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Financial assistance was provided by the Women's Program, Status of Women Canada.
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ISBN 1-897159-00-5,
First edition
In April 1999, forty women's equality seeking organizations formed a coalition called the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) to begin monitoring Canada's implementation of its human rights commitments to women.
In late January 2003, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was scheduled to review Canada's 5th report on its compliance with the most comprehensive human rights treaty for women, the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In anticipation of this hearing, FAFIA prepared a report for the U.N. Committee which described comprehensively the conditions of women in Canada.
FAFIA's report "Canada's Failure to Act: Women's Inequality Deepens" was prepared by a broad cross section of women's equality-seeking groups. It provided an exhaustive assessment of Canada's implementation of its treaty obligations to women in key areas under this U.N. Convention, including equality in employment, education, political and public life, equality in marriage and family law, and freedom from violence and poverty. This information proved to be useful for the U.N.'s review.
In February 2003, the U.N. Committee made twenty-six recommendations to Canada. These recommendations addressed the persistent and systemic discrimination confronted by Aboriginal women, the decrease in income supports on which women heavily rely, such as social assistance and employment insurance, the on-going wage and employment gap for the majority of women workers, especially among women of colour and immigrant women, and the inaccessibility of legal aid for family and civil law, to name just a few. Implementing these recommendations is essential to women's equality in Canada.
This toolkit has its roots in FAFIA's experience with the U.N. Committee in 2003. It is designed to assist FAFIA's member groups, policy-makers and parliamentarians to understand the significance of the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). It is also intended to provide resources so that groups from across the country can mobilize for the implementation of the U.N. recommendations by all levels of government. Since the U.N.'s review in 2003, FAFIA members have traveled around the country in order to spread the word about Canada's obligations under CEDAW, and to strategize with equality-seeking women regarding the U.N.'s recommendations to Canada.
The toolkit is organized into four sections:
Throughout the world, women and governments are paying significant attention to CEDAW. We have attempted throughout the kit to give you glimpses of how CEDAW has influenced legislation and policies in a range of countries. We have also developed two posters which accompany the toolkit. One outlines the U.N.'s recommendations to Canada. The other poses a fundamental question to governments in Canada (federal, provincial, territorial and municipal) regarding their commitments to women.
As a growing coalition of women's equality-seeking and other human rights non-governmental organizations that share a commitment to advancing women's substantive equality in Canada, we take for granted that Canada takes its obligations under this U.N. Convention seriously, and we expect that Canada will act to honour its human rights commitments to women.
However, we know that the engagement of women from across the country is essential to ensuring that this happens at all levels of government, and in a timely manner. We encourage women's and other human rights organizations, parliamentarians and policy-makers to use this toolkit. FAFIA's website also has additional materials on CEDAW, and updates on Canada's progress in improving its compliance with CEDAW.
We look forward to working with you!
Sharon McIvor and Charlotte Thibault,
Co-Chairs,
The Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action,
November 2004
These days, many women in Canada may wonder if Canada believes in the commitments that it has made under international treaties to the human rights of women.
Canada is better placed than many other nations to advance the equality of women, given its abundant resources and stable institutions. Canada is also a well-known advocate for women's human rights internationally, often encouraging other countries to take steps forward.
Despite this, Canada is not fully meeting its obligations under international human rights law here at home. That was the clear message of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women which reviewed Canada's compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) just one year ago.
When Canada made its decision to ratify CEDAW back in 1981, it did so after securing the full agreement of provincial and territorial governments, who assumed responsibility for implementing the Convention in their areas of jurisdiction.
But fast forward to 2003, over 20 years after Canada ratified, and we find that the U.N. oversight body which reviews countries' compliance with CEDAW expressed serious concerns about Canada's performance, and issued 26 recommendations for change.
In 2003, the U.N. noted that in a country as wealthy as Canada, poverty rates of 41 per cent for elderly single women, 51 per cent for single mothers, 43 per cent for Aboriginal women, 37 per cent for women of colour, and 48 per cent for women who are recent immigrants are shockingly high. (Note 2) The Committee was concerned that the vulnerability of women was being deepened by cuts to social programs and services.
It also expressed dismay over the absence of pan-Canadian mechanisms for ensuring compliance with CEDAW. Though each provincial and territorial government is responsible for meeting the terms of CEDAW in their areas of jurisdiction, the federal government has a lead role to play in ensuring that no government in Canada drives women's conditions below treaty standards.
But this is a role that the federal government is not playing adequately. And the U.N. knows it. In its remarks, it criticized Canada for backing away in 1995 from attaching conditions to the transfer of funds to the provinces for social programs. The U.N. recommended that conditions be re-attached to the transfers of funds to ensure that human rights standards for social programs are met in all jurisdictions.
The U.N. Committee also found the situation of Aboriginal and First Nations women particularly worrying, commenting that they face "persistent and systemic discrimination" in employment, education, and in the criminal justice system, and overt discrimination in laws on marital property and Indian status.
It urged Canada to make sufficient legal aid available for civil and family law matters, eliminate sex discrimination from the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, get rid of the Live-In Caregiver Program, provide adequate funding to women's crisis centers and shelters, ensure that women have better access to secure and full time work, expand affordable child care, reconsider the eligibility rules for Employment Insurance, provide more social housing for elderly and single parent women, and take steps to increase women's representation in political and public life.
Despite the clear message from the United Nations that Canada has serious homework to do, the federal government has not yet indicated how it will respond to the U.N.'s recommendations, or how it will work with the provinces and territories. The Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) proposed a detailed plan for responding to the U.N. Committee's recommendations this past September, but, so far, no government in Canada has mapped out a process for implementation, nor have governments jointly done this.
Canada has an intergovernmental process for ratifying treaties, but appears to have no meaningful inter-governmental process for implementing them or for monitoring compliance with them.
Living up to Canada's human rights commitments matters. Canadian women need to be able to hold federal, provincial and territorial governments fully accountable for the implementation of these commitments. They also need a chance to work with governments on the practical challenges of realizing their human rights.
Without concrete steps, Canada will continue to promise equality to women but fail to make good on that promise. And in unmistakable terms, the U.N. expert body on discrimination against women has sent a message to Canada: to be a credible international leader on women's human rights, you have to be a leader at home.
On December 18, 1979 the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, also known as "The Treaty for the Rights of Women" or "CEDAW." The call for a Women's Convention emerged from the First World Conference on Women in Mexico City in 1975. Until the General Assembly adopted the Convention in 1979, no international document comprehensively addressed women's rights within the political, cultural, economic, social, and family realms.
Often called an international "Bill of Rights" for women, CEDAW is the culmination of more than thirty years of work by the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The creation of this treaty was the first critical step in developing appropriate human rights language for women. This language addresses abuses (for example, physical, sexual, economic, and political) of women and promotes women's full enjoyment of their rights and well-being. CEDAW has been used to incorporate women's rights into national constitutions, update or eliminate discriminatory national laws, and influence court decisions in many countries.
As of March 2004, 175 countries have ratified CEDAW.
The treaty requires ratifying nations to overcome barriers to discrimination against women in the areas of legal rights, education, employment, health care, politics and finance.
The treaty also calls for governments to remove barriers to de facto or substantive equality. This requires countries to examine the actual conditions of life for women and girls and to eliminate structures and customs that discriminate against them.. Many of the 175 countries that have ratified the treaty have used it for guiding the passage and enforcement of national laws.
For example:
The treaty establishes a Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee), to consider and review the progress made by States parties in implementing the Convention. This Committee of 23 independent experts, nominated and elected by States parties for four-year terms, reviews reports from individual countries and assesses the Convention's implementation..
States Parties to the Convention are required to submit a report to the Committee one year after ratification and then again every four years. These reports constitute the basis of consultative dialogue between the Committee and States parties regarding progress on advancing women's equality. The Committee is also authorized to make general comments and recommendations on the interpretation and application of specific articles of the Convention or themes related to the Convention.
