United Nations CEDAW/C/62/2
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United Nations CEDAW/C/62/2 Convention on the Elimination Distr.: General 14 September 2015 of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Original: English only ADVANCE UNEDITED VERSION Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Sixty-second session 26 October – 20 November 2015 Item 6 of the provisional agenda Implementation of articles 21 and 22 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Reports by specialized agencies on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their activities Report of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)* Summary In accordance with article 22 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the specialized agencies of the United Nations have been invited to submit to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, at its sixty-second session, reports on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their activities. * This document was submitted late due to delayed inputs from other sources. CEDAW/C/62/2 I. Introduction 1. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), at its 61st session will examine the national reports of the following countries: Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Portugal, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Timor- Leste, United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan. 2. As a specialized agency of the United Nations, UNESCO contributes to the building of peace, the alleviation of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, and communication and information. In accordance with UNESCO’s Medium-Term Strategy for 2008-2013, gender equality has been designated as one of the two global priorities of the Organization and continues to be global priority for the period 2014-2021. The Priority Gender Equality is pursued through a two pronged approach, (i) gender specific programming and (ii) mainstreaming of gender equality perspectives in all of UNESCO’s fields of competence. 3. UNESCO has a major role and responsibility within the United Nations system for the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Article 10 of the Convention provides that “the States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in order to ensure to them equal rights with men in the field of education…”. The right to education is at the very heart of UNESCO's mission and represents an integral part of its constitutional mandate. 4. UNESCO’s efforts to promote women’s empowerment, women’s rights and gender equality are guided by UNESCO’s Medium-Term Strategy for 2014-2021, UNESCO’s quadri-annual and bi-annual Programme and Budget documents, UNESCO’s organization- wide Priority Gender Equality Action Plan for 2014-2021 which supports and guides the implementation of its global “Priority Gender Equality”, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action as well as resolutions and international and regional instruments relevant to UNESCO’s areas of action. 5. UNESCO’s commitment to pursue the priority Gender Equality is facilitated by the Division for Gender Equality in the Office of the Director-General. As the UNESCO focal point for gender equality, the Division provides policy guidance and recommendations to the senior management and the Programme Sectors for mainstreaming gender equality considerations in UNESCO policies, strategies and programmes; carries out capacity- building; monitors gender parity and work-life balance within the Secretariat and develops and establishes partnerships with other UN bodies, regional bodies, IGOs, NGOs, private foundations and private sector partners that support women’s empowerment and gender equality initiatives. II. Measures taken by UNESCO to implement the provisions of CEDAW in the countries to be considered at the 61st session Lebanon 6. Lebanon is party to the UNESCO Convention against discrimination in Education of 1960 and ratified it on 27 October 1964, but did not report to the Seventh Consultation of Member States on the Implementation of the Convention and the Recommendation against discrimination in education. 2 CEDAW/C/62/2 7. Under Article 7 of the Lebanese Constitution, all Lebanese shall be equal before the law. They shall equally enjoy civil and political rights and shall equally be bound by public obligations and duties without any distinction. 8. Article 10 guarantees that education shall be free insofar as it is not contrary to public order and morals and does not affect the dignity of any of the religions or sects. There shall be no violation of the right of religious communities to have their own schools provided they follow the general rules issued by the state regulating public instruction. 9. Since at least 1955, the Lebanese Government has adopted a policy of providing free education at the primary level to all Lebanese children. In 1998 primary education up to age twelve became mandatory. Children with disability have the same right to an education and the government covers all expenses in this regard. 10. In Lebanon, English or French with Arabic are taught from early years in schools. Lebanon has one of the highest literacy rates in the Middle Eastern region and is among the highest in the world. Education is compulsory from 6 to 15 years, being the basic education phase. Education in Lebanon is divided into 5 cycles split in 3 phases: Pre-school education, basic education, and secondary education, the latter ending on a Baccalaureate or a "professional certificate", both grant access to tertiary education. 11. Five years of primary education is mandatory and available free to all Lebanese children. Intermediate education is a four-year cycle, consisting of grades six through nine for intermediate schools and one through four for vocational schools. Three different tracks are offered at this level: lower secondary was a four-year academic course designed to prepare the student for the baccalaureate examination; the upper primary track consists of three years similar to lower secondary and a fourth year of preparation for entering vocational schools or teacher training institutes; and vocational study is a three-year practical course for less skilled trades. At the end of this cycle, students receive an academic, technical, or professional certificate. 12. Secondary education is intended to help students attain intellectual maturity and obtain the essential knowledge necessary to choose the appropriate field of higher education compatible with their capabilities, preparing them to pursue such a field of study. This consisted of grades eleven through thirteen for academic programs, or one to three years for vocational programs. Three tracks were available at this level. The secondary normal track consisted of three-year training programs for prospective primary and intermediate school teachers. The Baccalaureate I certificate is awarded to students who pass the official examination given at the end of the twelfth school year, and the Baccalaureate II is awarded to students who pass official examinations at the end of the thirteenth school year. The Baccalaureate II was necessary for admission to institutions of higher education in Lebanon. Many of the courses taken during the year were comparable to those at the college freshman level. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have limited access to public secondary education and most of them are not able to afford the high cost of private secondary education. UNRWA operates three secondary schools in Beirut, Saida and Tyre. School operated by UNRWA partially offset the absence of available educational opportunities at the secondary school level. 13. Tertiary education in Lebanon is composed of Technical and Vocational Institutes, University colleges, University Institutes and Universities. The Lebanese University is the only public institution. Lebanon has 41 nationally accredited universities, several of which are internationally recognized. 14. The project “Training young media professionals on investigative and election coverage through a gender based approach” targets young media professionals from all media outlets in Lebanon in taking a gender based approach while covering elections. Through this project UNESCO continued to provide capacity building to young journalists and in particular, it will focus on both investigative journalism and covering election 3 CEDAW/C/62/2 contributing to the efforts of young journalists to comply with international norms, ethics as well as high standard outputs. 15. The objective of the project “Strengthening the empowerment of young women and men and their engagement, particularly in democratic processes, in order to promote intercultural dialogue and social inclusion” is to encourage an intercultural and inter confessional dialogue among youth focusing on intercultural and inter-confessional dialogue in order to reconcile youth in a context of violence and conflict. This programme initiated young people to accept different and diversified opinions, promoted the culture of discussion and contributed to the dismantling of artificial barriers in the education of young people settled by families, by social background or by communities, as well as barriers between rural and urban environment. 16. The project “Supporting