victims;
(b) Seek the cooperation of States in the region to prevent and combat trafficking in women and girls and their exploitation in prostitution;
(c) Consider ratifying the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the protocols supplementing the Convention, in particular the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.
Participation in political and public life
31.The Committee notes with appreciation that women account for 35 per cent of the members of the Transitional Government and that a woman has been elected as Head of State. It welcomes the adoption of articles 80 and 91 of the Transitional Charter laying down a quota of three women among the nine members of the Constitutional Court and of four women among the nine members of the High Council for Communication. The Committee notes with concern, however, the delay in adopting the implementing legislation for article 61 of the Constitution of 2004 establishing a quota system for women in decision-making positions. The Committee is also concerned about the low participation of women in the parliament and the overall low level of participation of women in political and public life, in particular in decision-making positions at all levels, owing to persistent traditional and patriarchal attitudes regarding the role of women in the family and society that limit women’s participation.
32. The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Adopt the implementing legislation for article 61 of the Constitution of 2004 establishing a quota system for women in decision-making positions;
(b) Establish a quota system for women that guarantees that women will account for, at a minimum, 30 per cent of parliamentarians and provide incentives for political parties to nominate women candidates;
(c) Implement activities to raise awareness of the importance for society as a whole of the participation of women in decision-making, in particular as candidates and voters, with a view to eliminating patriarchal attitudes that deter women from such participation;
(d) Provide support for the training of women’s non-governmental organizations with regard to the importance of the participation of women in political and public life.
Nationality
33.The Committee is concerned about the lack of birth registration throughout the State party owing to the conflict. It is also concerned at the situation of refugee women and their children in neighbouring countries. It is further concerned that, according to the Nationality Code of 1961, a Central African woman cannot transmit her nationality to her foreign husband through marriage on an equal basis with a Central African man married to a foreign wife.
34. The Committee recalls its general recommendation No. 21 on equality in marriage and family relations and its general recommendation No. 30 and recommends that the State party:
(a) Ensure that all children, including girls, born on the territory of the State party are registered at birth, paying particular attention to the registration of internally displaced girls and boys;
(b) Ensure, through its consulates and in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, that Central African refugee children born in foreign countries are registered at birth and that women and their children will be provided with valid travel documents;
(c) Amend the Nationality Code to ensure that Central African women can transfer their nationality to their foreign husband on an equal basis with Central African men married to a foreign wife, in line with article 9 of the Convention.
Education
35.The Committee notes with appreciation the adoption of the National Action Plan for Education for All (2003-2015). It is concerned, however, about the pre-conflict stagnation, for more than 10 years, of the capacity of the education system. It is also concerned that, owing to the conflict, most schools closed because they were systematically looted and destroyed or occupied. While noting some recent progress in reopening schools in some areas and the State party’s efforts to encourage teachers to return to schools, the Committee is concerned that the lack of salaries and the prevalent insecurity prevent many teachers and pupils, in particular women and girls, from returning to school.
36. The Committee recommends that the State party, with support from the international community:
(a) Continue to coordinate all activities with stakeholders from the international humanitarian and development communities to secure funding for the restoration of the schools that were occupied and damaged during the conflict and ensure a comprehensive approach integrating a gender perspective in the provision of teaching materials and facilities such as sanitary conveniences;
(b) Ensure the safe return of teachers and pupils, including women and girls, to school;
(c) Develop plans to restore and strengthen access to education, including for internally displaced children, paying particular attention to the needs of girls, in all regions of the State party.
Employment and economic opportunities for women affected by the conflict
37.The Committee is concerned that the economic situation, which continues to deteriorate owing to the conflict, has a negative impact on the employment opportunities of women and, consequently, on their enjoyment of their economic and social rights.
38. The Committee recommends that, in line with its general recommendation No. 30, the State party develop economic recovery and employment strategies that promote gender equality as a precondition for a sustainable post-conflict economy.
Health
39.The Committee is concerned about the lack of funding for the health sector during the pre-conflict period. It notes with concern that the destruction of health centres and the looting of medical equipment and medicines during the conflict further undermined the already-weak health system. It is also concerned that armed groups continue to attack medical personnel in several hospitals and health centres that have been partly restored. The Committee is concerned that this state of affairs seriously affects women’s access to health-care services, with particularly grave consequences for women who lack access to sexual and reproductive health services, resulting in an extremely high maternal mortality rate. The Committee is also concerned about the current lack of health-care and psychological services, including emergency contraception, safe abortion services and counselling, for women and girls who are victims of rape.
40. The Committee recommends that the State party, with support from the international community:
(a) Ensure that women have access to health-care services by restoring the health system and ensuring adequate provision of health centres and hospitals, in addition to the security of all medical and health-care personnel;
(b) During such restoration, accord priority to the provision of sexual and reproductive health services in all areas of the State party, taking due account of the Committee’s general recommendation No. 24 on women and health;
(c) Ensure that women who are victims of rape, including rapes perpetrated during the conflict, have access to health-care and psychosocial services, including emergency contraception and safe abortion services;
(d) Coordinate all activities with stakeholders from the international humanitarian and development communities to secure financial resources for restoring and equipping health facilities and ensure a comprehensive approach integrating a gender perspective to their development and implementation.
