List of issues and questions in relation to the seventh periodic report of Armenia *

Definition of equality and non-discrimination

1.In the light of the Committee’s previous recommendations (CEDAW/C/ARM/CO/5-6, para. 9) to expedite the adoption of a stand-alone law on non-discrimination, in line with articles 1 and 2 (b) of the Convention, which includes a comprehensive definition of discrimination against women, in line with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 28 (2010) on the core obligations of States parties under article 2 of the Convention, please clarify the current status of the draft law on ensuring legal equality referred to in the seventh periodic report of the State party (CEDAW/C/ARM/7, paras. 15–18) and the time frame for its adoption. In its report, the State party indicated that article 29 of the Constitution prohibited discrimination and that direct and indirect discrimination was defined in the draft law, which had been prepared by the Ministry of Justice.

2.In its previous concluding observations, the Committee recommended that the State party include in its next periodic report disaggregated statistical data concerning the situation of women in the State party. In its report, the State party concluded that it was impossible to provide statistical data, because the above-mentioned law on discrimination was not yet in force and applied. It also noted that, due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Statistical Service had halted the collection of information on discrimination (paras. 15–18). Please indicate when data collection will resume.

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

3.In line with the Committee’s guidance note on the obligations of States parties to the Convention in the context of the 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, and to ensure that, in the context of lockdown measures, whether partial or total, and in post-crisis recovery plans, women and girls are not relegated to stereotypical gender roles. Please indicate 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; and (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. Please explain how the State party is ensuring that measures taken to contain the pandemic, such as restrictions on freedom of movement or physical distancing, do not limit access for women and girls, including those belonging to disadvantaged and marginalized groups, to justice, shelters, education, employment and health care, including sexual and reproductive health-care services.

Access to justice and legal complaint mechanisms

4.In its report, the State party indicated that the draft law on ensuring legal equality provided for recourse to the Human Rights Defender through the newly established Legal Equality Council in cases of discrimination, as well as to judicial protection for the restoration of violated rights and freedoms through administrative and civil procedures (para. 21). Please provide detailed information on the mandate of, and the human and financial resources allocated to, the Legal Equality Council. Please provide information on the available judicial remedies to report violations of women’s rights, the number of complaints that have been received and addressed and whether women complainants without sufficient means have access to free legal aid. Please also provide information on measures taken to ensure that disadvantaged women, such as women with disabilities, have access to courts and free legal aid.

National human rights institution

5.In March 2019, the Subcommittee on Accreditation of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions encouraged the office of the Human Rights Defender to strengthen the implementation of its anti-discrimination mandate, in particular regarding lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons’ rights and women’s rights, and advocated for legislative amendments for the formalization and application of a clear, transparent and participatory selection and appointment process. It also recommended that the office of the Human Rights Defender continue to advocate for the funding necessary to ensure that it could effectively carry out its mandate. Please indicate the steps taken by the State party to implement those recommendations and how it ensures that the office of the Human Rights Defender is able to effectively and independently discharge its mandate in full compliance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles).

National machinery for the advancement of women

6.In its report, the State party indicated that the strategy for gender policy implementation, 2019–2023, and the related action plan defined the gender policy and were aimed at improving the national machinery for the advancement of women (para. 29). Please provide updated information on the work of the Council on Women’s Issues, its mandate and the human and financial resources allocated to it. Please also provide information on the cooperation of the Council with women’s civil society organizations, religious organizations and the private sector at the national, regional (marz) and local levels.

Women human rights defenders and civil society organizations

7.According to information before the Committee, women activists and human rights defenders in Armenia, especially those that work on gender-based violence and discrimination, as well as sexual and reproductive health and rights, continue to remain under attack by groups with extremist sentiments. Please clarify what legislative or awareness-raising measures have been undertaken by the Government to ensure a safe and enabling environment for public activity and the participation of women human rights defenders and women activists working on women’s rights and gender-related issues.

Temporary special measures

8.In its report (paras. 218–223), the State party acknowledged that the draft laws on national minorities and on ensuring equality, and related laws, should be aimed at regulating the relations pertaining to the exercise of rights by persons belonging to national minority groups, including women. Please clarify the time frame for the adoption of the draft laws, provide specific examples of temporary special measures, in line with article 4 (1) of the Convention and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 25 (2004) on temporary special measures, adopted to achieve substantive equality between men and women, including those belonging to ethnic minority groups.

