Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Sixty-eighth session

Summary record of the 1547th meeting

Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on Thursday, 2 November 2017, at 3 p.m.

Chair:Ms. Leinarte

Contents

Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention (continued)

Eighth periodic report of Kenya (continued)

The meeting was called to order at 3 p.m.

Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention (continued)

Eighth periodic report of Kenya (continued) (CEDAW/C/KEN/8; CEDAW/C/KEN/Q/8 and CEDAW/C/KEN/Q/8/Add.1)

At the invitation of the Chair, the delegation of Kenya took places at the Committee table.

The Chair said that, at the invitation of the Committee, other members of the delegation would be speaking via video link from Nairobi.

Articles 7 to 9 (continued)

Ms. Baraza (Kenya), replying to questions raised in the previous meeting, said that the Office of the Attorney General was looking into ratification of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and thus there was no specific timeline for doing so.

Mr. Kihurani (Kenya) said that recruitment to the civil service, including the appointment of ambassadors, was subject to the two-thirds gender rule, a constitutional principle aimed at ensuring that no gender occupied more than two thirds of positions. There was also a requirement to ensure that the civil service reflected the diversity of the country, and thus ethnicity was also taken into account. At the current time, there were 20 women ambassadors and 51 men ambassadors, which meant that the gender ratio was just shy of meeting the two-thirds target.

Ms. Karabu (Kenya) said that the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security had been adopted for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security. Within the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs, a secretariat had been set up, a multisectoral national steering committee established, and focal points and a monitoring framework created to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the Plan’s implementation. Activities had also been conducted in cooperation with civil society to ensure its implementation at the local level. Funding was expected to be provided from national and county budgets and contributions from partners.

Articles 10 to 14

Ms. Song Wenyan said that she wished to commend the State party for its efforts to promote and improve education for Kenyan women and girls. However, a number of concerns remained, notably the persistent gender gap in education, the high level of child labour, which prevented many children from attending school, and the prevalence of sexual harassment in schools. With that in mind, she wished to know what programmes were envisaged to address the low primary and secondary enrolment and completion rates of girls, particularly in disadvantaged areas such as arid and semi-arid parts of the country and in informal urban settlements. She asked what specific action had been taken to ensure education for girls from disadvantaged groups such as girls with disabilities and victims of sexual violence, female genital mutilation and forced and early marriages. Information on the girls’ dropout rate and the proportion of the national budget allocated to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology since 2014 would also be welcome.

She asked whether the implementation and effectiveness of the 2013 Teachers Service Act, which contained disciplinary measures for teachers guilty of sexual harassment and violence in schools, was being monitored and evaluated, how many teachers had been punished since its introduction and how victims of sexual violence and harassment were being supported.

Mr. Bergby, referring to paragraph 144 of the State party’s report, on sexual harassment in the workplace, said that he wished to know whether there were plans to amend the Sexual Offences Act of 2006 in order to establish penalties for employers, including those in the private sector, who were guilty of sexual harassment. The Committee had received reports that women domestic workers were subjected to poor working conditions, low or delayed payment of wages, sexual exploitation, and physical and psychological abuse. He wondered whether the Government intended to draft legislation in line with the International Labour Organization (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No.189) to ensure that domestic workers had the same rights as other workers. While welcoming the introduction of three-months’ paid maternity leave, he was concerned that it was paid for by the employer, which could lead employers to favour men over women candidates. He asked whether the labour law governing the private sector contained provisions prohibiting direct and indirect discrimination, in line with the ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), and whether the State party envisaged strengthening employment laws, in particular to include guidance on recruitment practices and a definition of gender-based discrimination in employment.

In paragraph 151 of the State party’s report it was stated that women’s labour on family and commercial farms or as caregivers was not recognized, owing to the way in which gross domestic product was calculated. Drawing attention to the Committee’s general recommendation No. 17 (1991) on the measurement and quantification of the unremunerated domestic activities of women and their recognition in the gross national product, he asked whether any studies had been carried out to quantify those activities and whether the Government had considered undertaking research on the situation of women working in the agricultural sector.