Rural women
41.The Committee welcomes the pre-conflict establishment, in 2008, of a sectoral committee on gender and poverty reduction. It is concerned, however:
(a)That, owing to the conflict, poverty increased among rural women;
(b)That rural women lack access to seeds and farming tools, basic services, including education, health, clean water and sanitation services, and economic opportunities;
(c)That rural women are not sufficiently included in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes in rural areas.
42. The Committee urges the State party:
(a) To create the conditions for agricultural activity to recover;
(b) To ensure that rural women have access to seeds and farming tools, basic services, including education, health, clean water and sanitation services, and economic opportunities on an equal basis with men and with their urban counterparts;
(c) To accord priority to development projects for rural women;
(d) To ensure that rural women participate, including at decision-making levels, in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes in rural areas.
Disadvantaged and marginalized groups of women
43.The Committee is concerned about the persistence of the practice of enslaving indigenous peoples, including women and girls, and the delay in adopting the bill to promote and protect indigenous peoples against slavery.
44. The Committee recommends that the State party adopt without delay the bill to promote and protect indigenous peoples against slavery and ensure its effective implementation.
Marriage and family relations
45.While noting the steps taken by the State party, including the organization of workshops by the Ministry of Social Affairs, National Solidarity and the Family towards repealing the discriminatory provisions of the Family Code of 1997, the Committee is concerned about the:
(a)Delay in finalizing the adoption of the new Family Code;
(b)Delegation’s statement that legal provisions authorizing polygamy will remain in the new Family Code;
(c)High prevalence of child and/or forced marriage; the existence in the Family Code of 1997 of legal provisions allowing child marriage when an authorization is granted by the Public Prosecutor, without setting conditions for this, and of legal provisions allowing child marriage when an authorization is granted by the persons exercising parental authority, which provides room for forced child marriage;
(d)Legal provisions of the Family Code indicating that the man is the head of the family.
46. The Committee recommends, in accordance with its general recommendation No. 21 on equality in marriage and family relations and general recommendation No. 29 on the economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution, that the State party:
(a) Ensure that all discriminatory provisions of the Family Code of 1997 are repealed and finalize the adoption of the new Family Code;
(b) Ensure that polygamy is prohibited in the new Family Code;
(c) Repeal the legal provisions of the Family Code of 1997 enabling child marriage when an authorization is granted by the persons exercising parental authority and amend the legislation to ensure that the Public Prosecutor can authorize child marriage only under exceptional circumstances;
(d) Repeal the legal provisions of the Family Code indicating that the man is the head of the family.
Optional Protocol and amendment to article 20 (1) of the Convention
47. The Committee encourages the State party to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention and to accept, as soon as possible, the amendment to article 20 (1) of the Convention concerning the meeting time of the Committee.
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
48. The Committee calls upon the State party to use the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in its efforts to implement the provisions of the Convention.
Millennium Development Goals and the post-2015 development framework
49. The Committee calls for the integration of a gender perspective, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, into all efforts aimed at the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and into the post-2015 development framework.
Dissemination
50. The Committee recalls the obligation of the State party to systematically and continuously implement the provisions of the Convention. It urges the State party to give priority attention to the implementation of the present concluding observations and recommendations between now and the submission of the next periodic report. The Committee therefore requests that the present concluding observations be disseminated in a timely manner, in the official languages of the State party, to the relevant State institutions at all levels (national, regional and local), in particular to the Government, the ministries, the parliament and the judiciary, to enable their full implementation. It encourages the State party to collaborate with all stakeholders concerned, such as employers’ associations, trade unions, human rights and women’s organizations, universities, research institutions and the media. It recommends that the present concluding observations be disseminated in an appropriate form at the local community level to enable their implementation. In addition, the Committee requests the State party to continue to disseminate the Convention, the Optional Protocol thereto and relevant jurisprudence, in addition to the Committee’s general recommendations, to all stakeholders.
Technical assistance
51. The Committee recommends that the State party link the implementation of the Convention to its development efforts and that it avail itself of regional or international technical assistance in this respect.
Ratification of other treaties
52. The Committee notes that the adherence of the State party to the nine major international human rights instruments 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 following instruments to which it is not yet a party: the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
Follow-up to the concluding observations
53. The Committee requests the State party to provide, within one year, written information on the steps taken to implement the recommendations contained in paragraphs 16 (b) and 20 (a) above.
Preparation of the next report
54. The Committee invites the State party to submit its sixth periodic report in July 2018.
55. The Committee requests the State party to follow the harmonized guidelines on reporting under the international human rights treaties, including guidelines on a common core document and treaty-specific documents ( HRI/MC / 2006/3 and Corr.1).