The Optional Protocol to the Convention entered into force on December 22, 2000. It empowers individuals or groups to submit complaints that their rights have been violated to the Committee, once they have exhausted all available avenues of domestic redress. It also entitles the Committee to investigate grave or systematic violations of the Convention, but ratifying States may opt-out of this inquiry procedure. As of March 2004, 75 countries are signatories to the Optional Protocol, out of the 175 States Parties to CEDAW.
CEDAW is not a newly drafted treaty, but has a 25-year history. The primary goals of the Convention are to eliminate discrimination against women and girls, to promote the rule of law and respect for human rights throughout the world, and to advance the equality of women. Developments in the more than 170 countries that have ratified CEDAW offers actual, rather than speculative, proof of how the treaty has helped secure fundamental rights and freedoms of women throughout the world.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women is not mean to be used in place of any existing tools, or legislation like the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is simply another tool with which to promote women's equality.
Human rights is a matter of shared federal-provincial jurisdiction, and the general practice is to only ratify a human rights treaty after obtaining the support of Canadian provinces and territories (note 2). As this was the case with CEDAW, all provinces and territories have agreed to implement CEDAW, and all governments are legally bound by its terms.
The CEDAW Reporting Process: the Role of Government and NGOs
Every four years Canada compiles a written report providing information to the U.N. CEDAW Committee about steps it has taken to comply with the treaty. The procedure also allows for 'alternative' reports prepared by NGOs to be submitted alongside the official government report. The NGO reports may provide additional information and suggest lines of enquiry for the CEDAW Committee.
The adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1979 by the United Nations signaled the acceptance by the international community of the necessity of an international bill of rights for women, and an accompanying agenda for action that would guarantee women's enjoyment of these rights.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is one of seven United Nations human rights treaties. CEDAW provides the basis for realizing equality between women and men through ensuring women's equal access to-and equal opportunities in-political and public life, as well as education, reproductive health, employment, family law, child care, and social security.
Countries that ratify the CEDAW agree to take all appropriate measures, including legislation and temporary special measures, so that women can enjoy all of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Having ratified CEDAW, Canada must regularly report to the United Nations on its progress in fully implementing CEDAW.
In October 2002, Canada ratified a new treaty that creates additional procedures to enhance compliance with CEDAW.
1. Communications Procedure:
Individuals and groups can submit a formal complaint to the United Nations about alleged violations of CEDAW by their country.
2. U.N. Inquiry:
The U.N. Committee can demand information and an explanation from a country where grave or systematic violations of CEDAW may be occurring.
In 1990, the National Action Committee on the Status of Women submitted a parallel report to the United Nations regarding Canada's second CEDAW report which focused on the negative impact that Canada's changing economic priorities, including cuts to core funding for women's organizations, access to employment insurance, quality child care, abortion, and employment equity, were having on women in Canada.
In 1993, the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women produced a report on the steps Canada had taken to fulfill its obligations under CEDAW in which it concluded that few of Canada's CEDAW commitments had been fully, or even partially fulfilled, and that Canada continued to enter into international treaty agreements without being clear about how or if they would be implemented.
In 1997, an ad hoc group of individuals and organizations produced a shadow report on the occasion of the 4th U.N. review of Canada's adherence to CEDAW. This report focused on the growth of women's inequality as a direct result of the government of Canada's policy priorties. The report illuminated the negative impacts on women of the cuts to federal transfer payments to provinces and territories for health care, education and social security, and the elimination of the Canada Assistance Plan. The report concluded that these policies compromise Canada's domestic commitments to women's equality, including those made in the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, which the federal government has identified as one of the primary vehicles through which CEDAW is upheld in Canada.
In 2002, the Feminist Alliance for International Action submitted an alternative report to the United Nations CEDAW Committee on the occasion of the 5th review of Canada's report. The report, Canada's Failure to Act: Women's Inequality Deepens, demonstrates that many laws, policies and programs necessary to ensure women's equality have not been implemented or, alternately, have been cut back.
In January 2003, the U.N. Committee which reviewed Canada's compliance to CEDAW noted that the federal government must take urgent action to remedy the profoundly unequal status of Aboriginal and First Nations women, the systemic discrimination confronted by immigrant and refugee women as well as women who come to Canada under the Live-in Caregiver Program, the scarce resources for legal aid for family and civil law, women's increasing poverty, and the downloading of care-giving onto women due to cuts in social programs.
Many women in Canada are not familiar with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, in part because the Canadian gov-ernment has not publicized its own obligations under this international treaty.
Nonetheless, some women's organizations in Canada have begun to make use of CEDAW.
Women make up 51% of the Canadian population but only 21% of the House of Commons! Article 7 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) states that countries which have ratified the treaty "shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country". This requires that women enjoy the right to vote, to stand for election, hold public office and to represent their country on equal terms with men.
In 1991, the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Finances recommended that the government provide incentives for political parties to elect more women, but no government has yet done this. The electoral system can also disadvantage women. "The top ten nations with the highest percentages of women in lower or single houses (ranging from 30.0% to 42.7%) were all nations using proportional voting systems. The three industrial democracies still using first-past-the-post voting systems-Canada, UK and the US-ranked 30th, 40th and 52nd respectively."(note 1)
Evidence shows that women's issues receive a higher priority and are more likely to be acted upon when there is a critical mass (at least 30%) of women in policy-making bodies. Canada has not yet achieved this critical mass.
Sweden, which has the 2nd highest proportion of female parliamentarians in the world (at 45%) attributes their success to a system of proportional representation (PR), assertive women's organizations and a commitment to equality by the parties (note 2). Thus, women could be better represented if Canada adopted some form of PR to elect our officials, and provided incentives for political parties to nominate more women.
Aboriginal women face many additional difficulties in participating in politics because male led Aboriginal groups have received much more recognition, attention and funding from governments than Aboriginal women's groups have. This neglect and discrimination diminishes Aboriginal women's capacity to bring forward their interests and concerns.
"Take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and, in particular, shall ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right: (a) To vote in all elections and public referenda and to be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies; (b) To participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government; (c) participate in non-governmental organizations and associations concerned with the public and political life of the country." (CEDAW, Article 7)
"...Introduc[e] temporary special measures with numerical goals and timetables to increase the representation of women in decision-making positions at all levels." (para. 372)
-U.N. Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 2003, Concluding Comments on Canada's 5th Report, Paragraphs 325-389.
"The Committee is concerned that women are still underrepresented in all areas of [Canada's] political and public life."
-U.N. Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 2003, Concluding Comments on Canada's 5th Report.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is the most comprehensive international agreement on the human rights of women. Canada ratified it in 1981 and agreed to it to take "all appropriate measures" to ensure the full development and advancement of women in all spheres of life-political, educational, employment, health care, economic, social, legal, and marriage and family relations.
COSTA RICA-In 1985-1986, presidential candidate Oscar Arias reached out to women voters and promised that if elected his government would have the "soul of a woman". He was elected and women's groups moved quickly to ensure his promises would be kept. They used CEDAW's Articles 4 and 7 to draft legislation which guaranteed equality of men and women in all walks of life, setting out which legal reforms needed to take place, encouraging political parties to improve women's representation and allocating a percentage of public funds to improving women's participation in the political system. In 1990 the 'Law of Promotion of the Social Equality of Women' successfully passed into effect!
-Bringing Equality Home, p. 29
"There is evidence...that when there is a critical mass (at least 30%) of women in policy-making bodies, not only are women's issues prioritized in the policy-agenda but they are more likely to be acted upon by policy-makers."
-Beijing 4th World Conference on Women, 1995
"The concept of democracy will have real and dynamic meaning and lasting effect only when political decision-making is shared by women and men and takes equal account of the interests of both."
-CEDAW Committee General Recommendation No. 23
Articles 2 and 3 of the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) state that countries that have ratified the treaty must take all appropriate measures to eliminate women's inequality, and ensure that all laws, policies and practices provide protection against discrimination. The higher rate of poverty among women in Canada, and women's higher vulnerability to poverty are, by themselves, evidence of Canada's failure to meet its obligations under Articles 2 & 3.
The average annual income for a visible minority woman in Canada is $16,621, as compared to the average of $19,495 for other women and almost $7,000 less than that of visible minority men ($23,635).
