CEDAW’s Concluding Observations

By Contributor | February 10, 2011

The 48th Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women ended last week with the release of its concluding observations. The recommendations pushed for decriminalization of abortion as well as protections for lesbians and adolescent sex education.

In Belarus, the committee restated its concern about stereotypes “which overemphasize the traditional roles of women as mothers and spouses” and instructed the country to develop a more comprehensive strategy to eliminate gender stereotypes, including images of women that “focus excessively on maternal attributes.” Belarus was also instructed to collect data on women facing discrimination, including lesbians, and to adopt measures to eliminate any such discrimination in public and political life and education.

The committee expressed its displeasure at the slow enactment of the Reproductive Rights Bill in Kenya, and also expressed its concern that existing sex education programmes in Kenya are insufficient. Kenya was advised to widely promote education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially targeting adolescent girls and boys.

The CEDAW committee urged Sri Lank to decriminalize sexual relationships between consenting adults of same sex, and encouraged South Africa to develop comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that would include the prohibition of discrimination against women on the grounds of “sexual orientation.”

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