against Women

Pre-session working group

Forty-fourth session

20 J uly- 7 August 2009

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

Argentina

The pre-session working group examined the sixth periodic report of Argentina (CEDAW/C/ARG/6).

General

1.Please provide detailed information on the process of preparing the sixth periodic report. The information should indicate which Government departments and institutions were involved and the nature and extent of their participation, whether consultations were held with non-governmental organizations and whether the report was adopted by the Government and submitted to the Parliament.

2.The report contains very limited statistical data disaggregated by sex on the situation of women in areas covered by the Convention. Please provide information on the status of data collection and analysis in the country in general, and indicate to what extent such data collection takes place on a sex-disaggregated basis. Please describe how the Government intends to improve the collection of sex-disaggregated data pertaining to the areas of the Convention.

Constitutional, legislative and institutional framework

3.The report refers to various measures and laws that have been adopted at the federal and local levels in recent years to advance or improve the situation of women. Please provide detailed information on the efforts carried out by the Government to achieve the effective implementation of those laws and measures in the whole country, both at the federal and local levels, during the period under review.

4.The Committee, in its previous concluding comments (see A/59/38, part two, paras. 372-373), recommended that the State party incorporate gender perspectives in all its social and economic policies, programmes and projects so as to ensure that they support the goal of gender equality. It also invited the State to periodically assess such measures and their impact on women. Please provide information on any efforts carried out by the Government to assess the impact on women of its social and economic policies, programmes and projects.

National machinery for the advancement of women

5.In its previous concluding comments (see A/59/38, part two, paras. 370-371), the Committee expressed concern that the National Women’s Council had a limited role in the governmental structure and recommended that the State party strengthen the existing national machinery for the advancement of women. Please provide information on the National Women’s Council and its present role in the governmental structure, including information on its interaction with other State mechanisms in terms of planning public policies. Kindly provide detailed information on the Council’s human and financial resources at all levels and how the Government evaluates whether its budget is commensurate with the policies it is supposed to carry out. Please include information on any efforts carried out to promote better coordination between the National Women’s Council and the provincial and municipal offices for the advancement of women.

Programmes and action plans

6.The report refers to the national plan of action for the eradication of violence against women in the family promoted by the National Women’s Council. Please provide additional information on the national plan, including detailed information on material and human resources that are allocated to the plan, and whether indicators as well as time-bound targets have been established to assess the implementation of the plan in all regions of the country.

7.The report refers to Law 26.150 on sexual education, creating the National Programme on Sexual Education, with compulsory application throughout the country, at all educational levels and from the age of 5 years. The report also points out that a commission has been created to elaborate a proposal for its application in the whole country. Please provide information on efforts to achieve effective implementation of sexual education in public and private schools in the formal educational system at all levels. Also, please provide information on the Commission, as well as on its functioning, composition and structure.

Stereotypes and cultural practices

8.The report points out that although women attain higher levels of education, they continue to choose domains related to social areas, which has an impact on their future salaries. Have measures been introduced to address the problem? Please provide information on whether any efforts are being made to change social and cultural patterns causing the stereotyping which has resulted in women and girls choosing traditional stereotypical roles.

Violence against women

9.In its previous concluding comments (see A/59/38, part two, paras. 378-379), the Committee urged the State to ensure that a comprehensive approach is taken to address violence against women and girls, taking into account its general recommendation No. 19 on violence against women. The report refers to various laws that have been passed, both at the national and local levels, on violence within the family. Please provide detailed information on the present legislation regulating domestic violence in the country. Kindly specify whether marital rape is covered by legislation.

10.Please provide statistical information on how many cases of violence against women and girls were reported during the period under consideration. Please also include detailed information on how many perpetrators of acts of violence against women were prosecuted and punished in the same period of time. Regional differences should be reflected in those statistics. Please also provide statistical information on how many women were murdered per year as a result of domestic violence during the period under consideration.

11.The report refers to an office set up by the Supreme Court to deal with cases of domestic violence. Please provide detailed information on the office, its creation, composition and structure.

12.The report refers to violence against women in the workplace and to various bills on harassment and violence in the workplace that have been presented in 21 provincial legislatures and in the National Congress. Please provide information on the status of those bills and on the incidence of harassment in the public and private sectors.

Exploitation of women

13.The report refers to various draft laws on trafficking that have been presented to the Congress. Please provide information on the status of those bills and their content as well as on any laws or measures that prevent trafficking in women and girls at present in the country, both at the federal and local levels. Also, please provide information on what regional and federal strategies and policies exist to prevent, investigate, punish and suppress national and international trade and trafficking in women and girls.

14.The report points out that a specialized unit has been created to investigate crimes against sexual integrity, as well as trafficking and children in prostitution. Kindly describe how the unit functions. Also, please provide information on the number of prosecutions, acquittals and convictions, as well as on how many sanctions have been imposed in connection with those crimes during the period under consideration.

