Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women
Fifty-first session
13 February – 2 March 2012
Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Zimbabwe
1.The Committee considered the combined second, third, fourth and fifth periodic report of Zimbabwe (CEDAW/C/ZWE/2-5) at its 1028th and 1029th meetings, on 21 February 2012 (see CEDAW/C/SR.1028 and 1029). The Committee’s list of issues and questions is contained in CEDAW/C/ZWE/Q/2-5 and the responses of the Government of Zimbabwe are contained in CEDAW/C/ZWE/Q/2-5/Add.1.
A.Introduction
2.The Committee takes note of the State party’s submission of its combined second, third, fourth and fifth periodic report, which, in general, followed the Committee’s guidelines for the preparation of reports, and was prepared through a consultative process with the participation of Government bodies and civil society. The Committee, however, regrets that the report was long overdue. The Committee expresses its appreciation to the State party for its oral presentation, the written replies to the list of issues and questions raised by its pre-session working group and the further clarifications to the questions posed orally by the Committee.
3.The Committee commends the State party’s large and high level delegation, headed by Olivia Muchena, Minister of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development of Zimbabwe, which included also the Minister of State Organ for National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration, as well as several representatives from relevant ministries, with expertise in the areas covered by the Convention. The Committee appreciates the open and constructive dialogue that took place between the delegation and the members of the Committee, while noting that answers to some questions were vague and some questions were left unanswered.
B.Positive aspects
4.The Committee welcomes the progress achieved since the adoption of its previous concluding observations in 1998, including the legislative reforms that have been undertaken and the adoption of a range of legislative measures. Specific reference is made to:
(a)The National Gender Policy (2004), to mainstream gender in all sectors and promote equal advancement of women and men;
(b)The Domestic Violence Act (2006);
(c)The Gender Implementation Strategy 2007-2010;
(d)The First Schedule of the Public Service Regulations (2000), prohibiting sexual harassment;
(e)Amendments to the Labour Act (Act 7 in 2002 and Act 17 in 2005) prohibiting the demand of sexual favours in return for recruitment for employment, promotion or any other related activities.
5.The Committee notes with appreciation the initiatives taken by the State party to promote gender equality and protect women’s rights, such as the establishment in 2007 of the Women’s Development Fund and the Community Development Fund to assist women in various income generating projects, the adoption of the Tourism Policy, which promotes women’s participation in the sector by reserving a 30% quota, and the reservation of a 30% quota for women in the mining mechanization that is run by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development.
6.The Committee welcomes the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, on 14 February 2012.
C.Principal areas of concern and recommendations
7. The Committee recalls the State party ’s obligation 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, to the Parliament, and to the judiciary, so as to ensure their full implementation.
Parliament
8. 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, and it invites the State party to encourage the Parliament, 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.
Visibility of the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendations
9.The Committee is concerned at the general lack of awareness of the Convention, its concept of substantive gender equality and of the Committee’s general recommendations in the State party, in particular, among the judiciary and other law enforcement officials. It is further concerned that women themselves, especially those in rural and remote areas, are not aware of their rights under the Convention, and thus lack the necessary information to claim their rights.
10. The Committee calls on the State party to:
(a) Take the necessary steps to ensure the adequate dissemination of the Convention, the Optional Protocol and the Committee’s general recommendations to all stakeholders, including Government ministries, parliamentarians, the judiciary, law enforcement officers, and religious and community leaders, so as to create awareness of the human rights of women and establish firmly in the country a legal culture supportive of women’s equality and non-discrimination;
(b) Take all appropriate measures to enhance women’s awareness of their rights and the means to enforce them, in particular in rural and remote areas, including through providing women with information on the Convention, the use of all appropriate measures, such as cooperation with civil society and the media.
Legal status of the Convention
11.The Committee is concerned that although the State party ratified the Convention in 1991, without reservations, it has not yet been incorporated into the domestic law. The Committee notes with concern that the relevance of the Convention and its direct domestic application have not yet been established in the State party.
12. The Committee urges the State party to give high priority t o the process of full y incorporatin g the Convention into its domestic legal system in order to give central importance to the Convention as the basis for the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. The Committee also recommends that the State party ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention.
