12. The Committee is concerned that, despite the prohibition contained in article 48 of the Constitution, the State party’s legislation does not provide a definition of discrimination in accordance with article 1 of the Convention. The Committee is further concerned that, despite the preparation of draft laws on equality and against all forms of discrimination against women, endorsed by ministerial entities, several commissions of the legislative branch and civil society, these drafts have not been approved by the legislature.
The lack of a comprehensive law disproportionally affects disadvantaged groups of women, including indigenous and rural women, lesbians and transsexuals, who are particularly vulnerable to discrimination. The Committee is further concerned at the persistence of discriminatory provisions in the legislation which denotes a need to further harmonize domestic legislation with international instruments ratified by the State party.
13. The Committee reiterates its recommendation to the State party to take effective steps to prohibit discrimination against women in line with article 1 of the Convention through the adoption of appropriate national legislation, such as the drafting of a comprehensive law on discrimination that awaits the approval of parliament. The Committee also recommends that the State party review its domestic legislation in order to harmonize it with the Convention.
Link to full text of the report: Concluding Observations-CEDAW-Paraguay-2011-eng