List of issues and questions in relation to the sixth periodic report of the Central African Republic *

General context

1.The Committee is concerned about the situation of women and girls in the State party given the continuing conflict. In the light of the severe economic, social and political dislocation during the conflict and the resulting economic challenges, please explain how the State party has sought to preserve women’s human rights in relation to the articles of the Convention. How has it sought to ensure that women and girls, including those from disadvantaged and marginalized groups, have access to basic services, such as housing, food, health care, adequate water, sanitation and electricity?

2.Recalling the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CEDAW/C/CAF/CO/1-5, para. 12), please provide an update on the State party’s efforts to seek increased financial and other support from the international community, including for programmes supporting the advancement of women and gender equality. Please also update the Committee on the State party’s efforts to implement economic reform and how it is ensuring that women participate in, and benefit from, this reform.

Women and peace and security

3.Recalling the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CEDAW/C/CAF/CO/1-5, para. 20), please describe in further detail how women’s rights and combating impunity in cases of sexual violence have been integrated into the mandates of the local truth and reconciliation committees.

Internally displaced and refugee women

4.Recalling the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CEDAW/C/CAF/CO/1-5, para. 18), please provide updated and detailed information on:

(a)The current situation of internally displaced and refugee women, in particular the number of internally displaced and refugee women who have benefited from the repatriation programme for displaced persons and refugees (CEDAW/C/CAF/6, para. 173);

(b)The impact of checkpoints on the security of the returned populations (para. 174);

(c)Measures specifically to provide internally displaced women with security and access to basic services and food;

(d)Accountability services for displaced and refugee women who are victims of sexual and other forms of violence.

Visibility of the Convention, the Optional Protocol thereto and the Committee’s general recommendations

5.Please provide information on the efforts made to give visibility to the Convention, the Optional Protocol thereto and the Committee’s general recommendations, so that they become an integral part of the training of judges, lawyers, prosecutors, police officers and other law enforcement officials. Please indicate whether the Convention has been invoked in court proceedings. Please also outline measures taken to disseminate the Committee’s previous concluding observations and information on the individual communications and inquiry procedures under the Optional Protocol to the Convention.

Women’s rights and gender equality in relation to the pandemic and recovery efforts

6.In line with the Committee’s guidance note on the obligations of States parties to the Convention in the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, issued on 22 April 2020, please indicate the measures implemented by the State party to redress long-standing inequalities between women and men and to give a new impetus to the implementation of gender equality by placing women at the centre of the recovery as a strategic priority for sustainable change, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, to meet the needs and uphold the rights of women and girls, including those belonging to disadvantaged and marginalized groups and women in situations of conflict or other humanitarian emergencies. Please indicate the measures in place to ensure that all COVID-19 crisis response and recovery efforts, including the recovery and resilience plan:

(a)Address and are aimed at effectively preventing gender-based violence against women and girls;

(b)Guarantee the equal participation of women and girls in political and public life, decision-making, economic empowerment and service delivery, in particular in the design and implementation of recovery programmes;

(c)Are designed so that women and girls benefit equally from stimulus packages, including financial support for unpaid care roles, that are aimed at mitigating the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic.

Legislative framework

7.Please explain what measures have been taken to repeal or amend discriminatory provisions in the legislation of the State party.

Parliament

8.In the light of paragraph 96 of the State party report, please provide an update on the current status of the Senate and whether it is operational. Please also provide further details on the work of the forum of women parliamentarians and how it supports efforts to promote equality and equity through the regulatory framework (para. 98).

Access to justice

9.Recalling the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CEDAW/C/CAF/CO/1-5, paras. 16 and 22), please provide additional and updated information on:

(a)The role of the joint rapid response unit in combating impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence against women and girls during the conflict (para. 161);

(b)Efforts to rebuild and expand the court and prison infrastructure, in particular women’s prisons, in line with restorative justice approaches; ensure the security of courts and places of detention, and that of persons working in those institutions; provide sufficient means to the special investigation units; and cooperate with the international commission of inquiry, including details on whether the special criminal court created through Act No. 15.003 of 3 March 2015 mandated to prosecute and convict the main perpetrators of crimes and violence against girls and women is now operational and has sufficient financial and human resources to carry out its work effectively (para. 163);

(c)The screening process to identify perpetrators of abuses against women during conflicts and to exclude them from national security and defence forces, including updated data on the number of persons who have been excluded as a result of this screening (para. 165);

(d)Steps taken to integrate a gender dimension into the training curricula for magistrates and other officials and staff of the judiciary.

