CEDAW/C/GC/33 inflicted upon them, including by law enforcement officials. The Committee has also noted that, when women from those groups lodge complaints, the authorities frequently fail to act with due diligence to investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators and/or provide remedies. 3 11. In addition to articles 2 (c), 3, 5 (a) and 15 of the Convention, States parties have further treaty-based obligations to ensure that all women have access to education and information about their rights and the remedies that are available and how to gain access to them, and access to competent, gender -sensitive dispute resolution systems, as well as equal access to effective and timely remedies. 4 12. The Committee’s views and recommendations concerning the steps that need to be taken to overcome obstacles encountered by women in gaining access to justice are informed by its experience in considering the reports of States parties, its analysis of individual communications and its conduct of inquiries under the Optional Protocol to the Convention. In addition, reference is made to work on access to justice by other United Nations human rights mechanisms, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, including community -based women’s associations, and academic researchers. II. General issues and recommendations on women’s access to justice A. Justiciability, availability, accessibility, good quality, provision of remedies and accountability of justice systems 13. The Committee has observed that the concentration of courts and quasi judicial bodies in the main cities, their non-availability in rural and remote regions, the time and money needed to gain access to them, the complexity of proceedings, the physical barriers for women with disabilities, the lack of access to high -quality, gender-competent legal advice, including legal aid, as well as the often-noted deficiencies in the quality of justice systems (e.g., gender -insensitive judgements or decisions owing to a lack of training, delays and excessive length of proceedings, corruption) all prevent women from gaining access to justice. 14. Six interrelated and essential components — justiciability, availability, accessibility, good quality, provision of remedies for victims and accountability of justice systems — are therefore necessary to ensure access to justice. While differences in prevailing legal, social, cultural, political and economic conditions will necessitate a differentiated application of these features in each State party, the basic elements of the approach are universally relevant and immediately applicable. Accordingly: (a) Justiciability requires the unhindered access by women to justice and their ability and empowerment to claim their rights as legal entitlements under the Convention; __________________ 3 4 15-13094 See, for example, the concluding observations on the Bahamas ( CEDAW/C/BHS/CO/1-5, para. 25 (d)), Costa Rica (CEDAW/C/CRI/CO/5-6, paras. 40-41), Fiji (CEDAW/C/FJI/CO/4, paras. 24-25), Kyrgyzstan (A/54/38/Rev.1, part one, paras. 127-128), the Republic of Korea (CEDAW/C/KOR/CO/6, paras. 19-20, and CEDAW/C/KOR/CO/7, para. 23 (d)) and Uganda (CEDAW/C/UGA/CO/7, paras. 43-44). See, in particular, general recommendations Nos. 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29 and 30. 5/25