CAT/C/SLE/CO/1
campaigns, particularly among families and traditional leaders, on the harmful effects
of this practice.
Harmful traditional practices
16.
The Committee is concerned that section 2, paragraph 2, of the Registration of
Customary Marriage and Divorce Act, 2007 still allows child marriage, subject to parental
consent, and notes the persistence of this and other harmful traditional practices, such as the
verbal and physical violence, including lynching, inflicted on elderly women in relation to
allegations of witchcraft. The Committee is also highly concerned about reports of the
commission of ritual crimes and about the lack of effective investigations and successful
prosecutions, the alleged interference of traditional leaders and the reliance on out-of-court
settlements. Furthermore, the Committee regrets the lack of sufficient information on the
steps taken to ensure that customary law conforms to the State party’s obligations under the
Convention (arts. 2 and 16).
The State party should:
(a)
Repeal the provisions in the legislation that permit child marriage and
establish the minimum marriageable age at 18 years;
(b)
Strengthen its efforts to prevent and combat harmful traditional
practices, particularly in rural areas, and ensure that such acts are investigated and
the alleged perpetrators prosecuted and, if convicted, punished with appropriate
sanctions;
(c)
Create the conditions for victims to report without fear of reprisals and
provide them with reparations;
(d)
Increase awareness-raising measures to alert the public to the harmful
effects of certain customs that are detrimental to women and other persons, as
undertaken by the State delegation during the dialogue;
(e)
Provide judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officials and traditional
authorities with training on the strict application of the relevant legislation
criminalizing harmful traditional practices and other forms of violence.
In general, the State party should ensure that its customary law and practices are
compatible with its human rights obligations, particularly those under the
Convention.
Abortion
17.
While acknowledging the steps taken by the State party to review the current
restrictive legislation, the Committee is concerned that sections 58 and 59 of the Offences
against the Person Act still criminalize abortion in all circumstances. These restrictions
result in a large number of women seeking clandestine and unsafe abortions, which may
account for over 10 per cent of maternal deaths (arts. 2 and 16).
The Committee recommends that the State party accelerate the review process of the
Offences against the Person Act with a view to considering providing for further
exceptions to the general prohibition of abortion, in particular for cases of therapeutic
abortion and pregnancy resulting from rape or incest. The State party should, in
accordance with the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization, guarantee
immediate and unconditional treatment for women seeking emergency medical care
as a consequence of unsafe abortion. The State party should also provide sexual and
reproductive health services to women and adolescents, in order to prevent unwanted
pregnancies.
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