COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN BEGINS FIFTEENTH SESSION
Press Release
WOM/875
COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN BEGINS FIFTEENTH SESSION
19960115 The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has a key role to play in linking implementation of the Platform for Action adopted by the recent Fourth World Conference on Women with implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Under-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development told that Committee this morning as the Committee's fifteenth session began.Under-Secretary-General Nitin Desai said it was appropriate that the session opened on a day set aside to commemorate the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who had done so much to fight racial discrimination. Mr. Desai pledged the support of his Department and the Secretary-General in ensuring the effective functioning of the Committee, and noted that the General Assembly had authorized three additional Professional posts for the Division of the Advancement of Women to help service the Committee and promote women's rights.
The Committee Chairman, Ivanka Corti of Italy, said 136 countries had ratified the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against Women at the beginning of 1995. However, that year had ended with as many as 150 ratifications. She urged experts to explore ways and means to establish close cooperation with special rapporteurs, in particular with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women. She expressed concern that if the Committee continued to hold a session once a year for a period not longer than two weeks, it would face a backlog in the examination of national reports.
Also addressing the Committee, the Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General, Rosario Green, said she was honoured to be coordinating the United Nations system-wide follow-up to the World Conference on Women, and hoped to count on the experts in the Committee for their assistance in fulfilling her tasks.
During the meeting, experts expressed concern at the fact that in June the Committee Chairman had to stay in New York at her own expense for four days for a meeting with the Secretary-General. Several experts also expressed concern at the lack of documentation available to them. Experts also
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requested closer cooperation with specialized agencies such as the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization. A representative of the Secretariat explained that due to the financial crisis during the session of the General Assembly, there were no resources available for travel.
The Committee also adopted its programme of work for the session, which will end on 2 February.
Experts on the 23-member Committee serve in their personal capacity. During the three-week session, the Committee will consider the reports of Cyprus, Iceland, Paraguay, Ethiopia, Belgium, Cuba, Hungary and Ukraine. It will also hear an oral report on the situation of women in Rwanda, which is being presented on an exceptional basis in response to a request by the Committee.
The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to constitute its two standing working groups and to consider implementation of article 21 of the Convention, which authorizes it to issue suggestions and general recommendations on implementing the Convention's provisions, based on the examination of reports and information received from States parties. The Committee will also consider ways and means of expediting its work, and the results of the Fourth World Conference on Women.
Committee Work Programme
The monitoring body of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women begins its fifteenth session this morning. The 23-member Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is scheduled to adopt its agenda and organization of work; to hear the report of its Chairman on activities undertaken since its last session; and to consider the report of the sixth meeting of persons chairing the human rights treaty bodies. (For background information on the Convention and the Committee, see Press Release WOM/874, issued 12 January.)
Concerning the organization of work, the Committee is expected to constitute its two working groups. Working Group I is devoted to suggesting ways and means of expediting the work of the Committee, and Working Group II deals with the implementation of article 21 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Article 21 provides that the Committee may make suggestions and general recommendations based on the examination of reports and information received from States parties.
The Committee will have before it the report of the sixth meeting of persons chairing the human rights treaty bodies (document A/50/505). That meeting was held in Geneva from 18 to 22 September 1995.
The report contains a number of suggestions and recommendations by the chairmen on improving the operation of the human rights treaty bodies, the prevention of human rights violations and assistance to States in implementing recommendations.
The chairmen declare the importance of integrating the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women into the mainstream of United Nations system-wide activity through its relocation to the Centre for Human Rights in Geneva. They welcome the Committee's decision of January 1995 which requests the Secretary-General to locate it in Geneva with servicing provided by the Centre.
The report expresses deep concern at "the continuing massive under- resourcing of the Centre for Human Rights which prevents the human rights treaty bodies from adequately carrying out their mandates". They recommend that the General Assembly consider providing each treaty body with a budget, to be dispensed with the approval of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, for the contracting of special studies, the undertaking of essential missions and other matters. Citing the adverse impacts of under- staffing, lack of technical expertise and inadequate administrative support, they strenuously urge that the work of human rights "be restored, in effective practical terms, to the central role in the United Nations which was envisaged for it in the Charter".
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Noting the slow progress in developing databases and on-line information services at the Centre for Human Rights, the chairpersons urge that arrangements currently under way be assured and that any necessary exemptions from possible expenditure freezes be authorized.
On other matters, the chairmen recommend that States which are considering ratification of a treaty avoid making it subject to wide reservations, stating the practice "undermines the spirit and the letter of those legal texts". They suggest that those States which have not yet ratified the principal human rights instruments be given assurances that, in case of need, they will be provided with appropriate advisory services in relation to their reporting obligations. The chairmen also recommend that treaty bodies further elaborate relevant reporting guidelines or general comments and recommendations, and offer to individual States concrete suggestions and advice on the implementation of the obligations they have assumed regarding education and the provision of public information.
Citing what is viewed as the failure to involve treaty bodies in the preparations or negotiations of United Nations world conferences, the chairmen request the Secretary-General to provide their next meeting with a study which proposes ways and means of establishing an appropriate sui generis status for the treaty bodies which would enable them to play a full role in future conferences, including the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), to be held in Istanbul.
Reiterating the central role of non-governmental organizations in providing reliable information to treaty bodies, the chairmen request the Secretariat to develop a database of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights and of nationally based non-governmental organizations which should be informed of the scheduled consideration of any reports of the country concerned by the treaty body. They also ask the Secretariat to issue an integrated schedule of all reports expected to be considered by all treaty bodies twice a year. In addition, they welcome increased participation by United Nations specialized agencies in the work of the human rights treaty bodies.