Ms. Arocha Domínguez said that, while welcoming measures taken to improve women’s right and access to health, there were serious concerns about the persistently high maternal mortality rate. She wished to know what measures had been adopted to enforce the constitutional principles governing the right to health care, whether health-care centres had sufficient resources to deal with the country’s high birth rate, whether free health care covered antenatal and postnatal care, as well as delivery, and what impact free health care had had on the maternal mortality rate. Since complications arising from unsafe abortions were a leading cause of maternal mortality, she wondered whether an impact assessment had been conducted following the decision of the Ministry of Health to withdraw guidelines for medical professionals on reducing morbidity and mortality as a result of unsafe abortions. In that connection, she would be interested to know when the State party intended to reintroduce instructions for health staff on the circumstances in which abortion was permitted in the country and on providing access to safe abortions, free of stigma and discrimination. She asked whether there were plans to harmonize the Penal Code with article 26 (4) of the Kenyan Constitution, which provided for abortions in limited circumstances, and whether abortion was permitted in cases of rape.

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS remained high. She asked what specific steps had been taken to ensure that efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, in particular among children and adolescents. Similarly, she wondered whether decentralized plans for preventing the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases contained measures to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS and covered women who were involved in prostitution?

She would be interested to have more information about sexual and reproductive health centres for adolescents and persons with disabilities. In particular, she wished to know whether the centres were accessible, staff were adequately trained and public information was available on the reproductive rights of women with disabilities. Lastly, she asked what specific measures were in place to prevent and, if necessary, punish the sterilization of women with disabilities without their informed consent.

Ms. Anupi (Kenya) said that a number of measures, including free primary education, free sanitary towels and free school meals had been introduced to close the gender gap in education. Low-cost boarding schools were also being established in disadvantaged areas, including arid and semi-arid zones. Tackling child labour, which took 1 million girls and boys out of school, continued to be a major challenge. Awareness-raising activities had been conducted to inform parents of their obligations as duty bearers in order to ensure that their children attended school. As for teenage mothers, a readmission policy, which also included counselling and guidance, facilitated their return to education.

A special needs education policy was in place for children with disabilities. Steps were being taken to create a more inclusive education system in which non-disabled children and children with disabilities could study side by side. New schools, for example, were increasingly inclusive and accessible, taking account of the needs of children with disabilities. Moreover, children with disabilities received larger education learning grants than did non-disabled children. Loans and bursaries were available for students wishing to study at university. In the points-based application process, applications from women were awarded an extra point.

Since the enactment of the Teachers Service Act in 2013, disciplinary action, which included dismissal and a lifetime teaching ban, had been taken against teachers guilty of sexual violence and harassment. A gender unit had been set up by the Teachers Service Commission, which had also helped to reduce the incidence of sexual abuse by teachers. Victims received school counselling to help them overcome the trauma they had experienced.

Ms. Meroka (Kenya) said it was true that the law needed to be updated to adequately cover sexual harassment in the private sector. Employers were legally obliged to register domestic workers for national health insurance and social security and were required to pay the minimum wage. Employers who did not comply with their obligations faced penalties, which included a fine and the payment of back wages. Until such time as formal legislation had been enacted, a union for low-income and domestic workers conducted awareness-raising to sensitize employers to the issues of pay, working conditions and working hours.

The Constitution expressly prohibited direct or indirect discrimination, and women victims of discrimination by their employer could seek legal redress. Several initiatives in place, many of which were led by women’s organizations, to inform employers of their obligations and ensure that they had the necessary policies in place to prevent workplace discrimination.

Women working in the agricultural sectors faced a number of challenges, including hazardous working conditions. They were, however, entitled to maternity leave. Employers contracting casual workers for more than 90 days were required to consider them for permanent employment. In Kenya, flower and horticultural farms were staffed predominantly by women. As most of the production was exported to European markets, international fair trade initiatives and partnerships, which were encouraged under the law, had been particularly effective in ensuring fair labour practices and safe working conditions, reducing exploitation and providing employees with time off and maternity leave. Such initiatives had also helped to combat sexual harassment, discrimination and retribution against workers who asserted their rights.

A member of the delegation of Kenya said that the Sexual Offences Act was currently under review and that there were good prospects that, by the submission of the next report, the prohibition of sexual harassment that was currently applicable to government officials in positions of authority would be extended to persons of authority in the private sector as well.