National machinery for the advancement of women

10.Please indicate what measures have been put in place to facilitate the work of the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, the Family and Child Protection (paras. 186–189). In particular, please provide information on efforts to secure sufficient and relevant human and financial resources for the Ministry to effectively carry out its work. Please advise on opportunities for staff training or certification in women’s or gender studies. Recalling the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CEDAW/C/CAF/CO/1-5, para. 24), please indicate what measures the State party has put in place to ensure the effective implementation of the national policy for the promotion of equality and equity and its action plan. Please provide information on measures taken to support the work of women’s organizations and ensure that they are consulted on the State party’s gender equality policies.

Temporary special measures

11.Please provide comprehensive information on temporary special measures, in line with article 4 (1) of the Convention and general recommendation No. 25 (2004) on temporary special measures, in all areas where women are underrepresented or disadvantaged, including political and public life, education and health care. In particular, in the light of reports received by the Committee of persistently low representation of women in politics, please explain what steps are being taken to effectively implement Act No. 004 of 24 November 2016. Please indicate whether a mechanism exists to monitor the implementation of quotas under this Act and whether there are sanctions for non-compliance.

Stereotypes and harmful practices

12.Recalling the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CEDAW/C/CAF/CO/1-5, para. 26), and in line with joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee/general comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (2019) on harmful practices, please provide detailed information on steps taken to:

(a)Analyse and address gender-based stereotypes as a root cause of gender-based violence against women, including lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women, and put in place measures to combat stereotypes in the education, health and justice sectors and in the media;

(b)Address harmful practices in the State party, including by:

(i)Ensuring effective implementation of legislation prohibiting female genital mutilation, widowhood rites, levirate and sororate, and raising awareness about the existence of such legislation;

(ii)Ensuring that victims of harmful practices can bring complaints before the judicial authorities without fear of reprisals or stigmatization;

(iii)Repealing discriminatory provisions in the Penal Code that criminalize witchcraft; preventing violence against women perceived as witches; and prosecuting perpetrators of such violence (paras. 197–200).

Gender-based violence against women

13.In line with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 35 (2017) on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19, please provide updated and detailed information on:

(a)The national action plan to combat gender-based violence (para. 124) and the national strategy to fight gender-based violence against women, child marriage and female genital mutilation in the Central African Republic (2019–2023);

(b)Legislative measures in place to ensure the prosecution of acts of domestic violence and sexual harassment against women and girls, in particular, recalling the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CEDAW/C/CAF/CO/1-5, para. 28 (d)), any steps that the State party is taking to criminalize marital rape;

(c)Steps being taken to provide access to shelter for women and girls who are victims of gender-based violence;

(d)Concrete measures put in place to ensure that women and girls who are victims of sexual violence receive adequate compensation;

(e)The adoption of the law protecting women from harassment in workplaces, schools and universities.

Trafficking and exploitation of prostitution

14.Please update the Committee on the following:

(a)Measures put in place to document the prevalence and root causes of trafficking in women and girls and prostitution;

(b)The current status of the strategy to combat child prostitution being developed by the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, the Family and Child Protection (para. 126). In particular, please provide more detailed information on any gender-specific actions envisaged in the strategy;

(c)Support and reintegration services provided to women and girls who are identified as victims of trafficking, in line with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 38 (2020) on trafficking in women and girls in the context of global migration;

(d)Cooperation with other States parties in the region to prevent and combat trafficking in women and girls and their exploitation in prostitution.

