United Nations CEDAW/C/BGR/CO/4-7/Add.1 Convention on the Elimination Distr.: General 14 August 2014 of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Original: English English, French, and Spanish only ADVANCE UNEDITED VERSION Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Concluding observations on the combined fourth to seventh periodic reports of Bulgaria Addendum Information provided by Bulgaria on the follow-up to the concluding observations of the Committee* [Date received: 12 August 2014] * In accordance with the information transmitted to States parties regarding the processing of their reports, the present document was not edited. CEDAW/C/BGR/CO/4-7/Add.1 Information about the measures taken by the republic of Bulgaria in implementing the recommendations referred to in paragraph 16 (strengthening of institutional mechanisms) and paragraph 26 (protection against domestic violence) Information referred to in Paragraph 16 /Strengthening of institutional mechanism 16. The Committee recommends that the State party expeditiously strengthen the national machinery by increasing its authority and visibility, by providing it with adequate human and financial resources to make it more effective and by enhancing its capacity to formulate, coordinate and monitor the elaboration and implementation of legislation and policy measures in the field of gender equality. The Committee also urges the State party to strengthen its cooperation with women's non-governmental organizations in achieving the implementation of the Convention and in monitoring such implementation. In implementing the commitments of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European and international treaties to which the state is a party, and in conjunction with Council of Ministers Decision № 438/25.07.2013 on the Action Plan for Implementation of the Final Recommendations to the Republic of Bulgaria made by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), statutory guarantees concerning measures to ensure equal opportunities for women and men should be established. The plan contains measures in accordance with the recommendations, such as: drafting a Law on Gender Equality; strengthening of the national mechanism for ensuring gender equality; activities to overcome gender stereotypes and discriminatory practices; thematic studies and analyzes; legislative changes to strengthen the protection and support of victims of human trafficking and gender-based violence; training to increase the capacity of magistrates, investigating police officers, pedagogues and social workers; activities to promote the participation of women in different spheres of public life; awareness and information activities, including among women from disadvantaged groups; promoting the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, etc. The implementation of these measures should contribute to better protect the rights of women in various fields and promote real gender equality. The strengthening of the institutional mechanism for gender equality is one of the key priorities in the government’s program Statehood, Development and Justice 2013-2017, item II. Employment, Solidarity and Social Justice. Council of Ministers Decree of 10 May 2014 amended the Rules and Procedures of the Structure and Organization of the National Council. Amendments to the Rules and Procedures relate to the strengthening of the national institutional mechanism for the implementation of the gender equality policy. These amendments are a result of the implementation of the measures set out in the Action Plan for Implementation of the Final Recommendations to the Republic of Bulgaria made by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The amendments are aimed at increasing the efficiency, capacity and transparency of the Council as a national consultative and coordinating body for the gender equality policy, including cooperation with non- governmental organizations. The changes will improve the organization and coordination of the work of the Council as a central point of national institutional mechanism for implementation of the gender equality policy. A draft Law on Gender Equality is prepared, and the discussion on it is forthcoming. The draft Law on Gender Equality determines the bodies and mechanisms for the 2 CEDAW/C/BGR/CO/4-7/Add.1 implementation of the state policy on gender equality and it also regulates the institutional mechanism for gender equality. Information referred to in Paragraph 26 /Protection against domestic violence 26. The Committee urges the State party: (a) To amend its Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code in order to specifically criminalize domestic violence and marital rape and to introduce the possibility of ex officio prosecution for both offences. Ministry of Justice was working on taking actions to bring the draft of the new Criminal Code in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee and preparing amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act. The draft of the new Criminal Code was prepared and approved by the Council of Ministers Decision № 50 of 31 January 2014. It was submitted to the National Assembly for consideration on the same date. The draft does not contain provisions similar to the ones mentioned above. In this sense, it can be concluded that the measure is implemented by the Ministry of Justice. (b) To amend article 10 (1) of the Protection against Domestic Violence Act so as to remove the one-month time limit to file a petition for a protection order, and to ensure the stringent application by the judiciary of article 13 (3 ) of the Act so as to ease the burden of proof in favor of the victim. Ministry of Justice will establish an interagency working group to develop the necessary legislative changes in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee in the second half of 2014. This process will continue after the parliamentary elections in early Оctober 2014 and the appointment of a new government. (c) To ensure that sufficient State-funded shelters are available to women victims of domestic violence and their children and to provide support to non- governmental organizations offering shelter and other forms of support to victims of domestic violence. An investment priority “Active Integration”, including in Order to Promote Equal Opportunities and Active Participation and Better Employability will be supported within priority axis 2 “Reducing Poverty and Promoting Social Inclusion” of the new Operational Programme Human Resources Development 2014-2020. Specific targets for improving access to employment and services for social inclusion and health through integrated measures for families with children and to improve access to social and health services, including through integrated measures for people with disabilities are also provided. An activity Provision of supportive services, including integrated cross-sectorial services in the community or at home; services for early childhood development; services for prevention and early intervention for children, families with children / including children with disabilities /elderly/ including people over 65 year of age living alone and unable to take care of themselves/ people with disabilities and other vulnerable population groups is set within the abovementioned investment priority. Effort is being put into creation of a better coordination between institutions, providers of social and health services and the public sector, including through the involvement of civil society in the implementation of public policies for social inclusion. The plans are to continue the practice of strengthening the capacity of the Social Assistance Agency (SAA) in order to improve the availability and quality of social services in the country. Measures to improve/create new models for higher quality and financial standards for evaluation of social services according to the needs of users and others will be supported. The activity is included in the new operational programme. This activity is also part of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 and the International Projects Directorate within the Ministry of Interior is the program operator under program area BG12 "Domestic violence 3 CEDAW/C/BGR/CO/4-7/Add.1 and violence based on gender". Targeted funding for the construction of shelters for victims of domestic violence and accompanying supportive services is provided. Ministry of Labour and Social Policy organizes annually a vocational training aimed at developing the capacity of staff in regional offices of the Social Assistance Agency - Social Assistance Directorate to increase the competence of social workers on identification and adequate support to victims of violence. 243 social workers from the Social Assistance Directorate from the whole country participated in trainings during the period 2011 – 2013. Parallel to the efforts of the state, a number of NGOs / FA "Animus", Center Nadya Foundation, Social Activities and Practice Institute, Bulgarian Gender Research Center, SOS - Families at Risk, Varna, etc./working in social services for victims of domestic violence, organize periodic trainings, which include representatives of the Social Assistance Directorate. Social Assistance Agency is a direct beneficiary under the project "Strengthening the capacity of the Social Assistance Agency to improve the quality and effectiveness of the social work", implemented with the financial support of the Operational Programme Human Resources