23 February 2014, 22:19
Lawyer: UN Committee considers complaint of woman from Chechnya on domestic violence
The Committee of the United Nations is for the first time considering a complaint of a resident of Chechnya on domestic violence; earlier, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) refused to consider it, said Furkat Tishaev, the legal director of the organization named "Astreya".
Shima Timagova, a resident of Chechnya, is the applicant; after divorce from her husband, she filed a complaint to the court against the violent actions committed against her, as a result of which she became a Category 2 invalid. The court held that the applicant herself had provoked the attacks.
According to Tishaev, in September 2012 the applicant complained to the ECtHR, but the court found her complaint non-eligible.
In July 2004, Russia ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Ratification of the Protocol has allowed women to file individual complaints against the state in cases of discriminatory treatment.
If the CEDAW Committee decides that Russia had violated its obligations under the Convention, the decision of the Committee may oblige Russian authorities to take legislative and administrative measures aimed at preventing domestic violence and protection of victims, as well as to pay compensation to the complainant in the case, the RIA "Novosti" reports.
