Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Pre-session working group

Forty-seventh session

4 – 22 October 2010

List of issues and questions in the absence of initial and periodic reports

Comoros

The pre-session working group decided, in accordance with the decision of the Committee at its thirty-seventh session, held from 15 January to 2 February 2007, and in the absence of the initial report of the State party, due in 1995, and of its second, third and fourth periodic reports, to proceed with the preparation of the present list of issues and questions.

General

1.Please explain why the State party has not submitted its initial and subsequent reports to the Committee, as required by article 18 of the Convention, and describe any efforts made to date towards the preparation and submission of the reports. Please inform the Committee whether the State party is in need of technical assistance for the preparation of its reports.

2.In addition to the information specific to the Convention as requested in the present list of issues, please submit updated general and factual information about the country in accordance with the requirements of the common core document in the Harmonized Guidelines on Reporting, approved by the fifth Inter-Committee meeting of the human rights treaty bodies in June 2006 (HRI/MC/2006/3).

Data collection

3.Please provide information on the status of availability, collection and analysis of data in the country in general, and in particular with regard to the situation of women, disaggregated by age, sex, rural and urban areas.

Legal status of the Convention and incorporation of its provisions in domestic law and policies

4.Please inform the Committee on the status of the Convention in the domestic legal order and whether the Convention is directly applicable, and on cases where the Convention has been cited by domestic courts.

5.Please provide information on rulings of the Constitutional Court repealing laws on the grounds of discrimination against women or contradiction to provisions of international human rights treaties ratified by the State party.

6.What activities have been carried out by the Government to disseminate the Convention and give visibility to it so as to make the public aware of women’s rights?

7.Please provide information on laws and policy statements that define acts of discrimination against women and indicate whether the definition includes prohibition of any act, by public and private actors, which results in distinctions, exclusions or restrictions on enjoyment or exercise by women, on equal basis with men, of human rights in all areas and under each provision of the Convention.

8.Please inform the Committee about any existing laws prohibiting and providing sanctions for discrimination against women and whether the law(s) is(are) effectively implemented. Please also provide information on remedies available to women whose rights have been violated on the ground of discrimination.

9.Please provide information on laws adopted in the past few years in which the issue of gender has been integrated.

National machinery for the advancement of women

10.The response of the State party to the Country Questionnaire for the Fifteenth-Year Review and Appraisal of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action (“Beijing plus 15” questionnaire) submitted to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa mentions the “Direction nationale de la promotion du genre” and the “Commissariat général à la promotion du genre”. Please explain the functions of each agency and their level of funding and staffing. Please provide information on the existence of other institutions, such as commissions and ombudsman’s offices, established to protect and promote women’s rights, and to oversee the effective implementation of the Convention.

Programmes and action plans

11.Please provide detailed information on the National Policy on Gender Equality, mentioned in the response to the “Beijing plus 15” questionnaire, and indicate to what extent its Implementation Plan, also mentioned in the response, ensures the implementation of the Convention or its specific articles.

Temporary special measures

12.Please provide detailed information on temporary special measures, including affirmative actions, taken by the Government to accelerate the achievement of equality between men and women, in accordance with article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 25 (2004).

Stereotypes and cultural practices

13.Please provide detailed information on customary and traditional practices or ways of life which hamper women’s advancement in society.

14.Please inform the Committee about the existence of any legislation, policies and measures adopted by the Government to change social and cultural patterns that lead to stereotyping of women or to reinforcing the traditional roles of women and men within the family and society in general.

Violence against women

15.According to the oral presentation of the State party at the fifth session of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in May 2009, the majority of women in the Comoros have been subjected to physical and sexual violence, including by their spouses (A/HRC/12/16, paras. 16 and 59). Please provide information on the existence of laws or policies prohibiting violence against women and indicate what specific measures have been taken by the Government for their implementation.

16.Please provide information on educational and preventive measures taken by the Government to encourage women to report incidence of domestic violence, which, according to the oral presentation of the State party mentioned above, is considered as not culturally appropriate. Please also provide information on any measures taken by the Government, including campaigns, to raise awareness of and change public attitude about violence against women.

