Report on discrimination against women in Northern Caucasus presented at session of UN Committee

In Geneva, human rights defenders and officials from the Russian government have held the presentation of the report on implementation in Russia of the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The report focuses on the situation with women's rights in Northern Caucasus.

The briefing, which included the presentation of the reports on discrimination against women, was held at the Church Centre for the United Nations in Geneva on October 26. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Vanessa Kogan, Director of the autonomous non-commercial organization (ANO) for legal assistance "Astreya".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the alternative report on the Russia's compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women has been prepared by organizations "Russian Justice Initiative" (RJI) and the "Chechnya Advocacy Network". In their report, the human rights defenders have pointed out to the four major problems concerning the Russian authorities' compliance with the obligations under the Convention. According to the human rights defenders, the major problems include the use of religious rules on clothing for women and girls, the discrimination against women in the spheres of marriage and family, the violence against women, as well as the traditional practices that are harmful to women.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.