Constitutional framework
13.While noting that Section 23 of the Constitution of the State party prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, tribe, place of origin, political opinions, colour, creed, sex, gender, marital status or physical disability, the Committee expresses its concern at the absence of a specific prohibition of discrimination against women as defined in article 1 of the Convention. The Committee is also concerned that section 23.3 of the State party’s Constitution represents a “claw back clause,” which allows for the application of discriminatory customary law in respect of personal laws. The Committee notes the State party’s willingness, as expressed in the report and during the dialogue, to review its Constitution. However, it remains concerned at the fact that no action has been taken to repeal the discriminatory provisions from the Constitution, even as the constitutional review process is awaited.
14. The Committee urges the State party to:
(a) Speed up its Constitutional review and urgently repeal section 23.3 of the Constitution that allows discrimination based on sex/gender in matters that fall within the provisions of personal and customary law;
(b) Include in its Constitution and other appropriate legislation a b ill of rights for women that guarantees the human rights of women under the Convention and the prohibition of discrimination against women, which encompasses both direct and indirect discrimination in the public and private spheres, in line with article 1 of the Convention, and also to include provisions prohibiting all forms of discrimination against women on all grounds, including in matters that fall within the provisions of personal law .
National machinery for the advancement of women
15.While welcoming the establishment of a fully fledged Ministry of Women’sAffairs, Gender and Community Development in 2005 and the fact that most key positions in the Ministry are held by women, the Committee is concerned about the lack of information on its authority, human and financial resources and its capacity to ensure that gender equality policies are properly developed and fully implemented throughout the work of all ministries and Government offices.
16. The Committee encourages the State party to:
(a) Expeditiously strengthen its national ma chinery, namely the Ministry of Women’s Affaires , Gender and Community Development, by providing it with adequate human, financial and technical resources to coordinate and work effectively for the promotion of gender equality and gender mainstreaming;
(b) Strengthen its impact assessment mechanisms so as to ensure that its gender equality policies are properly monitored and evaluated and their implementation assessed.
National Human Rights Institutions
17.While noting the establishment in 2007 of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC), whose mandate covers the protection of women’s rights, the Committee is concerned that the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Bill has not yet been enacted.
18. The Committee urges the State party to enact, without delay, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Bill, in order to ensure the functioning of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission in line with the Paris Principles.
Temporary special measures
19.While welcoming and commending the State party’s efforts in applying temporary special measure in the area of access of women to loans under the Small and Medium Enterprise policy in 2010 (57 per cent of beneficiaries were women) and in tertiary education, where the enrolment in the Teachers Training Colleges for women rose from 56.7 per cent in 2006 to 69.4 per cent in 2010, the Committee is concerned that temporary special measures in accordance with its general recommendation No. 25 are not systematically applied as a necessary strategy to accelerate the achievement of substantive equality between women and men in other areas of the Convention, especially in the areas of employment, participation in political and public life, and other areas where women are underrepresented or disadvantaged.
20. The Committee encourages the State party to strengthen the use of temporary special measures, in accordance with article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention, as interpreted in the Committee’s general recommendation No. 25, in all areas covered by the Convention, where women are underrepresented or disadvantaged. To that end, it recommends that the State party:
(a) Set time-bound targets and allocate sufficient resources for the implementation of strategies, such as outreach and support programmes, creation of quotas and other pro-active measures aimed at achieving substantive equality of women and men in all areas, in particular employment, participation in political and public life ;
(b) Raise awareness among members of Parliament, G overnment officials, employers and the general public about the necessity of temporary special measures and provide comprehensive information on the use of such measures and their impact in its next periodic report.
