Acronyms and abbreviations

ACEEF	Action against the Exploitation of Children and Women
AEJTG	Association of Child Workers and Young Workers of Guinea
AGBEF	Guinean Association for Family Welfare
AIDS	Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
ASFEGMASSI/SWAA	Association of Guinean Women against Sexually Transmitted Diseases including HIV/AIDS
BAC	Baccalaureate
BACC	Canadian cooperation support office
BEP	Brevet d’études professionnelles
CAFODEG	Support and Training Centre for Development, Savings and Loans, and Civic Education
CDVA	Centre for Voluntary and Anonymous Screening
CECI	Canadian Centre for International Studies and Cooperation
CEDAW	Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
CENAFOD	African Centre for Development Training
CEOC	Comprehensive emergency obstetric care
CLP	Local centre for the protection of children and women
CONAG/DCF	Guinean National Coalition for Women’s Rights and Citizenship
CONEBAT	National Commission on Basic Education for All
CPTAFE	Unit against Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting Women and Children
CYP	Couple/years of protection
DRH	Human Resources Division
ECOWAS	Economic Community of West African States
EDSG	Demographic and Health Survey/Guinea
ENATEC	National Survey on Trafficking in Children in Guinea
EOC	Emergency obstetric care
EPI/PHC/ED	Expanded Programme on Immunization/Primary health care/Essential drugs
FGM	Female genital mutilation
FONAEF	National Fund to Support Women’s Economic Activities
GAE	Self-management of businesses
GF	Guinean francs
IFES	International Foundation for Election Systems
IOM	International Organization for Migration
IRC	International Rescue Committee
KFW	German cooperation
MASPFE	Ministry of Social Affairs and the Promotion of Women and Childhood
MACFE	Ministry of Social Affairs, Status of Women and Childhood
MDG	Millennium Development Goal
MSP	Ministry of Public Health
MURIGA	Community-based cooperative for dealing with pregnancy and childbirth risks
NEPAD	New Partnership for Africa’s Development
OPDAS	Organization of First Ladies against AIDS in Africa
OSFAM	Family health option
PDLG	Guinean Local Development Programme
PSI	Population Services International
PMTCT	Prevention of mother-to-child transmission
REFAMP/G	Network of Female Former Ministers and Parliamentarians/Guinea
REGAP+	Network of Persons Living with HIV/AIDS
REGESS	Guinean Network for a Social and Cooperative Economy
ROPPA	West African Network of Peasant Organizations and Agricultural Producers
SAGA	Social and gender analysis
STD	Sexually transmitted disease
UNDP	United Nations Development Programme
UNFPA	United Nations Population Fund
UNHCR	United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF	United Nations Children’s Fund
USAID	United States Agency for International Development
YETE MALI	Savings and loan cooperative

Foreword

The ratification by Guinea on 9 August 1982 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women clearly expressed the Government’s political will and attested to its commitment to work towards respect for and restoration of women’s dignity. Since then, our country has made a huge effort to ensure the protection and promotion of women’s rights in all sectors of social life, including the economy, health, education and the administration.

Yet, despite the progress made, women and girls continue to experience a disproportionate number of sociocultural problems and suffer from poverty, illiteracy, illness including HIV/AIDS, malnutrition and violence. In other words, there is still a long way to go before de facto gender equality is achieved in Guinea.

Against this background, since July 2001, when Guinea earlier reported on the implementation of the Convention, the State, with the support of its partners, has undertaken a number of reforms inspired by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with a view to accelerating the advent of gender equality. Its concerns in this respect are reflected in all the sectoral policies of Guinea and make the elimination of gender differences one of the pillars of Government action.

More broadly, in the context of a multi-year gender equality programme, all areas of intervention, both formal and informal, are involved in rural and urban gender equality issues.

Accordingly, over and above the principle of equality of status, there is a need to strengthen the freedom and independence of women and girls while combating violence, especially sexist violence, and consolidating their inalienable fundamental rights, which are an integral part of the universal rights of the human being.

With this global gender equality approach it will be possible to build a more balanced society, based on respect for the two inseparable components of humanity — men and women — working together for a common, harmonious future based on justice and progress.

Lansana KouyatePrime MinisterHead of Government

Introduction

The combined fourth, fifth and sixth periodic report on the effective implementation in the Republic of Guinea of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was prepared in accordance with the general guidelines established by the United Nations for the drafting of periodic reports on that Convention.

After 1998, the year of preparation of the combined first, second and third report, presented in July 2001 in New York, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women drew up pertinent recommendations that served as the basis for the drafting of the fourth periodic report. The present combined report is the product of a review of the fourth report, supplemented by information gathered in accordance with the questionnaire prepared by the Committee. It covers the period from 2002 to 2006 and contains an analysis of progress achieved, difficulties encountered and future prospects in the following areas of concern under the Convention:

–Legal and political questions;

–Social questions;

–Economic questions; and

–Questions relating to institutional machinery.

To produce the report, the Republic of Guinea set up an inter-ministerial commission that was broadened to include civil society organizations, agencies of the United Nations system, and domestic Governmental institutions. The resulting document was submitted to a national validation workshop. Following validation, the report was adopted by the Government and transmitted to the United Nations through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, African Integration and Guineans from Overseas.

The delay in the presentation of this periodic report was due mainly to the inadequacy of the resources needed to prepare it.

Each year, from August 2001 to April 2007, the recommendations of the Committee were included as a planning objective under the category of “public information and communications” in documents of the Government of Guinea-UNICEF cooperation programme, in order to allow their broad dissemination by the department in collaboration with NGOs. Accordingly, 38 information and awareness-raising sessions involving 2,506 responsible officials were organized between 2001 and 2004. Radio and television broadcasts on those topics were also produced for the national audience.

In the area of advocacy, the department, in collaboration with NGOs, has reached out to the administrative and political authorities of the country; this has resulted, inter alia, in the signing by Guinea of the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa. A report has been prepared and submitted for implementation.

Other achievements include the existence of three equity committees in the education sector and the revision and adoption of a national policy for the advancement of women in 2006, taking account of the gender concept and the 12 areas of concern of the Dakar and Beijing Platforms for Action for the Advancement of Women.