Political participation and participation in public life

15.The report points out the low representation of women in trade unions (21.76 per cent), in enterprises and as heads of departments in universities. Please provide updated information and statistics on the participation of women in those areas during the period under review, and indicate whether the Government is considering temporary special measures, as outlined in article 4, para. 1, and general recommendation No. 25, to increase the participation of women in those areas.

16.The report points out that a bill was drafted after a number of meetings among women coordinated by the Instituto Nacional contra la Discriminación, la Xenofobia y el Racismo that were aimed at debating strategies related to parity between women and men in the field of enterprise. Please provide information on the status of the bill and on its scope and main content.

Education

17.The report points out that Law N. 26.058 of 2005 on professional technical education redesigns technical education nationwide and that in its article 40 specific actions are mentioned whose implementation will guarantee access to and permanence of technical education for youth (male and female) during a situation of social risk or when facing difficulties in obtaining apprenticeships. It also states that actions will be taken to incorporate women into professional technical education. Please provide specific information on what actions are being implemented at present to guarantee access to, sustainability and completion of technical education by and for women.

18.The report refers to the National Plan on Scholarships which grants 500,000 scholarships per year to students 13 to 19 years of age who are at risk of dropping out of school. Please provide detailed information regarding the specific requirements and terms of those scholarships for girls or women. Please provide information on the major reasons why girls or women discontinue their education and indicate whether those statistics are kept on a comparative basis.

19.In its previous concluding comments (A/59/38, part two, paras. 382-383), the Committee requested the State to include in its next report comprehensive data and information on the educational situation of women and educational opportunities available to them, including in the area of vocational education. Please provide detailed information on the types of vocational and technical education, disaggregated by sex and field of study.

Health

20.The report refers to limited instances in which abortion is not prohibited. Please specify whether the Government has undertaken any measures to decriminalize abortion. Also provide detailed information on how many women were prosecuted for having illegal abortions in the period under consideration and what sanctions were imposed.

21.Please provide detailed information on how many women have reported becoming pregnant as a result of rape in the past four years and how many have died because of illegal abortions. Kindly provide detailed information on any efforts taken to address that issue. Please also provide information on measures taken to raise victims’ awareness of the importance of receiving medical treatment after an attack.

22.The Committee, in its previous concluding comments (see A/59/38, part two, paras. 380-381), expressed concern about the lack of information on the State party’s efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of the National Programme for Sexual Health and Responsible Parenthood and requested the State party to include in its next periodic report comprehensive information on its evaluation. The report provides information on the impact of the Programme. However, 4 of the programme’s 10 objectives have not been evaluated because statistical information from 2005 has not been consolidated. Please provide statistical information regarding those objectives so that the impact of the programme in those four areas may also be assessed.

23.The report points out that in 2005, 52 per cent of cases of maternal mortality were related to insufficient medical care and quality of health services. Please provide statistical information on the main causes and rates of maternal mortality during 2006 and 2007. Also, please provide information on major efforts carried out to enhance access to quality health services across the country.

24.The report points out that in 2005, the teenage pregnancy rate was relatively high. Please provide statistical information on how many cases of teenage pregnancy were reported during the period under review.

25.The report refers to National Law 26.130 on surgical contraception, which was passed in 2006 and regulates the medical practice of fallopian tubal ligation or vasectomy. Please provide information on the implementation of that law across the country and indicate major difficulties that have been encountered in attempts to implementing it effectively.

26.In its previous concluding comments (see A/59/38, part two, paras. 380-381), the Committee expressed concern regarding the increase in sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. Please provide statistical information on the percentage of people infected with HIV/AIDS during the period under consideration, disaggregated by sex, age and ethnic group. Please indicate whether there is a national registry providing comparable data that could facilitate access to information. Please also specify whether any programmes specifically dedicated to women and girls have been introduced to combat sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.

Social and economic benefits

27.The report states that although in principle there are no limits on women’s access to lines of credit, mortgages and other forms of credit, in practice such impediments exist, particularly with respect to access to lines of credit and guarantees. Please provide information on the constraints faced by women in that regard, and specify whether efforts are being carried out by the Government in order to eliminate any de facto inequality between women and men on the issue. Also, please indicate what efforts are being made in that area to address the marginalized situation of indigenous Afro-Argentineans and other minorities.

Rural women

28.In its previous concluding comments (see A/59/38, part two, paras. 376-377), the Committee expressed concern regarding the situation of rural women, particularly in view of their extreme poverty and lack of access to health care, education, credit facilities and community services. The report points out that difficulties faced in the promotion of the rights of rural women include sexism, violence and other difficulties related to women’s health and education. It also states that there is a lack of coordination within various institutions working on those problems. Please specify what efforts have been carried out by the Government to promote coordination between different institutions in order to tackle those difficulties. Please also specify whether the national budget sets aside a specific amount for programmes to benefit rural women.

29.Please provide information on how the mortality rate of rural women compares to that of urban women. Please also provide statistical information on infant mortality rates in rural areas compared to those in urban areas.

Amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention

30.Please describe progress towards acceptance of the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention.