A/HRC/46/11
20.
The delegation of Andorra also provided clarification on the specific case of Vanessa
Mendoza, the head of Stop Violències, an association calling for the legalization of abortion,
who had said that she had been subjected to judicial harassment, repression and intimidation
by the Government.
21.
The Government of Andorra had worked with the association since its founding. It
had, for example, provided grants, invited the association to various meetings and authorized
its activities. In spite of that, Stop Violències had, in 2019, filed complaints with the
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women against various government
offices, alleging violations of women’s rights, possible forced abandonment of children and
other extremely serious acts.
22.
Since some of those acts constituted criminal offences, the Government had
transmitted the allegations to the public prosecutor’s office so that it could determine whether
legal action should be taken. The office had not yet communicated its handling of the matter.
However, the delegation of Andorra wished to make clear that, whatever the decision reached
by the justice system, Ms. Mendoza did not risk imprisonment, contrary to what had been
said in the media or reported by some non-governmental organizations.
23.
The attention that the Government, which, incidentally, comprised equal numbers of
men and women, paid to women’s rights had also been demonstrated by the efforts that it
had made since early 2020 to minimize the effects of the lockdown on women experiencing
gender-based or domestic violence.
24.
In addition, three years earlier, the Department for Equality Policies had started
offering training on violence against women and domestic violence to all professionals who
might be called on to respond in such situations and workshops on preventing harassment at
school. All three education systems addressed gender equality and equality in general from
an early age. A plan to raise awareness of gender equality had been drawn up, and individuals
had been assigned to act as lookouts with respect to the issue in schools.
25.
Significant efforts had been made to promote the inclusion of children with disabilities
in schools. For example, specialized professionals, educators and assistants had been
assigned to each school. There was also a vocational training programme. In addition, the
legislation had been amended to bring it into line with the requirements of the Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
26.
A number of measures aimed at further raising awareness of the rights of persons with
disabilities and eliminating all barriers preventing persons with disabilities from living in
dignity had been set forth in Act No. 4/2019 of 31 January 2019 on employment and the
regulations on employment that had entered into force in February 2020.
27.
Act No. 4/2018 of 22 March 2019 on Temporary and Transitional Protection on
Humanitarian Grounds had made it possible for Andorra to receive two Syrian refugee
families in October 2018, and a third family was expected to arrive in the coming weeks. The
Andorran delegation recognized the role played by civil society in providing the best possible
welcome for those families.
28.
In 2017, Parliament had adopted a law on measures to combat trafficking in persons
and protect victims in order to fight against that scourge. In 2018, the Government had
adopted a specific procedure for the protection of victims of trafficking in persons. A
comprehensive strategic road map for combating trafficking and protecting victims was being
prepared. All officials working in the area had received training in 2019.
B.
Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review
29.
During the interactive dialogue, 46 delegations made statements. Recommendations
made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report.
30.
Chile commended Andorra on its efforts to fight racism and intolerance, its strategic
plan to implement the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Act on the Eradication of
Gender-based and Domestic Violence. However, it regretted that the recommendations made
4
GE.20-17726
Sélectionner le paragraphe cible3
Se connecter à un paragraphe
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Ajouter à la table des matières