With regard to future prospects, a programme of action for the implementation of a revised national policy for the advancement of women and its operational action plan is to be developed in 2007. A national gender policy document will be developed in 2008 in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

While the data collected for the Demographic and Health Survey (EDSG III/2005) in Guinea did not extend to the prefectural, sub-prefectural and community levels, analysis of the results will allow these shortcomings to be remedied. It should be noted that, up to 2005, all surveys conducted at the national level took account of certain provisions of the Convention. However, the disaggregated level comprises only four geographical and eight administrative regions. Particular attention should be paid to the situation of women at the community level, in accordance with article 14 of the Convention relating to rural women.

Despite tangible progress achieved in all areas of concern under the Convention, the status, roles and positions of women with decision-making responsibilities call more than ever for strengthened synergy of action between the national and international communities.

A.Legal and political questions (articles 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 16)

No change has occurred with regard to areas of concern under articles 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7 of the Convention, and the data contained in the fourth report remain valid.

Legislative and institutional framework of the status of the Convention

The low level of awareness of the Convention among legal professionals and among women themselves, the majority of whom are illiterate, has meant that the Convention has yet to be invoked by the parties to an action or by judges. For that reason, it is proposed to continue and strengthen the training of judges and legal officials (police officers, gendarmes, lawyers, registrars, bailiffs, auctioneers, etc.), as well as training and awareness-raising for women and girls, especially those in rural areas, on the content of the Convention.

Trafficking in women and girls

In Guinea, there is both internal and cross-border trafficking. For that reason, the country is at once a source country, a transit country and a country of destination for trafficking. At the national level, trafficked women and girls generally come from rural areas. Contributing factors include poverty, the inordinate ambitions of girls and of some parents, ignorance, the demand for cheap labour, and the growth of prostitution.

No reliable statistics exist regarding the phenomenon of trafficking and similar practices affecting women and girls in Guinea. Nevertheless, we can provide some examples: two daughters of the same mother, aged 8 and 11, were intercepted in Dakar on their way to Spain. They were returned to their mother thanks to inter-ministerial collaboration among MASPFE and the Ministries of Justice, the Interior and Security, and their school attendance is being monitored. Moreover, the NGO ACEEF, with the support of the United States Embassy in Guinea, was able to identify 25 girls who had been trafficked at Conakry. That organization also completed a study on domestic child trafficking and labour in Guinea in November 2005. CONAG/DCF carried out a national survey on the subject of statistics on crimes against women and children, which revealed, inter alia, three cases of trafficking. Between 2005 and 2006, two trafficked girls were sought and found in Liberia. One case of human sacrifice and two cases of sexual exploitation were recorded; these cases are currently at trial in the courts.

Measures taken by the Government

Achievements

The Guinean Government, aware of the existence of the phenomenon and desirous of measuring its extent, carried out a national survey on trafficking in children in Guinea (ENATEG 2003) commissioned by MASPFE and financed by UNICEF. In 2005, a national committee to combat trafficking was set up and a national action plan was drafted. The following substantive measures have been taken:

–Ratification of the following legal instruments:

•ECOWAS Convention A/PI/7/92 on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and ECOWAS Convention A/PI/8/94 on Extradition (both ratified on 6 August 1994);

•The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the African Child (ratified in 1998); and

•The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, adopted on 15 November 2000 at New York.

–Amendment of the Penal Code;

–Formulation and adoption of a document regulating repatriation procedures and competencies, aimed at ensuring that repatriation is not used as a means of refoulement or expulsion;

–Production of 28 radio and television broadcasts on trafficking in persons;

–Organization by AEJTG of a week of awareness-raising among the population of Conakry on the topic of trafficking in children;

–Between 2004 and 2006 organization by ACEEF, with the support of Save the Children/Sweden and UNICEF, of a training session for 15 trainers from the security forces, as well as 8 regional seminars, on combating child trafficking;

–Production of a media campaign on child trafficking, with the support of UNICEF and the United States Embassy;

–Participation (2003-2005) of 52 CLPs in combating trafficking in women and girls in areas where rebel incursions have taken place, with the following results:

•423 unaccompanied children or children separated from their families were referred to refugee camps and to the IRC; and

•54 volunteer host families were selected and trained to receive children, including women and unaccompanied girls, on an emergency basis.

–Organization of awareness-raising days for the populations of certain towns on the topic of educating young girls so as to avoid early marriage, trafficking and recruitment;

–Direct communication among border-control services, as well as subregional meetings, resulting in signed bilateral and multilateral agreements on the repatriation of trafficked children:

•Cooperation agreement with Mali, signed in June 2005 at Conakry;

•Cooperation agreement with Benin, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Liberia and Togo, signed in July 2005 at Abidjan.

Marriage and family relations

The Civil Code governing Guinea recognizes the husband as the head of the family, with the right to choose the domicile. Under article 194 of the Civil Code, the birth of a child shall be declared by the father or, if the father is not present, by doctors, midwives or other persons present at the birth, or by the person in whose home the mother has given birth if she has done so outside her own domicile. The birth certificate is issued immediately. Custody of children under 7 years of age is given to the mother; in the case of children over 7 years of age, the father has custody. In practice, preference is given to a child’s uncle rather than the mother in the exercise of parental authority.

The Guinean Civil Code (arts. 483-484) recognizes the legal rights of childless widows; these rights are calculated on the basis of fractions of at least five years in a stable marriage. Amendments contained in the draft Civil Code generally cover all the discriminatory aspects of the document, dealing inter alia with joint household management, shared choice of legal domicile, the concept of marital property, child custody as a function of the best interests of that child, the replacement of paternal power by parental authority, and the standardization of the minimum age for marriage at 18 years for both boys and girls.

Pertinent provisions of the draft Code on Persons and the Family have been integrated into the draft Civil Code, which is still awaiting adoption. For that reason, the efficacy of these laws cannot be evaluated at present.

With regard to succession and inheritance, if the deceased recognizes the paternity of the children equally, the law does not distinguish between men and women, boys and girls. To make this a practical reality, the Government undertook campaigns through MASCFE in August 2002 to raise the awareness of the population, especially of women, regarding women’s rights in the household on a day-to-day basis. In August 2003, MASPFE organized the first national two-week festival of the Guinean woman on the theme “The Guinean woman at the forefront of all national concerns”, during which women’s rights, education, health, microcredit, employment, literacy and gender were discussed.