Single mothers are most likely to be poor, with poverty rates reaching as high as 56% for lone parent families headed by women, compared with 24% of those headed by men (note 3). Lone parent mothers and unattached women account for 48% of heads of households on social assistance. Poor single mothers are also living in the deepest poverty, with incomes $8851 below the poverty line in 1995 (note 4).
In 1995, the federal government introduced dramatic changes to the funding of social programs in Canada designed to alleviate poverty. These included:
These changes resulted in a loss of national standards in the allocation of federal dollars, as well as deep cuts to welfare rates, a narrowing of eligibility rules, and the introduction of workfare in many provinces and territories.
Because of changes to social assistance programs, more women and their kids are relying on food banks (54% of food bank users report their main source of income is social assistance), women are at greater risk of losing their housing if they rent (vs. own) their homes, and there is a growing tendency for abused women to return to violent relationships because they can not support themselves and their children on current social assistance rates.
Women are not naturally poor. Their higher poverty rate is evidence of systemic discrimination against them. Further, particular government choices impact on women's access to and ability to earn an income. Cuts in health and social services over the last decade have resulted in the elimination of some good jobs held by women, that is, full time jobs with security, union protection, pensions and benefits.
Women also tend to function as "shock absorbers" when government services are cut. Because women are often the primary care-givers in the home, it's women who scramble to fill in the gaps when it comes to elder care, child care and other services.
Federal government reforms to unemployment insurance, historically one of the best shock absorbers for many women at risk of poverty, has also meant that fewer women are eligible for this benefit. Insurance coverage for unemployed Canadians has been cut in half since the early 1990s, when Ottawa began changing the rules and the hours of work required to qualify for benefits. In 2001, just 33% of unemployed women received insurance benefits, compared to a 44% rate of coverage for men.
"While appreciating the federal government's various anti-poverty measures, the Committee is concerned about the high percentage of women living in poverty, in particular, elderly women living alone, female lone parents, Aboriginal women, older women, women of Colour, immigrant women and women with disabilities, for whom poverty persists or even deepens, aggravated by the budgetary adjustments since 1995 and the resulting cuts in social services. The Committee is also concerned that the [federal government's] measures are mostly directed towards children and not towards these groups of women." (para. 357)
-UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 2003, Concluding Comments on Canada's 5th Report, Para. 325-389.
"...Assess the gender impact of antipoverty measures and increase its efforts to combat poverty among women in general and the vulnerable groups of women in particular." (para.358)
-UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 2003, Concluding Comments on Canada's 5th Report, Para. 325-389.
Many families across the country now have to choose between paying the rent and feeding the kids as a result of cuts to social assistance benefits. In 2003, a network of anti-poverty groups in Ontario pressured the Ontario government to raise the shelter allowance (which is part of the social assistance benefit) to reflect the actual cost of shelter in Ontario. This campaign emphasized that while the cost of renting a 2 bedroom apartment in Ontario is $883, a family of three living on social assistance receives only $554 for rent.
"The Committee is concerned about the high percentage of women [in Canada] living in poverty."
-UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 2003, Concluding Comments on Canada's 5th Report.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is the most comprehensive international agreement on the human rights of women. Canada ratified it in 1981 and agreed to it to take "all appropriate measures" to ensure the full development and advancement of women in all spheres of life-political, educational, employment, health care, economic, social, legal, and marriage and family relations.
Though the text of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) does not specifically mention violence against women, Articles 2 & 3 guarantee women's equality in all aspects of their lives. In addition, in General Recommendation 19 on Violence Against Women, the CEDAW Committed stated explicitly that, "Gender-based violence may breach specific provisions of the Convention, regardless of whether those provisions expressly mention violence." (General Recommendation 19, Violence Against Women [Eleventh session, 1992], U.N. Doc. A/47/38 at 1 [1993])
Violence against women in Canada remains a pervasive problem. Governments' laws and policies fail in a number of different ways:
The Canadian government has adopted a 'law and order' approach in dealing with violence against women. This approach makes the assumption that more laws and more policing will stop the violence. However, such an approach does not address the root cause of violence against women which is their social, economic, and political inequality. A 'law and order' approach has not resulted in more safety for women but has simply resulted in tougher laws and longer sentences for some perpetrators. While women do want justice, they are not looking for revenge.
The government of Canada needs to remedy women's inequality by stopping the violence before it occurs; simply punishing violence against women when it is already too late for the many women injured or murdered is not an acceptable approach.
"The Convention applies to violence perpetrated by public authorities." (General Recommendation 19, para. 8)
CEDAW states that governments are obligated to prevent and remedy violence against women which is perpetrated by both private individuals and public authorities. Unfortunately, women in prisons are still vulnerable to such violence. In response to a situation in a female prison in 1994 where women were forcibly restrained and strip searched by a male response team, former Justice Louise Arbour (now the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights) described the event as "cruel, inhumane, and degrading". Justice Arbour made more than 90 recommendations to improve the operations in women's prisons, but few have been implemented.
The Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) has been advocating on behalf of women with mental illnesses and disabilities who are in prison and discriminated against because they are seen to be a higher risk. Because of this, these women have difficulty accessing necessary resources for their rehabilitation. "Rather than viewing the needs of these women as critical issues to be addressed, the criminal justice system places these women in unnecessarily highly restrictive conditions for confinement", says Kim Pate of CAEFS.
The World Health Organization estimates that violence is the leading cause of death for women between the ages of 15 and 44, more than cancer, traffic accidents and malaria combined. (www.whrnet.org/docs/issue-genderviolence.html)
"The underlying consequences of these forms of gender-based violence help to maintain women in subordinate roles and contributes to the low level of political participation and to their lower level of education, skills and work opportunities." (General Recommendation 19, para. 11)
The United Nations expert Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women recommends that, "States parties should take appropriate and effective measures to overcome all forms of gender-based violence, whether by public or private act." (General Recommendation 19, para. 24)
"...Step up its efforts to combat violence against women and girls and increase its funding for women's crisis centres and shelters in order to address the needs of women victims of violence under all governments." (para. 370)
-UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 2003, Concluding Comments on Canada's 5th Report, Paragraphs 325-389.
"Despite the commendable measures taken by [Canada]...violence against women and girls persists. The Committee is particularly concerned about the inadequate funding for women's crisis services and shelters."
-UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 2003, Concluding Comments on Canada's 5th Report.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is the most comprehensive international agreement on the human rights of women. Canada ratified it in 1981 and agreed to it to take "all appropriate measures" to ensure the full development and advancement of women in all spheres of life-political, educational, employment, health care, economic, social, legal, and marriage and family relations.
1. Statistics Canada (1993) "The Violence against Women Survey", The Daily, November 18, 1993, Ottawa: Statistics Canada. (back)
Article 11 of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) obligates countries that have ratified the treaty to "take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment." Women should enjoy the right to the free choice of profession, equal pay for work of equal value, benefits, and protection from discrimination on the grounds of marriage or maternity.
Though women have moved into the paid labour force in ever-increasing numbers over the last two decades, they do not enjoy equality in earnings, or in access to non-traditional jobs and managerial positions, or in benefits.
Aboriginal women, women of colour, women with disabilities, and immigrant women earn less than the female average as they are concentrated in low-wage sectors and face higher rates of unemployment.
Immigrant women have a particularly difficult time in the labour force. Even though immigrant women are on average better educated than Canadian-born women, they face rates of unemployment as much as four times higher. Also, immigrant women work longer hours, for lower pay in lower skilled jobs than Canadian-born women.
The current laws that are intended to protect women from discrimination in the labour force, such as human rights and employment equity legislation, are inadequate to prevent and remedy discrimination.
"Take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, the same rights, in particular: (a) The right to work as an inalienable right of all human beings; (b) The right to the same employment opportunities... (c) The right to free choice of profession and employment... (d) The right to equal remuneration, including benefits, and to equal treatment in respect of work of equal value... (e) The right to social security... (f) The right to protection of health and to safety in working conditions, including the safeguarding of the function of reproduction.