Stereotypes

9.In its report, the State party acknowledged the persistence of discriminatory gender stereotypes concerning the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and in society, undermining women’s social status and their educational and professional careers (paras. 37–54). According to information received by the Committee, gender norms and stereotypes continue to contribute to gender-biased, sex-selective abortions, gender bias in education, lower levels of labour market participation among women, gender segregation in the labour market, the gender pay gap, the feminization of poverty, a disproportionate burden of unpaid domestic and care work being placed on women, gender-based violence against women and limited sexual and reproductive choices for women and girls in the State party. Please provide information on the implementation and monitoring of policies and programmes aimed at eliminating gender stereotypes. Please also provide information on measures taken to counter stereotypical attitudes towards women and girls who experience intersecting forms of discrimination, including on the basis of their ethnicity, age or disability, and towards people who experience intersecting forms of discrimination for being lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex. Please provide information on measures taken to criminalize hate speech and gender-based violence against lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons and to ensure that victims of such acts have effective access to justice.

Gender-based violence against women

10.In its report (para. 55), the State party makes reference to the Law on the prevention of violence within the family, protection of victims of violence within the family and restoration of peace in the family (2017). Please indicate what steps are being taken to raise public awareness of the new Law and available remedies for lodging complaints about domestic and other forms of gender-based violence against women, and provide information on the availability of accessible and inclusive victim support services, protection orders and shelters in the State party, including in rural areas. Please provide more detailed information on training provided to members of the judiciary, prosecutors and police and other law enforcement officers about the strict application of the Law and the measures in place to monitor its enforcement. Please provide information on the number of reported cases of domestic and other forms of gender-based violence against women, investigations, prosecutions and convictions, and the sentences imposed on the perpetrators, disaggregated by age, rural or urban location and the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator, per annum, for the past four years. Please indicate whether there are plans to amend the Criminal Code to specifically criminalize domestic violence. According to information received by the Committee, the Criminal Code provides inadequate and limited definitions of sexual violence crimes, without classifying many coerced and non-consensual acts of a sexual character as crimes. The lack of consent-based definitions of sexual violence crimes leaves many coerced sexual acts unpunished. Please indicate what steps the State party plans to take before the new Criminal Code enters into force to ensure that the definitions of sexual violence crimes are in compliance with the Convention and with the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) and that they cover all forms of sexual acts committed without the victim’s voluntary, genuine and willing consent. Please also indicate the specific time frame for ratifying the Istanbul Convention, which was signed by the State party in January 2018.

Trafficking and exploitation of prostitution

11.Please clarify whether the State party has gender-responsive procedures and internal guidelines for the systematic identification of victims of trafficking, including women and girls, by the authorities at all stages of the asylum procedure, including entry procedures, reception and registration, in order to improve the identification and referral of potential victims of trafficking. Please provide information on the number of investigations of cases of trafficking, prosecutions and convictions in such cases, and the sentences imposed on the perpetrators, disaggregated by sex, age and the country of origin of victims, during the reporting period. Please provide data on the number of judges, prosecutors, police officers and immigration officers who have received specialized training on human trafficking and gender-sensitive protocols for interviewing victims (paras. 78–79) and indicate the proportion of trained professionals, disaggregated by sex, who were assigned to work on trafficking cases. Please provide information on the support services available to victims of trafficking, including psychosocial support, free legal aid and housing, including shelters.

Participation in political and public life

12.Please provide information on the measures taken to increase the representation of women, in particular at decision-making levels, in legislative bodies at the national, municipal and local levels, in government and the civil service, especially in the judiciary, the police force and the diplomatic service. Please indicate the steps taken to increase the participation of women in decision-making at the community level, in particular in rural areas. Please inform the Committee of measures in place to protect women who stand for election and women activists against hate speech or threats.

Education

13.According to information received by the Committee, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports reviewed the State standards of general education and subject-related programmes for elementary, middle and high schools in 2020; the review revealed that gender equality, gender stereotypes and gender-based violence were generally not discussed at school. Please indicate whether the Ministry consulted with women’s organizations and gender specialists when developing the State general education standards to ensure the integration of a gender component. Please provide information on whether the State party has evaluated and reviewed primary and secondary school education materials to assess how they address issues of women’s rights and gender equality. Please indicate the percentage of women and girls with disabilities enrolled in the mainstream education system, as compared with the percentage in specialized educational institutions. Please indicate measures that the Government is taking to ensure that women and girls with disabilities have equal access to mainstream education and to ensure that information, buildings, digital tools and academic programmes are accessible for women and girls with disabilities, including with regard to accessible facilities and university websites, easy-to-read information, academic material in Braille print and sign language interpretation for classes. Please elaborate on measures that the Government is taking to promote increased involvement by women and girls with disabilities in vocational and higher education, as well as in education in the fields of information and communications technology and science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Employment

14.The State party indicated that, according to part 2 of article 178 of the Labour Code, women and men should receive equal pay for the same or equivalent work. However, pay surveys and analysis show that there is a significant gender pay gap in the State party. Please provide more detailed information on the measures taken to reduce the gender pay gap and ensure equal conditions of work for women and men. Please provide information on the remedies available to women to lodge complaints about labour discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace in both the public and private sectors.

