Justice for Girls & Justice for Girls International make submission to UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Read Our Submission to the UN CEDAW Committee.
Introduction
Together we respectfully submit that Canada is failing to take the necessary steps to acknowledge and progressively realize the rights set out in the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (‘the Convention’) as they pertain to girls.
We submit that Canada has failed to recognize and respond to the unique circumstances of girls and to adequately address violations of their rights. The rights of girls and the specific conditions of oppression they encounter are frequently overlooked by the Canadian government and policy makers. Marginalized within the category of children as females and within the category of women as minors, girls and the issues that affect them are often eclipsed by concerns general to youth or adult women.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing recently identified girls as a group that is especially vulnerable to international human rights violations, and particularly with respect to the right to adequate housing. Mr. Kothari noted that ‘[h]omelessness in general and that of young women and girls… has become a national concern in Canada.’2
The Platform for Action on the Girl Child, arising from the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, as well as the World Programme of Action for Youth on Girls and Young Women articulate numerous strategic objectives to eliminate violence and discrimination in the lives of girls worldwide and set out a framework for situating the girl-child within international human rights.3 Despite these commitments, girls remain a low priority for many countries, including Canada. As a result, international human rights monitors often overlook breaches specific to girls.
We respectfully submit that in accordance with the recognition of the specific circumstances of the girl-child arising from the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, Canada’s compliance with the Convention be reviewed as it pertains to the specific and unique circumstances of girls.