Participation in political and public life

15.Please update the Committee on the status of implementation of the Parity Act of 2016. Please provide information on targeted measures, including any temporary special measures, to apply the 35 per cent quota set out in the Parity Act to all sectors of national life (para. 204) and to reverse the underrepresentation of women in non‑elective posts in the security, governance and economic and social development sectors (para. 206).

Nationality

16.Recalling the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CEDAW/C/CAF/CO/1-5, para. 34), please explain what measures are in place to ensure the registration of Central African refugee children born in foreign countries. Please also indicate what steps are being taken to amend the Nationality Code of 1961 to ensure that Central African women can transfer their nationality to their foreign husband on an equal basis with Central African men married to a foreign wife.

Education

17.Please explain in further detail how a gender perspective is being integrated into teaching materials. Please provide further details on the temporary childcare facilities established under the transition plan for 2017–2018 and indicate whether these facilities still exist. Please describe measures in place to restore and facilitate more permanent access to education, including for internally displaced girls and girls with disabilities, in all regions in the face of continuing conflict. Please provide information on measures to protect girls from gender-based violence on their way to and from school, as well as in school.

Employment

18.Given that no distinction is made between men and women in terms of conditions of access to work and salaries in the legislation governing the fields of work and employment in the State party, please explain in further detail how gender equality is ensured in practice in the implementation of economic recovery and employment strategies (para. 225). Please describe the strategies that are in place to ensure women’s access to formal labour and to support women in the informal sector. Please provide statistics on work in the informal sector and precarious work carried out by women, and indicate what efforts are being made to ensure that women have equal opportunity for employment and remuneration in all areas.

Health

19.Following the coordination meetings with partners referred to in the State party’s report (para. 238), please provide an update on efforts to secure financial resources for restoring and equipping health facilities and ensure a comprehensive approach to their development and implementation that integrates a gender perspective. Please indicate what steps are being taken to increase budgetary allocations to the health sector and whether the Government is putting in place any strategies to reduce the dependence of the sector on external assistance. Please describe the measures taken to ensure that women who are victims of rape, including rape perpetrated during the conflict, have access to emergency contraception, safe abortion services, and psychosocial and mental health services. Please provide information on measures taken to reduce maternal mortality and early pregnancy.

Economic empowerment and social benefits

20.Please provide information on measures to ensure that a gender equality dimension is integrated into the following:

(a)Actions to address issues such as poor governance in the implementation and management of projects, and misappropriation of public funds and corruption that affect the availability of funds for gender equality programmes (para. 254);

(b)The preliminary draft of the national social protection policy (para. 55) and efforts to extend the policy to self-employed women;

(c)Economic recovery and national reconciliation efforts;

(d)National macroeconomic policies.

Rural women

21.In line with the Sustainable Development Goals, and in accordance with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 34 (2016) on the rights of rural women, please provide information on the following:

(a)Measures to increase access to land ownership for rural women;

(b)Mechanisms to mainstream gender equality in the protection and management of natural and other assets, and to consult rural women’s organizations in this regard;

(c)Measures to implement legal, financial, media and information technology literacy programmes for rural women.

Women with disabilities

22.Please provide updated information on the access of women and girls with disabilities to education, employment, justice, protection against gender-based violence, and health services, including sexual and reproductive health services.

Marriage and family relations

23.Recalling the Committee’s previous concluding observations (CEDAW/C/CAF/CO/1-5, para. 46), and in line with its general recommendation No. 21 (1994) on equality in marriage and family relations and general recommendation No. 29 (2013) on the economic consequences of marriage, family relations and their dissolution, please update the Committee on the following:

(a)The revision of the Family Code implemented by the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, the Family and Child Protection (para. 250), and in particular whether provisions allowing polygamy and provisions indicating that the man is the head of the family will be revised or removed;

(b)Efforts to amend legislation to ensure that child marriage (under 18 years) is prohibited without exception;

(c)Intended next steps following the listing of national instruments and provisions that discriminate against women in marriage and family relations (para.250);

(d)Measures to ensure that children born outside of legal marriage are entitled to the same rights and benefits as other children, including rights of inheritance and nationality.