Newsflash Azerbaijan: Group Addresses UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

The Alliance for a Healthy Lifestyle, an OSI grantee organization that represents more than 20 harm reduction organizations in Azerbaijan, submitted an alternative report to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

The report called on the Committee to press the government of Azerbaijan to end police violence against women sex workers and drug users, and enforce the rights of these groups. The report also called on the government to: support shelters and HIV prevention programs; enact a law against domestic violence; stop the practices of mandatory HIV testing of pregnant women, drug users, and sex workers; and increase prosecution of health officials and others who publicly disclose a person's HIV status without her consent.

Beginning on July 20, 2009, two Alliance representatives attended the weeklong CEDAW session at the United Nations in New York and engaged Committee members in a dialogue on key issues. As a result, the CEDAW Committee members posed tough questions to the Azerbaijan government delegation, urging them to take concrete steps to pass a domestic violence law, institute accessible shelters for abuse victims and other vulnerable women, and expand programs for women living with HIV. These questions, if incorporated into the Committee's concluding observations, will help the Alliance continue their advocacy for improved conditions for marginalized women on the ground.

Representatives from the Alliance also delivered a statement, which is reproduced below.

Concerns Facing Women Drug Users and Sex Workers in Azerbaijan

Statement from Alliance for a Healthy Lifestyle at the 44^th session of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

We would like to turn the attention of the Committee to the facts of discrimination of women who are members of vulnerable groups that still occurs in Azerbaijan. Women who engage in sex work and women who use drugs in some cases experience neglect and ignorance from some representatives of medical, law enforcement, and media establishment and from society in general. Moreover, the existence of these vulnerable groups of women is not mentioned in government reports.

Unaddressed incidents of domestic violence increase vulnerability of women to sexual exploitation, drug addiction, and involvement in sex work. Also, due to stereotypes surrounding their choice of work and behavior, women engaged in sex work and women who use drugs are particularly vulnerable to the most barbaric forms of domestic violence. A draft law on domestic violence has been in development for the past two years and is yet to be adopted by the Parliament of Azerbaijan. Furthermore, during these past years, many members of the Parliament publically opposed adoption of such a law, claiming that the Azerbaijani national mentality precludes family issues from being under the purview of courts of law. These arguments delay the adoption of the law and go against the principles of this Convention. We call on the Parliament and the Government of Azerbaijan to urgently adopt a law on domestic violence.

While healthcare workers and other persons involved are, according to the law, to be held accountable for disclosure of information about HIV-positive individuals, no system for responding to such cases exists, and no administrative or criminal charges have been brought to date in cases of disclosure. For women, disclosure of HIV status is a particularly blatant violation, since, due to persisting stereotypes it can entail irrevocable consequences for their family and personal life and for the future of their children. We recommend that the government of Azerbaijan puts in place more stringent penalties for disclosing HIV-positive status and prosecute people who participate in and are responsible for the disclosure of HIV status.

The government of Azerbaijan is aware of and concerned with the health disparities in the country related to HIV, drug use and STIs, however the government's response to these crises has not been effective. In addition, official reports and national programs, designed to improve conditions for women in Azerbaijan, do not mention women from vulnerable groups, such as women sex workers and women drug users. Last year, we documented the emerging needs and problems of these groups in a report titled "Situational assessment of risk for HIV infection among women who use drugs and engage in sex work." We ask that the government acknowledge the existence of these groups of women, and in collaboration with the NGO sector develop a special strategy for improving their quality of life.

The OSI International Harm Reduction Development Program publishes periodic newsflashes highlighting recent developments in international efforts to reduce harms associated with drug use.