Nationality (article 16)

Amendments on the question of the nationality of the child contained in the draft Civil Code, revised in accordance with the Convention, have not yet entered into force.

Refugee and displaced women (Source: National Refugee Coordination Bureau, annual report to HCR 2006)

Our country has provided shelter to many thousands of refugees since 1989, 60 per cent of whom have been women and children. Faithful to its international commitments, the Republic of Guinea has ratified all conventions on the protection of women. National organs, such as the National Refugee Coordination Bureau, in collaboration with UNHCR, have initiated an urgent programme for the reintegration of these thousands of applicants for asylum, as well as a reproductive health programme with AGBEF aimed at women in childbirth, in the light of their vulnerability and the discrimination and violence to which they are subject.

From 1989 to 2007, women had access to social and health benefits even before they were involved in all the organizations set up in the refugee camps of the Guinée Maritime and Guinée Forestière regions. These assistance programmes within the camps pay particular attention to the needs of women. In 2006, 50 per cent of the staff at N’Zérékoré, 30 per cent at Kissidougou and 40 per cent at Conakry were involved in food distribution. During the rebel attacks along the borders of Guinea in 2000, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, UNICEF, the Pan Africanist Movement (PAM), and the Mano River Women’s Peace Network set a goal of giving priority to displaced women.

Numerous measures have been taken to provide economic and social assistance to refugee and displaced women. A number of microprojects, especially those involving revenue-generating activities, have been initiated with the involvement of the relevant technical departments, the indigenous population, and humanitarian institutions and organizations (IOM, UNHCR, Doctors Without Borders) in the administrative regions.

With regard to statistical data, it should be noted that the Guinean Government and its implementing partners have encountered significant difficulties in connection with the mobility of refugee and displaced women. Nevertheless, we have been able to obtain some rough figures as follows:

•In the Kindia administrative region, out of 8,227 displaced persons of all categories, 2,325 women were provided with social and health assistance before the establishment of revenue-generating activities;

•At Camp Kalia, 227 women benefited from microprojects from 2002 to 2003;

•In the Kankan administrative region, 87 microprojects were launched from 2002 to 2004 to meet the immediate needs of displaced women;

•In the Guinée Forestière region, mixed security brigades have been set up in the Lainé and Kouankan camps;

•In the Conakry special zone, 900 refugees, of whom 60 per cent were women, benefited from microprojects and other forms of assistance.

Between 2004 and 2006, the number of refugee and displaced women decreased, owing to the return of peace in neighbouring countries and to repatriations. The contribution of international institutions took the form of material and non-financial support.

Optional Protocol to the Convention and amendment ( a rt icle 20 , paragraph 1 , of the Convention)

Despite numerous requests to the political and administrative authorities, the protocol for expediting the implementation of the Convention has not yet been adopted by Guinea.

Participation of women in political and public life and decision-making

1.Achievements

As the tables below show, although there has been some progress at the levels of community council membership and heads of divisions of administrative and financial affairs, the equality proclaimed in the Fundamental Law is far from being a reality.

Table 1

Percentage of women in decision-making positions or awarded honours in 2007

Posts of responsibility and decision-making	T otal number of men and women	Number of women	Percentage of women
Members of the National Assembly	114	19	16 . 6
Ministers and secretaries of State	22	3	13 . 63
Ministerial secretaries-general	22	0	0
Principal private secretaries	22	6	27 . 27
Ministerial advisers	22	4	18 . 18
Special advisers in Ministries	22	1	4 . 54
National directors	120	6	5
Ambassadors	22	2	9 . 09
Embassy advisers	22	1	4 . 54
Regional governors	8	0	0
Prefects	33	0	0
Mayors	38	3	8 . 57
Deputy mayors	65	17	26 . 15
Members of municipal councils	613	94	15 . 33
Members of community councils	2 597	124	4 . 77
Prefectural secretaries-general	33	3	9 . 09
Municipal secretaries-general	38	2	5 . 26
Sub-prefects	302	2	0 . 66
Political party leaders	46	1	2 . 17
Supreme Court judges	17	3	21 . 42
Economic and Social Council representatives	45	9	20
Public prosecutors	6	1	16 . 67
University rectors	2	0	0
Directors of institutes of higher learning	4	0	0
Hospital managers	33	0	3 . 03
Regional health managers	7	1	14 . 2
Prefectural health managers (DPS)	38	3	7 . 8
Regional social affairs inspectors	8	0	0
Chairpersons of the boards of companies	38	2	5 . 26
Officers of the Order of Merit	37	3	8 . 10
Grand Officers of the National Order of Merit	20	0	0
Heads of divisions of administrative and financial affairs	23	15	65 . 2
Lawyers	200	10	5
Bailiffs	41	3	7 . 32
Notaries public	6	2	33
Special court judges	8	5	62 . 5
CHU	2	0	0

Table 2

Women’s access to positions of responsibility 2002-2007

Period	Positions of responsibility	Total number of men and women	Number of women	Percentage of women
2002	Deputies	114	22
2007	Deputies	114	19
2002	Ministers	33	5
2007	Ministers	19	3
2002	Secretaries-General in ministries	33	3
2007	Secretaries-General in ministries	22	0
2002	Regional governors	8	0
2007	Regional governors	8	0
2002	Prefects	33	0
2007	Prefects	33	0
2002	Ambassadors	22
2007	Ambassadors	22	2

Source: MASPFE.

NB: This table shows that the number of women in decision-making positions has regressed and that some areas are traditionally and systematically male preserves.

Constraints:

•Low percentage of women in decision-making posts and unfavourable ranking on electoral lists.

2.Difficulties

•The low percentage of women at decision-making levels and their unfavourable ranking on electoral lists;

•The non-functioning of the Convention-related follow-up machinery (the national committee and the seven regional committees) and also the support, counselling and legal assistance centres for women;

•The non-adoption of the revised draft civil code;

•The lack of reliable data in areas of concern to the Committee, including emerging issues (trafficking in women and girls, gender-based violence);

•Persistence of sociocultural constraints;

•Women’s ignorance of their rights;

•Low level of knowledge and incorrect application of the law on the part of some justice officials;

•Poverty;

•Illiteracy;

•Inadequate follow-up to the implementation of legal instruments ratified by Guinea;

•Poor dissemination of existing legal texts;

•Failure to provide furniture for the staff in the decentralized structures of MASCFE.

