Violation of the right to equal treatment and non discrimination, to protection of the family against gender discrimination in domestic legislation, and to work free from gender discrimination. Interpretation of the American Convention on Human Rights based on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Guatemala has reformed most of the questioned Civil Code sections. Recently, the IACHR urged the Government of Guatemala, based on the powers granted to it by article 174 of Guatemala’s Political Constitution, to submit to Congress a bill containing a reform of Civil Code article 317. The said article allows women, on the basis of their gender, to be excluded from benefiting from certain forms of protection.
This case is a major step in the elimination of stereotyped views on the role of women and men within the family and, consequently, a significant progress in the effective realization of the right to equal treatment and non discrimination of women in Latin America. Furthermore, the case shows the potential of the Inter-American system to protect social rights such as the right to work through the right to non discrimination.
Claimants: María Eugenia Morales de Sierra and Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) (www.cejil.org)