"To prevent discrimination against women on the grounds of marriage or maternity and to ensure their effective right to work, [Canada] shall take appropriate measures: (a) To prohibit...dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy or of maternity leave and discrimination on the basis of marital status; (b) To introduce maternity leave with pay or with comparable social benefits... (c) To encourage the provision of the necessary supporting social services to enable parents to combine family obligations with work responsibilities and participation in public life, in particular through promoting the establishment and development of a network of child-care facilities; (d) To provide special protection to women during pregnancy in types of work proved to be harmful to them"
(CEDAW, Article 11)
-UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 2003, Concluding Comments on Canada's 5th Report, Paragraphs 325-389.
JAPAN-Japan ratified CEDAW in 1984 and enacted a number of laws in order to bring it into compliance with the treaty. This included the 1985 Equal Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL) which prohibited employment discrimination in the private sector. Women's NGOs consistently criticized the EEOL because of the weakness of its enforcement provisions, and the Japanese government was finally convinced in 1997 to amend the law to strengthen these provisions.
Bringing Equality Home, p. 31
"The Committee notes with concern the lack of women's de facto equality in the [Canadian] labour market."
-UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 2003, Concluding Comments on Canada's 5th Report.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is the most comprehensive international agreement on the human rights of women. Canada ratified it in 1981 and agreed to it to take "all appropriate measures" to ensure the full development and advancement of women in all spheres of life-political, educational, employment, health care, economic, social, legal, and marriage and family relations.
Dear Prime Minister,
The Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) is a growing coalition of women's equality-seeking and other human rights non-governmental organizations who share a commitment to advancing women's substantive equality in Canada.
Dedicated to furthering the human rights of women, FAFIA is focused on ensuring that the international human rights treaties that Canada has ratified provide a practical framework of standards for the development and implementation of domestic policies and practices.
Some of Canada's most significant commitments to women are set out in the United Nations (U.N.) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). In 2002, Canada submitted its fifth report on its compliance with CEDAW for review by the United Nations' CEDAW Committee. In response, the Committee made twenty-six recommendations (26) to the Canadian government in January 2003.
On the occasion of the one year anniversary of the United Nation CEDAW Committee's review of Canada's 5th report on its compliance to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), FAFIA has reviewed the progress made by the federal government over the past year in increasing its compliance with CEDAW. Despite the considerable efforts of Status of Women Canada to increase awareness of CEDAW and foster dialogues across departments, unfortunately, little progress has been made on implementation of a substantive response to the Committee's recommendations.
We take for granted that Canada participates in treaty review processes in good faith, and takes its obligations seriously. Consequently, we expect that Canada will act on the recommendations of the Committee in order to honour its human rights commitments (note 2).
The Feminist Alliance for International Action urges the federal government to take immediate steps in the following areas:
"While appreciating the federal government's various anti-poverty measures, the Committee is concerned about the high percentage of women living in poverty, in particular, elderly women living alone, female lone parents, Aboriginal women, older women, women of Colour, immigrant women and women with disabilities, for whom poverty persists or even deepens, aggravated by the budgetary adjustments since 1995 and the resulting cuts in social services. The Committee is also concerned that the [federal government's] measures are mostly directed towards children and not towards these groups of women."
Report of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 28th Session, January 13-31st 2003: Paragraph 357
In January 2003, the UN CEDAW Committee commented that Canada has disproportionately high rates of poverty amongst women.
It is clear that social program restructuring and changes in federal-provincial financing of social programs has exacerbated the levels of poverty experienced by women.
To decrease the high rate of women's poverty, the committee noted that the federal government must:
"The Committee is concerned that Aboriginal women, among other highly vulnerable groups of women, are over-concentrated in lower-skill and lower-paying occupations. They constitute a high percentage of those women who have not completed secondary education, they constitute a high percentage of those women serving prison sentences and they suffer high rates of domestic violence. The Committee is further concerned that the First Nations Governance Act currently under discussion does not address remaining discriminatory legal provisions under other Acts, including matrimonial property rights, status and band membership questions which are incompatible with the Convention."
Report of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 28th Session, January 13-31st 2003: Paragraph 361.
In January 2003, the UN CEDAW commented that Aboriginal and First Nations continue to face persistent and systematic discrimination.
The federal government must:
"The Committee is concerned that federal legal aid funds to civil and family law and for legal matters related to poverty issues, in contrast to legal aid for criminal cases, are channeled to the provinces and territories at their discretion. This [method of funding legal aid], in practice, turns out to have a disproportionately restrictive impact on women seeking legal redress as compared to men."
Report of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 28th Session, January 13-31st 2003: Paragraph 355.
In January 2003, the UN CEDAW Committee commented that women increasingly have difficulty accessing legal aid.
The federal government must:
"...find ways...for ensuring that sufficient legal aid is available to women under all jurisdictions when seeking redress in issues of civil and family law and in those relating to poverty issues" (Recommendation of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 28th Session, January 13-21st 2003: Paragraph 356).
"While appreciating the inclusion of trafficking in persons as constituting a criminal offence under the new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, as well as other aspects protecting refugee and immigrant women, the Committee notes that other provisions and practices may still contribute to devaluing women's educational skills and previous economic contributions to their families' well-being."
Report of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 28th Session, January 13-31st 2003: Paragraph 363
In January 2003, the UN CEDAW Committee commented that immigrant and refugee women experience difficulty fully integrating into Canadian society as a result of government policies, including the new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
In addition, the UN Committee expressed concern about the vulnerabilities of women who come to Canada under the Live-in Caregiver Program:
"The Committee is concerned that the caregivers are allowed into the country only as temporary residents, they do not receive adequate social security and having to live in the homes of their employers may subject them to exploitation and abuse."
Report of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 28th Session, January 13-31st 2003: Paragraph 366
The federal government must:
"The Committee is concerned that the federal Government does not seem to have the power to ensure that governments establish legal and other measures in order to fully implement the Convention in a coherent and consistent manner... It underlines the federal government's principal responsibility in implementing the Convention. "
Report of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 28th Session, January 13-31st 2003: Paragraph 349
In January 2003, the UN CEDAW committee commented that there is an absence of federal coordination to ensure provincial and territorial compliance with human rights commitments.
In its concluding comments, the UN CEDAW Committee remarked that Canada has an obligation to include women's groups in the gathering of data in preparation for Canada's report to the UN. It also noted that Canada is four years behind in its reporting. For Canada's next report, the Committee recommended that women's non-governmental organizations representing different groups of women under all governments, and other relevant non-governmental organizations, be involved in a national discussion and the dissemination of the next report.
Further to these comments, FAFIA has proposed that the best way for Canada to better comply with CEDAW in view of all of the comments provided above is for the federal government of Canada to establish a CEDAW implementation plan. A framework for the development of such an action plan was developed this past June at a national forum that FAFIA convened of grassroots organizations and feminist policy experts.
This implementation plan must include:
Without the federal government taking the steps outlined in this plan, Canada will fail to meet its international human rights obligations to women.
We note that many of the areas in which the UN CEDAW Committee recommended that Canada take strong action are identified as priorities in the recent Speech from the Throne. These areas include improving the well-being of Aboriginal Canadians, encouraging a stronger and more constructive relationship with provinces and territories, recognizing the credentials and skills of new immigrants, and implementing an agenda of democratic reform.
The signatories to this letter call upon Prime Minister Paul Martin to take decisive action to immediately address the concerns of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) about Canada's compliance. True democracy in Canada can not be fully realized until every woman and girl fully enjoys her human rights.
1. This letter was sent to the Prime Minister on International Women's Day (March 8th) 2004. (back)
2. The Feminist Alliance for International Action recognizes the right of Quebec to determine its own standards, programs and policies in areas of its jurisdiction. (back)
The Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action convened a national two-day conference in June 2003 with representatives from 25 national and locally based equality-seeking organizations to devise a proposed plan for follow-up on the UN recommendations that emerged from the UN's committee most recent review.
