10th يناير 2024

Information on Tajikistan for consideration by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women – 87th session, December 2023

We respectfully submit this report for consideration during the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (‘the Committee’) review of Tajikistan at its 87th Session (29 January – 16 February 2024). We are writing to express our concerns with regard to laws related to rape and other forms of sexual violence, procedures and practices which effectively deny access to justice for survivors of sexual violence in violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (‘the Convention’).

Key recommendations

The legal provisions and practices detailed in our submission highlight the failure of the State of Tajikistan to comply with its duties to provide equal protection under the law to survivors of sexual violence (Article 2(c) of the Convention) and the failure of law enforcement to protect women from sexual violence (Article 2(c) and (e)). We submit that the root cause of the failures of the State is its non-compliance with the obligation to end discrimination against women in law and practice and address stereotypical and gender-discriminatory attitudes towards women and girls, contrary to Articles 2(f) and 5(a) of the Convention and the obligation to combat violence against women and provide access to justice to survivors, as provided for in General Recommendations 19, 33 and 35 of the Committee.

In February 2024, the Committee published its recommendations, which were in line with a number of recommendations we made in our joint submission. Explore our full statement on the recommendations.

Explore more resources

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Tajikistan – Joint submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review 53rd Session of the UPR Working Group of the Human Rights Council

UPR submission on Tajikistan addressing violence against women and girls, child and forced marriage, disability inclusion, legal reform, and survivor-centred protections.

Equality Now joins coalition submission to the ECtHR on proposed amendments to Rules 36 and 44 of the Rules of Court

Equality Now joined partners in urging the ECtHR not to adopt draft rule changes that could weaken protection for applicants in situations of vulnerability.

Backlash on addressing inequality in Georgia: Submission to GREVIO for the first  round of thematic evaluation, 6 February 2026

Equality Now’s GREVIO submission on Georgia highlights backsliding on gender equality, shrinking space for human rights NGOs and remaining gaps in sexual violence response: non-consent-based rape laws, insufficient services for survivors and retraumatising practices.

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