Ms. Makanyengo (Kenya) said that in 2013 the Government had launched a free-of-charge, walk-in maternal health programme that had significantly reduced the maternal mortality rate and had improved access to care. Under the programme, patients paid no fees and the obstetrics units directly filed claims of 2,500 to 5,000 Kenyan shillings (K Sh) for each delivery performed, depending on the size of the facility. While the system had been effective, the obstetrics facilities had faced some delay in the reimbursement of fees, and securing sufficient funding was difficult. The “Beyond Zero” campaign organized by the First Lady had distributed mobile clinics to county facilities, but the provision of services had sometimes faced problems owing to a lack of administrative services and fuel. The programme for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV had been successful, as prevalence had fallen from 8.4 per cent to 6.3 per cent.

Abortion was clearly prohibited by law except in cases where the mother’s health was in danger. In that event, two or three physicians had to issue a report with a recommendation for abortion. The Government was trying to promote adolescent-friendly health services, for example at Kenyatta National Hospital, with individualized counselling for adolescents’ pregnancy prevention and family planning. School-based reproductive health education programmes had also done much to reduce both the risk of HIV transmission and of illegal abortion. In 2016, the President had launched a “Rapid Results” initiative for adolescents in order to encourage HIV-positive teens to adhere to their treatment and live healthy lives, and HIV clinics in Kenya were aggressively following up on the cases of the adolescents affected.

Prostitutes often avoided the use of mainstream health facilities owing to a sense of stigmatization, but they regularly attended specific clinics that had been set up for them by the Government in partnership with various organizations.

Mr. Bergby asked whether a study had been conducted in line with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 17 (1991), whether the national regulations had been brought into line with the ILO Convention No. 189 and whether Kenya was able to ratify that instrument.

Ms. Arocha Dom í nguez asked whether free medical service was provided only for delivery, or also for prenatal and postnatal care. For programmes to have lasting effects, sexual and reproductive education must go hand in hand with the provision of services.

Ms. Song Wenyan asked whether the Government provided incentives to promote girls’ education or if it imposed penalties, such as fines, on parents who failed to send their daughters to school. The delegation might inform the Committee of the adult literacy rate for women and describe any action taken to raise that rate.

Ms. Gbedemah, noting that the abortion rate in Kenya was among the highest in the world, said that, in the view of the Committee, abortion should be legal at the very least in cases of rape, incest, severe fetal impairment and when the health of the mother was jeopardized. The requirement for the consent of two doctors to authorize a legal abortion was often unrealistic in a place where the doctor-patient ratio was so low. By the time a decision was taken, irreparable damage was likely to result. The relevant provisions of the Sexual Offences Act and the Constitution were not identical, and guidelines for legal abortions had been issued and subsequently withdrawn; in addition, medical and health practitioners had been threatened with professional and even criminal sanctions. Furthermore, there were disparities between policies and services in Nairobi and the rest of the country. The lack of clarity compromised the availability of safe treatment and abortions. While the State party had made laudable progress in the provision of sexual and reproductive health, it should streamline its policies relating to abortion so as to prevent unsafe and illegal practices to the extent possible. The Committee would therefore recommend that the State party reconsider the reservation that it had filed in respect of abortion under the Maputo Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.

The delegation might describe the Government’s efforts to close the gender gap in the university take-up rate. While commending the Government’s intervention for the provision of sanitary towels through the education system, she noted that currently only about 30 per cent of needs were being met. What efforts were being made to expand the programme? Lastly, the Committee had received reports that workers on flower farms were exposed to chemicals that were harmful to their health. Had there been any research of the effects of such substances or had any measures been taken to alleviate them?

Ms. Meroka (Kenya) said that information on possible studies carried out in accordance with general recommendation No. 17 (1991) would be forthcoming. Kenya had not ratified ILO Convention No. 189, as the country was still addressing the challenges faced by domestic workers. Further information on the position of the authorities would be sent to the Committee shortly.

The harmful effects of chemicals on workers at flower farms, in particular on the reproductive functions of women workers, had been amply documented, and they were currently being attenuated through the fair trade partnerships that she had previously described. Improved practices and protective clothing were thus increasingly being adopted in the industry. There was, however, a need for robust research and statistics to monitor the situation.