Representatives at this meeting agreed that the Canadian government must take the following immediate steps in order to respond adequately:
The establishment of a Cabinet-authorized cross-departmental process leading to an action plan for implementing the 2003 CEDAW Committee recommendations, (as well as the related recommendations of CESCR 1998, the Human Rights Committee 1999 and CERD 2002) with two components:
The federal government has three key roles to play with respect to Canada's compliance with international treaty obligations:
Canada has procedures in place for dealing with ratification of treaties and for reporting to United Nations treaty bodies. However, procedures for responding to treaty body findings and recommendations remain undeveloped. The regular reviews by treaty bodies of Canada's compliance with its human rights obligations should provide an opportunity for an accountable and transparent review of Canada's performance and for necessary changes to be made. The cross-departmental process outlined here will permit this.
To our knowledge, no Cabinet mandated process currently exists. In its absence, Status of Women Canada has established a senior level forum on human rights with the departments of Justice and Foreign Affairs and International trade, and is coordinating and/or participating in a few other inter-departmental exchanges on compliance with CEDAW. In addition, at the federal, provincial territorial meeting of Ministers responsible for the Status of Women in September 2003, the issue of CEDAW was addressed.
The use of an analytical framework for designing the appropriate means of implementing the 2003 CEDAW (and related) recommendations which takes into account the intersection of sex discrimination with discrimination based on other grounds including race, language, ethnicity, culture, religion, disability, sexual orientation and socio-economic class.
It is essential to be sure that measures taken to remedy discrimination or inequality will benefit all women, and take into account the ways in which different groups of women can be adversely affected by a policy or program because of their social location and the forms of discrimination that they encounter.
As a result of minimal action on the part of the federal government in responding to the UN CEDAW Committee's recommendations, the status of women confronting gender and other types of oppression, including racism and xenophobia, has not changed significantly. This is particularly true for Aboriginal and First Nations women who, as the UN Committee's recommendations note, continue to confront "discriminatory legal provisions" as well as barriers to "the equal enjoyment of their human rights to education, employment, and physical and psychological well-being".
The inclusion of women's non-governmental organizations, and experts designated by these organizations, as partners in the development of the action plan to implement the 2003 CEDAW (and related) recommendations.
FAFIA has agreed to take the lead in organizing this participation.
There are two reasons for establishing this process as a government-NGO partnership:
Opportunities for collaboration between non-governmental organizations and the federal government have been minimal in the absence of the development of an action plan.
An elaborated time frame is necessary to ensure that steps are taken, response is reviewed publicly, and progress is made before Canada provides its next report to the CEDAW Committee.
It is nearly a year since the UN CEDAW committee made 26 recommendations to the Canadian government on its adherence to this Convention. Unfortunately, with the exception of some small but significant efforts by Jean Augustine and her staff, the Canadian government has not signaled its intention to fully respond to the UN's recommendations. In a written response to a question on CEDAW follow-up, former Minister Sheila Copps stated that "efforts to address the issues are expected to be ongoing over several years" and that "information on the measures implemented and the results achieved will be included in Canada's next report. "
Unfortunately, the Canadian government is already four years behind in its reporting to the United Nations. It did not provide its report on Canada's compliance to CEDAW for the period of April 1994-March 1998 until April 2002. Despite the fact that Canada is significantly behind, Canada's next report at the United Nations is not scheduled for another four years, April 2006 and will cover the period April 1998 to March 2002. It will likely not be reviewed by the United Nations until 2007. Having to wait until 2006 for the Canadian government's full response to recommendations made by the United Nations in 2003 for a period that, at that point, will almost be a decade in the past does not honour the significance of the CEDAW commitments.
Adequate funding be provided to support the process and the implementation of the CEDAW 2003 (and related) recommendations. This funding should include:
While implementing some of the CEDAW 2003 (and related) recommendations will not have cost implications, others will. Responsiveness to the Committee's findings requires appropriate financial allocations. Additionally, genuine participation by women's non-governmental organizations in the development of an immediate action plan and in the development of longer term, permanent mechanisms for ensuring and monitoring compliance with Canada's treaty obligations requires financial support for research, administration and organization, travel and other related costs. Finally, though Canada provides funds to other countries for training and public education regarding CEDAW obligations, it has not provided funding for such initiatives at home, though they are clearly needed.
To our knowledge no funds have been set aside during this fiscal year to implement a plan to respond to the CEDAW Committee recommendations or to fix specific inadequacies noted by the Committee.
The Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) has received approximately $70,000 (note 2) from Status of Women Canada to conduct popular education activities between April 2003 - October 2004 to improve women's awareness of and capacity to use Canada's international treaty obligations.
325. The Committee considered the fifth periodic report of Canada (CEDAW/C/CAN/5 and Add.1) at its 603rd and 604th meetings, on 23 January 2003 (see CEDAW/C/SR.603 and 604).
326. In introducing her country's fifth periodic report, the representative of Canada highlighted the importance Canada placed on eliminating gender discrimination and reported that the overall economic situation of women in Canada had continued to improve steadily, with women's relative earnings increasing from 52 per cent of men's in 1986 to 63 per cent in 1997. Women had made tremendous strides in education, making inroads into traditionally male-dominated professions and the large majority of women of all ages considered themselves to be in good health.
327. The representative of Canada said that women over the past century had become increasingly involved in the full range of social and economic aspects of life, most notably becoming a major and integral part of the paid labour force. The majority of women continued to be employed in predominantly female occupations, but the number was slowly declining. Their overall economic situation continued to improve steadily and their total earnings as a percentage of men's had increased. There was still a distinct division of labour between the sexes, in particular women with young children were spending more of their time on unpaid work.
328. The representative of Canada indicated that factors such as age, race, ethnicity, immigrant status and aboriginal heritage had significant effects on women's economic status. Aboriginal women were concentrated disproportionately in lowerskill and lower-paying occupations, and had lower rates of employment in the wage economy than aboriginal men or non-aboriginal women. Poverty among some groups of women in Canada was far too high but poverty, in general, had been declining since 1997.
329. The representative explained that the Federal Plan for Gender Equality, with its key long-term goal of undertaking gender-based analysis of policies and programmes across Government, came into effect in 1995 at a time when the Budget Act focused on expenditure reductions to ensure fiscal responsibility. However, the economic situation had improved since then and the Government had endorsed a dual approach to gender equality that combined both the integration of a gender perspective in government processes and the development of policies and programmes that were gender-specific, thus also providing a more systematic approach to address gender discrimination. In 2000 the Government adopted a new Agenda for Gender Equality. The Agenda was a multi-year strategy, with new funding spread over a five-year period. It was designed to engender current and new policy and programme initiatives, accelerate the implementation of gender-based analysis, enhance voluntary sector capacity, engage Canadians in the policy process and meet Canada's international commitments.
330. The representative provided a few examples to demonstrate that progress had been made in the past few years in process and results. The new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act promoted the mainstreaming of gender analysis through its requirements that gender impacts be reported annually in the federal immigration department's report to Parliament. As a part of the legislative process for the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, a gender-based analysis of the potential impacts of the Act and its regulations had been prepared. Several sections of the Act highlighted where gender considerations had been taken into consideration. Thus, for example, the Act included the offences for human smuggling and trafficking in persons, carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, a fine of up to Can$ 1 million, or both. The legislation recognized the context of trafficked women's lives by allowing a court to take into account aggravating factors such as humiliating or degrading treatment, including sexual exploitation, when determining an appropriate penalty for the crime.
331. With regard to the situation of indigenous women, the representative explained that in 1998, in response to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the Government had adopted an action plan called "Gathering Strength", a strategy to improve the quality of life of aboriginal people and to promote self-sufficiency with funding of Can$ 965 million over five years. The Government had also introduced legislation to modernize the governance components of the historic Indian Act, adding to the First Nations' governance tools, which aimed at improving women's quality of life in their communities by offering them increased participation in the governance of the communities, broadening their protection from discrimination and providing additional remedies.
332. Turning to unpaid work, the representative stated that in December 2002, parental benefits under the Employment Insurance scheme were increased from 10 weeks to 35 weeks and that a disincentive that affected fathers was removed, doubling the combined maternity/parental benefit period to one full year. The number of Canadians accessing parental benefits increased by 24.3 per cent in 2001. The Government had also introduced and enhanced in the recent past a Child Tax benefit and National Child Benefit System, which included a supplement for lowerincome families. Those benefits were particularly important in fostering parental employment in low-income families, where earnings alone would not be sufficient to meet family needs. The new child benefits thus directly addressed some key factors contributing to poverty among women - their lower average wages and predominance as primary care providers for children.
