Georgia: Concern for the implementation of measures to combat violence against women

Combating Violence against Women in Georgia: The UN Committee on Women’s Rights Reiterates OMCT and GYLA’s Concerns

Geneva-Tbilisi, 8 September 2006.


At the end of its 36th session held in August 2006, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) adopted concluding comments after having examined the consolidated second and third periodic State report of Georgia on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women1.

On this same occasion, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) presented a joint alternative (or “shadow”) report responding to the issues of concern and questions the Committee addressed to the State party in February. 2 The NGO report, while noting that progress has been made recently in bringing national legislation in conformity with the Convention, indicates that several measures are still needed in order to eliminate gender stereotypes and ensure the enjoyment of women’s fundamental rights at different levels in society.

The Committee, consonant with the report by OMCT and GYLA, “recommends that the State party ensure a comprehensive approach to the implementation of the Convention, encompassing all policies and programmes devoted to achieving equality between women and men”. For example, gender mainstreaming as a strategy for achieving gender equality should be introduced in all public institutions, policies and programmes.

While the NGO report denounces the lack of resources and coordination among national institutions and plans for the promotion of women’s rights and gender equality, the Committee goes as far as to urge the State party “to put in place a permanent institutional mechanism that recognizes the specificity of discrimination against women and is exclusively responsible for the promotion of formal and substantive equality of women and men and for the monitoring of the practical realization of that principle”. Such a mechanism should endow the highest political levels with the necessary authority and human and financial resources.

Concerning the recent legal advancements on violence against women, the Committee “urges the State party to place high priority on the implementation of the Law on the Elimination of Domestic Violence, Protection and Assistance of the Victims of Domestic Violence and to make it widely known to public officials and society”. In this regard, and as noted in the shadow report by OMCT and GYLA, the Committee expresses its concern that “the implementation of aspects of the law on domestic violence, including those relating to the provision of shelters and rehabilitation centres for victims, has been postponed.” Further, the Committee notes that “marital rape has not been included in any proposals for new legislation” and recommends that the State party consider doing so.

An activity plan on the implementation of the Law on Domestic Violence (2006-2008) proposed by GYLA is expected to be endorsed by the government by the end of the month. “It is important to ensure that the plan is adopted in due course and the timetable respected and that the necessary financial and human resources are rapidly made available so that women victims of violence can benefit from the protective measures set out in the new legislation” explains Mariana Duarte, Violence against Women Programme Manager at OMCT. These new measures encompass a type of assistance that is currently granted mainly by Georgian NGOs such as GYLA.

Further echoing the shadow report by OMCT and GYLA, the Committee “calls upon the State party to ensure that legislation on trafficking is fully enforced and that the national action plan and other measures to combat human trafficking are fully implemented.” Moreover, it urges Georgia “to consider ratifying the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.”


While welcoming CEDAW’s concluding comments on Georgia, OMCT and GYLA recall that as a State party to the Convention and as a member of the Human Rights Council, it has the legal and moral duty to fully implement the UN Committee’s recommendations without delay.

1 Additional information on the session and the concluding comments by CEDAW are available at
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/36sess.htm
2For the OMCT-GYLA report, Violence against women in Georgia, see
/files/2005/09/3072/cedaw36_vaw_in_georgia_en.pdf.
For CEDAW’s List of issues and questions with regard to the consideration of the periodic report of Georgia see
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/250/24/PDF/N0625024.pdf?OpenElement.




For additional information please contact:

GYLA Sophio Japaridze, sofo@gyla.ge
Khatuna Chitanava, khatuna_chitanava@gyla.ge
Irma Aladashvili, irma_aladashvili@yahoo.com

OMCT Mariana Duarte, md@omct.org