Gender Equality in Rights and Access

Legal Vice Presidency The World Bank Gender Equality in Rights and Access Fourth Annual Gender and Law Conference May 20-21, 2002 Washington, D.C.

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Gender Equality in Rights and Access Summary of Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Gender and Law Conference May 20-21, 2002 The World Bank, Washington, D.C. The conference was sponsored by Legal VPU Staff Development Committee PREM Gender & Law Thematic Group Africa Region Gender Program Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

Contents ACRONYMS INTRODUCTION EXECUTIVE SUMMARY V IX XIII Opening Session Relevant Issues Regarding Gender and Law... 1 Plenary Session Setting the Tone... 7 Practitioners Experiences... 11 Partners Experiences... 17 Small-Group Sessions... 23 Legal Aspects of Country Gender Assessments... 25 APPENDIX A: Conference Agenda... 33 APPENDIX B: Panelists Biographies... 37 APPENDIX C: American Bar Association CEDAW Assessment Tool... 49 APPENDIX D: Excerpt from the World Bank Country Gender Assessment Guidelines... 53 APPENDIX E: General Information on Gender Mainstreaming... 57 APPENDIX F: Participating Organizations... 63 APPENDIX G: General Human Rights Instruments... 65 APPENDIX H: Conventions and Declarations Specific to Women s Human Rights... 67 APPENDIX I: Conference Task Force... 69 III

Acronyms ABA ADB AFTP3 AFTPM AGRITEX CEDAW CEELI CEMLA CESR CGA CIDA CIM CIVISOC CRC DAW DFID ECLAC American Bar Association Asian Development Bank Africa Technical Families: Poverty Reduction and Economic Management 3 (World Bank) Africa Technical Families: Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Department of Agricultural Technical and Extension Services (Zimbabwe) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Central and East European Law Initiative Center for Latin American Monetary Studies Committee on Economic and Social Rights Country Gender Assessment Canadian International Development Agency Inter-American Commission of Women Civil Society Coordinating Council (Ghana/World Bank) United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women Department for International Development (U.K.) United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean V

VI GENDER EQUALITY IN RIGHTS AND ACCESS ECSHD Europe and Central Asia Human Development Sector Unit (World Bank) ECSSD Europe and Central Asia Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Unit (World Bank) FIDA International Federation of Women Lawyers HDNED Human Development Network Education Team HDNSP Human Development Network Social Protection H.E. Her Excellency IAP Inter-American Program on the Promotion of Women s Human Rights and Gender Equity (OAS) IAPA Inter-American Press Association IDB Inter-American Development Bank IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IHF International Helsinki Federation IHRLG International Human Rights Legal Group INTERIGHTS International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights LEG Legal VPU LEGEA Legal: East Asia and Pacific (World Bank) LEGAF Legal: Africa (World Bank) LEGEN Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development and International Law (World Bank) LEGJN Law and Justice Network (World Bank) LEGLA Legal: Latin America and the Caribbean (World Bank) LEGLR Legal and Judicial Reform Unit (World Bank) MIGEPROFE Minister of Gender and the Advancement of Women (Rwanda) NORAD Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation OAS Organization of American States PILI Public Interest Law Initiative in Transitional Societies PREM Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network PRMGE Poverty Reduction and Economic Management: Gender Division SADC Southern Africa Development Community SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation UN United Nations

PROCEEDINGS OF THE FOURTH GENDER AND LAW CONFERENCE VII UNIFEM USAID WCL WiLDAF WLSA ZFU United Nations Development Fund for Women United States Agency for International Development American University Washington College of Law Women and Law in Development in Africa Women and Law in Southern Africa Zimbabwe Farmers Union