The Constitution set out stringent conditions in which abortion could legally take place, but the wording included an open clause that would allow for legal abortion if it was permitted under any other written law. The association of obstetricians and gynaecologists had documented the problems related to illegal abortion and had called for the parliament to adopt a law allowing for less restrictive conditions and to provide funding for legal abortions. The continued failure to provide a legal framework only served to entrench backstreet abortions that were dangerous and that most severely affected poor and marginalized women who required legal protection.

Ms. Anupi (Kenya) said that the overall female literacy rate was estimated at 78 per cent and at 74 per cent. The Ministry of Education had a specific directorate for adult education that had put in place flexible mechanisms for adult learners. Male and female learners were thus able to study at schools separately from children or in evening classes, and two upper secondary schools had been set up to cater exclusively to adult learners. The budget for the provision of sanitary towels had recently increased from K Sh 200 million to K Sh 470 million. The programme had initially targeted marginalized and poor children, but it was currently being extended to cover everyone. The Basic Education Act of 2017 thus called for the provision of sanitary towels to every girl child registered and enrolled in public basic education. To ensure that more women entered university, the Government was providing them with more loans and bursaries, and it had also lowered somewhat the relevant criteria for admission.

Mr. Bergby said that he wished to commend the State party for passing a law that called for 30 per cent of all public goods and services procurement contracts to be reserved for women, youth and persons with disabilities. He asked how the provision was implemented in practice and what proportion of contracts had been awarded to each of the three groups, and among youth and persons with disabilities, how much had been awarded to women and girls. The Government had set up the Women Enterprise Fund, the Youth Enterprise Development Fund and the UWEZO Fund to provide start-up capital for women, young people and people with disabilities wishing to start businesses. Applying for financing from the UWEZO Fund was reportedly particularly complicated and the Fund lacked clear criteria for participation. Most women were evidently unaware of its existence, and their aversion to risk was a disincentive owing to the high interest rates charged and the consequences imposed in the event of non-payment. The delegation might describe the profiles of borrowers and projects and inform the Committee whether the loan packages included capacity-building activities for participants. Was the application process accessible and publicized? Could women who had no collateral take loans from the Women Enterprise Fund? The Committee would be interested in receiving data on how such funds helped entrepreneurship among women and whether the loans were granted with logistic and other assistance for the beneficiaries. Did the State party intend to name women to the management board of the Women Enterprise Fund?

He was concerned that the legal provision calling for employers to directly fund three months of maternity leave resulted in a disincentive that could result in discrimination against women of reproductive age. Perhaps it would be possible to set up a national system to fund maternity leave indirectly, for example through a tax or fee funded by all employers. Such a system could also provide insurance in the event of miscarriages or stillbirths and could extend to the informal sector.

Ms. Bethel said that women contributed 60 to 80 per cent of the labour in agriculture. She would be grateful if the delegation could expand upon the gender policy in the agricultural sector, explaining which institution was responsible for it and in what ways the recent legislation advanced the rights of rural women’s economic empowerment. How would gender analysis and gender budgeting be ensured in community-based development programmes? The Committee would like to know more about the development programmes and the measures taken to ensure or increase women’s participation, influence and power in decision-making. As men had traditionally been considered to be heads of households, they had greater access to land, credit and extension services. What mechanisms were in place to grant women access to land, credit and banking services, and what had been the impact of table banking schemes? The Committee would like to know about access by women to markets, technology and social security schemes.

The delegation might also update the Committee on efforts to comply with the ruling of the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights recognizing the rights of the Endorois community over ancestral lands in the Rift Valley. Did the task force established to implement that decision include participation by representatives of the community, in particular Endorois women, and did its mandate call for consultation with Endorois people? What measures had the National Gender and Equality Commission taken to ensure the protection of women and girls with disabilities, and what budget was allocated to defend their rights? Noting that there were reports of lynching of older women accused of witchcraft, she asked what legal protection was afforded to such women and whether the perpetrators were prosecuted and punished. Lastly, the Committee had received reports of cattle raiders injuring and killing women and girls in Baringo county. How was the State party providing for security and safety from violence and theft in that community?

