WUNRN
AFGHANISTAN - UN CALLS ON AFGHAN AUTHORITIES TO ENSURE FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN LAW
“Progress in implementing
the EVAW law contributes to deterring harmful practices and protecting women
from violence in their daily lives,” said the Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for
“I call upon the Afghan Government and Parliament to fully respect and
defend the fundamental rights of women and girls by ensuring that the EVAW law
is respected and implemented,” said the UN Women representative in
The landmark EVAW law, enacted in August 2009, criminalises child marriage, forced marriage, selling and buying women for the purpose or under the pretext of marriage, ba’ad (giving away a woman or girl to settle a dispute), forced self-immolation and 17 other acts of violence against women, including rape and beating. It also specifies punishment for perpetrators. The law was enacted by presidential decree and has yet to gain parliamentary approval. Judicial and law enforcement authorities are implementing the law but challenges persist in enforcing it.
In a report produced in December 2012, Still a Long Way to Go: Implementation of the Law on Elimination of Violence against Women in Afghanistan, UNAMA found that although prosecutors and courts were increasingly applying the EVAW law in a growing number of reported incidents of violence against women, the overall use of the law remained low indicating there is still a long way to go before women and girls in Afghanistan are fully protected from violence through the EVAW law.
Improving “access to justice for all, in particular women, by ensuring that the Constitution and other fundamental laws are enforced expeditiously, fairly and transparently,” and ensuring “that women can fully enjoy their economic, social, civil, political and cultural rights” are key goals agreed to by the Afghan Government in the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework (TMAF) in July 2012 with the international community. A key indicator is the demonstrated implementation, with civil society engagement, of the EVAW Law.
UNAMA and UN Women – as the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women is known by – have called on international donors to support the Government in meeting its TMAF commitments on gender equality, women’s empowerment and the implementation of the EVAW law by developing a joint monitoring framework with specific indicators to measure progress in these areas, with development assistance based on progress made.
The international community – as well as the UN Security Council – expects
that Afghan authorities will respect and promote
In its latest resolution on
Other international instruments which
Incidents of violence against women in
In its December 2012 report on the implementation of the EVAW
law, UNAMA made 29 recommendations to the Government and its international
partners urging them to ensure that promotion and protection of women’s rights
are an integral part of peace and reconciliation efforts and the country’s
political, economic and security strategies.