333. Regarding women's health, the representative noted recent investments in the areas of disabilities and health research. The Institute for Gender and Health, established in 2000, offered an unprecedented opportunity to investigate the influence of gender and sex on health. The 1997 Guidelines on the Inclusion of Women in Clinical Trials were an important step forward in the light of women's greater reporting of chronic health conditions and greater use of medication than men. The Guidelines aimed to ensure that drug manufacturers seeking market approval for their products based their application on research representing the full range of patients likely to receive the drug and that women were enrolled in clinical trials at all stages of drug development. Such procedures helped to define the risks and benefits associated with drug therapy to women, including women with childbearing potential and post-menopausal women.
334. The representative stated that another major government priority was to eliminate systematic violence against women. In 2002, federal, provincial and territorial ministers released a document entitled "Assessing Violence Against Women: A Statistical Profile", which provided reasons to believe that Canada's efforts to address violence against women might have had some positive effects. In 1993, some 12 per cent of women had indicated they had been assaulted by a marital or common-law partner in the preceding five years, whereas in 1999 the figure dropped to 8 per cent. The Government had initiated a number of criminal law reforms aimed at providing protection for victims of sexual assault and other violent offences. In addition, the Criminal Code and related legislation had been amended to facilitate the testimony of young victims of sexual or violent crime and to expand the role of victim impact statements.
335. Lastly, the representative of Canada said that Domestic Violence Courts had been created in many jurisdictions, with the aim of improving the justice system's response to domestic violence. They provided a range of specialized services, such as advocacy and support for women and children, expedited court processing, better victim cooperation and support, greater conviction rates and appropriate sentencing, including treatment for abusers.
336. The Committee commends the State party for preparing and presenting its fifth periodic report, which contains input from the federal, provincial and territorial governments.1 It also commends the State party for the written replies to the questions of the Committee's pre-session working group. However, it regrets that not all questions listed by the pre-session working group were answered by the State party.
337. The Committee congratulates the State party for the large delegation representing various governments headed by the Coordinator of Status of Women Canada. The Committee appreciates the open dialogue that took place between the delegation and the members of the Committee.
338. The Committee notes that the State party introduced gender-based impact analysis programmes and published Economic Gender Equality Indicators as a follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women.
339. The Committee welcomes the accession, in October 2002, to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the acceptance of the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, in November 1997.
340. The Committee commends the State party's policy, at the international level, in setting women's human rights standards, providing financial and other assistance to women's rights projects in developing countries as well as mainstreaming gender in its development assistance programmes and projects.
341. The Committee commends the State party for ongoing efforts towards improving the legal and de facto situation of women in Canada; in particular, it notes that the Canadian Human Rights Act as well as provincial and territorial human rights legislation have been amended or reinterpreted through court rulings and that additional laws have been formulated, all of which are directed towards the prohibition of all kinds of discrimination, including, inter alia, the practice of female genital mutilation.
342. The Committee notes with appreciation the recruitment and promotion measures taken to increase women's participation in the Foreign Service.
343. The Committee expresses satisfaction to the State party with the efforts undertaken in some provincial jurisdictions in order to increase the number of female students in the technical and scientific disciplines at the universities.
344. The Committee, through the State party, commends the province of Quebec for having made available full-time kindergarten to all children in the province since 1997 and for making early childhood services available at a nominal cost in general and free of charge for parents on social assistance.
345. The Committee welcomes the creation of domestic family violence courts in some jurisdictions as a way to improve the justice system's response to domestic violence.
346. The Committee commends the State party for the creation, in 2000, of the Institute of Gender and Health to contribute to the reduction of health disparities and the promotion of equity for vulnerable populations of women, including women with disabilities. The Committee notes with appreciation the adoption of the Guidelines on the Inclusion of Women in Clinical Trials to ensure that women are enrolled in such trials at all stages of drug development.
347. The Committee regrets that the report, covering the period 1994-1998, was submitted in 2002 and that it does not fully comply with the Committee's guidelines on the format of periodic reports. The report does not provide integrated information from federal to provincial and territorial levels, article by article, as recommended by the Committee in its previous concluding comments. Moreover, the report lacks integrated sex-disaggregated data from the federal, provincial and territorial levels, in particular detailed information on the scope of the programmes and the impact of the measures undertaken by the State party to eliminate discrimination against women.
348. The Committee recommends that, in preparing its next report, the State party take into account the Committee's new guidelines and its general recommendations. It recommends that the State party's next report contain more specific and analytical information on the situation of women by the federal, provincial and territorial governments and that it cover all jurisdictions in a consistent and integrated way. That information should be supported by nationwide sex-disaggregated data and should point to and describe the results intended and achieved by legal provisions, policies and programmes adopted by the federal, provincial and territorial governments directed towards the elimination of discrimination against women.
349. The Committee acknowledges the State party's complex federal, provincial and territorial political and legal structures. However, it underlines the federal Government's principal responsibility in implementing the Convention. The Committee is concerned that the federal Government does not seem to have the power to ensure that governments establish legal and other measures in order to fully implement the Convention in a coherent and consistent manner.
350. The Committee recommends that the State party search for innovative ways to strengthen the currently existing consultative federal-provincialterritorial Continuing Committees of Officials for human rights as well as other mechanisms of partnership in order to ensure that coherent and consistent measures in line with the Convention are achieved. The Committee also recommends that the existing mechanisms be used to introduce best practices in order to achieve substantive equality of women with men in the enjoyment of their human rights under all governments.
351. The Committee is concerned that, within the framework of the 1995 Budget Implementation Act, the transfer of federal funds to the provincial and territorial levels is no longer tied to certain conditions which previously ensured nationwide consistent standards in the areas of health and social welfare. It is also concerned about the negative impact that the new policy has had on the situation of women in a number of jurisdictions.
352. The Committee recommends that the federal Government reconsider those changes in the fiscal arrangements between the federal Government and the provinces and territories so that national standards of a sufficient level are re-established and women will no longer be negatively affected in a disproportionate way in different parts of the State party's territory.
353. While noting recent efforts at gender-based impact analysis of legislation, programmes and other measures at the federal and some provincial levels, the Committee is concerned that such efforts are not mandatory for all levels and bodies of the various jurisdictions.
354. The Committee recommends that the State party consider making genderbased impact analysis mandatory for all legal and programme efforts at the federal level and, through its respective Consultative Continuing Committees of Officials, at the provincial and territorial levels.
355. While appreciating the fact that funds are available under the Court Challenges Programme for test cases under the equality guarantee in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Committee is concerned that the Programme applies only to federal laws and programmes. The Committee is also concerned that federal legal aid funds in civil and family law and for legal matters related to poverty issues, in contrast to legal aid for criminal cases, are channelled to the provinces and territories at their discretion. That, in practice, turns out to have a disproportionately restrictive impact on women seeking legal redress as compared with men.
356. The Committee urges the State party to find ways for making funds available for equality test cases under all jurisdictions and for ensuring that sufficient legal aid is available to women under all jurisdictions when seeking redress in issues of civil and family law and in those relating to poverty issues.
357. While appreciating the federal Government's various anti-poverty measures, the Committee is concerned about the high percentage of women living in poverty, in particular elderly women living alone, female lone parents, aboriginal women, older women, women of colour, immigrant women and women with disabilities, for whom poverty persists or even deepens, aggravated by the budgetary adjustments made since 1995 and the resulting cuts in social services. The Committee is also concerned that those strategies are mostly directed towards children and not towards these groups of women.
358. The Committee urges the State party to assess the gender impact of antipoverty measures and increase its efforts to combat poverty among women in general and the vulnerable groups of women in particular.
359. The Committee is concerned about a number of recent changes in British Columbia which have a disproportionately negative impact on women, in particular aboriginal women. Among these changes are: a cut in funds for legal aid and welfare assistance, including changes in eligibility rules; a cut in welfare assistance; the incorporation of the Ministry of Women's Equality under the Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services; the abolition of the independent Human Rights Commission; the closing of a number of courthouses; and the proposed changes regarding the prosecution of domestic violence as well as a cut in support programmes for victims of domestic violence.