Stereotypes and harmful practices
21.The Committee recognizes the rich culture and traditions of the State party and their importance in daily life. However, the Committee expresses its serious concern about the persistence of harmful norms, practices and traditions, patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes, regarding the roles, responsibilities and identities of women and men in all spheres of life, as well as the State party’s limited efforts to address such discriminatory practices directly. These include, in particular, polygamy, bride price (lobola) and, in certain regions, virginity testing and witch hunting. The Committee is concerned that such customs and practices perpetuate discrimination against women and girls and that they are reflected in the disadvantageous and unequal status of women in many areas, including education, public life, decision-making, and in the persistence ofviolence against women. It is concerned that, thus far, the State party has not taken sustained measures to modify or eliminate stereotypes and harmful practices.
22. The Committee urges the State party to:
(a) Put in place, without delay, a comprehensive strategy to modify or eliminate patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes that discriminate women, in conformity with the provisions of the Convention. Such measures should include efforts, in collaboration with civil society as well as community and religious leaders, to educate and raise awareness of this subject, targeting women and men at all levels of society;
(b) More vigo rously address harmful practice s by expanding public education programmes and by effectively enforcing the prohibition of such practices, in particular in rural areas;
(c ) Use innovative measures target ing the media to strengthen understanding of the equality of women and men , and through the educational system to enhance a positive and non-stereotypical portrayal of women;
(d ) Monitor and review the measures taken in order to assess their impact and to take appropriate action.
Violence against women
23.While noting the adoption of the new Domestic Violence Act in 2006, the Committee expresses its concern at the high prevalence of violence against women in the State party, in particular domestic and sexual violence, which remains, in many cases, underreported, as well as at the lack of statistical data disaggregated by sex, and also at the absence of an expressed political will to give high priority to eliminating violence against women. While welcoming the enactment of the Sexual Offences Act in 2003, which recognizes marital rape as an offence, the Committee is deeply concerned that despite the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act in 2006 and the establishment of an Anti-Domestic Violence Council, responsible for the implementation of the Act, its effectiveness has been hampered, as the State party has not allocated the required monetary and human resources thereto. The Committee is further concerned at the State party’s failure to address politically motivated violence against women. The Committee is again concerned that there is only one State-established shelter for women victims of violence (the two other shelters were established by NGOs), and that it is not exclusively for women victims of domestic violence. The Committee is also concerned about acts of violence perpetrated by State and non-State actors, against lesbian, bisexual and transgender women.
24. The Committee urges the State party to:
(a) P ut in place comprehensive measures to prevent and address violence against women and girls, recognizing that such violence is a form of discrimination against women and constitutes a violation of their human rights under the Convention , and ensur e that women and girls who are victims of violence have access to immediate means of redress and protection and that perpetrators are prosecuted and punished, in accordance with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 19;
(b) Provid e mandatory training for judges and prosecutors on the strict application of legal provisions dealing with violence against women and train police officers on procedures to deal with women victims of violence;
(c) Encourage women to report incidents of domestic and sexual violence, by de-stigmatizing victims and raising awareness about the criminal nature of such acts;
(d) Put in place measures to prevent and address politically motivated violence against women ;
( e ) Provide adequate assistance and protection to women victims of violence, by strengthening the capacity of existing shel ters and establishing more shelters , especially in rural and remote areas, and enhancing cooperation with NGOs providing shelter and rehabilitation to victims;
(f) Provide effective protection against violence and discrimination against all groups of women, including lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, in particular through the enactment of comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that includes the prohibition of multiple forms of discrimination and through the launching of a sensitization campaign aimed at the general public, as well as providing appropriate training to law enforcement officials; and
( g ) Collect statistical data on domestic and sexual violence disaggregated by sex, age, nationality and relationship between the victim and perpetrator.
Trafficking and exploitation of prostitution
25.The Committee remains concerned at the continuing prevalence of trafficking in women and girls in the country, at the lack of statistical data sex disaggregated, as well as at the low reporting rate. The Committee is also concerned at the State party’s failure to address the root causes of trafficking and prostitution, including poverty, which impede the State party’s efforts to address these issues in a serious way. While noting the existence of the reception and support centres at Beitbridge and Plumtree border posts which receive returnees and deportees from neighbouring countries, the Committee is concerned at the lack of shelters and counselling services in the State party for victims of trafficking and prostitution, as well as at the lack of information on the existence and implementation of regional and bilateral memoranda of understanding and/or agreements with other countries on trafficking.
