Civil Organizations Brief the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the Situation of Women in Viet Nam, Iraq, Lithuania and the Netherlands
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was this afternoon briefed by representatives of civil society organizations on the situation of women’s rights in Viet Nam, Iraq, Lithuania and the Netherlands, the reports of which the Committee will review this week.
Non-governmental organizations speaking on Viet Nam raised concerns relating to the exposure of women workers to toxic chemicals, the situation of Khmer-Krom women, and the disproportionate impact of climate change on women.
Speakers for Iraq expressed concern about the legalisation of child marriage, custodial rights of rape survivors, and Government criticism of the Convention.
Organizations for Lithuania spoke about a lack of gender focused national statistics, victimisation of women in prostitution, and insufficient support for women victims of violence.
The speakers on the Netherlands discussed ageism affecting women, harmful practices against intersex children, and high rates of trafficking and sexual exploitation.
The following non-governmental organizations spoke on Viet Nam: Vietnam Women's Union; the Research Centre for Gender, Family and Environment in Development; and Khmers-Kampuchea Krom Federation Women; and Khmers-Kampuchea Krom Federation.
The following non-governmental organizations spoke on Iraq: Iraqi Women’s Network; Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights; Êzidi Women’s Freedom Movement; the Hurra Coalition, the Global Campaign for Equality in Family Law, and Equality Now; and Lutheran World Federation in Iraq.
The following non-governmental organizations spoke on Lithuania: Lithuanian Women’s Lobby/National Association against Human Trafficking; Lithuanian Women's Rights Association; and Lithuanian Disability Forum.
The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights spoke on the Netherlands, as did the following non-governmental organizations: the Dutch CEDAW Network and Ieder(in); Platform Older Women NL; Non Western Migrant Women's Coalition; Bi+ Nederland, NNID, NOA & Transgender Netwerk; and Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights Association.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women’s ninety-second session is being held from 2 to 20 February 2026. All documents relating to the Committee’s work can be found on the session’s webpage. Meeting summary releases can be found here. The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed via the UN Web TV webpage.
The Committee will next meet in public at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 3 February to consider the ninth periodic report of Viet Nam (CEDAW/C/VNM/9).
Statement by Committee Chair
NAHLA HAIDAR, Committee Chair, said this was the first opportunity during the present session for civil society organizations to provide information on States parties whose reports were being considered during the first week of the session, namely Viet Nam, Iraq, Lithuania and the Netherlands.
Statements by Non-Governmental Organizations from Viet Nam
In the discussion on the situation of women and girls in Viet Nam, speakers among other things, said toxic chemicals in the electronics industry were a global concern, with women workers bearing the brunt. A list of the toxic chemicals had not been disclosed and there were no regulations mandating this. Female workers lacked information on the toxic chemicals, leaving them open to greater exposure.
Additionally, Khmer-Krom women continued to face systematic denial of their indigenous identity. They were prohibited from self-identifying as Khmer-Krom in official documents and instead labelled “Khmer Nam Bo,” restricting access to education, land rights, public participation and justice. Khmer-Krom women defenders were also denied basic procedural safeguards, including access to legal counsel from the moment of arrest. They continued to face barriers in education, language rights and economic participation, compounded by climate change in the Mekong Delta. Women often bore the brunt when water became scarce or polluted.
The Government of Viet Nam was recommended to eliminate harmful gender stereotypes in education; strengthen women’s participation in political and public life; reinforce the legal framework on gender equality; and pay greater attention to women in vulnerable situations, including ethnic minorities. It was also vital to make information on toxic chemicals available through public awareness raising campaigns. The Committee was also asked to address issues relating to Khmer-Krom women human rights defenders and underscore the importance that these women were recognised as indigenous peoples.
Statements by Non-Governmental Organizations from Iraq
In the discussion on the situation of women and girls in Iraq, speakers, among other things, said the personal status law no. (1) of 2025 and the Ja‘fari code annexed to it had emerged as a major and highly controversial societal issue, threatening family stability and social cohesion. This was due to the inclusion of jurisprudential provisions which undermined the legislative role of Parliament, weakened the independence of the judiciary, and was inconsistent with Iraq’s international obligations.
The law had legalised child marriage, abolished penalties for marriages conducted outside the courts, removed divorced women’s right to housing, and reduced the duration of maternal custody. It also deprived wives of inheritance rights to land and real estate, allowed the retroactive application of the code to marriage contracts without the wife’s consent, and granted husbands absolute authority over divorce and polygamy.
Danger in the country was now increased by the 150 IS-terrorists who had escaped from the Al-Hol camp in Syria and the transfer of 7,000 IS-terrorists to Iraq. The surviving mothers with children borne from IS’s rapes as war crimes were in danger of losing these children to these IS-terrorists because, according to Iraqi law, the perpetrators as Muslim men were granted solely custody, but not the women survivors.
