ECLJ Responds to the CEDAW Draft Recommendation on Gender Stereotypes

On March 4, 2026, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (the “CEDAW”) published the Draft general recommendation on gender stereotypes (the “Draft”) and invited all interested parties to submit comments on its content. The Draft, which interprets the scope and nature of States’ obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, touches upon several sensitive issues, including equality between women and men, right to life, right to respect for private and family life and religious freedom.

The recommendations of the CEDAW aiming at combating “gender stereotypes” are based on the distorted vision of equality (“transformative conception of equality”), which perceives femininity and masculinity as two antagonistic forces rather than complementary sets of qualities. Such a vision of equality, which aspires to the elimination of natural differences between women and men, undermines the very essence of the right to human dignity.

Furthermore, in its submissions concerning health-related measures, the CEDAW recommends that States Parties “[a]dopt measures to decriminalize abortion and ensure affordable and comprehensive access to safe and quality abortion, post-abortion services and information, and modern contraceptives, free from intersectional discrimination and gender stereotypes” (paragraph 56(c) of the Draft). This recommendation, which does not find ground either in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women or in any other binding instrument of international law, runs counter to obligations of States on protection of the right to life. Beyond the incompatibility of widening access to abortion with the right to life and other international commitments of States Parties (such as protection of motherhood), its decriminalization and facilitation present serious threats to the health of women concerned as well as to the functioning of the wider society.

Finally, the Draft contains multiple recommendations that clearly run counter to the right to respect for private and family life and religious freedom. Throughout the Draft, family and religious institutions are presented as being primarily the settings within which “gender stereotypes” are inculcated and shaped. More precisely, a set of recommendations relating to the sphere of education constitutes a serious risk to the right of the parents to educate and raise their children in conformity with their convictions and religious beliefs. Several proposals, such as the one concerning the promotion of “the inclusion of women in the clergy of religious institutions” and “their active participation in leadership and decision-making processes” (paragraph 61(e) of the Draft), amount to a conspicuous interference with the principle of autonomy of religious institutions.

In its Comments submitted to the CEDAW on 6 May 2026, the ECLJ denounces its manifest incompatibility with international human rights law. It invites the Committee to reconsider and amend the general recommendation in order to ensure its full conformity with international obligations of States Parties.

The full text of the ECLJ’s comments submitted to the CEDAW is available here.