26. The Committee calls upon the State party to fully implement article 6 of the Convention, including through:
(a) Addressing root causes of trafficking and prostitution, including poverty, in order to eliminate vulnerability of girls and women to sexual exploitation and trafficking , and undertak ing efforts for the recovery and social integration of the victims ;
(b) Providing training on how to identify and deal with victims of trafficking and on the provisions of the anti-trafficking legislation to the judiciary, law enforcement officials, border guards and social workers in all parts of the country, especially in rural and remote areas ;
(c) Ensuring a systematic monitoring and periodic evaluation, including the collection and analysis of data on trafficking and exploitation of women in prostitution, and to include such data in its next periodic report ;
(d) Increasing efforts for international, regional and bilateral cooperation with countries of origin, transit and destination in order to prevent trafficking through information exchange and to harmonize legal procedures aiming at the prosecution of traffickers ;
(e) Taking necessary steps to ensure that trafficked women and girls have access to quality medical care, counselling, financial support, adequate housing and training opportunities, as well as access to free legal services ;
(f) Ratify ing the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
Participation in political and public life
27.While welcoming the fact that 30 per cent of the State party’s ambassadors are women, the Committee notes with concern that the same level of progress has not been achieved and obstacles to the advancement of women still remain in other areas of public and professional life, as well as in decision-making positions, including the judiciary, local government, and the private sector. The Committee is also concerned that systematic barriers such as negative cultural attitudes, lack of quota systems, insufficient capacity building for potential candidates, limited financial resources and lack of logistical support impede the equal participation of women in political life.
28. The Committee recalls its general recommendation s No.23 (1997) on women in political and public life and No. 25 (2004) on temporary special measures, and calls on the State party to :
(a) Adopt quotas for women throughout the State party’s public service, with a view to accelerating the equal representation of women in all areas of public and professional life , especially in decision-making positions and local administration;
(b) Allocate adequate funds for women candidates to elections , including opposition candidates, in the public funding of election campaigns;
(c) Promote women’s participation in civil society organizations, political parties, trade unions and other associations, including in leadership positions;
(d) Ensure that women have adequate opportunities to participate and have a vote in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development policies and community projects;
(e) Provide training on gender equality to politicians, journalists, teachers, and traditional and religious leaders, especially men, to enhance the understanding that full, equal, free and democratic participation of women and men in political and public life is a requirement for the full implementation of the Convention.
Education
29.The Committee commends the State party for the gains achieved in the education of girls and women since the country’s independence in 1980 as reflected in the parity in elementary school and near parity at lower secondary level.While noting the adoption by the State party in 1999 of a policy enabling pregnant girls to re-enrol after delivery, the Committee is concerned at thehigh dropout rate and the low retention and completion rates for girls, especially at the secondary and tertiary levels, due to early marriage, teenage pregnancy, discriminatory traditional and cultural practices and poverty, especially in rural areas. The Committee is further concerned that the traditional views of both students and teachers orient female students into areas of study perceived as appropriate to their social roles and participation in public life. The Committee also expresses its concern at the high number of girls who suffer sexual abuse and harassment in school by both teachers and classmates, as well as the high number of girls who suffer sexual violence while on their way to or from school. The Committee notes that education is key to the advancement of women, and that the low level of education of women and girls remains one of the most serious obstacles to their full enjoyment of their human rights.
30. The Committee urges the State party to enhance its compliance with article 10 of the Convention and to raise awareness of the importance of education as a human right and as the basis for the empowerment of women. To this end, it urges the State party to:
(a) Address barriers to women’s and girls’ education , such as negative cultural attitudes, early marriage, excessive domestic dut ies, and take steps to retain girls in schools, as well as strengthen the implementation of re-entry policies enabling young women to return to school after pregnancy ;
(b) Implement measures to eliminate traditional stereotypes and structural barriers that might deter the enrolment of girls in science and mathematics at the secondary and tertiary levels of the education system;
(c) Increase efforts to provide career counselling for girls that expose them to options related to non-traditional career path s ;
(d) Provide a safe educational environment , free from discrimination and violence, as well as institute measures to protect girls from sexual harassment and violence on their way to and from schools , in particular in rural areas ;
(e) Strengthen awareness-raising and training for school officials and students and sensitization of children through the media , and establish reporting and accountability mechanisms to ensure that perpetrators of sexual abuse and harassment in schools are prosecuted and punished.