3.Prospects for the future

•To use advocacy in order to prevail on the authorities and political parties to increase the number of women in decision-making posts and improve their ranking on electoral lists;

•To make operational the follow-up mechanisms and other structures for the implementation of the Convention;

•To provide furniture for the staff in the decentralized structures of MASCFE;

•To disseminate widely the recommendations on the combined fourth, fifth and sixth periodic report and the content of the Convention;

•To increase awareness of and advocacy for the adoption of the revised draft civil code and the deposit of the instrument of ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa;

•To carry out studies and surveys in areas of concern to the Committee;

•To prepare a national strategy against trafficking in women and girls, together with an operational action plan;

•To educate officials and other staff in the justice system about the content of the Convention;

•To put into effect the five-year strategic plan of MASCFE;

•To continue reporting under the Convention (drafting of the seventh periodic report);

•To disseminate the repertoire of legal texts on the rights of women in Guinea;

•To draft a specific law on trafficking in persons, in particular girls and women.

B.Social questions

I.Violence against women

In Guinea, acts of violence against women are intrinsically related to their degree of marginalization in society. Such acts are influenced by social attitudes and values which view man as superior to woman by nature. The movement of reaction against gender-based violence is led through community outreach by the National Directorate on the Status of Women and Children in synergy with NGOs concerned with the defence and protection of women’s rights.

A situational analysis conducted by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that in 2003, in eight administrative regions of the country, 22 per cent of women declared themselves to be victims of violence. The perpetrators in 85 per cent of the cases were men and in 15 per cent were women. Eighty per cent of the women beaten were illiterate. According to another study on the subject of violence against women, carried out in Conakry in 2006, out of 317 patients seen by forensic medicine specialists, 58 were victims of domestic violence, or 18.30 per cent.

The average age of the victim is 28 years, and the age group most affected is from 21 years to 30 years (46.55 per cent). Seventy-six per cent of those beaten are Muslim. The explanation for this situation may lie in the heavy predominance of this religion (more than 80 per cent of the population). Fifty per cent of married women are victims of spousal violence, 25 per cent are unmarried, 3 per cent are divorced, and 6 per cent are widows. Fifty-one per cent of victims are illiterate, 19 per cent have secondary education and 3 per cent have university education. These data show that the more education a woman has received, the less likely it is for her to be subjected to violence, as she is independent and familiar with her rights.

Causes of violence

•Incompatibility of temperament40 per cent

•Refusal to perform spousal duty29 per cent

•Jealousy (polygamy)9 per cent

•Rape8 per cent

•Marriage7 per cent

•Dispute9 per cent

•Clan4 per cent

•Aggression2 per cent

As regards women refugees, there were 193 cases of gender-based violence during 2006. Of these, 103 were committed at home and 71 in the community. Twenty-five per cent of the victims were minors, and 75 per cent of the perpetrators were adults.

Among the sexual violence cases, rape was the most frequent (25 cases, of which 5 required urgent treatment), followed by abuse, sexual exploitation and attempted rape. Domestic violence is the primary cause of the physical violence recorded.

Under the heading of psychological violence, cases of desertion of the family are easily the most common.

Responding to the need for protection against gender-based violence, UNHCR stepped up its awareness campaigns and its training sessions for all concerned: refugees, police and judicial authorities, and operational partners. Moreover, all victims of violence received free care.

Measures to combat violence against women

–Promulgation of Act L/2000/010/AN of 10 July 2000 on reproductive health, which in article 13 contains provisions prohibiting female genital mutilation;

–Provisions in national legal instruments prohibiting violence, such as the Penal Codein articles:

•295 to 305 (deliberately inflicted bodily injury);

•282 (murder);

•290 (death threat), 371 (slander or libel) and 321 (rape);

–Retraining of the women who perform excisions (once they have handed over their excision instruments) in income-generating occupations.

To combat domestic violence, two toll-free numbers have been put at the service of domestic violence victims in the Ministry of Youth. In addition, there is in MACFE a division for the promotion and protection of women’s rights which provides support to women victims who come to it seeking its services.

Some victims head straight to the hospital for care, while others go to the police and NGOs for support and counselling. No statistics are available at this level. It should be noted that, owing to the influence of sociocultural constraints, the majority of violent incidents are dealt with by the family and are accepted as legitimate.

II.Health

The national health policy is based on the primary health-care strategy, which in turn is based on the Bamako Initiative. It has three essential areas of focus:

–The seamless integration of curative, preventive and promotional care;

–The promotion of individual, family and community health; and

–Community participation in the design, financing, management and evaluation of health care.

The Government has given major emphasis to the development of the health sector through a primary health-care policy in which the health of women and children features prominently.

A national analysis of reproductive health leads to the conclusion that, in spite of the progress made over the past few years, improvement in the state of public health in Guinea is far from satisfactory.

According to the findings of EDSG III (2005) on mortality rates, one out of sixteen women between the ages of 15 and 49 years is likely to die from maternity-related causes.

As regards anti-tetanus coverage for pregnant women, the records indicate that 76 per cent of women received at least one dose of anti-tetanus vaccine during their two most recent pregnancies.

Trained personnel helped 38 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 years during childbirth in 2005, as against 35 per cent in 1999.

The health policy is implemented through the EPI/PHC/ED and the hospital reform programme. The goal of this policy is to improve the state of public health, thereby reducing morbidity and mortality.

1.Presentation of statistical data on women’s health facilities

Table 1

Women’s health facilities

No.	Results	Number	Indicat o r 2001-2006	Source
1	First-contact health facilities	500 health posts 400 health centres	80	96 . 16	EPI/PHC/ED
2	Health districts with an organized referral system		N/A	36.8	National safe motherhood programme
3	PMTCT sites	15 sites	0	15 sites	National health care and AIDS prevention programme/UNICEF
4	EOC Units	38 comprehensive 400 basic	N/A		MSP/Maternal welfare Reproductive health EOC 2003
	Basic obstetric care	61.7%			Evaluation of EOC units 2003
5	Primary-care facilities with limited staff (midwives, nurses)	400	—	100	DRH National Health Development Programme Health technician Included
6	Second-level facilities with medical specialists (doctors with obstetrics skills and anaesthetist)	38	—	100	National Directorate of Hospital and Care Facilities/DRH MSP
7	Compliance rate as regards legislation on maternal and neonatal health	1	N/A
8	Proportion of the State budget allocated to the health sector	4-5%	3 500 000 000 GF
9	Proportion of funding allocated to maternal and neonatal health including family planning		N/A

Source: Annual report 2006 AGBEF; N/A = not available.