Health

15.In its report (paras. 130–132), the State party referred to measures taken from 2016 to 2019 to improve access to health-care services at the marz level. According to information before the Committee, however, the need for family planning services in the State party remains unmet, and there is currently no separate line for contraceptive procurement in the State budget. Please indicate the measures taken to ensure a dedicated budget line for family planning, as well as to make modern contraceptives accessible and affordable for marginalized groups of women. Please also provide information on periodic and mandatory training for health workers on women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights, paying particular attention to lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons, women with disabilities and women with HIV. Please provide information on measures taken to ensure full consent for any medical procedure, such as sterilization, conducted on women and girls, specifically women with disabilities and transgender women.

16.Please indicate the measures taken by the State party to legalize abortion, at least in cases of rape, incest, threat to the life or health of the pregnant woman and severe foetal impairment, and to decriminalize it in all other cases. Please also provide information on the measures taken to make safe abortion and post-abortion services accessible and affordable for marginalized groups of women, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please provide updated information on plans to conduct a mapping of regions with a shortage of medical specialists, such as neonatologists and anaesthesiologists, with a view to ensuring the availability of specialized health-care services throughout the State party, in particular in rural areas.

17.Despite the measures indicated in its report (para. 138), women with disabilities reportedly continue to face numerous barriers to access to health-care services, such as physical barriers, lack of accessible information and communication methods or lack of medical equipment and training for health-care professionals, who often lack knowledge about the social model of disability. Please indicate the measures taken by the State party to address those barriers, including specialized training for health-care personnel on the social model of disability and on gender-sensitive protocols for communicating with women with different types of disabilities.

18.According to information received by the Committee, women living with HIV/AIDS, in particular those in prostitution or using drugs, face discrimination and social stigma in the State party. In addition, article 16 of the Law on the prevention of disease caused by HIV (1997) establishes the obligation of a person with HIV or her or his legal representative to comply with measures of prophylaxis that prevent the spread of HIV, which creates additional risks for the women affected. Please indicate whether the State party is taking steps to repeal the relevant provisions of that Law. Please also provide information on awareness-raising and educational measures taken to eliminate discrimination and stigmatization against women living with HIV/AIDS and provide exit programmes and alternative income-generating opportunities for those wishing to leave prostitution and drug substitution programmes for women who use drugs.

Women with disabilities

19.Please provide information on the current status of the draft law on the rights of persons with disabilities (para. 200) and information on how the State party addresses the specific needs of women and girls with disabilities in relevant policies and programmes. Please indicate the measures taken to protect the life, health and safety of women and girls with disabilities, including in rural areas and institutional facilities, such as nursing homes and mental health hospitals, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please also indicate the measures in place to ensure the accessibility of emergency services during the pandemic for women with disabilities. Please provide information on the collection of data, disaggregated by relevant factors, on gender-based violence against women and girls with disabilities. Please indicate the specific measures implemented to protect women and girls with disabilities from gender-based violence, harassment and abuse in private settings, including within the family, and institutional settings.

Rural women

20.Please provide detailed information on targeted measures taken to promote entrepreneurship, training and mentoring among women and capacity-building and technical support to their business entrepreneurship in rural areas. Please also provide information on measures taken to ensure the effective participation of women farmers and rural women in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of policies on food and nutrition security, rural and community development and sustainable food value chains.

Refugee and asylum-seeking women

21.Please provide information on measures for the systematic identification of victims of gender-based violence by the authorities at all stages of the asylum procedure, including in the context of entry, reception and registration procedures, on capacity-building for relevant law enforcement authorities to further improve their knowledge and skills in identifying potential victims of gender-based violence and referring them to appropriate services and on measures to strengthen the effective implementation of procedures and response mechanisms to address the protection needs of asylum-seeking women, including safe shelter. The State party indicated that the specific needs of women asylum seekers were taken into account when placing them in temporary reception centres (paras. 210 and 217). Please provide updated information on the current living conditions of refugee and asylum-seeking women, in particular in relation to housing, food security, protection against gender-based violence and access to justice, as well as on their access to health-care services, education and employment.

Women and peace and security

22.Please describe the measures taken to address the needs of women affected by the armed conflict in terms of access to education, health-care services and economic opportunities, in line with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 30 (2013) on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations. Please indicate the measures taken to strengthen efforts towards conflict resolution, in line with Security Council resolutions 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2106 (2013) and 2122 (2013), and to fully involve women at all stages of the peace process. Please provide updated information on the status of plans to finalize and adopt the national action plan for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security, in cooperation with women’s organizations, taking into consideration the full spectrum of the Council’s women and peace and security agenda, as reflected in the above-mentioned Council resolutions.