Committee
on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women
Thirtieth session
12-30 January 2004
Concluding
comments: Nigeria
1. The Committee
considered the combined fourth and fifth periodic report of Nigeria
(CEDAW/C/NGA/4-5) at its 638th and 639th meetings, on 20 January
2004 (see CEDAW/C/SR.638 and 639).
Introduction by the State party
2. In introducing the report, the representative of Nigeria noted
that the country's complexity was reflected in the varying nature
of statistics and in the differing levels of national development
and progress made towards realization of the Convention. In spite
of these complexities, concrete progress was made at different
levels of the three tiers of Government and reflected, for example,
in the adoption of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law
Enforcement and Administration Act and the Child Rights Act of
2003. A national bill on violence against women was before the
National Assembly. The 1999 Nigerian Constitution provided for
the promotion and protection of women's rights in Nigeria. The
Federal Government had adopted the National Policy on Women in
July 2000. That policy provided, inter alia, for affirmative action
to increase to 30 per cent women's representation in the legislative
and executive arms of the Government.
3. The report discussed the sociocultural, economic, political,
legal and religious challenges to the promotion and protection
of women's rights. Measures to eliminate discrimination against
women included the enactment of laws relating to widowhood practices
and female genital mutilation, the prohibition of early marriage,
retention in school of the girl child and trafficking in women
and children. Legal aid was available to women. The National Action
Committee on Women in Politics had been established, which was
developing strategies for effective mobilization of women in all
electoral processes. Efforts were under way to modify or abolish
existing discriminatory laws, including provisions of the Penal
Code.
4. Other measures to address discrimination against women included
the translation of the Convention into the three major Nigerian
languages; the production of information, education and communication
materials for creating awareness and educating the public about
women's rights; and empowerment programmes targeting women, institutions,
students and the general public as well as professional groups
and traditional and religious institutions. The pioneering role
of a Supreme Court case that recognized and cited the Convention
as a standard to be followed was also emphasized.
5. The representative highlighted a number of national policies
that contained measures to protect maternal health, including
the National Policy on Women and the national policies on reproductive
health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS and education. Over 90 per cent of
states had expanded their primary health -care services for the
benefit of women and girls.
6. The representative stressed that significant changes in the
status and quality of women's employment had occurred since the
previous report. Measures to ensure women's economic and social
empowerment included the provision of microcredit, the establishment
of women's cooperative societies, skills acquisition centres and
a number of pilot projects. The national economic policy had also
been engendered and targets had been set for women's economic
advancement.
7. The representative noted that while the federal Ministry of
Women Affairs and Youth Development had responsibility for pursuing
policies and programmes aimed at women's enjoyment of their rights,
other institutions and bodies also supported the achievement of
this goal, including the recently appointed Special Assistant
on Human Trafficking and Child Labour, the National Consultative
and Coordinating Committee, the National Technical Team of Experts
comprising gender desk officers from sectoral ministries, the
National Human Rights Commission, especially its special rapporteur
on women and child rights, and the Legal Aid Council. Nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) also supported the promotion of women's rights
and those of the girl child, and non -discrimination.
8. In closing, the representative reiterated her Government's
commitment to implementing measures to eliminate all forms of
discrimination against women and to using the media and information
and communications technology as an instrument for the advancement
and empowerment of women.
Concluding comments of the Committee
Introduction
9. The Committee commends the State party for its combined fourth
and fifth periodic report, which was prepared in accordance with
the Committee's guidelines for the preparation of periodic reports.
It also commends the State party for the written replies to the
issues and questions raised by the Committee's pre -session working
group, and expresses appreciation for the comprehensive oral presentation.
10. The Committee congratulates the State party for its high-level
delegation headed by the Federal Minister of Women Affairs and
Youth Development, and which also included officials from various
branches of Government as well as representatives of NGOs, which
enabled the members of the Committee to engage in a frank and
constructive dialogue with the delegation.
11. The Committee notes the declared political will of the State
party to promote women's human rights in the new system of democratic
governance and to overcome the obstacles to women's full participation
in all aspects of public and private life after years of military
rule.
12. The Committee warmly welcomes the State party's collaboration
with women's NGOs and other interested stakeholders in the implementation
of the Convention and the creation of a democratic society.
13. The Committee notes that Nigeria signed the Optional Protocol
to the Convention in September 2000.
Positive
aspects
14. The Committee commends the State party for including the right
to freedom from discrimination on grounds of sex in its 1999 Constitution.
It also welcomes the attention given in the ongoing constitutional
review process to the elimination of remaining provisions that
are discriminatory to women, including those regarding nationality.
15. The Committee welcomes the adoption of new federal laws in
support of the goal of gender equality and the implementation
of the provisions of the Convention, including the Trafficking
in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act,
2003 and the Child Rights Act, 2003. It also welcomes the adoption
of a number of State laws prohibiting discrimination against women
in critical areas such as female genital mutilation, widowhood
practices and early marriage. It appreciates the State party's
efforts, in collaboration with civil society organizations, to
collate all remaining discriminatory aspects of legal provisions
and practices, with a view to eliminate them and to harmonize
statutory, customary and religious laws.