Concerns were also raised about the increasing rates of domestic violence, particularly spousal violence against women, in the absence of comprehensive legislation criminalising domestic violence. Around 216 survivors were currently receiving reparations under the survivors law. However, five years after the bills enactment, Iraq had yet to establish a rehabilitation centre fully catering to the needs of survivors. The legal requirement for women to apply for reparations left women more exposed to potential stigma due to reparation verification procedures.
Speakers expressed serious concern regarding campaigns of defamation, accusations of disloyalty, and intimidation targeting women’s organizations and human rights defenders. The Ministry of Higher Education had circulated a university curriculum entitled “Human Rights and Democracy”, which included criticism of the Convention, portraying it as “an instrument to dismantle the family”, and presented a distorted and inaccurate understanding of the principle of full equality between spouses.
The Government of Iraq was urged to fully comply with the Constitution and its international obligations, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The Committee was called upon to implore Iraq to legally revoke custody rights from the IS perpetrators of rape and grant them to the mothers, as well as to repeal amendments to the family law and adopt 18 as the legal aid for marriage.
Statements by Non-Governmental Organizations from Lithuania
In the discussion on the situation of women and girls in Lithuania, speakers said the lack of data in Lithuania was an issue. Since 2017, the official annual publication “Women and men in Lithuania”, which had constantly updated statistics on the gender differences in various areas, was no longer available. Limited gender statistics prevented the identifying, monitoring, analysing and assessing of gender inequality, and forming policies to address this.
Additionally, in Lithuania, sexual violence against women remained systematically invisible, underreported, and poorly punished. The Lithuanian Criminal Code was still based on proof of force and resistance rather than lack of consent, meaning many women often remained without justice. Accreditation of specialised centres for victims of domestic violence often did not provide the specialised support actually required. In prostitution, victims were punished instead of buyers. Additionally, the unequal and largely invisible burden of unpaid care work borne by women, in particular care and nursing of elderly persons, people with chronic illnesses, and persons with disabilities remained highly concerning.
Despite reform efforts, people with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities in Lithuania were still frequently deprived of legal capacity, with legislation allowing medical procedures to be performed without a woman’s free and informed consent, solely at the request of a guardian, with court approval. Women with disabilities who experienced violence rarely sought help due to their dependence on abusers for financial or disability-related support.
Lithuania was recommended to ratify the Istanbul Convention immediately, as well as to decriminalise women in prostitution, strengthen buyer accountability, and ensure the necessary support for women wishing to leave prostitution.
The Committee was urged to identify the issue of centre accreditation as a priority. The State needed to implement education and awareness-raising campaigns to challenge gender stereotypes around domestic, care, and nursing work.
Statements by Non-Governmental Organizations from the Netherlands
In the discussion on the situation of women and girls in the Netherlands, speakers among other things, said the rise of anti-gender and anti-democratic movements was highly concerning. The Government was urged to take a proactive and decisive stance in countering these developments, but this had so far not been addressed. There needed to be stronger government coordination in response to violence against women covering protection, prevention and after care. Current strategies needed to specifically include women with disabilities.
Women in the Netherlands faced intersectional discrimination due to ageism, with age as an explicit form of discrimination not being outlined in law. Ageism was pervasive in current Dutch policies and societies. Adding age as a field of discrimination to the Constitution was a way to combat this. The new Dutch pension penalty continued to negatively impact more women than men.
Concern was expressed about ongoing harmful practices against intersex children, with non-consensual and medically unnecessary interventions continuing despite the Committee’s recommendations. Recent studies showed a declining acceptance of same-sex couples and a sharp increase in reports of discrimination, while access to gender-affirming health care remained severely restricted.
Additionally, domestic sexual exploitation in the Netherlands represented the most widespread form of human trafficking, with nearly 3,000 victims annually. Dutch girls constituted a large proportion of these victims, with more than 1,300 girls falling victim to this type of trafficking. The continued trafficking of persons, particularly in the Dutch Caribbean islands, was also concerning.
Speakers said access to the Convention’s mechanisms was essential and urged the Committee to question the Dutch Government on ageism as well as the pension gap for older women. The Committee should also encourage the Dutch Government to increase the number of shelters for women, especially those for victims of trafficking and violence against women.
Questions by Committee Experts
On Viet Nam, a Committee Expert raised questions about early and forced marriages in certain regions and what happened if these cases went to court? What openings were there for the full eradication of offences which could be awarded the death penalty, given the recent encouraging removal of some off the list?
Committee Experts addressing questions to Iraq asked if information could be provided on the law which allowed young girls to get married without the 1961 act being repealed? How many awareness raising programmes were being conducted by non-governmental organizations on the text of the Convention? Could there be work done with the Government to correct its view on the Convention? What was the situation of human rights defenders in Iraq? Female human rights defenders were on death row and Iraq had partially abolished the death penalty; what could be done to ensure the full abolishment of the death penalty?
