Year: 2024
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) adopted General Comment No. 35 on gender-based violence against women.
This General comment elaborates on the gender-based nature of this form of violence, building on the work of the Committee and other international human rights mechanisms, as well as developments at national, regional and international levels.
This General Comment is also a milestone:
* It recognise that the prohibition of gender-based violence that become a norm of international customary law;
* It expands the understanding of violence to include violations of sexual and reproductive health rights;
* It stresses the need to change social norms and stereotypes that support violence, in the context of a resurgence of narratives threatening the concept of gender equality in the name of culture, tradition or religion;
* It clearly defines different levels of liability of the State for acts and omissions committed by its agents or those acting under its authority - in the territory of the State or abroad- and for failing to act with due diligence to prevent violence at the hands of private individuals and companies, protect women and girls from it, and ensure access to remedies for survivors;
* It unequivocally calls for the repeal of all laws and policies that directly and indirectly excuse, condone and facilitate violence; and
* It emphasizes the need for approaches that promote and respect women’s autonomy and decision-making in all spheres of life.
This General Comment has been translated into Kurdish language in 2024, within the project of (Justice Resilience Initiative), the project is implemented by the Kurdistan Center for International Law (KCIL) and funded by the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (IFA) via German Federal Foreign Office