In the report, the chairpersons endorse the recommendations proposed by an expert group on the integration of gender perspectives into United Nations human rights activities and programmes, which met in Geneva from 3 to 7 July 1995. They also encourage treaty bodies to continue their efforts to "develop mechanisms for the prevention of gross human rights violations, including early warning and urgent procedures". In addition, they recommend that treaty bodies increasingly consult United Nations organs and bodies, including special rapporteurs of the Commission on Human Rights and the Subcommission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, to exchange
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information and expertise in order to detect and respond appropriately to situations of massive violations of human rights.
The chairpersons also recommend that priority attention be given to the development of ongoing programmes to assist States, through the provision of technical assistance, in implementing recommendations made by treaty bodies.
Statement by Under-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development
In an opening address, the Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, NITIN DESAI, said it was appropriate for the Committee to begin meeting on a day set aside to commemorate Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who had done so much to fight racial discrimination. In the last half century, the United Nations had played a crucial role in fighting various forms of discrimination and promoting human rights and development.
Mr. Desai said that this was the first session of the Committee to meet since the Fourth World Conference on Women, held last September in Beijing, and the views of Committee members on the follow-up to the Conference would be highly valued. The Platform for Action that was adopted in Beijing reinforced fundamental human rights principles. The human rights of women and the girl child were a universal part of human rights. The members of the Committee entrusted with the task of furthering implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women had a key role to play in linking implementation of the Convention to the follow-up to the Beijing Conference.
He said that the Platform for Action made several key recommendations. It urged the eradication of all forms of discrimination against women and set a goal that this should be legislated by governments by the year 2000. The Platform also urged all governments to limit the extent of reservations to the Convention and to withdraw reservations which were incompatible with the Convention's goals and spirit. It also urged the consideration of gender aspects to ensure the full analysis and review of the human rights of women, and stressed that the Committee should take into account the Platform for Action when considering the reports of States parties. Further, a strong link was made in the Platform between implementation of that document and implementation of the Convention.
Mr. Desai said that the important work of the Committee had not always received the recognition it deserved. The Department of Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development would work with the Committee to further its goals. The Secretary-General was strongly committed to coordinating policy within the United Nations to implement the Platform for Action. The
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Secretary-General had appointed Assistant Secretary-General Rosario Green to coordinate the follow-up of the United Nations system to the Beijing Conference. Ms. Green would assist the Secretary-General in ensuring that a gender perspective was integrated in the work of the United Nations. She would also advise and support the Secretary-General on matters relating to the relationship of the United Nations to non-governmental organizations.
It was gratifying to observe the number of States that had ratified the Convention, he said. At this session, the Committee would consider eight reports and one report on Rwanda on an exceptional basis. The General Assembly had adopted a resolution in 1995 on an amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention concerning the duration of the Committee's sessions which would enter into force upon ratification by two thirds of States parties. He urged States parties to take the steps towards ratification. The Committee should make recommendations on its requirements to States parties who would meet on 29 February.
Regarding the resources for servicing the Committee, Mr. Desai said he could report some progress but there were continuing difficulties. The General Assembly had authorized three additional Professional posts for the Division on the Advancement of Women. One would enable the Division to undertake the mandated work on the human rights of women including the servicing of the Committee. However, due to the current financial crisis of the Organization, there was no overtime pay to service the work of the Committee.
Mr. Desai said that according to article 17 of the Convention, the Secretary-General shall provide the necessary staff and resources for the effective performance of the Committee. The recommendation made in the Secretariat report on ways and means of expediting the work of the Committee was that the Committee should consider following the practice of other human rights treaty bodies. It should count on summary records to reflect dialogue in order to expedite the preparation of its report.
He said the Secretary-General had sent a note verbale to governments regarding an optional protocol to the Convention, which would allow individual women and groups to petition the Committee directly. It was hoped that the Commission on the Status of Women would begin work on the protocol at its next meeting.
The elimination of discrimination against women was clearly linked to the advancement of women in society, he continued. The work of the Committee had contributed substantially to that effort. The Department of Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development would pay attention to the servicing of the Committee and the promotion of the Platform of Action, and was committed to ensuring that the Committee functioned effectively. The
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Convention called for action; its articles were a basis for a better society. It drew its strength from the fact that it was as much a pronouncement of global social economic advancement as it was a legal instrument.
He closed with a quote from the late Martin Luther King; "No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream".
Statement by Committee Chairman
The Committee Chairman, IVANKA CORTI of Italy, said 136 countries had ratified the Convention on Elimination of All Forms Of Discrimination against Women at the beginning of 1995. However, the year ended with as many as 150 ratifications.
She thanked the Spanish Government for hosting a one-week long meeting of the Committee in Madrid which was the first such meeting supported financially by a government.
The Chairman urged experts to explore ways and means to establish close cooperation with special rapporteurs, in particular with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women. She expressed concern that if the Committee continued to hold a session once a year for a period not longer than two weeks, it would not be able to accomplish quality work as far as recommendations and concluding comments were concerned. That would also lead to a backlog in the examination of national reports.
In addition, Ms. Corti highlighted the importance of cooperation with other United Nations bodies and non-governmental organizations to advance the Committee's work. As a result of the workshops on the Committee organized by different non-governmental organizations, a movement to build a constituency and local coalitions to endorse the Convention had emerged in the United States and was exercising pressure for ratification.
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