Index: ASA 21/029/2012

Amnesty International urges the Indonesian government to take immediate steps to implement recommendations made by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) earlier this week. Failure to do so will leave women and girls in the country at continued risk of gender-based discrimination and violence, in violation of Indonesia's obligations under international human rights law.

On 27 July 2012 the CEDAW Committee, an expert group tasked with reviewing the implementation of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, published its Concluding Observations after reviewing Indonesia's progress in protecting and promoting women's rights. In the Concluding Observations, the Committee expressed concern about a range of areas where Indonesia is failing to meet its obligations under the Convention.

The following are some of the recommendations made by the CEDAW Committee:

• The Committee expressed "deep concern" about the persistence of discriminatory laws and called on Indonesia to ensure that the legislative framework complies with its obligations under the Convention. The Committee recommended the repeal or amendment all discriminatory laws at the national and local levels, within a clear timeframe. This included in particular discriminatory provisions in the Marriage Law (Law No. 1/1974) and bylaws adopted at the provincial level, including those in Aceh, which restrict women's rights;

• The Committee expressed concern about the insufficient provision of comprehensive education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, which is limited to married couples. It recommended that the government provide education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, including for unmarried women and domestic workers;

• The Committee expressed deep concern about what it described as Indonesia's "serious regression" with regard to the practice of female genital mutilation. It recommended that the Indonesian authorities take immediate steps to withdraw a 2010 regulation authorizing certain medical practitioners to conduct "female circumcision" and to adopt legislation which criminalizes female genital mutilation. It requested the government to provide written information on steps taken to implement this recommendation within two years;

• The Committee called for the Indonesian government to adopt, within a clear timeframe, a Domestic Workers Protection Law which includes provisions relating to a minimum wage, overtime pay, the regulation of number of hours worked per day, a weekly day of rest and social security. The Committee also called on the Indonesian government to immediately ratify the ILO Domestic Workers Convention (No. 189);

• The Committee reiterated its "deep concern" about ongoing violence, abuse and exploitation experienced by Indonesian women migrant workers. It recommended that the Indonesian government take steps to strengthen inspection and monitoring of recruitment agencies and training centres and to ensure that penalties are imposed on companies that fail to respect the rights of those they recruit. The Committee further called on the Indonesian government to bring to justice all those found to be engaged in illegal recruitment processes, including those who traffic migrant women for forced labour and sexual exploitation purposes; and

• The Committee called on Indonesia to take effective steps to deliver justice, truth and reparation to women who were victims of human rights violations during past conflicts including in Aceh and Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor). It called on the Indonesian government to investigate, prosecute and punish acts of violence against women, including acts of sexual violence, and to provide them with full and effective reparation. The Committee recommended that this include comprehensive measures to provide medical and psychological support to women victims of violence.

Many of these recommendations echo calls by civil society and human rights organizations. Amnesty International believes that if effectively implemented, they would improve the situation of women and girls in the country.

Amnesty International submitted a shadow report entitled Briefing to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Index: ASA 21/022/2012) to the CEDAW Committee in June 2012. In the report Amnesty International highlighted a number of concerns relating to gender-based discrimination and violence against women in Indonesia.

The CEDAW Committee's Concluding Observations can be accessed via the following link: www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/co/CEDAW-C-IDN-CO-6-7.pdf