English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

A Gendered and Rights-Based Review of Vietnamese Legal Documents through the Lens of CEDAW
disadvantage to be able to address them appropriately. The CEDAW Committee emphasized
this in Paragraph 12 of GR 25: “Certain groups of women, in addition to suffering from discrimination
directed against them as women, may also suffer from multiple discrimination based on
additional grounds such as race, ethnic or religious identity, disability, age, class, caste or other
factors. Such multiple discrimination may affect these groups of women primarily, or to a different
degree or in different ways than men.” Examples of women experiencing discrimination
in addition to gender discrimination include elderly women, women with disabilities, rural
women and ethnic minority women.
With CEDAW’s wide definition of ‘discrimination’, it is clear that it requires the monitoring
of impact and effect. Putting in place measures, whether gender-neutral or pro-women, is
not sufficient, if it does not result in equality.
III.2.3 STATE OBLIGATION
By ratifying or acceding to CEDAW, a State Party is obliged to eliminate discrimination in all of
its forms. 120 This obligation is a State obligation. This means that, although the responsibility to
ensure equality and eliminate discrimination must be observed by state and non-state actors,
only the State is directly accountable to CEDAW. However, the meaning of ‘State’ is broad and
refers to all instrumentalities or organs of, and encompasses executive, legislative, judicial and
administrative structures as well as local units of, a State. 121 Internal law, including internal divisions
of powers between branches of government, cannot be invoked for non-compliance with
CEDAW. 122 General State Party obligations are in Articles 2-5 and 24 of CEDAW, while specific
State Party obligations are in Articles 6-16 of CEDAW. General State Party obligations
include the following:
pursuing a policy of eliminating discrimination in all its forms, including embodying
the principle of equality in Constitution and laws; 123
prohibiting discrimination, including adoption of sanctions for violations; 124
ensuring legal protection of the rights of women, including competent national
tribunals and courts; 125
eliminating discrimination by any person, enterprise or organization. 126 The State
Party is accountable for acts and omissions of non-State actors when it fails to put in
place measures to regulate them, to exercise due diligence in preventing violations
or to provide effective remedies;
55
120
CEDAW, Article 2
121
Chiongson, Rea, ‘The Right to Decide If, When and Whom to Marry: Obligation of the State under CEDAW and other
International Human Rights Instruments’, IWRAW Asia Pacific, Kuala Lumpur, 2005 (Chiongson), p. 5
122
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, Article 27
123
CEDAW, Article 2(a)
124
Ibid., Article 2(b)
125
Ibid., Article 2(c)
126
Ibid., Article 2(e)
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)