Fifty-fifth session

8-26 July 2013

List of issues and questions with regard to the consideration of periodic reports

Cape Verde

The pre-session working group examined the combined seventh and eighth periodic report of Cape Verde (CEDAW/C/CPV/7-8).

Constitutional, legislative and institutional framework

1.The report indicates that at the time of its preparation, the State party was in the process of reviewing its constitution with a view to deepening the principles of gender equality (para. 89). Please provide updated information on the constitutional review process.

2.The report indicates that in 2007 the Council of Ministers approved the National Plan to Combat Gender-based Violence for 2007-2011. Please provide information on the assessment of the implementation of this National Plan, including on how all forms of violence were covered. Please also provide information on whether it has been extended beyond 2011.

3.The report indicates that at the time of its preparation, the State party was in the process of implementing the first phase of the project known as Project + Gender, which aims to introduce gender-sensitive planning and budgeting (para. 130). Please provide updated information on the implementation of the project.

4.It is indicated in paragraph 93 of the report that the National Plan for Gender Equality for 2005-2011 has been implemented. Please provide information on the outcomes and challenges faced during the implementation and whether this Plan has been extended beyond 2011.

National human rights institutions

5.Please inform the Committee as to whether the State party envisages establishing a national human rights institution endowed with the mandate to promote and protect all human rights, in line with the Paris Principles. Please also provide information on plans to strengthen the mandate and functional capacity of the National Commission for Human Rights and Citizenship.

Violence against women

6.The report indicates that the project on forensic psychology, aimed at strengthening the capacity of magistrates when dealing with cases of gender-based violence, has been implemented (para. 155). The report further states that 50 magistrates have been trained in the area of forensic psychology and 26 forensic psychologists accredited to work directly with the courts. Please provide information on the number of prosecutions, convictions and sentences in cases of gender-based violence that have been dealt with since the implementation of this project and on the forms of violence detected.

Trafficking and exploitation of prostitution

7.The report makes reference to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime regional project to update national legislation in light of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (paras. 174 and 175). Please provide information on the outcome of this project and the challenges faced during its implementation. Please also inform the Committee as to whether legislation on the illegal trafficking of human beings, including migrants, with a gender perspective, has been drafted and whether relevant capacity-building for officials has been carried out, as envisaged by the project.

Participation in political and public life

8.The report indicates the representation of women as 15.2 per cent in the Parliament, 22.2 per cent in municipal authorities, 21.7 per cent in the governing bodies of political parties and 20.8 per cent in employers’ organizations (paras. 46 and 47). The report further acknowledges that the representation of women at the highest level of the State party’s diplomatic corps is still low (para. 190). Please provide information on measures taken, including temporary special measures, to increase women’s participation in all areas of political and public life, including their participation in diplomatic and international affairs.

Education

9.According to the report, although the literacy rate of women in the country has improved, it remains very low among rural women at 64.1 per cent (para. 33). Please provide information on measures taken, including temporary special measures, to address this issue.

10.The report acknowledges that gender stereotypes in education, including in vocational education, persist, as girls usually undertake studies related to accounting, business administration, business management and graphic arts while boys are more likely to study electrical installations, civil construction and mechanics (para. 215). Please provide information on measures taken to implement the Committee’s recommendation to encourage the diversification of the educational choices of boys and girls in order to attract more women into the field of science and technology, including through the adoption of temporary special measures.

11.The report states that the 2001 guidelines for better management of the issue of pregnancy in schools have been revoked, that from the beginning of the academic year 2010/11 new regulations were to be applied and that these reconcile pregnancy and motherhood with studies (para. 223). Please provide detailed information on these new regulations and the impact of their application on the education of pregnant girls.

Employment

12.Although section 16 of the new Labour Code provides that all workers have the right to fair remuneration according to the nature, quantity and quality of work, the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value is not provided for in this new code. Please provide information on whether the State party envisages amending its Labour Code with a view to incorporating the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value.

Health

13.The report indicates that women continue to be more exposed than men to sexually transmitted infections, owing to deep-rooted stereotypes that result in their inability to negotiate safe sex (para. 265). Please provide information on measures in place to raise awareness among women and men in the area of reproductive health rights, particularly with regard to the use of and access to contraceptives.

14.The report acknowledges relatively high incidence rates of tuberculosis (around 60 per 100,000 inhabitants) and that this is mainly attributable to the HIV/AIDS epidemic (para. 38). Please provide information on measures taken to combat tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

Rural women

15.The report states that according to the agricultural census of 2004, “women are strongly present as unpaid family workforce, particularly in dry land properties, while [the] permanent paid workforce in irrigated farms is predominantly male” (para. 298). The report also indicates that the coverage of health services in the rural areas is lower than in the urban areas (para. 259). Please provide information on measures taken to improve the situation of rural women in all areas, particularly regarding their equal access to paid jobs and to the enhancement of their economic independence and access to health facilities.

Marriage and family relations

16.In its previous concluding observations, the Committee requested the State party to take measures aimed at eliminating polygamy (para. 34). The report is silent on this issue. Please provide information on measures taken to address polygamy in the State party.

17.The report indicates that at the time of its preparation, the State party was in the process of drafting a national plan for the family and was carrying out research on the status of Cape Verdean families with a view to formulating objectives and measures for implementation (para. 334). Please provide information on the current status of this national plan, its content and the status of implementation.

Amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention

18.Please indicate any progress made towards acceptance of the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention, relating to the Committee’s meeting time.