CEDAW/C/GC/32 and girls. 32 Reception arrangements should also allow for the unity of the family as present within the territory, in particular in the context of reception centres. 33 As a general rule, pregnant women and nursing mothers, who both have special needs, should not be detained. 34 Where detention of women asylum seekers is unavoidable, separate facilities and materials are required to meet the specific hygiene needs of women. The use of female guards and warders should be promoted. All staff assigned to work with women detainees should receive training relating to the gender-specific needs and human rights of women. 35 Pursuant to articles 1, 2, 5 (a) and 12 of the Convention, failure to address the specific needs of women in immigration detention and ensure the respectful treatment of detained women asylum seekers could constitute discrimination within the meaning of the Convention. 36 Not least for the purposes of avoiding violence against women, separate facilities for male and female detainees are required, unless in family units, and alternatives to detention are to be made available. 37 Specific recommendations of the Committee38 D. 35. States parties should review and remove any reservations to the Convention; consider ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention; and consider acceding to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto, as well as to other relevant international and regional instruments. They should remove any reservations to those instruments, adopt an asylum law in line with those instruments and apply those instruments in a complementary manner. __________________ 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 12/21 Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, conclusion No. 93 (LIII) on reception of asylum seekers in the context of individual asylum systems, para. (b) (iii). Ibid., para. (b) (iv); Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, art. 16. United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) (General Assembly resolution 65/229, annex), rule 42; UNHCR, Guidelines on the Applicable Criteria and Standards relating to the Detention of Asylum-Seekers and Alternatives to Detention (Geneva, 2012). The Bangkok Rules, rules 5, 19 and 33 (1); UNHCR, Guidelines on the Applicable Criteria and Standards relating to the Detention of Asylum-Seekers and Alternatives to Detention, para. 9.3. Communication No. 23/2009, Inga Abramova v. Belarus, views adopted by the Committee on 25 July 2011, paras. 7.5 and 7.7; see also the Bangkok Rules and general recommendation No. 24 on women and health, para. 6. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 9. The Human Rights Committee has affirmed an obligation to consider less invasive means of achieving the same objective (see communication No. 900/1999, C. v. Australia, views adopted by the Human Rights Committee on 28 October 2002, para. 8.2. See also UNHCR, Guidelines on the Applicable Criteria and Standards relating to the Detention of Asylum-Seekers and Alternatives to Detention, para. 9.3. The Committee acknowledges that the vast majority of refugees are hosted by developing countries that are overwhelmed and unable to meet the challenges faced by significant refugee influxes. The Committee recalls that refugee protection is a collective responsibility. Therefore, and without compromising or undermining States parties’ obligations, it calls upon the international community, in particular non-receiving States, to express their solidarity through burden-sharing by assisting receiving countries in meeting their international obligations. They should, among other things, take proactive measures such as granting adequate technical and financial assistance to receiving States to alleviate the challenges faced by massive influxes of refugees and financially supporting United Nations and other international or regional agencies entrusted with providing refugee protection and services. 14-64766