Employment
31.While noting with appreciation that chapter 28:01 of the Labour Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender at all stages of employment, the Committee is concerned at the continuing vertical and horizontal occupational segregation and the persistent wage gap between women and men. The Committee is also concerned about the concentration of women in the informal sector, where there is no social security or other benefits.
32. The Committee urges the State party to:
(a) Adopt legislation guaranteeing equal pay for work of equal value in order to narrow and close the wage gap between women and men , in accordance with ILO Equal Remuneration Convention , 1951 ( No. 100);
(b ) Provide a regulatory framework for the informal sector, with a view to providing women working in this sector with access to social security and other benefits;
( c ) Adopt temporary special measures , such as quotas, in accordance with article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 25, aimed at achieving de facto equal opportunities for men and women in the labour market.
Health
33.While welcoming the establishment in 2011 of a Health Transition Fund to provide free maternal and child health services by all public health facilities, the Committee is concerned that the right to health is not enshrined in the Constitution or the Public Health Act.While noting the launch in 2010 of the campaign Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality (CARMMA),the Committee is also concerned at the high maternal mortality rate (725/100,000 live births). The Committee is further concerned that the restrictive abortion law and the lengthy procedures for authorizing abortions according to the exceptions allowed by law lead women to seek illegal abortions which are often unsafe. The Committee is also concerned at women’s limited access to quality reproductive and sexual health services, especially in rural and remote areas.The Committee is further concerned that the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to be a health challenge in the State party, despite reports of a significant fall in the rates of infection.
34. The Committee urges the State party to:
(a) Take all necessary measures to improve women’s access to health care and health-related services, within the framework of the Committee’s general recommendation No. 24;
(b) Strengthen its efforts to reduce the incidence of maternal mortality and to raise awareness of , and increase , women’s access to health-care facilities and medical assistance by trained personnel, especially in rural and remote areas;
(c) Strengthen and expand its efforts to increase knowledge of and access to affordable contraceptive methods throughout the country , and ensure that women in rural and remote areas do not face barriers in accessing family - planning information and services;
(d) W idely promote education on sexual and reproductive health targeting adolescent girls and boys, with special attention to early pregnancy and the control of STIs, including HIV/AIDS ;
(e) Provide women with access to quality services for the management of complications arising fr o m unsafe abortions so as to reduce maternal mortality rate, as well as consider reviewing the law relating to abortion with a view to removing punitive provisions imposed on women who undergo abortion for unwanted pregnancies , in line with the Committee’s general recommendations N o . 24 on women and health , and review the procedures for the exceptions that are allowed by law .
Rural women
35.The Committee expresses its concern at the disadvantaged position of women in rural and remote areas, who form the majority of women in the State party, and who experience poverty, difficulties accessing health and social services and lack of participation in decision-making processes at the community level. The Committee is also concerned at the prevalence of discriminatory customs and traditional practices which particularly prevent rural women from inheriting or acquiring ownership of land and other property and accessing credit facilities and community services. While noting that the Government has set aside a 20 per cent quota for women under the Fast Track Land Reform Programme, the Committee is concerned that the access to land by rural women is limited compared to ownership of rural land by men, and that only 10 per cent of the land covered by the programme was allocated to women.
36. The Committee calls on the State party to:
(a) Pay special attention to the needs of rural women to ensure that they have access to health, education, clean water and sanitation services, fertile land and income-generation projects;
(b) Eliminate all forms of discrimination with respect to ownership, co-sharing and inheritance of land;
(c ) Address negative customs and traditional practices, especially in rural areas, which affect full enjoyment of the right to property by women ;
(d) Monitor the implementation of the Land Reform Program me to ensure that the quotas for women are achieved .