16. The Committee notes that, despite the fact that the Convention
has not yet been domesticated as part of Nigerian law, some courts
in Nigeria have explicitly referred to the Convention in arriving
at decisions in favour of women's equality and non-discrimination.
17. The Committee welcomes the adoption of the National Policy
on Women in 2000 as a framework to monitor the implementation
of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Convention. The Committee
also welcomes the adoption of other national policies on education,
reproductive health, nutrition and HIV/AIDS, which support women's
empowerment, as well as the establishment of institutional mechanisms
to support their implementation.
Principal areas of concern and recommendations
18. The Committee is concerned that, although Nigeria ratified
the Convention in 1985, the Convention still has not been domesticated
as part of Nigerian law. It notes with concern that, short of
such full domestication, the primacy of the Convention over domestic
law is not clarified nor is the Convention justiciable and enforceable
in Nigerian courts.
19. The Committee urges the State party to place high priority
on completing the process of full domestication of the Convention.
It calls on the State party to ensure that the Convention and
related domestic legislation are made an integral part of legal
education and the training of judicial officers, including judges,
lawyers and prosecutors, so as to firmly establish in the country
a legal culture supportive of women's equality and non- discrimination.
20. The Committee is concerned that the State party's Constitution
continues to contain provisions that discriminate against women,
in particular in the area of nationality and employment, a fact
that is explicitly recognized by the State party. It is further
concerned at the slow pace of legislative reform to bring discriminatory
legislation into conformity with the provisions of the Convention
and to eliminate customary practices that discriminate against
women.
21. The Committee calls on the State party to set priorities,
as well as a concrete timetable, for amending provisions in the
Constitution and in Federal and State legislation that discriminate
against women. It urges the Government of the State party to intensify
its
collaboration with parliamentarians and civil society in order
to enhance understanding by all stakeholders of the State party's
obligations under the Convention and to ensure speedy progress
towards achieving de jure equality as an essential prerequisite
for realizing de facto equality of women and compliance with the
provisions of the Convention.
22. The Committee notes with concern the existence of a three-pronged
legal system, namely statutory, customary and religious law, which
results in a lack of compliance of the State party with its obligations
under the Convention and leads to continued discrimination against
women.
23. The Committee urges the State party to take proactive and
innovative measures, including full domestication of the Convention,
to remove contradictions between the three legal systems and to
ensure that any conflict of law with regard to women's rights
to equality and non-discrimination are resolved in full compliance
with the provisions of the Convention and its general recommendation
21 on equality in marriage and family relations. It also urges
the State party to step up its efforts at awareness raising concerning
the Convention in order to create an enabling environment for
legal reform and legal literacy.
24. The Committee is concerned about the continued prevalence
of violence against women and girls, including domestic violence
and sexual harassment at the workplace. The Committee notes with
concern that a bill on violence against women proposed in 2002
has yet to be acted on by the National Assembly.
25. The Committee urges the State party to place high priority
on putting in place comprehensive measures to address all forms
of violence against women in the family and in society and to
recognize that such violence constitutes a violation of the human
rights of women under the Convention, and in the light of general
recommendation 19 on violence against women. The Committee calls
upon the State party to speed up its efforts at adoption of legislation
on violence against women, including domestic violence and sexual
harassment, and to ensure that all forms of violence against women
are prosecuted and punished with the required seriousness and
speed. The Committee stresses that all women victims of violence
should have access to protection and effective means of redress.
The Committee recommends gender-sensitive training for public
officials, in particular for law enforcement personnel, the judiciary
and health service providers, and the establishment of shelters
and other services for victims of violence and sexual harassment.
The Committee invites the State party to undertake awareness raising
measures through the media and public education programmes to
make such violence socially and morally unacceptable.
26. The Committee expresses concern about the persistence and
social acceptability of harmful traditional practices, including
widowhood practices, female genital mutilatio n, child and forced
marriage, despite prohibitions in State or Federal legislation.
27. The Committee urges the State party to place the elimination
of such practices high on the agenda of the federal and state
governments and to bring to an immediate end the apathy of law
enforcement agencies with regard to implementation of existing
legislation. It calls on the State party to intensify its efforts
at developing and implementing a national plan of action, including
public awareness-raising campaigns targeted at women and men,
in order to eliminate the practice of female genital mutilation
and widowhood practices. It urges the State party to ensure full
compliance with the Child Rights Act 2003, which set the statutory
minimum age of marriage at 18 years in all parts of the country.
The Committee encourages the State party to undertake such efforts
in collaboration with civil society organizations, women's NGOs,
and traditional and religious leaders, so as to build alliances
and create an enabling environment for the accelerated elimination
of such practices, and to achieve compliance with the Convention.