The financial resources allocated to maternal and neonatal health, including family planning, amounted to GF 86 million in 2003 and GF 40 million in 2006.

2.Planning

The socio-economic development of a country is characterized by the well-being of its people and plans for their improved welfare through a reduction of the fertility level. In this regard, mention should be made of the reproductive health policy that was devised and adopted in 2001. In addition to Government actions to implement this policy, there are interventions by various protagonists (UNFPA, USAID, KFW, World Bank), in conjunction with AGBEF and ISP/OSFAM.

A number of surveys in the area of planning and reproductive health have been carried out, including:

•The CAP survey on procreation carried out in Conakry;

•The survey on prevalence of contraception in urban and rural areas in 1995 and 2005;

•The survey on traditional medicine in 1989;

•EDSG (2005);

•The CAP survey on family planning and child survival in 2004.

The following table shows the use of contraceptive methods:

Age group	Any method	A modern method	A traditional method
15-19	11 . 6	7 . 4	4 . 2
20 - 24	14 . 2	9 . 1	5 . 1
25 - 29	11 . 4	7 . 8	3 . 6
30-34	9 . 4	6 . 2	3 . 2
35 - 39	9 . 5	6 . 0	3 . 5
40 - 44	8 . 7	6 . 0	2 . 7
45 - 49	5 . 6	3 . 7	1 . 9
Overall	10 . 5	6 . 8	3 . 6

Sourc e: EDSG III (2005).

Table 1

Annual report 2006 for all AGBEF clinics

Contraceptive method	New clients	Old client	Total	Total number of visits	Quantity of contraceptives		CYP calculation
Formula	Result
Lo-Fememal	999	2 185	3 184	5 293	20 706	Quantity /13	1592 . 769231
Microgynon	733	1 051	1 784	2 008	4 541	Quantity /13	349 . 307692
Ovrette	226	172	398	657	2 601	Quantity /13	200 . 076923
Microlut	59	58	117	157	499	Quantity /13	38 . 384615
Nordette	36	17	53	56	273	Quantity /13	21 . 000000
Microval	16	19	35	45	152	Quantity /13	11 . 692308
Subtotal I (oral)	2 069	3 505	5 574	8 216	28 772	Quantity/13	2213.230769
D e po P rovera	1 432	2 077	3 509	4 332	5 541	Quantity /4	1385 . 25
Cyclofem	92	29	121	170	170	Quantity /4	42 . 5
Mesgest e rone	87	160	247	241	360	Quantity /4	90
Subtotal II (injectable)	1 611	2 266	3 877	4 743	6 071	Quantity/4	1517.75
IUD /T380A	508	737	1 245	1 254	992	Quantity x 0 . 25	248 . 00
Subtotal III (IUDs)	508	737	1 245	1 254	992	Quantity x 3.5	3472.000
Condoms	1 165	0	1 165	1 165	65 918	Quantity /120	549 . 3166667
Female c ondoms	34	0	34	34	92	Quantity /120	0 . 766666667
Pharmatex	180	0	180	0	84	Quantity /120	0 . 700
Néo-Spon	0	0	0	0	84	Quantity /120	0 . 700
Subtotal IV(non-prescription)	1 379	0	1 379	1 379	87 476	Quantity/120	728.9666667
Total: youth centres	1 979	856	2 835	3 978	4 511		184.427564
Total: clinics	7 546	7 361	14 907	19 570	91 987		913.3942307

Source: Annual report 2006 AGBEF.

3.Measures taken to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic

HIV is a public health problem since the scourge has a negative impact on the country’s economic and social development. A socio-economic impact study, conducted by the National Aids Committee and funded by UNDP in 2004, simulated the epidemic’s potential impact according to various prevention and treatment approaches on the basis of epidemiological, demographic and socio-economic models and three projections for the progress of the epidemic by 2015.

According to this study, the number of people living with HIV and AIDS will increase to 167,000 and 374,000, respectively; between 27 and 37 per cent of the population aged 15 to 49 — the most economically active age group — will die of AIDS; the number of children orphaned by AIDS will continue to rise to a total of 82,000 to 102,000; the number of public hospital beds will fall to between 39 and 67 per cent of current capacity; the impact of the decline in the workforce as a result of HIV/AIDS on the gross domestic product (GDP) will be on the order of 0.4 to 0.6 per cent; the number of people living below the poverty line could increase by 5.4 to 6.6 per cent as a result of HIV/AIDS; and the number of qualified workers in the health-care and education sectors will be reduced by 3 to 4 per cent.

These consequences will have a serious impact on the functioning of the social system and will hinder efforts to improve the living conditions of the population and, in particular, the status of women.

In 2002, Guinea established the Executive Secretariat of the National AIDS Committee (in existence since 1987) under the aegis of the Office of the Prime Minister. The Committee is represented at all levels, including that of the rural development communities.

Several initiatives have been taken:

A national HIV/AIDS strategic framework document for the period 2002-2006 has been prepared; a multi-sectoral HIV/AIDS project has been launched; sectoral HIV/AIDS committees have been established; screening has been promoted through the establishment of Voluntary, Anonymous Testing Council at several health centres in the Capital and in some prefectures; income-generating activities have been set up; women and girls with HIV/AIDS have been given medical and psychosocial care; the institutional capacities of providers have been strengthened; the First Lady has been genuinely involved in the effort to combat HIV/AIDS through awareness-raising; treatment has been provided to infected and affected persons; and efforts have been made to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in the nation’s army garrisons and mining regions.

The First Lady has been involved in the founding of African Synergy against AIDS and Suffering and OPDAS; a plan of action to combat the feminization of HIV/AIDS is in place; REGAP+ has been effectively involved in the effort to combat AIDS; social communication guides have been developed with a view to behaviour modification; an AIDS orphans care guide has been prepared; and there are 17 voluntary, anonymous testing centres.