Introduction Gender is an issue which both human rights and development experts have recognized belatedly as a necessary component of their work. Internationally adopted standards of human rights provide guidance to the process of improving women s rights and the major focus of international human rights law has been discrimination. (Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the Presidential Fellow s Lecture, World Bank, Washington, D.C., December 3, 2001) THE World Bank s poverty reduction strategy points out the positive impacts of gender-sensitive development strategies on the economic growth and poverty reduction objectives of member countries. 1 The Bank s gender strategy, approved by the Board of Executive Directors on September 18, 2001, requires that by the end of 2004, country gender assessments (CGAs) be prepared for each member country in which the Bank is proposing or has an active lending program. 2 These periodic CGAs are expected to be the prin- 1 World Development Report 2000. 2 Integrating Gender into the World Bank s Work: A Strategy for Action, Jan. 2002 IX

X GENDER EQUALITY IN RIGHTS AND ACCESS cipal tool for the Bank and its borrowing countries to use in a collaborative process of analysis, identification and integration of structural gender issues in each country s poverty reduction and development programs. One section of the CGA framework includes an analysis of the extent to which the country s laws and legal systems both customary and statutory provide for the recognition, protection and enforcement of rights in principle and in practice. An important element of a legal component of a CGA is an assessment of implementation and enforcement of equal rights and protections. This also includes discussion of gender norms, customs and practices and the extent to which they impede equality of opportunity for women and men. In this context, the World Bank convened the Fourth Annual Gender and Law Conference to bring together experts, representatives of the legal community, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), academia, and staff of the World Bank and other international organizations to discuss the methodologies, experiences and practical results of analyzing and using the law as part of the process of improving women s rights and their exercise of these rights. The conference also provided a forum for sharing some of the findings of work that has been funded by the Bank-wide Gender and Law Thematic Group on a variety of related gender and law topics since 1998. Goals The overall goal of this conference was to provide a forum that facilitated networking to strengthen partnerships among practitioners in client countries and their supporting donors. It was an excellent forum for World Bank staff who have conducted, are conducting or are planning to conduct assessments of the legal and judicial systems to promote women s rights and access to the full range of development opportunities. Conference sessions were organized to increase awareness and understanding of international practices on the subject and to identify means and tools designed to address gender barriers and obstacles in legal and judicial systems. On the basis of national, bilateral and multilateral experiences, the confer-

PROCEEDINGS OF THE FOURTH GENDER AND LAW CONFERENCE XI ence identified existing frameworks for country gender and law assessments to be substantially reflected in the CGAs, and their translation into strategies to promote social justice within the Bank s client countries. The sessions were structured to achieve the following specific objectives: Provide a review of examples of comprehensive country gender and law assessments (and related programs and initiatives) implemented by member country practitioners and development agency partners Provide a review of the World Bank s experience to date in supporting the preparation of such comprehensive country-level gender and law assessments Promote professional exchanges through networking by participants both at the conference, and in their post-conference follow-up activities Identify best practices and lessons learned in the development and application of such country-level gender and law assessments and implementation strategies Develop strategies, tools and instruments for analyzing gender and law issues as part of the CGA process. The conference had a practical and interactive orientation. The opening day s luncheon, full session and reception were designed to maximize professional networking opportunities for participants. They had been asked in advance to bring with them two key pieces of information to share, such as contacts for people and institutions with experience in analyses of gender and law issues in particular countries. The second day consisted of working sessions and lunch to provide for focused attention on country-level experiences, regionspecific issues and concerns and best practices in the development

XII GENDER EQUALITY IN RIGHTS AND ACCESS of gender and law assessments. The sessions focused on implementation and enforcement of rights. Emphasis was placed on identifying follow-up strategies and initiatives to promote women s rights and their exercise of these rights. At the end of the conference, the participants received Power Point presentations in a CD-ROM. A.Waafas Ofosu-Amaah Gender Specialist, PRMGE Teresa Genta-Fons Sr. Counsel, LEGLA

Executive Summary THE World Bank s Fourth Annual Conference on Gender and Law, Gender Equality in Rights and Access, focused on discussing methodologies, experiences and findings to assist in the preparation of guidelines on how to assess the impact of gender and law as part of the country gender assessments (CGAs). Participants shared their institutions experiences in using laws and legal institutions to promote the recognition and advancement of women s rights, as well as their experiences in assessing gender disparities through the law. They also highlighted good practices. Among the participants were partner development agencies, government representatives, academic institutions and other international organizations. These organizations included the U.N. Division for the Advancement of Women, Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Inter-American Development Bank, Department of Justice of Canada, American Bar Association, and Inter-American Commission of Women. Issues and Recommendations Important issues and recommendations emerged from the discussions in the various sessions. The Opening Session set the tone for the deliberations and led to many suggestions: It is important to engender the Constitution to make it more responsive to women s needs. XIII

