CEDAW/C/MOZ/CO/3-5

Mozambique (CEDAW 30-07-2019)

The Committee considered the combined third to fifth periodic reports of Mozambique (CEDAW/C/MOZ/3-5) at its 1692nd and 1693rd meetings (see CEDAW/C/SR.1692 and CEDAW/C/SR.1693), held on 3 July 2019. The list of issues and questions raised by the pre-sessional working group is contained in CEDAW/C/MOZ/Q/3-5, and the responses of the State party are contained in CEDAW/C/MOZ/Q/3-5/Add.1.

Concluding observations

E. Principal areas of concern and recommendations

Disadvantaged groups of women

41. The Committee acknowledges the efforts made by the State party to tackle intersecting forms of discrimination against disadvantaged groups of women, including through the adoption of a national plan for older persons, covering the period 2015–2019, and a national action plan on disability, covering the period 2012–2019. It remains concerned, however, about:

(a) Violence and abuse against older women and women and girls with disabilities and the lack of information on the impact of the national plan and the national action plan on the situation of older women and women and girls with disabilities, respectively;

(b) The persistent violence and harmful practices committed against women and girls with albinism;

(c) The reports of detention of women with young children and of sexual harassment and abuse against women in detention, including lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons.

42. The Committee, reiterating its previous recommendation (CEDAW/C/MOZ /CO/2, para. 43), recommends that the State party:

(a) Assess the impact of the national plan for older persons, covering the period 2015–2019, and the national action plan on disability, covering the period 2012–2019, on how older women and women with disabilities enjoy their rights, and develop and implement subsequent plans;

(b) Adequately protect and support older women and women and girls with disabilities, ensure that they have access to justice and punish perpetrators of gender-based violence against them;

(c) Undertake awareness-raising campaigns to change negative attitudes towards and eliminate harmful practices and other forms of violence against women and girls with albinism;

(d) Improve the conditions in female detention facilities in accordance with the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non‑custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) and intensify efforts to prevent gender-based violence against women in detention, including lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons;

(e) Promote the use of alternatives to detention, including pretrial detention, especially for pregnant women, mothers with young children and women heads of household.