full version - World Organisation Against Torture

MaliMali ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination against Women on 10 September 1985 and acceded tothe Optional Protocol to the Convention on 5 December 2000. Mali’ssecond through fifth periodic reports (covering the period 1990 to 2002)have not been submitted to the Committee on the Elimination ofDiscrimination Against Women. The fifth periodic report was due 10October 2002.In 1992, the CEDAW Committee adopted General Recommendation 19,which states that “gender-based violence, which impairs or nullifies theenjoyment by women of human rights and fundamental freedoms undergeneral international law or under human rights conventions, is discriminationwithin the meaning of article 1 of the Convention.” It defines gender-basedviolence as “violence that is directed against a woman becauseshe is a woman or that affects women disproportionately. It includes actsthat inflict physical, mental or sexual harm or suffering, threats of suchacts, coercion and other deprivations of liberty.”Mali is also a State Party to the International Covenant on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child andthe Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.At the regional level, Mali is a State Party to the African Charter onHuman and Peoples Rights. Article 2 of the African Charter stipulatesthat “Every individual shall be entitled to the enjoyment of the rights andfreedoms recognised and guaranteed in the present Charter without distinctionof any such kind such as race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language,religion, political or any other opinion, national and social origin fortune,birth and other status.” Article 18(3) provides that State Parties shallensure the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women aswell as protection for the rights of women and children “as stipulated ininternational declarations and conventions.” Article 5 of the AfricanCharter prohibits torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment ortreatment.1.2 Human rights situation in MaliChapter 1 of the Constitution provides for a catalogue of fundamentalrights and freedoms applicable in Mali. The chapter comprises 24 articles273