28. The Committee, while recognizing the efforts of the State
party to combat trafficking in women and the exploitation of the
prostitution of women, such as adoption of the Trafficking in
Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act,
2003, and the appointment of a high-level official on human trafficking
and child labour, expresses its concern about the prevalence and
extent of this problem in Nigeria, which has become a country
of origin and transit of trafficked women and girls. The Committee
notes with concern that the transmission of sexually transmitted
diseases and HIV/AIDS is further exacerbated by sexual exploitation
in Nigeria.
29. The Committee urges the State party to ensure full implementation
of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and
Administration Act, 2003, and to develop a comprehensive strategy
to combat trafficking in women and girls, including prosecution
and punishment of offenders, counselling and rehabilitation of
victims, awareness-raising and training activities for those involved
in combating trafficking. It calls on the State party to intensify
international, regional and bilateral cooperation with other countries
of origin, transit and destination for trafficked women and girls.
It also recommends the introduction of measures aimed at improving
the economic situation of women so as to eliminate their vulnerability
to traffickers.
30. The Committee expresses concern at the low enrolment rates
and educational achievement of girls and women, the continuing
high rates of illiteracy of women and girls, in particular in
rural areas, and the decline in the quality of education.
31. The Committee urges the State party to ensure full implementation
of its Universal Basic Education Policy, launched in 1999, and
the educational objectives contained in the National Policy on
Women, including with the support of the international community.
It calls on the State party to further prioritize action in the
field of girls' and women's education and to raise awareness about
the importance of education as a fundamental human right and the
basis for women's empowerment. It urges that targeted measures
with a concrete timeframe be taken, in accordance with general
recommendation 25 on temporary special measures, in order to increase
the literacy level of girls and women, in particular in rural
areas, to ensure equal access of girls and young women to all
levels of education, to prevent girls from dropping out ofschool,
in particular due to early pregnancy, and to overcome traditional
attitudes that constitute obstacles to girls' education. It also
encourages the State party to ensure accessibility of schools
to all children, particularly girls, 6 to create further incentives
for parents to send girls to school, and to step up the recruitment
of qualified women teachers at all levels of education.
32. The Committee expresses concern about the persistence of discriminatory
legislation, administrative provisions and practices in the labour
market. It is also concerned about women's higher unemployment
rates, the persistent wage gap in the private and public sector
and the lack of adequate social protection for women in the private
sector.
33. The Committee urges the State party to ensure equal opportunities
for women and men in the labour market, including through the
use of temporary special measures in accordance with article 4,
paragraph 1, of the Convention and the Committee's general recommendation
25.
34. The Committee expresses concern at the precarious situation
of women's health, the insufficient and inadequate health-care
facilities and family planning services and the lack of access
to such facilities and services. The Committee is concerned about
the high rates of maternal mortality as a result of unsafe abortions.
It is also concerned about the persistence of traditional practices
that are harmful to the physical and mental health of women and
girls.
35. The Committee urges the State party to allocate adequate resources
to improve the status of women's health, in particular with regard
to maternal and infant mortality. It urges the State party to
increase women's and adolescent girls' access to affordable health-care
services, including reproductive health care, and to increase
access to affordable means of family planning for women and men.
It urges the State party to take measures to assess the impact
of its abortion laws on women's health. The Committee urges the
State party to introduce a holistic and life-cycle approach to
women's health, taking into account general recommendation 24
on women and health.
36. The Committee, while recognizing the efforts made to achieve
30 per cent representation of women in public office, notes with
concern the low number of women in political and public life,
especially in leadership and decision -making positions. It also
notes with concern that the persistence of stereotypical and patriarchal
attitudes, which view men as natural leaders, may preclude women
from seeking positions of leadership.
37. The Committee recommends that the State party take measures
to increase the number of women in decision-making positions at
all levels and in all areas, in light of general recommendation
23 on women in political and public life. It also recommends that
the State party introduce temporary special measures, in accordance
with article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention and general recommendation
25, to strengthen its efforts to promote women to positions of
leadership, including in the diplomatic service. To that end,
the Committee urges the State party to increase the availability
of training programmes and to enhance its awareness-raising campaigns
aimed at underlining the importance of women's participation in
decision-making at all levels.
38. The Committee, while noting the existence of laws and policies
in many areas, including the National Policy on Women and related
sectoral policies, strategies and programmes, is concerned at
the lack of evaluation of the impact of such policies and of effective
monitoring mechanisms, as well as a dearth of data and information
disaggregated by sex on the results achieved.
39. The Committee calls on the State party to include, in its
next report, statistical data and analysis disaggregated by sex
on the impact of its policies for the achievement of gender equality
and the implementation of the provisions of the Convention.
40. The Committee encourages the State party to ratify the Optional
Protocol to the Convention and to accept, as soon as possible,
the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention concerning
the meeting time of the Committee.
41. The Committee requests the State party to respond to the concerns
expressed in the present concluding comments in its next periodic
report, due in 2006, under article 18 of the Convention.
42. Taking account of 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.
43. The Committee requests the wide dissemination of the present
concluding comments in Nigeria in order to make the people of
Nigeria, and in particular 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 Government 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".
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