A/HRC/22/24 45. The Independent Expert highlights the fact that women and girls belonging to minorities frequently face multiple or intersecting forms of discrimination. This may make minority women and girls particularly vulnerable to violations and the denial of their rights in both public and private life. Without explicit recognition of the different life experiences of minority women and men, such discrimination will often go unnoticed and not be addressed adequately. The Forum addressed the challenges and opportunities for minority women to fully enjoy all their rights, including the rights to have access to quality education, to take part effectively in economic life, to access labour markets and to participate fully in social, cultural and political life (paras. 65–81). F. Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health 46. In his report to the General Assembly on sexual and reproductive rights of August 2011 (A/66/254), the Special Rapporteur considers the impact of criminal and other legal restrictions on abortion; conduct during pregnancy; contraception and family planning; and the provision of sexual and reproductive education and information. G. Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty 47. The then Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty dedicated a section to women and gender equality in her report on cash transfer programmes in her 2009 report (A/HRC/11/9, paras. 66–72). She recommended that States mainstream gender perspectives into the design and implementation of cash transfer programmes (CTPs) and stated that: They should assess whether programmes affect women’s decision-making authority and participation, and whether they perpetuate gender-biased stereotyped roles for men and women. Gender equality must also be one of the standards against which the performance of the CTPs are evaluated. States should also strengthen the collection of gender-disaggregated data about the impact of CTPs and ensure that their complaint mechanisms are gender-sensitive. 48. In her report on social protection, old age and poverty (A/HRC/14/31), the Independent Expert devotes a section to women (paras. 19–21), when analyzing the relation between old-age and poverty, and another section to gender equality in programmes when analysing social security in old age (paras. 95–97). Among other things, she stresses how non-contributory pensions can significantly reduce poverty and vulnerability among older persons, in particular women, who live longer and are less likely to benefit from contributory systems. The report provides recommendations on how to ensure that noncontributory pensions comply with core human rights standards. H. Special Rapporteur on the right to food 49. The Special Rapporteur on the right to food has consistently addressed the gender dimension of the right to food in various contexts, including access to adequate nutrition, economic opportunities such as contract farming and productive resources such as land and seed. 50. In his report to the General Assembly on access to land and the right to food (A/65/281), the Special Rapporteur highlights the critical importance of access to land for women. While he underscores the importance of recognizing customary tenure and 13

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