Human Rights

Report on Displacement, Statelessness and Gender Equality

This paper, which has been released in UNHCR's "Legal and Protection Policy Research Series", has been written by Alice Edwards, an external consultant. It was prepared for a seminar between the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), held at the United Nations in New York, 16-17 July 2009.

Much progress has been made within the United Nations system to advance the rights of displaced and stateless women and girls, including the elaboration of standards, policies and laws at national, regional and international levels. However, much remains to be done. Specifically, this paper is interested in how the fundamental principles of the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) apply within these two contexts. The rights to equality between women and men and non-discrimination on the basis of sex as laid down in the CEDAW are essential elements of the international protection regime for asylum-seeking, refugee, internally displaced and stateless women and girls as well as during processes of repatriation, local integration and resettlement.

This paper centres on two main substantive parts: one on displacement and gender equality (Part 3), the other on the right to a nationality, questions of statelessness and gender equality (Part 4). These parts explain the many facets of the gender dimensions of and influences on displacement and statelessness, drawing out the impact of gender inequality on women's access to and enjoyment of their human rights in these contexts and identifying relevant CEDAW provisions at issue and how they apply. In addition to these two main parts, there is also a section that outlines the fundamental principles of the CEDAW (Part 2), as well as a section that reflects upon the institutional questions of how the Committee and the UNHCR may further enhance their collaboration and cooperation on these issues (Part 5). How these fundamental principles specifically apply to displaced and stateless women and girls is synthesised in the Conclusion and Recommendations in Part 6.

The paper will also be made available on the UNHCR website, together with the other papers issued in the Research Series, at http://www.unhcr.org/pages/4a16b17a6.html.

A summary of the paper has been published by CEDAW under document number CEDAW/C/2009/II/WP.3, and is also available on Refworld at http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a8a9c682.html. It will also be amde available in French and Spanish.

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Source : Anna Samson, Support Officer,

Asia-Pacific Refugee Rights Network,

Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development

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When: 7/2/2014

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