360. The Committee, through the State party, urges the government of British Columbia to analyse its recent legal and other measures as to their negative impact on women and to amend the measures, where necessary.
361. While appreciating the federal Government's efforts to combat discrimination against aboriginal women, including the pending amendment to the Canadian Human Rights Act, and to achieve substantive equality for them, the Committee is seriously concerned about the persistent systematic discrimination faced by aboriginal women in all aspects of their lives. The Committee is concerned that aboriginal women, among other highly vulnerable groups of women in Canada, are over-concentrated in lower-skill and lower-paying occupations, they constitute a high percentage of those women who have not completed secondary education, they constitute a high percentage of women serving prison sentences and they suffer high rates of domestic violence. The Committee is further concerned that the First Nations Governance Act currently under discussion does not address remaining discriminatory legal provisions under other Acts, including matrimonial property rights, status and band membership questions which are incompatible with the Convention.
362. The Committee urges the State party to accelerate its efforts to eliminate de jure and de facto discrimination against aboriginal women both in society at large and in their communities, particularly with respect to the remaining discriminatory legal provisions and the equal enjoyment of their human rights to education, employment and physical and psychological well-being. It urges the State party to take effective and proactive measures, including awarenessraising programmes, to sensitize aboriginal communities about women's human rights and to combat patriarchal attitudes, practices and stereotyping of roles. It also recommends to the State party to ensure that aboriginal women receive sufficient funding in order to be able to participate in the necessary governance and legislative processes that address issues which impede their legal and substantive equality. It also requests the State party to provide comprehensive information on the situation of aboriginal women in its next report.
363. While appreciating the inclusion of trafficking in persons as constituting a criminal offence under the new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, as well as other aspects protecting refugee and immigrant women, the Committee notes that other provisions and practices may still contribute to devaluing women's educational skills and previous economic contributions to their families' well-being.
364. The Committee requests the State party to implement fully the genderbased impact analysis and the reporting requirements provided in the new Act with a view to eliminating remaining provisions and practices which still discriminate against immigrants.
365. While noting the improvement regarding the de facto situation of live-in caregivers through formal employment contracts, the Committee is concerned that the caregivers are allowed into the country only as temporary residents, they do not receive adequate social security and having to live in the homes of their employers may subject them to exploitation and abuse.
366. The Committee urges the State party to take further measures to improve the current live-in caregiver programme by reconsidering the live-in requirement, ensuring adequate social security protection and accelerating the process by which such domestic workers may receive permanent residency.
367. The Committee recognizes the efforts made by the State party in addressing the issue of trafficking in women and girls, but notes with concern that the report does not provide sufficient information on the programmes to assist victims of trafficking.
368. The Committee encourages the State party to assist victims of trafficking through counselling and reintegration and to include detailed information on its victim assistance programmes in its next periodic report.
369. Despite the commendable measures taken by the State party to combat violence against women and girls, including criminal law reforms, the Committee notes with concern that violence against women and girls persists. The Committee is particularly concerned about the inadequate funding for women's crisis services and shelters.
370. The Committee urges the State party to step up its efforts to combat violence against women and girls and increase its funding for women's crisis centres and shelters in order to address the needs of women victims of violence under all governments.
371. While appreciating the progress made as regards increased women's political representation and the new legal provisions that benefit female candidates for political office in particular, the Committee is concerned that women are still underrepresented in all areas of political and public life.
372. The Committee urges the State party to take additional measures to increase the representation of women in political and public life. It recommends the introduction of temporary special measures with numerical goals and timetables to increase the representation of women in decisionmaking positions at all levels.
373. The Committee notes with concern the lack of women's de facto equality in the labour market, including the fact that, owing to their unpaid tasks in the family, a large percentage of them work in part-time jobs, marginal jobs and self-employment arrangements, which often do not carry adequate social benefits.
374. The Committee recommends that the State party monitor closely the situation of women's non-standard jobs and to introduce employment-related measures which will bring more women into standard employment arrangements with adequate social benefits.
375. While commending the State party's efforts directed towards the implementation of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, the Committee notes with concern that the auditing process is too slow and that that principle is not implemented in practice by all provincial and territorial governments.
376. The Committee urges the State party to accelerate its implementation efforts as regards equal pay for work of equal value at the federal level and utilize the respective federal-provincial-territorial Continuing Committees of Officials to ensure that that principle is implemented under all governments.
377. While commending the State party's efforts towards bringing aboriginal women into improved income-generating positions, the Committee is concerned that the focus on entrepreneurships may not lead to aboriginal women's economic independence.
378. The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that incomegenerating activities for aboriginal women provide for a sustained and adequate income, including all necessary social benefits.
379. The Committee is concerned that, while the report cites laudable efforts at expanding and improving childcare under all governments, there is no information, except for Quebec, indicating whether the available childcare places meet the demand and are affordable.
380. The Committee recommends that the State party further expand affordable childcare facilities under all governments and that it report, with nationwide figures, on demand, availability and affordability of childcare in its next report.
381. While noting improvements in the Employment Insurance Act, the Committee is concerned that the number of women eligible for unemployment benefits is lower as compared with men. While appreciating the increase in the number of months of parental leave, the Committee is concerned that the low benefit level of the parental leave may not encourage great numbers of fathers to avail themselves of that leave.
382. The Committee recommends to the State party to reconsider the eligibility rules of that Act based on a gender-based impact analysis in order to compensate for women's current inequalities in accessing those benefits owing to their non-standard employment patterns. It also encourages the State party to consider raising the benefit level for parental leave.
383. The Committee, although recognizing the efforts undertaken by the State party concerning the provision of social housing, is concerned that such efforts might be inadequate to address the needs of women with low incomes and those of female single parents.
384. The Committee recommends that the State party reconsider and, if necessary, redesign its efforts towards socially assisted housing after a genderbased impact analysis for vulnerable groups of women.
385. While recognizing the State party's close collaboration with non-governmental organizations in the work towards women's empowerment, the Committee notes with concern that non-governmental organizations were not invited to contribute to the preparation of the report.
386. The Committee recommends that women's non-governmental organizations representing different groups of women under all governments, and other relevant non-governmental organizations, be involved in a national discussion and the dissemination of the next report.
387. The Committee requests the State party to respond to the concerns expressed in the present concluding comments in its next periodic report under article 18 of the Convention.
388. Taking into account the gender dimensions of declarations, programmes and platforms for action adopted by relevant United Nations conferences, summits and special sessions (such as the special session of the General Assembly to review and appraise the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (the twenty-first special session), the special session of the General Assembly on children (the twenty-seventh special session), the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, and the Second World Assembly on Ageing), the Committee requests the State party to include information on the implementation of aspects of those documents relating to relevant articles of the Convention in its next periodic report.
389. The Committee requests the wide dissemination in Canada of the present concluding comments in order to make the people of Canada, and particularly government administrators and politicians, aware of the steps that have been taken to ensure de jure and de facto equality for women and the future steps required in that regard. It also requests the State party to continue to disseminate widely, in particular to women's and human rights organizations, the Convention and its Optional Protocol, the Committee's general recommendations, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the results of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, entitled "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace in the twenty-first century".
The UN Charter affirms 'the equal rights of men and women', 'the dignity and worth of the human person' and the realisation of fundamental human rights as the UN's core principles and objectives of the organisation. These principles have been further articulated through the adoption of international legal standards and binding treaties setting out the obligations of governments to secure human rights for individuals within their territory and subject to their jurisdiction 'without distinction of any kind'. Indeed the right not to be discriminated against is so fundamental that it is one of the rights that cannot be set aside (derogated from) in any circumstances.
These treaties and standards, and the mechanisms and institutions created to enforce them, form the international human rights law system which applies equally to men and women. This international system works to ensure the implementation of human rights in the national systems of states and, with national mechanisms, to monitor their implementation.
