Last week, the Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against women published its eight Concluding Observations on Benin, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Japan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia, adopted following the constructive dialogues held with the States delegations during the 89th session (7th to 25th October). Constructive dialogues can be watched on UN Web TV and the Concluding Observations can be found here.
In the lead up to the session, the International Disability Alliance provided technical support to the Chilean organizations Círculo Emancipador de Mujeres y Niñas con Discapacidad de Chile (CIMUNIDIS) and Agrupación Líderes Mil Capacidades for the drafting of their alternative report available here and for the preparation and coordination of advocacy efforts in Geneva, Switzerland, during the session. IDA's Senior Advisor on Human Rights, Mr Juan Ignacio Pérez Bello, participated on behalf of the two OPDs in the NGO public briefing on October 14th, afternoon, to deliver a two minutes statement on women and girls with disabilities (the recording is available here, go to minute 12:30), and in other opportunities available to exchange with CEDAW Committee members.
Together with this post, the International Disability Alliance published its Compilation of Disability Related Extracts of the Concluding Observations adopted during the session, which is accessible here in both MS Word and PDF formats. While the CEDAW Committee included almost 80 recommendations and references to women with disabilities, some recommendations per country can be highlighted, as follows:
- Benin: The CEDAW Committee recommended Benin to increase awareness-raising campaigns on available access to justice mechanisms, including legal aid services, and on women’s rights and how to claim them, highlighting the need to include women with disabilities and referring explicitly to the need of sign language interpreters, braille and accessible infrastructure. The Committee also recommended Benin to provide inclusive education for women and girls with disabilities.
- Canada: The CEDAW Committee recommended mainstreaming "intersectionality in all of its temporary special measures and ensure that they meet the needs of all women, in particular [...] women with disabilities." Very importantly, the Committee recommended Canada to "[c]onduct a review of the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)," including by analysing systemic pressures faced by women, particularly women with intellectual disabilities" in connection to it. Finally, it also called to "[i]ncrease the amount of the Canada Disability Benefit so that women and girls with disabilities can get out of poverty and extend its eligibility so that all women and girls with disabilities can qualify."
- Chile: The Committee asked Chile to expedite "the adoption of draft Law no. 12441/17 to eliminate discrimination against persons, including women, with intellectual, cognitive and psychosocial disabilities and to ensure their right to autonomy" and "of legislation prohibiting the sterilization of persons with disabilities." It also asked the State to "[i]ntroduce statutory quotas requiring political parties to ensure 50:50 parity..." promoting the appointment of women with disabilities. A detailed recommendation was made also on inclusive education requiring that "educational facilities are physically accessible and equipped with necessary learning materials and assistive devices; [and] providing reasonable accommodations for all types of disabilities"
- Cuba: The Committee urged Cuba to "[i]mplement without delay the National System for Comprehensive Care of Life and ensure that it is gender, disability and age-responsive and addresses specific needs and rights of women;" and to increase the availability of care services for persons with disabilities and older persons. It also required Cuba to enhance access to justice for women with disabilities, ensuring courts’ accessibility, providing free legal aid, reimbursing transportation costs and disseminating information about the legal remedies available.
- Japan: The CEDAW Committee recommended Japan to "[a]mend the Law for Eliminating Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities, to explicitly address, prohibit and provide for adequate penalties for intersecting forms of discrimination". It also required to "[p]rotect women with disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, from discrimination in accessing sexual and reproductive health services and hold medical institutions accountable for denial of care."
- Lao People's Democratic Republic: The Committee called the State to ensure parity, with particular attention to women with disabilities, in the design, development and implementation of policies on climate change and disaster risk reduction. In the area of right to education, the Committee asked the State to allocate resources for inclusive education for women and girls with disabilities, especially in rural areas.
- New Zealand: On sexual and reproductive rights, the CEDAW Committee recommended New Zealand to "[a]mend the Contraception, Sterilization, and Abortion Act (1977), the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights, to protect the rights to privacy and access to information and require the free and informed consent of women with disabilities to any medical interventions performed on them." The Committee also requested the State to "restore and, where possible increase core funding" for, among others, the Ministry for Disabled Persons. It also called for additional resources for inclusive education, including for accessibility, and to increase availability of speech therapists and teacher aides.
- Saudi Arabia: On the right to fair trial, the CEDAW Committee requested the State to ensure that evidence of "intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities," among other factors, is taken into consideration in legal proceedings, "including in capital cases." A comprehensive recommendation on women and girls with disabilities was also made request to ensure access to "justice, inclusive education, employment and health services, including sexual and reproductive health services without the authorization of a male guardian," and to "recognize the full legal capacity of women with disabilities, abolish substituted decision-making regimes and introduce supported decision-making regimes that respect the autonomy, will and preferences of women with disabilities in all areas of life."
For more information on the session, including the full text of the Concluding Observations, visit the specific CEDAW Committee's Webpage.
To watch the videos of the constructive dialogues with the States, visit UN Web TV Webpage on CEDAW.