6. The Committee welcomes the initiatives and measures developed by the Netherlands to prevent and combat female genital mutilation and honour-related killings, as well as the commitment to protect women against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, as indicated in the introductory statement of the delegation of the State party.

25. The Committee calls upon the State party to strengthen its efforts to eliminate stereotypical images and attitudes regarding the roles of women and men in the family and in society, in accordance with articles 2 (f) and 5 (a) of the Convention. This should include developing additional programmes to address gender stereotypes related to discrimination on other grounds, such as race, age, sexual orientation and disability, and to scrutinize government policies, in particular migration and integration policies, as well as targeted programmes in the education system and the gender equality training of teachers. It calls upon all the governments to periodically review the measures taken in order to assess their impact and effectiveness, to take any necessary follow-up or remedial action, and to report thereon to the Committee in its next report.

46. While noting that the national report for 2009-2010 on the implementation of the Convention will be devoted to the health of ethnic minority women in relation to their socio-economic position, the Committee expresses serious concern that the maternal mortality risk for female asylum-seekers is four times higher than for native Dutch women in the Netherlands and that undocumented female immigrants face great difficulties in accessing the health services to which they are formally entitled, mainly because of a lack of appropriate information provided to them. The Committee also expresses concern at specific health problems experienced by transgender women, in particular the compulsory sterilization they should undergo to get their birth certificates changed and the non-reimbursement by health insurance for surgical placement of their breast implants. The Committee is further concerned that pregnant women suspected of drug trafficking at Schiphol national airport who cannot undergo a body scan may be detained for lengthy periods of time.

47. The Committee urges the Netherlands to include in its next report the outcome of the study into the health condition of ethnic minority women related to the obligation under the Convention and general recommendation No. 24. In the meantime, the Committee urges the Netherlands to take immediate measures to reduce the maternal mortality of female asylum- seekers and to provide information to undocumented women on their rights as well as practical information on how they can access health-care services. The Committee strongly supports the intention of the Netherlands to conduct in-depth research on the health situation of transgender women and to revise the law making sterilization compulsory for transgender women.

The Committee also invites the Netherlands to reconsider its position to not reimburse transgender women for breast implants. The Committee urges the Netherlands to use appropriate methods of examination on pregnant women suspected of drug trafficking in order to avoid their detention at the national airport.

Link to full text of the report: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/co/CEDAW-C-NLD-CO-5.pdf

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