Annual Report 2023
05
Women
Throughout 2023, the OMCT continued to support its partners and SOS-Torture Network members in addressing and denouncing sexual and gender-based violence, both domestically and globally. At a time when gender equality is one of the 17 sustainable development goals, and we are halfway to the 2030 deadline, the urgency has never been greater. According to UN Women, 86% of women and girls live in countries without strong legal protections against violence or in countries where data is not available.
Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, an estimated 10% of girls are married before the age of 18. The Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) does not set a minimum age for marriage, and a Muslim Qazi (judge) can even authorize the marriage of girls under the age of 12. Moreover, female genital mutilation, which is a form of torture, is still practised and remains legal in Sri Lanka. Together with the Mannar Women’s Development Federation and Women’s Action Network, we submitted an alternative report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women as part of the review of Sri Lanka’s ninth periodic report. The report details reproductive violence, including obstetric violence and forced sterilization, and highlights its impacts on victims, who often belong to groups vulnerable to gender-based violence and torture.
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has set up a committee to ensure reparations to victims of sexual violence and crimes against humanity. Together with our SOS-Torture Network member Alliance pour l’Universalité des Droits Fondamentaux (AUDF) and close partner Association Pour Le Développement Socioéconomique du Kasaï (ADSKA), we advocated for the redress and rehabilitation of victims of sexual violence before the UN Committee against Torture in 2019. This is a remarkable development, given that DRC faces systematic rape and other forms of sexual violence on a massive scale. An estimated 250,000 to 1 million women have been raped since the start of the armed conflict in the 1990s.
Celebrating women human rights defenders
To mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, OMCT organised a unique public event showcasing inspiring women human rights defenders in partnership with the City of Geneva. In this video, Olga Sadovskaya, from the Russian organisation Human Rights Defenders, talks about the hopes and challenges of defending human rights in her country. You can find more details on this event in the Cultural Partnerships chapter of this Annual Report.