XIV GENDER EQUALITY IN RIGHTS AND ACCESS The entire range of human rights should be taken into account to address all forms of gender discrimination. A focus on equality is imperative while addressing economic, social and cultural rights. A human rights approach would greatly benefit country gender assessments (CGAs), because human rights have the force of legally binding international standards for states and would lend political legitimacy. Civil society should be involved in the preparation of CGAs, because its involvement will lead to capacity building. International instruments should be used to deal with human rights violations and gender discrimination, and instruments of supervision should be in place to measure compliance. The Plenary Session focused on the current trends with gender and law assessments around the world and their use. The key recommendations were: The most effective way to ensure gender equality in rights and access is through gender-sensitive legislation and policies. For a country s development, it is necessary to ensure the full participation of all citizens in all aspects of life. It is necessary to address state reluctance to interpret human rights law and state responsibility for private actors, and notions of culture and religion. The Practitioners Session, speakers emphasized these points: Lack of access to justice due to the attitudes of personnel, cumbersome procedures and the social and material cost of litigation are major hindrances to women getting justice. In some instances, despite egalitarian legislation, large gender differences persist in access to land for femaleand-male-headed households. There is a global need to demystify law.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE FOURTH GENDER AND LAW CONFERENCE XV The participatory research approach should aim to build an educational component. There is an urgent need to improve the understanding of the cycle of family violence and the denial of child support and the role of justice-sector operators. Partners from bilateral and multilateral institutions and NGOs described the key factors that would contribute to successful partnerships on gender and law: An adequate legal framework to deal with problems is essential. Also essential is an understanding of the interrelatedness of women s rights with other human rights such as property rights, education, labor rights and political participation. For successful partnerships and coordination at all levels, there should be a shared understanding about gender. Gender analysis should be not just theoretical but grounded in women s reality. The adoption of a multidisciplinary approach and gender sensitization are crucial. An effective legal system and ongoing review of law are important. The Small-group Session focused on Empowerment and Participation, Access to Land, Rights and Access, and Gender, Law and HIV/AIDS. The key recommendations made in the group discussions are: Empowerment comes through a process of consultation. Legal consultations with all stakeholders are necessary. While measuring assets and opportunities, it is vital to take into account who owns the land in the household, what happens when the household breaks down and how the process affects women s ability to benefit from development.

XVI GENDER EQUALITY IN RIGHTS AND ACCESS Education on human rights and access is not sufficient; an action-oriented approach to disseminate this knowledge among the poorest is essential. Assessment of the policy and regulatory framework targeting the HIV/AIDS epidemic is crucial. Also important are identification of laws required to address gender concerns and women s vulnerability to HIV/ AIDS. The final Session on Legal Aspects of Country Gender Assessments (CGAs) recommended that, for a far-reaching and lasting impact, legal empowerment must be integrated with other non-lawrelated projects supported by international development institutions. The Bank and similar institutions should take the lead in mainstreaming gender in their projects. The gender component of these projects will contribute to legal empowerment in the context of the projects. These projects then will become examples for others to follow. Participants felt CGAs are necessary and should be an integral part of development work of international organizations but should not replace other projects. Furthermore, a one-time CGA is not sufficient. The CGA must be conducted and updated regularly to measure progress as well as to compare among regions and nations. These results should be used to further improve women s situations through education, training and empowerment. The overall message that surfaced from the deliberations was that valuable sources of information are available on gender and law assessments from the United Nations, other multilateral and bilateral institutions and NGOs that can be used for to prepare CGAs. The Bank should support gender and law initiatives as well as legal reform. A selective strategy for reform can bring about greater results in furthering gender equality. The Bank s operational work is crucial to promote respect for human rights and gender equality.