17.Please provide information on the remedies and assistance available for victims of domestic violence, including rehabilitation and shelter services.

Trafficking

18.Please provide information on the extent of trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and girls in the country. Please indicate what legislation is aimed at preventing trafficking in women and girls, in particular, whether such legislation provides for adequate sanctions for offenders and whether it is implemented effectively.

19.Please provide information on any legislation which protects women and girls from labour agencies which are essentially engaged in trafficking and on policies and programmes addressing prevention as well as protection, assistance and legal support for victims of trafficking.

Participation in decision-making and representation at the international level

20.Please provide detailed information on the representation and roles of women in the public and private sectors, and in the international and diplomatic fields.

21.Please indicate what measures, including policies and legislation, have been adopted by the Government to ensure equal participation of women in the executive, legislative and judiciary branches of Government and other sectors, taking account of article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention as well as the Committee’s general recommendations Nos. 23 (1997) on political and public life and 25.

Nationality

22.Please provide information on the existence of any legislation which provides for equal rights between women and men with respect to acquiring, changing or retaining nationality based on their marital status and transmission of their nationality to their children, in accordance with article 9 of the Convention.

Education

23.Please provide information on the rate of literacy among women and girls in the Comoros and updated statistical data, on girls’ school enrolment, performance and dropout at the primary, secondary and post-secondary levels. What measures have been taken by the Government to guarantee equal opportunities for access to school and higher education?

Employment and economic empowerment

24.Please provide updated statistical information, disaggregated by sex, on women’s participation in the labour force, including, employment, wages and benefits, and job seekers.

25.Please inform the Committee to what extent the National Employment Policy, mentioned in the response to the “Beijing plus 15” questionnaire is gender-specific and addresses the issue of women employment.

26.Please provide information on legal and other provisions and concrete measures taken by the Government to eliminate discrimination against women in employment.

27.Please provide information on the functions of the Direction for Women Entrepreneurship, mentioned in the response of the State party to the “Beijing plus 15” questionnaire, and the impacts achieved by the body on women’s employment since its creation.

Health

28.Please provide information and statistical data on women’s health status, including reproductive and mental health, as well as disability. What are the main causes of mortality and morbidity among women in the Comoros?

29.Please provide information on accessibility and affordability of health care services by women, in particular with regard to, maternity, family planning and post-natal care, including for particular groups such as adolescent girls and rural women.

30.Please provide information on the use of contraceptives by women and on the rate of abortion, including unsafe abortions, in the Comoros.

31.According to some sources, the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in the Comoros is low, please provide statistical data, disaggregated by sex, indicating the low prevalence and elaborate on the preventive measures and treatment services available for women with HIV/AIDS.

Social and economic benefits and poverty

32.Considering the possible feminization of poverty in the State party, please provide information on how women’s poverty is addressed in the country’s poverty reduction strategy.

33.Please provide information on the social security framework in the country as well as the specific social benefits offered to women, in particular to vulnerable groups, including widows and disabled women.

Natural disaster

34.Please inform the Committee as to how natural disasters impact on women in the Comoros and whether there is a national disaster relief strategy which integrates a gender perspective.

Equality before the law

35.Please provide information on the legal status of women and whether they are treated equally with men under the law and in the court system, including with regard to marriage, divorce and property.

36.Please indicate whether the Government of the Comoros has given effect to the obligations in article 15, paragraph 3, of the Convention, which requires that all contracts and other instruments aimed at restricting women’s legal capacity be deemed null and void.

Family relations

37.Please provide information on the existing Family Code adopted in 2005, mentioned in the oral presentation to the Working Group on UPR (A/HRC/12/16, paras. 10 and 20), and on ways the law protects women’s rights, such as with regard to marriage, including early and forced marriage, polygamy, and dissolution of marriage.

38.Please inform the Committee of measures, including legal measures, taken by the Government to address family issues, taking account of the Committee’s general recommendation No. 21 (1994) on equality in marriage and family relations.

Optional Protocol and amendment to article 20, paragraph 1

39.Please indicate any progress made with respect to ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention and acceptance of the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1.