Ms. Wanjiru Kariuki (Kenya) said that the economic empowerment of women had been promoted through the adoption of Act No. 33 of 2015 on Public Procurement and Asset Disposal, which stipulated that 30 per cent of government tenders would be reserved for women, young persons and persons with disabilities. The Act was implemented through budgets, procurement plans, tender notices, contract awards and the quarterly reports submitted to the procurement authority. Since the inception of the initiative, some 45,812 tenders, with a total value of K Sh 50 billion, had been awarded to young people, women and persons with disabilities, with their respective share being 44 per cent, 53 per cent and 3 per cent.

Mr. Wangai (Kenya) said that the UWEZO Fund and the Women Enterprise Fund had been established to ensure that women had access to affordable loans. Since its inception, the Women Enterprise Fund had made it possible for training to be provided to 950,000 women. Interest-free loans amounting to a total of K Sh 7.5 billion had also been allocated through the Fund. When a woman’s application for a loan had been approved, she received an initial amount of K Sh 100,000, followed by a further amount of K Sh 200,000 when the initial amount had been paid back. Women had the option of forming groups whose members would guarantee one another’s loans to ensure that each person could take out a loan and repay it within the specified period.

Gender considerations were taken into account in the recruitment of the officers who managed the Women Enterprise Fund. Some 54 per cent of the officers managing the Fund in the country’s 280 constituencies were women. The officers in question were responsible for selecting the women who would receive the loans and providing them with training. There was a good gender balance among the staff of the Women Enterprise Fund, including at senior levels.

Ms. Gbedemah said that she would like the delegation to comment on reports that 25 per cent of cases of fistula involved women from rural areas who were unable to receive the health care that they needed.

Articles 15 and 16

A member of the delegation of Kenya said that the Law of Succession Act was currently under review. If the recommended amendments to the Act were adopted, it would become possible to tackle gender discrimination in the area of land and property.

Ms. Meroka (Kenya) said that, through the devolution of power to the counties and the constitutional provisions on public participation, there were greater opportunities for communities to become involved in decision-making at the grass-roots level. In particular, women had the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes through local school boards and other devolved institutions, which was required to comply with provisions on public participation and non-discrimination under the Constitution.

Civil society organizations were working in partnership with the Government to ensure that the rights of women and girls with disabilities were protected. The issues of forced sterilization and sexual abuse in schools were being taken seriously. In Kisumu, a partnership established between civil society organizations and the law enforcement authorities was working to map incidents of violence against girls with disabilities, unplanned or unwanted pregnancies among such girls and their school completion rates. The initiative in question was carried out in collaboration with the families of the girls concerned in order to ensure that the appropriate measures were taken.

The task force established to oversee the implementation of the ruling on the Endorois community’s land rights, issued by the African Court on Human and People’s Rights, was bound by the constitutional principles on land set out in article 60 of the Constitution.

Ms. Halperin-Kaddari said that the Matrimonial Property Act contained a number of discriminatory provisions. For instance, each spouse was required to prove how much he or she had contributed towards the matrimonial property. According to the State party report, that requirement had been significantly watered down by the ruling issued in the case of CMN v. AWM. In spite of the fact that a new precedent had been established, it appeared that many lower courts continued to require proof of the contributions made by each spouse towards the matrimonial property. In view of that situation, she asked whether the Government would consider repealing the relevant section of the Matrimonial Property Act.

The Act in question also provided that no transaction involving a matrimonial property could be carried out by one spouse without the consent of the other, even if the property was not registered in the name of the spouse required to give consent. In view of the fact that many marriages in the State party were polygamous, she asked how the Act applied to polygamous marriages and what safeguards were in place to protect the property rights of all the wives in a polygamous marriage.

Noting that section 39 of the Law of Succession Act stipulated that any widow, irrespective of the type of marriage that she had entered into, would lose her right to her deceased husband’s property if she remarried and that no such provision applied to widowers who remarried, she asked whether the Government planned to repeal that section of the Act.

Women married under Muslim law faced a predicament related to the right of a husband to divorce his wife unilaterally without having to appeal to the courts. The Committee had received reports that women who wished to have the divorce certified and registered so that they could remarry were sometimes forced to make payments to their former husbands in exchange for an agreement to such registration. Was the Government aware of that phenomenon and had it established any safeguards against it? Lastly, she asked whether the Government would consider making legal aid available in civil cases, including family law cases, and whether it would consider providing support to divorcees who were in a weaker financial position than their former spouses following a divorce.

