13th July 2022

Sri Lanka – UPR Joint Submission 2022

During the previous UPR cycle, Sri Lanka received 39 recommendations to strengthen and improve measures regarding women’s rights protection. Of these recommendations, 11 related to preventing and eliminating violence against women; including strengthening efforts to eliminate sexual violence.

Key takeaways and recommendations

During this UPR cycle, Equality Now made two joint submissions:

This submission outlines the challenges in the criminal justice system and the legislation of Sri Lanka in addressing sexual violence crimes and provides recommendations for improving access to justice for sexual violence through improving legislation and criminal justice procedures. Developing effective criminal law mechanisms for the elimination of sexual violence is a fundamental step in achieving substantive and transformative equality for women and girls in Sri Lanka.

Submitted by Equality Now and Centre for Equality and Justice (CEJ)

This submission highlights the need to address female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C); provisions in family laws which are discriminatory against women; and the need for the law to establish a minimum age for marriage within the Muslim community.

Submitted by: Alliance for Minorities, Women’s Action Network, Muslim Women’s Development Trust and Equality Now

Explore more resources

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Kazakhstan – Information for Consideration by Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) at its Pre-Sessional Working Group in July 2025

In our submission, we detail concerns regarding laws related to sexual violence and child and forced marriage, as well as procedures and practices that effectively deny access to justice for women and girls who are survivors of sexual violence and child and forced marriage.

Intervention on the Activity Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa

Equality Now calls for stronger implementation of the Maputo Protocol, including lifting reservations, reforming discriminatory laws, ending FGM, and ensuring State accountability.

Intervention on the Activity Report of the Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Internally Displaced Persons and Migrants in Africa

Equality Now urges action to end gender discrimination in nationality laws and calls for the ratification of the AU Nationality Protocol.

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