Table 4

Incidence of HIV: age-disaggregated percentages of seropositive women and men aged 15 to 49

	Women age 15-49		Men age 15-49		Total
Age group	Percentage	Positive number	Percentage	Positive number	Percentage	Positive
15-19	1.0	800	0.5	1 465	0.8	664
20-24	1.4	559	0.7	1 020	1.1	460
25-29	2.0	609	1.1	894	1.7	285
30-34	2.8	528	0.6	833	2.0	305
35-39	1.9	559	0.6	904	1.5	346
40-44	1.4	336	3.1	653	2.1	287
45-49	3.3	351	0.6	619	2.1	268
50-54	n/a	n/a	1.6	n/a	n/a	258
55-59	n/a	n/a	2.5	n/a	n/a	191
Total age 15-49	1.9	3 772	0.9	6 387	1.5	2 616
Total age 15-49	n/a	n/a	1.1	n/a	n/a	3 064

n/a = not applicable

Source: Demographic and Health Survey/Guinea (EDSG) III

The treatment available to HIV-positive women is first and second generation tri-drug therapy, depending on the virus type. These treatments are not State-subsidized; however, free treatment is provided by some international NGOs (including Doctors without Borders and the Community of Sant’Egidio Drug Enhancement against Aids in Mozambique (Dream) project) and some national NGOs (ASFEGMASSI/SWAA).

4.Achievements, difficulties and prospects for the future

1.Achievements

State-sponsored activities:

•Preparation of the National Strategic Plan to Combat Female Genital Mutilation (2001-2010) by CPTAFE;

•Preparation of a 10-year coordinated plan of action to eliminate female genital mutilation (2003-2013) by MACFE;

•The Nutritional Health Programme;

•The National Safe Motherhood Programme and the introduction of community-based cooperatives for dealing with pregnancy and childbirth risks (MURIGA);

•A Ministry of Health Reproductive Health Division Programme;

•Promotion of family planning;

•An EIP/PHC/ED;

•Psychosocial coverage for people living with HIV/AIDS;

•Treatment for mothers and children at pilot sites; and

•A cervical and breast cancer screening programme, using visual methods, in urban and rural areas.

Difficulties

•Inadequate health coverage;

•Under-use of health services by women;

•Poor distribution of staff;

•Inadequacy of infrastructures and equipment;

•Problems with the State system for the provision of supplies;

•Failure to distribute and manage pharmaceutical products;

•A low community participation rate and the persistence of social and cultural factors (such as early marriage and pregnancy, female genital mutilation and nutritional taboos); and

•The poverty of the population.

Prospects for the future

•Improved health-care capacities;

•Strengthened implementation of Guinea’s 10-year Strategic Plan, which coordinates with the world plan to combat female genital mutilation, adopted at the international zero tolerance conference held in Addis Ababa in February 2000;

•Coverage of all prefectures through the establishment of MURIGAs;

•Development of a Fistula Support Programme in cooperation with EngenderHealth;

•Development of a Fistula Support Programme;

•Establishment of a strategy document to combat the feminization of AIDS; and

•Establishment of an organized cervical and breast cancer prevention programme.

III.Stereotypes and education

Prevalence of excision

According to the Demographic and Health Survey/Guinea (EDSG) III, excision is a widespread practice in Guinea which virtually all women (96 per cent) have undergone. One in three women is excised in early childhood, irrespective of her place of residence, region or level of education. Only 10 per cent of women have been excised by a trained health-care worker (doctor, nurse or midwife).

Most women (69 per cent) view excision as a practice that should continue, while approximately one woman in five (19 per cent) thinks that it should be abandoned. The primary reasons provided to surveyors as justification for continuing this practice are social recognition (64 per cent) and religious obligation (32 per cent).

Table 1 Knowledge and practice of excision

Percentage of women and men who are aware of excision, percentage of women who are excised and distribution (percentage) of women excised, disaggregated by type of excision and sociodemographic characteristics, EDSG II — Guinea 2005

Sociodemographic characteristic s	Percentage of men who are aware of excision	Number of men	Percentage of women who are aware of excision	Percentage of women who are excised	Number of women		Type of excision	Total	Total number of women excised
Some flesh removed	Cutting, no flesh removed	Closing of the vagina	No answer/ Does not know
Age group
15-19	99.6	664	99.9	89.3	1 648	86.1	2.3	8.2	3.4	100.0	1 471
20-24	99.7	482	99.9	94.6	1 152	84.1	1.7	10.6	3.5	100.0	1 089
25-29	100.0	311	100.0	96.6	1 259	85.8	1.4	9.3	3.5	100.0	1 215
30-34	100.0	307	99.9	97.4	1 119	85.9	2.1	9.7	2.3	100.0	1 090
35-39	100.0	362	99.8	98.6	1 170	88.7	1.3	8.5	1.6	100.0	1 154
40-44	100.0	301	100.0	98.1	821	88.4	1.6	8.7	1.3	100.0	806
45-49	100.0	281	99.9	99.5	785	86.8	0.8	11.0	1.5	100.0	781
50-59	100.0	465	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

n/a = not applicable

Table 2 Age of women surveyed at time of excision

Disaggregated (by percentage) according to age and sociodemographic characteristics, EDSG III Guinea — 2005

Sociodemographic characteristic s	Age at time of excision	Total	Total number of women excised
In early childhood	0-1	2-4	5-9	10-14	15+	No answer/ Does not know
Age group
15-19	29.1	0.2	2.4	37.7	25.7	2.3	2.7	100.0	1 471
20-24	32.9	0.3	2.3	33.9	25.0	2.4	3.2	100.0	1 089
25-29	33.8	0.0	1.9	32.6	25.5	2.8	3.4	100.0	1 215
30-34	35.6	0.1	1.7	29.8	25.6	4.1	3.1	100.0	1 090
35-39	35.1	0.0	1.7	28.4	28.9	2.6	3.3	100.0	1 154
40-44	35.5	0.1	0.9	30.8	25.3	4.7	2.6	100.0	806
45-49	36.9	0.2	1.7	22.7	30.3	4.1	4.2	100.0	781

Education (article 10)

1.Achievements

A political commitment to reducing gender disparities by implementing policies, programmes and projects in support of education for girls has been made. At the national level, Ministry of Education and Scientific Research equity committees have been established at the regional and prefectural levels and CONEBAT, which provides support for girls who have dropped out of or never attended school, has been created.

