Last month, the body of experts examined the combined second and third periodic reports of Azerbaijan concerning the implementation of the CEDAW Convention in the country. On that occasion, HRCA submitted an alternative report stressing the key issues of concern in relation to the respect of women’s rights and persisting discrimination in Azerbaijan. These concerns are largely reflected in the UN CEDAW concluding comments.
In its report, the HRCA stressed that national legislation fails to include a definition of discrimination against women, in line with Article 1 of the CEDAW Convention, contributing to creating beneficial conditions for de facto discrimination. In its Concluding Comments, the Committee requests Azerbaijan to revisit its Law on Gender Equality and ensure that the definition of discrimination includes both direct and indirect discrimination.
The UN experts regret the “persistence of patriarchal attitudes and the deep-rooted stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and in society” and urge Azerbaijan to disseminate information on the Convention through the education system. The Committee also encourages Azerbaijan to implement measures to increase the number of women in decision-making positions and to eliminate the occupational segregation between women and man in the labour market.
The HRCA report points out the failure of Azerbaijani government to combat trafficking and sexual exploitation of women. The UN experts share its concerns and make recommendations on the effective implementation of the Law to Fight against Trafficking in Persons, through the prosecution and punishment of offenders and by improving the economic situation of women, which increases their vulnerability to exploitation.
The UN experts call on the Azerbaijani authorities to pay special attention to the situation of rural women which is “characterized by precarious living conditions and lack to access to justice, health care, education, credit facilities and community services”.
In relation to sexual and reproductive rights, the Committee recommends unifying methodologies for collecting and analysing data on safe motherhood and making available to women a comprehensive range of contraceptives.
In general, the Committee regrets the absence of reliable data disaggregated by sex and of information comparing the situation of women to that of men, calling upon Azerbaijan to put in place a comprehensive system of data collection to obtain an understanding of the situation of women in all areas covered by the Convention.
FIDH and HRCA call on the Azerbaijani authorities to widely disseminate these recommendations to all relevant ministries and to Parliament, and to the general public, as well as the full text of the CEDAW Convention. “In Azerbaijan, there is an urgent need to increase general awareness of the rights of women under the Convention, which remains widely unknown,” said Eldar Zeynalov, Director of HRCA. “The full implementation of the Committee’s recommendations is vital in order to improve the situation of women in Azerbaijan”.