On Lithuania, Committee Experts asked what was holding back the Lithuanian Parliament from ratifying the Istanbul Convention? What was the explanation given for Lithuania’s criminalisation of prostitution? How many cases had there been in 2025 of prostitutes being criminalised? Were there concrete programmes to correct the uneven care work between men and women? Was there analysis being conducted to understand the root causes of the gender pay gap? What was the law on alimony, child custody and child support? How was the Government dealing with the pension gap in the country? Were there specific recommendations on the issue of temporary special measures, or mandated State party quotas for politics and diplomacy or economic and board decisions?
Concerning the Netherlands, Committee Experts raised questions about mentions of the Convention being removed from the 2025 emancipation policy paper? Could information be provided about the nationality of those living in islands under the country’s jurisdiction, including the Caribbean?
Responses by Non-Governmental Organizations from Viet Nam
Responding to questions, the speaker said the law on family and marriage was currently being revised. If an early marriage appeared before the court, it was considered to be void. Viet Nam continued to sentence women to death and carry out executions under a veil of secrecy, including for drug related offences.
Responses by Non-Governmental Organizations from Iraq
Responding to questions, a speaker said the current Government in Iraq believed the Convention was an insult which promoted hate speech, and these leaders demonised the Convention. Defending women’s rights in Iraq was deemed to be shameful with women subject to slander, insults and extortion. There needed to be cooperation with the United Nations to ensure the Government stopped this campaign against women.
Responses by Non-Governmental Organizations from Lithuania
Responding to questions, a speaker said Lithuania was a conservative country, and conservative forces presented serious obstacles to ratifying the Istanbul Convention, in relation to family values and gender ideology. The issue of prostitution was not popular among parliamentarians, many of whom were men who did not support exit and support programmes and prosecution of perpetrators. A non-governmental organization-funded centre had been created to support those who suffered from sexual violence. However, financial support was lacking, as well as attention from political leaders and decision makers.
Lithuania did not have any disaggregated data on the unequal care burden, which was occurring in the country, as well as on data on vulnerable persons. Without this data, it was impossible to plan services and know the actual situation. It was hard to plan any services which would support work life balance. It was positive that the gender pay gap was narrowing. The pension gap in Lithuania was one of the widest in Europe and recommendations in this regard had been made to the Government, although no measures had been currently applied. The same situation applied to quotas.
Responses by Non-Governmental Organizations from the Netherlands
Responding to questions, speakers said the previous emancipation policy paper had been analysed compared to the recent one, with the 2025 version removing all references to the Convention. There had been calls for funding for organizations on the ground in the Caribbean to produce shadow reports for human rights treaties, but unfortunately this had not been realised. There were six Caribbean islands which belonged to the Netherlands, with three falling under Dutch law and the other three operating autonomously, while still being considered Dutch. They all had human rights obligations and were required to have a fair and decent Government.
Statement by a National Human Rights Institution
In a pre-recorded message, RICK LAWSON, Chairperson of the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights, said there had been significant attention paid to women’s rights in the Netherlands, including the highly attended Women’s March and in the work of many feminist organizations. All of them were pushing for gender equality and drawing attention to the fact that women’s rights were under pressure. Inequality was still present, and there was a risk of losing progress that had already been made. Women still faced discrimination in the labour market, including a persistent pay gap and pregnancy discrimination, as well as being underrepresented in politics, with domestic violence and femicide remaining worrying issues.
There had been positive steps, including that more women were highly educated than men, and violence against women was high on the political agenda. The Government had also acknowledged that unequal treatment and traditional ideas still limited women’s participation in society, and the appointment of a Government Commissioner on sexual transgressive behaviour had helped raise awareness and change the public debate.
At the same time, there were serious concerns. Support programmes for women’s rights organizations had been stopped, the term “gender equality” had been discouraged in policy language, and harmful stereotypes were still repeated by politicians, including around abortion. Women earned less, were less economically independent, faced ongoing discrimination, and often worked part-time due to care responsibilities.
The appointment of a Government Commissioner on Transgressive Behaviour and Sexual Violence was a step ahead. This work had contributed to the rise in attention of human rights and issues affecting women. Additionally, the introduction of the equal treatment act in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom was an important step forward, though policies needed to be adapted to local realities and based on local data.
Overall, achieving real gender equality required gender-sensitive, intersectional, coordinated policies with clear goals and benchmarks. With a new government currently being formed, it was crucial that gender equality became a priority across all policy areas. The Institute looked forward to the Committee’s recommendations and committed to playing its role in ensuring they were followed up.
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CEDAW.26.02E
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