Functional literacy modules have been included in the curriculum of the women’s self-help centres (CAAF) and, in 2003, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair of Women, Gender, Society and Development was created at the University of Conakry.

The statistics illustrate the low levels of education for girls and women:

•Primary school enrolment rates for the 2004/05 school year (63 per cent for girls and 67 per cent for boys);

•Primary school attendance rates (73 per cent for girls, 83 per cent for boys and 82 per cent overall);

•Retention and success rates for girls, as measured by success in the national examinations:

•Seventh grade entrance examination: 37.5 per cent for girls, 61.2 per cent for boys and 50 per cent overall;

•BEP: 18 per cent for girls, 35.6 per cent for boys and 25.6 per cent overall;

•BAC 1: 43.65 per cent for girls, 57.9 per cent for boys and 54.08 per cent overall;

•BAC 2: 57.87 per cent for girls, 64.08 per cent for boys and 62.81 per cent overall.

•A significant decrease in the repeat and dropout rates; and

•Percentage of girls enrolled in higher education: 11.04 per cent in 1998 and 24.23 per cent in 2006.

2.Difficulties

These success rates are even lower in rural areas:

•A high primary school repeat rate for girls (10.5 per cent, compared with 9 per cent for boys); and

•High dropout rates.

With respect to continuing enrolment, the percentage of students who reach the fifth year of primary school is 74.9 per cent for girls and 76 per cent overall. In secondary school, the repeat rate is 14.49 per cent for girls, 10.59 per cent for boys and 11.79 per cent overall. The percentage of girls in the schools is lower at each grade level, particularly in the scientific and technical programmes. Despite these results, there are still major barriers to girls’ retention and success in examinations, including discriminatory stereotypes associated with customs and traditions; poor institutional capacities of the structures and teachers involved in the education of girls and women; insufficient synergy and coordination of actions; insufficient infrastructures, teachers and teaching materials; failure to mobilize adequate resources; the high cost of education; poor, illiterate parents; and a shortage of nearby secondary schools.

3.Prospects for the future

•Strengthen institutional and operational capacities at the national, intermediate and local levels;

•Strengthen the cooperation framework and set up national, regional and prefectural networks;

•Provide continued pedagogical support to girls who have trouble with certain subjects (tutoring for girls);

•Make regional coordination of girls’ education more effective;

•Continue positive action in favour of girls;

•Build on successful experiences with school and university retention and success with a view to their expansion;

•Mobilize partners’ support for community efforts by building and equipping high-quality school infrastructures at all levels;

•Mobilize additional resources for implementation of the national plan to fast-track girls’ education;

•Strengthen literacy programmes; and

•Ensure monitoring and evaluation of activities.

Gender roles and stereotypes (article 5)

1.Achievements

•In the Republic of Guinea, women have the same legal rights as men. The laws and regulations currently in force (the Constitution, the Civil Code, the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Land (Private and State-owned) Code and the Economic Activity Code) are a considerable achievement in women’s rise to dignity and social equality;

•Elimination of discriminatory stereotypes from textbooks;

•A specific girls’ education policy;

•Establishment of 22 CONAG/DCF observatories in the schools to combat stereotypes and violence there;

•Awareness-raising campaigns to promote school attendance and keep girls in school; and

•A 2006 document containing a situational analysis of the family in Guinea.

2.Difficulties

Persistent sociocultural constraints; high rate of illiteracy; low educational level of women; poverty.

3.Prospects for the future

Continuing implementation of programmes to promote women’s literacy, girls’ enrolment and retention in school and successful completion of studies.

C.Economic questions

Employment, rural women, access to property and poverty (articles 11, 13 and 14)

Access to employment

1.Achievements

In accordance with article 18 of the Basic Law, “all citizens have the right to employment. The State establishes the necessary conditions for the exercise of this right. No one can be denied this right on the grounds of gender, race, ethnicity or opinion”.

Article 11, paragraph 2, of the Civil Service (General Regulations) Act No. 028 stipulates that “discrimination among civil servants on the grounds of their political, philosophical or religious views, union membership, gender or ethnicity is prohibited”.

Thus, neither Act No. 028 nor the Labour Code discriminates against women in access to employment.

•Improved access of women to paid employment through:

–diversification of the jobs held by women;

–promotion of growth sectors initially reserved for men;

•Improved legal and institutional framework through the establishment of public and private agencies to promote employment and human resources.

2.Difficulties

Sociocultural factors in all their forms, lack of applied management training and professional qualifications, devaluing of women’s work, lower levels of skills among women leading to a high unemployment rate for women following staffing cuts in the civil service.

3.Prospects for the future

Establishment of a database on the situation of women and employment, upgrading of women’s professional capabilities.

Socio-economic rights (article 13)

1.Achievements

Employed women are entitled to bank loans, mortgages and all forms of financial credit on the same basis as men. Women in the informal sector can receive loans from microfinance institutions. There is no discrimination between men and women. Women have the right to participate in recreational and sports activities and all aspects of cultural life (for example, Gymcana was organized by a woman).

2.Difficulties

Women in Guinea do not receive family benefits. Businesses run by women receive little financing from the banking sector. Women find it difficult to produce the collateral required to obtain loans; they have little knowledge of the procedures and conditions for receiving bank loans; businesses run by women lack structure and are small in size; the eligibility and repayment conditions are restrictive.

3.Prospects for the future

Proposals have been presented to the Government on the payment of family benefits to employed women whose spouses are not in the civil service, on a future expansion of the network of savings and loan funds to the country’s interior and on making the national women’s football championship an official event.

Rural women (article 14)

Women in rural areas are given special attention, since most Guinean women live in such areas. They are involved in agricultural production, livestock raising, harvesting and the processing and marketing of products. Their agricultural production is usually intended for family consumption and sale in local markets.