Marriage and family relations
37.The Committee is concerned about the persistence of discriminatory customary laws and practices, especially in rural areas and remote communities, with regard, inter alia, to marriage and its dissolution, inheritance and property rights. The Committee is deeply concerned that the customary and religious laws and practices that discriminate against women in the area of marriage and family relations, such as polygamy and bride price (lobola), are being upheld due to the State party’s preservation of both civil and customary marital regimes, and the adoption of legislation such as the Customary Marriages Act.
38. The Committee calls on the State party to:
( a ) A mend , without delay , all discriminatory provisions and administrative regulations relating to family, marriage and divorce , and take all necessary legislative measures to ensure that women have an equal share in all marital property regardless of monetary an d non-monetary contributions to said property;
(b) Prohibit polygamy , in accordance with the Committee’s g eneral r ecommendation No. 21 ;
( c ) Consider developing and adoptin g a unified family code in conformity with the Convention, in which equal inheritance , property and land rights are addresse d and polygamy is prohibited.
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
39. The Committee urges the State party, in the implementation of its obligations under the Convention, to fully utilize the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action which reinforce the provisions of the Convention ; it requests the State party to include information thereon in its next periodic report.
Millennium Development Goals
40. The Committee emphasizes that full and effective implementation of the Convention is indispensable for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. It calls for the integration of a gender perspective and an explicit reflection of the provisions of the Convention in all efforts aimed at the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals ; it requests the State party to include information thereon in its next periodic report.
Dissemination
41. The Committee requests th at the present concluding observations be widely disseminated in Zimbabwe in order to make the people, G overnment officials, politicians, parliamentarians , women’s and human rights organizations aware of the steps that have been taken to ensure the de jure and de facto equality of women, and the further steps that are required in this regard. The Committee recommends that the concluding observations be disseminated at the local community level. The State party is encouraged to organize a series of meetings to discuss progress achieved in the implementation of these observations. The Committee requests the State party to continue to widely disseminate, in particular to women’s and human rights organizations, the Committee’s general recommendations, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly on the theme “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”.
Ratification of other treaties
42. The Committee notes that the adherence of Zimbabwe 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 Government to consider ratifying the treaties to which it is not yet a party, namely, 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 International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Technical assistance
43. The Committee recommends that the State party avail itself of technical assistance for the development and implementation of a comprehensive programme aimed at the implementation of the above recommendations and the Convention as a whole. The Committee expresses its willingness to continue the dialogue with the State party, including through a country visit by Committee members to provide further guidance on the implementation of the above recommendations and the State party’s obligations under the Convention. The Committee also calls on the State party to strengthen further its cooperation with specialized agencies and programmes of the United Nations system, including the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Development Fund for Women, United Nations Children’s Fund, United Nations Population Fund, World Health Organization, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Statistics Division and Division for the Advancement of Women in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Follow-up to concluding observations
44. The Committee requests the S tate party to provide, within two years, written information on the steps taken to implement the recommendations c ontained in paragraphs 14 (a) and (b) and 24 (a), (b), (c), (d) and (g) above.
Preparation of next report
45. The Committee requests the State party to ensure the wide participation of all ministries and public bodies in the preparation of its next report, and to consult a variety of women’s and human rights organizations.
46. The Committee requests the State party to respond to concerns expressed in the present concluding observations in its next periodic report under article 18 of the Convention. The Committee invites the State party to submit its next periodic report in February 2016.
47. The Committee invites the State party to follow the h armonized guidelines on reporting under the international human rights treaties, including the guidelines on a common core document and treaty-specific documents that were approved at the fifth i nter- c ommittee m eeting of the human rights treaty bodies in June 2006 (see HRI/ GEN /2/ Rev.6 ). The treaty-specific reporting guidelines, adopted by the Committee at its fortieth session in January 2008 (A/63/38, part one, annex I) must be applied in conjunction with the harmonized reporting guidelines on a common core document. Together they constitute the harmonized guidelines on reporting under the Convention on the Elimination of A ll F orms of Discrimination against Women. The treaty-specific document should be limited to 40 pages, while the updated common core document should not exceed 80 pages.