A/HRC/44/51/Add.1 I. Introduction 1. Experts of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice,1 Elizabeth Broderick and Alda Facio, visited Greece from 1 to 12 April 2019, at the invitation of the Government. In accordance with the mandate of the Working Group, the objective of the visit was to gain first-hand understanding of issues related to eliminating discrimination against women in law and in practice, including efforts made, promising practices and remaining challenges. The Working Group expresses its appreciation to the Government for its cooperation before and during the visit. 2. During the visit, the experts met with representatives of a broad range of central and local authorities, representatives of women’s organizations, women’s rights experts and other interlocutors in Athens, Thessaloniki, Aspropyrgos, Lesvos and Thiva. In Athens, the Working Group met with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, including its General Secretariat for Gender Equality, Department for Human Rights, Minorities, Migrants and Refugees and Department of European and International Cooperation, the Centre of Research for Equality Issues, the Ministry of Justice, including with the General Secretary for Human Rights and the Head of the Detention Centres Directorate, the General Secretariat for Transparency and Human Rights of the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Citizen Protection, including the Hellenic Police, the Ministry of Migration Policy and the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, including members of its Special Committee for Women’s Issues. The experts also met with representatives of the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Rural Development, the Ministry of Economy and the Special Secretariat for Roma Social Inclusion, as well as prison staff. In Thessaloniki, the Working Group met with the Mayor, municipality officials and migration authorities. In Aspropyrgos, the Working Group visited a school and spoke with staff, students and Roma women. In Lesvos, the Working Group visited Moria refugee camp and met with the manager of the camp and migration authorities. In Thiva, the Working Group visited a women’s prison and met with prison authorities, staff and prisoners. During the visit, the Working Group also met with the “Ombudsman”,2 representatives of the National Commission for Human Rights and numerous civil society organizations working on women’s rights, migration, economic issues and United Nations officials, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The Working Group expresses its appreciation to all its interlocutors for their engagement and valuable input. The experts of the Working Group would also like to thank, in particular, the migrant and refugee women and women prisoners who shared their stories with them during the visit. II. Context 3. A prolonged period of austerity measures, imposed since 2010 by creditors, including the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank, and the ensuing government policies have had a profound impact on every aspect of life in Greece, causing economic and social instability, and have had particularly detrimental effects on women. Several bodies have pointed to the serious impact of the crisis and austerity measures on women, including the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations of the International Labour Organization (ILO),3 the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women 4 1 2 3 4 In its resolution 41/6 of 11 July 2019, the Human Rights Council extended the mandate of the Working Group for another three years under the title of Working Group on discrimination against women and girls. The current official name of the office. The Working Group encourages the use of gender-neutral terms, such as Ombudsperson. ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, Observation on the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) (2014). Available at www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:13100:0::NO::P13100_COMMENT_ID:3176793. CEDAW/C/GRC/CO/7, para. 28. 3