In addition to being a contract between states, human rights treaties also provide a framework of rights that individuals are entitled to claim at national, and in some cases international level. These treaties detail the obligations that the state undertakes to fulfil when it ratifies (or agrees to be bound by) the treaty in question.
Human rights treaties spell out the obligations of the State, including:
These obligations are to be fulfilled not only in relation to acts by individuals who act on behalf of the state or at its instigation or with its consent or acquiescence, but in relation to any acts by individuals, groups or institutions which impair the rights of others. Some of the international treaties and standards are specific to women, such as the Women's Convention, the Optional Protocol to the Women's Convention, and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women. However, each of the human rights treaties and the whole framework of human rights apply to, and are essential, for the realisation of women's human rights.
1. Respect, protect, fulfill-Women's human rights State responsibility for abuses by 'non-state actors'. Amnesty International, September 2000. IOR 50/01/00 (back)
Defines discrimination against women as any "distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of marital status, on the basis of equality between men and women, of human rights or fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil, or any other field."
Mandates that States Parties (note 2) condemn discrimination in all its forms and to ensure a legal framework including all laws, policies and practices that provides protection against discrimination and embodies the principle of equality.
Requires States Parties to take action in all fields-civil, political, economic, social, and cultural-to guarantee women's human rights.
Permits States Parties to take "temporary special measures" to accelerate equality.
Declares the need to take appropriate measures to modify cultural patterns of conduct, as well as the need for family education to recognize the social function of motherhood and the common responsibility for raising children.
Obligates States Parties to take measures to suppress the trafficking of women and the exploitation of prostitution of women.
Mandates States Parties end discrimination against women in political and public life and ensure women's equal rights to vote, be eligible for election, participate in the formulation of policy, hold office, and participate in associations and non-governmental organizations.
Requires measures allowing women to represent their governments internationally on an equal basis with men.
Mandates that women have equal rights with men to acquire, change, or retain their nationality and that of their children.
Obligates States Parties to end discrimination in education, including in professional and vocational training, access to curricula and other means of receiving an equal education as well as to eliminate stereotyped concepts of the roles of men and women.
Mandates the end of discrimination in the field of employment, including the right to work, employment opportunities, equal remuneration, free choice of profession and employment, social security, and protection of health, including maternal health, and also in regard to discrimination on the grounds of marriage or maternity.
Requires steps to eliminate discrimination in health care, including access to services such as family planning.
Requires that women be ensured the same rights as men in all areas of social and economic life, such as family benefits, mortgages, bank loans, and participation in recreational activities and sports.
Focuses on the particular problems faced by rural women, including the areas of women's participation in development planning, access to adequate health care, credit, education, and adequate living conditions.
Obligates States Parties to take steps to ensure equality before the law and the same legal capacity to act in such areas as contracts, administration of property, and choice of residence.
Requires steps to ensure equality in marriage and family relations, including equal rights with men to freely choose marriage, equal rights and responsibilities toward children, including the right to freely determine the number and spacing of children and the means to do so, and the same rights to property.
Calls for the establishment of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to evaluate progress made in implementation of the Convention.
Establishes a schedule for reporting on progress by ratifying countries.
Allows the CEDAW Committee to adopt procedural rules and sets a two-year term for its officers.
Sets annual CEDAW meetings to review States Parties' reports.
Directs the CEDAW Committee to report annually to the General Assembly and to make suggestions and general recommendations based on the States Parties' reports.
Allows for representation of specialized agencies of the U.N. and for CEDAW to invite reports from them.
Outlines elements for operation and enforcement of the treaty, permissible reservations, and how disputes between States Parties can be settled.
Introduction: Content and significance of the Convention
1. Discrimination
2. Measures to eliminate discrimination
3. Quality in the exercise and enjoyment of Human Rights and fundamental freedoms
4. Temporary special measures
5. Elimination of sex role stereotyping and prejudice
6. Traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women
7. Political and public life
8. International representation
9. Nationality
10. Education
11. Employment
12. Health
13. Economic and social benefits
14. Rural women
15. Law
16. Marriage and family life
17. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
18. Reports of Sates Parties
19. Rules of Procedure
20. Committee meetings
21. Committee reports
22. Role of specialized agencies
23. Stronger provisions in national and international law
24. Commitment of States Parties
25-30. Administration of the Convention
Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 34/180 of 18 December 1979
entry into force 3 September 1981, in accordance with article 27(1)
The States Parties to the present Convention,
Noting that the Charter of the United Nations reaffirms faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women,
Noting that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms the principle of the inadmissibility of discrimination and proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, including distinction based on sex,
Noting that the States Parties to the International Covenants on Human Rights have the obligation to ensure the equal rights of men and women to enjoy all economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights,
Considering the international conventions concluded under the auspices of the United Nations and the specialized agencies promoting equality of rights of men and women,
Noting also the resolutions, declarations and recommendations adopted by the United Nations and the specialized agencies promoting equality of rights of men and women,
Concerned, however, that despite these various instruments extensive discrimination against women continues to exist,
Recalling that discrimination against women violates the principles of equality of rights and respect for human dignity, is an obstacle to the participation of women, on equal terms with men, in the political, social, economic and cultural life of their countries, hampers the growth of the prosperity of society and the family and makes more difficult the full development of the potentialities of women in the service of their countries and of humanity,
Concerned that in situations of poverty women have the least access to food, health, education, training and opportunities for employment and other needs,
Convinced that the establishment of the new international economic order based on equity and justice will contribute significantly towards the promotion of equality between men and women,
Emphasizing that the eradication of apartheid, all forms of racism, racial discrimination, colonialism, neo-colonialism, aggression, foreign occupation and domination and interference in the internal affairs of States is essential to the full enjoyment of the rights of men and women,
Affirming that the strengthening of international peace and security, the relaxation of international tension, mutual co-operation among all States irrespective of their social and economic systems, general and complete disarmament, in particular nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international control, the affirmation of the principles of justice, equality and mutual benefit in relations among countries and the realization of the right of peoples under alien and colonial domination and foreign occupation to self-determination and independence, as well as respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, will promote social progress and development and as a consequence will contribute to the attainment of full equality between men and women,
Convinced that the full and complete development of a country, the welfare of the world and the cause of peace require the maximum participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields,
Bearing in mind the great contribution of women to the welfare of the family and to the development of society, so far not fully recognized, the social significance of maternity and the role of both parents in the family and in the upbringing of children, and aware that the role of women in procreation should not be a basis for discrimination but that the upbringing of children requires a sharing of responsibility between men and women and society as a whole,
Aware that a change in the traditional role of men as well as the role of women in society and in the family is needed to achieve full equality between men and women,
Determined to implement the principles set forth in the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and, for that purpose, to adopt the measures required for the elimination of such discrimination in all its forms and manifestations,
Have agreed on the following:
For the purposes of the present Convention, the term "discrimination against women" shall mean any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.
States Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women and, to this end, undertake:
(a) To embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation if not yet incorporated therein and to ensure, through law and other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle;
(b) To adopt appropriate legislative and other measures, including sanctions where appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against women;
(c) To establish legal protection of the rights of women on an equal basis with men and to ensure through competent national tribunals and other public institutions the effective protection of women against any act of discrimination;
(d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women and to ensure that public authorities and institutions shall act in conformity with this obligation;
(e) To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women by any person, organization or enterprise;
(f) To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women;
(g) To repeal all national penal provisions which constitute discrimination against women.
States Parties shall take in all fields, in particular in the political, social, economic and cultural fields, all appropriate measures, including legislation, to en sure the full development and advancement of women , for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with men.
1. Adoption by States Parties of temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall not be considered discrimination as defined in the present Convention, but shall in no way entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate standards; these measures shall be discontinued when the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have been achieved.
2. Adoption by States Parties of special measures, including those measures contained in the present Convention, aimed at protecting maternity shall not be considered discriminatory.
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures:
(a) To modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women;
(b) To ensure that family education includes a proper understanding of maternity as a social function and the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children, it being understood that the interest of the children is the primordial consideration in all cases.
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and, in particular, shall ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right:
(a) To vote in all elections and public referenda and to be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies;
(b) To participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to hold pub