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CEDAW Committee Recognises Extraterritorial Obligations towards Human Rights for Sweden

21 March 2016

In a globalised world, we cannot isolate human rights violations in each country without relating them with decisions, actions or inactions taken in other countries.

Today, we face the challenge of recognising the due diligence that States have to ensure that their decisions, actions or inactions do not hinder human rights protection elsewhere.

For instance, when a State, such as Sweden, export weapons to Saudi Arabia, they are contributing to the human rights violations perpetrated through using or threating with these weapons.

Similarly, many countries have a double standard when it comes to their regulation of corporations: inside the country regulations may be more or less strict in terms of employment, protection of the environment and human rights, but when the corporation operates outside they prefer to look the other way to human rights violations.

WILPF brought these concerns to CEDAW Committee regarding actions and inactions of Sweden and Sweden’s obligation for due diligence towards the human rights of women outside Sweden.

During the review CEDAW Committee asked the delegation of Sweden about the mechanisms in place to control arms exports and the risk they might be used in gender-based violence and the actions of corporations violating human rights abroad.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO SWEDEN

CEDAW Committee has issued its Concluding Recommendations to Sweden and has recommended Sweden “ that the State party uphold its due diligence obligations to ensure that companies under the its jurisdiction or control respect, protect and fulfill women’s human rights when operating abroad.”

With regards to arms exports, the Committee has recommended to: “ensure that the new legislation to regulate export of arms includes a strong and robust gender-specific perspective.”

A STEP FORWARD IN RECOGNITION OF EXTRATERRITORIAL OBLIGATIONS

This decision from CEDAW Committee is a step further in the recognition of extraterritorial obligations with Human Rights Law, that States do not only have an obligation to protect the human rights of those within their borders, but also to prevent that their actions or inactions violate human rights of people in other countries.

It is the first time that the CEDAW Committee has reminded States on their responsibility towards their impact on the rights of persons outside the borders of the State. This important step forward opens an opportunity for human rights defenders around the world to use Human Rights Law even when some of the actors involved in human rights violations are based abroad.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.

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