A/HRC/20/16 2004, the General Assembly passed a resolution on the elimination of crimes against women and girls committed in the name of honour. It stressed the need to treat such crimes as criminal offences punishable by law. It emphasized that such crimes are incompatible with all religious and cultural values, and called upon all States to continue to intensify efforts to prevent and eliminate crimes against women and girls committed in the name of honour, by using legislative, administrative and programmatic measures. 156 90. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has held State parties accountable for their failure to act with due diligence in addressing violence against women.157 For example, in the cases of Goekce (deceased) v. Austria and Yildirim (deceased) v. Austria,158 both concerning women victims of domestic violence, the Committee found that the State had discriminated against the women for failing to act with due diligence to protect their rights to life and to physical and mental integrity. The Committee has also addressed structural discrimination against women in relation to gender-based murders. In its inquiry under article 8 of the Optional Protocol into the abduction, rape and murder of women in and around Ciudad Juárez, the Committee has recommended that Mexico sensitize all state and municipal authorities to the need for violence against women to be regarded as a violation of fundamental rights. 159 91. Furthermore, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has characterized the persecution of women accused of witchcraft as an extreme form of violence against women.160 It has expressed its concern about the persistence of the belief in witchcraft and the subjection of women in witch camps to violence. 161 92. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has urged Canada to examine the reasons for the failure to investigate the cases of missing or murdered aboriginal women, to take the necessary steps to remedy the deficiencies in the system, to carry out thorough investigations of the cases of aboriginal women who have gone missing or been murdered in recent decades, to conduct an analysis of such cases in order to determine whether there is a racialized pattern to the disappearances, and to take measures to address the problem if that is the case. 162 93. The Committee against Torture has stated that the definition of torture includes the principle of non-discrimination on any grounds, including gender, sexual orientation and transgender identity.163 Thus, States are obliged to protect certain minority or marginalized individuals or populations especially at risk of torture, and should ensure such protection by fully prosecuting and punishing all acts of violence and abuse and ensuring implementation of other positive measures of prevention and protection. 164 The Human Rights Council, in 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 General Assembly resolution 59/165 of 20 December 2004. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women allows the Committee to review individual petitions against State parties that have ratified the CEDAW Convention. See Article 7, para. 3. CEDAW Committee, Sahide Goekce (deceased) v. Austria, communication No. 5/2005, views adopted 6 August 2000; Fatma Yildirim (deceased) v. Austria, communication No. 6/2005, views adopted 6 August 2007. Report on Mexico produced by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women under article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention, and reply from the Government of Mexico, CEDAW/C/2005/OP.8/MEXICO, para. 286. With regard to India, in 2007, the Committee noted its concern about the practice of witch-hunting, See CEDAW Concluding Observations to the country, U.N. Doc. CEDAW/C/IND/CO/3. In examining the report on Ghana, the Committee received information alleging that some 2,000 witches and their dependants were confined in five different camps. Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: Canada, U.N. Doc. CEDAW/C/CAN/CO/7, (2008) at para. 32. See, Committee against Torture (hereafter CAT), General Comment No. 2, at para. 20. Ibid., at para. 21. 23