The following measures have been taken to support women in the informal sector in rural areas: establishment of a rural women’s organization by natural region that offers technical support, equipment, agricultural inputs and fertilizers to promote increased crop yields; encouragement of local microfinance institutions (YETE MALI, Crédit Rural, CAFODEG, CENAFOD, PRIDE/Finance, Agence autonome d’assistance intègre aux entreprises); promotion of women’s participation in national, regional and international agricultural fairs; providing training to women in processing of local products for better preservation; establishment of a component for the organization and strengthening of local communities in gender and income-generating activities under the IFAD project; encouragement or establishment of women’s unions and federations, a national women’s training college, rural women’s professional organizations and a confederation of Guinean professional organizations; promotion of West African Network of Peasant Organizations and Agricultural Producers (ROPPA).

In addition, the National Rural Development and Agricultural Extension Service, through effective use of the SAGA methodology, reported participation by 52 per cent of women in extension activities in 2003.

1.Achievements

Establishment of appropriate credit institutions; support and training for women’s groups in managing their activities; establishment of the National Rural Development and Agricultural Extension Service and FONAEF; establishment of the Triennial National Literacy Programme for 300,000 women at the grass-roots level; implementation of the Project to Support Women’s Economic Activities with assistance from the Government and the African Development Bank (ADB); construction and renovation of five Women’s self-reliance support centres; implementation of the Gender and Agricultural Development Framework Programme; establishment of a gender unit in the Ministry of Agriculture with a sectoral strategy to professionalize women farmers.

2.Difficulties

The barriers women encounter include: difficulty of access to land and agricultural inputs; their heavy schedule; difficulty in gaining access to financial resources and in meeting conditions for receiving credit; high interest rates; the subsistence nature of their production; lack of information; lack of agricultural equipment and packaging material; inappropriate technology; persistence of custom or force of habit; limited access to new information, enhanced technology, extension services and training; difficulty in marketing local products; difficulty in gaining access to markets; limited amounts of arable land available to women.

3.Prospects for the future

Conducting awareness campaigns on the Land (Private and State-owned) Code, which does not discriminate against women; advocacy with microfinance institutions to improve conditions for women’s access to credit; development of rural roads; establishment of units for the processing, conservation and packaging of local products; marketing; facilitating women’s access to microcredit; provision of financing for income-generating activities.

D.Questions relating to the institutional machinery

1.Institutional framework for the status of the Convention

2.Governmental machinery

MASPFE; National Office for the Status of Women, which includes a Promotion and Protection of Women’s Rights Division.

The machinery to monitor the implementation of the Convention consists of a national committee and seven regional committees whose mandate is to: monitor the implementation of the Convention at the national and regional levels; develop national and regional plans of action for the implementation of the Convention; translate laws into national languages; identify cases of violence against women; intervene to resolve problems relating to violations of women’s rights; draft quarterly reports; conduct activities to provide information and raise awareness of legal texts concerning women, in particular the Convention.

Unfortunately, these committees have not functioned because of lack of support. Their impact on the protection and promotion of women’s rights is demonstrated by the fact that women’s rights issues are no longer concealed by local judicial, administrative, political and religious authorities. There are gender focal points in technical departments, the National Assembly and NGOs. The national policy has been revised and aligned with the Millennium Development Goals, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and other emerging issues. Organizations for the protection of human rights play a major role in this area.

3.Ongoing programmes and projects

Gender and Development Framework Programme; Women’s Economic Activities Support Project; Triennial Women’s Literacy Programme; Sectoral Programme to Combat HIV/AIDS; “Integration capacity of the population dimension in activities for the advancement of women” component; Communication for Development Programme; Protection of Women and Children Programme.

4.Completed project

Integration of Women into Community Action Project of the Guinea Local Development Programme.

The implementation of these programmes and projects included the active involvement of national and international NGOs and development partners.

5.Non-governmental machinery

(a)National non-governmental organizations

CONAG/DCF, REGESS for the advancement of women (2004), the Women Producers’ Agricultural College (2005), Union of Women Smoked Fish Producers and Exporters of Guinea (2005), CPTAFE, AGBEF, ASFEGMASSI, Maman Henriette Conte Foundation, Aid, Rights and Justice, REFAMP/G, etc.

(b)International non-governmental organizations and the like

CECI and the Canadian Gender and Equity Cooperation Support Office, IFES, Tostan, Africare, etc.

(c)Sex-disaggregated data

There are inadequacies in the collection and processing of sex-disaggregated data, and this situation is a major handicap in the evaluation of compliance with the Convention and the follow-up to gender issues. Because of the limited amount of research on gender-specific issues, evaluations are essentially based on documentation analysis or sporadic sectoral reports as needed, such as those currently being prepared for the social and agricultural sectors. This gives greater importance to a qualitative analysis of the status of equity and equality.

Thus, in the development of statistics, the presentation of reports according to gender disparities has not been continued at all levels. In order to have significant data regarding gender and equity, a tradition of inquiry and research must be established based on: clear identification of the bodies responsible for the collection, processing and dissemination of gender-specific data, ensuring that the qualified personnel required to successfully conduct data collection and processing activities are available and providing the equipment necessary to facilitate data collection and processing operations.

(d)Outlook

The major prospects and priorities of the institutional machinery include: operationalization of the decentralized services responsible for monitoring the Convention; ongoing training for officials, agents and other field partners at all levels, as well as review of their methods of work; strengthening of the partnership between the various actors involved in monitoring the Convention and gender issues; advocacy for a system of financial mobilization in establishing a mechanism to consolidate achievements in the area of gender and equity; establishment of a gender database; advocacy for the establishment of gender/equity units in ministerial departments; dissemination of a tool known as the “gender inequality evaluation index” in Africa.

Conclusion

The drafting and submission of the combined fourth, fifth and sixth periodic report on the Convention by the Republic of Guinea is a clear expression of the political will of the State to translate the commitments made at the international level into action. While significant progress has been made in several areas, in particular the education and health sectors, the overall conclusion is that constraints still limit the full realization of women’s rights.

Therefore, efforts should be continued and sustained, particularly in the political sphere, where women remain underrepresented in decision-making bodies.

In submitting the present report to the Committee, the Republic of Guinea wishes to reiterate its thanks and gratitude to this body for the role it continues to play on behalf of human dignity and gender equality, a guarantee of harmonious development. It also has the honour to state that it is prepared to answer any questions on the content of the present report.