Ms. Baraza (Kenya) said that, under the Matrimonial Property Act, women were required to give evidence of the contributions that they had made towards the matrimonial property. Although it was disappointing that matrimonial property law still did not provide for the equal distribution of assets following a divorce, it was significant that the Act took into account both monetary and non-monetary contributions, which included household chores, childcare and farm work. The requirement for spouses to prove the extent of their contributions to the matrimonial property was currently being challenged in court. Following the adoption of the Matrimonial Property Act, a number of legal precedents had established that courts should consider non-monetary contributions when deciding on the division of matrimonial assets between former spouses. Despite the progressive nature of those judicial decisions, the Government acknowledged that the existing jurisprudence in the area did not yet guarantee that matrimonial property would be equally divided between former spouses.

A number of cases of progressive jurisprudence, including the case concerning the estate of Lerionka Ole Ntutu and the case of Rono v. Rono, had established that male and female children should have the right to an equal share of the assets inherited from their parents and that no distinction should be made between married and unmarried daughters.

In spite of the progress made through that jurisprudence, the Government acknowledged that, owing to the existence of a number of discriminatory provisions, the rights of inheritance enjoyed by women were not equal to the rights enjoyed by men. For instance, section 32 of the Law of Succession Act listed a number of areas that were subject to customary law, under which women had traditionally suffered discrimination. It was hoped that amendments to the Act, which was currently under review, would bring it into alignment with the principles of equality and non-discrimination enshrined in the Convention.

A legislative amendment had been introduced to ensure that an individual no longer required the consent of his or her spouse in order to dispose of land. Although that amendment could be seen as a setback for women, the requirement in question would not have posed a problem in polygamous marriages, as those who entered such marriages tended to have harmonious relations with each other.

Ms. Halperin-Kaddari said that she would welcome confirmation of the fact that, under the law, a husband would now be able to dispose of a property of which he was the sole owner without the consent of his wife.

Ms. Baraza (Kenya) said that it was indeed the case that a husband no longer required the consent of his wife in order to dispose of land. With regard to the question of divorce under Muslim law, matters governed by Muslim law were left to the discretion of the Muslim community. In such matters, Muslims were exempt from the equality provisions enshrined in the Constitution and the Law of Succession Act. The Government held no information on whether Muslim men attempted to extort money from their former wives following a divorce. Consequently, no measures had been implemented to guard against such a possibility.

The Legal Aid Act of 2016 provided for legal aid to enable persons on low incomes to be represented in all legal cases, including family law cases. The Act also provided for the establishment of a legal aid board and a State-financed legal aid fund. The Government would consider implementing a mechanism to provide financial support to those individuals who required it following a divorce.

Ms. Gbedemah said that she wished to know whether the State party would operationalize the climate change bill to provide indigenous people with protection against disasters brought about by climate change and whether it would take administrative and legislative measures to address the gender-related dimensions of climate change and ensure that climate adaptation strategies were gender responsive and took account of indigenous knowledge.

Ms. Mwera (Kenya) said that the Government had enacted the Climate Change Act of 2016, under which the relevant Cabinet Secretary was mandated to draft a public education and awareness strategy on climate change. The Act provided for the establishment of a Climate Change Council and a national climate change coordination mechanism. The membership of the Council was determined in accordance with the two-thirds gender principle to ensure that both men and women were well represented. The Act also provided for the establishment of the Climate Change Directorate, which was the leading agency responsible for climate change plans and actions. The Directorate would coordinate the implementation of gender and intergenerational climate change education, which was mostly aimed at women. The mechanism for addressing issues related to climate change would be established through the creation of a climate change fund for priority actions. The Council would ensure that funds were allocated in accordance with the principle of gender equality.

Ms. Mabruki (Kenya) said that it was important to bear in mind that the realization of gender equality was a process that had not yet been fully achieved by any country. However, through continued constructive dialogue with the Committee, it would be possible for the Kenyan Government to identify and address emerging challenges and opportunities and work towards the goal of attaining gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The meeting rose at 5 p.m.