Yemeni NGOs’ recommendations taken forward by CEDAW Committee
Over 60 recommendations made by Yemeni women’s groups for how Yemen can address discrimination and violence against women have been endorsed by the UN’s CEDAW Committee.
The CEDAW Committee has been taking evidence from the government of Yemen, as well as women’s groups and civil society as it consider the country’s progress in implementing its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which Yemen ratified in 1984.
The Yemeni NGOs CEDAW Coalition contributed their recommendations as part of their report into the situation for women in Yemen, published last year. Their recommendations included vital steps that need to be taken protect the rights and safety of women and girls in Yemen - such as:
abolishing the criminal code that permits so-called ‘honor crimes’
criminalizing female genital mutilation (FGM)
issuing a gender-sensitive transitional justice law
implementing the outcomes of the Yemeni National Dialogue by ensuring women’s representation of at least 30% in all appointed and elected authorities, and the judiciary
In total 66 recommendations in the Yemeni NGOs report were taken forward in the CEDAW Committee’s report, a huge endorsement of an outstanding piece of work that brought together women’s groups from across the country to contribute.