COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN APPROVES REPORT OF WORKING GROUP ON EXPEDITING ITS WORK
Press Release
WOM/897
COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN APPROVES REPORT OF WORKING GROUP ON EXPEDITING ITS WORK
19960201 The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this afternoon approved a proposal to revise its reporting guidelines for States parties on their compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.That proposal was among the recommendations contained in the report of the Committee's working group on expediting its work. Presenting the report, Desiree Bernard, expert from Guyana, said that by the new guidelines, States parties would be invited to include information on measures taken to implement the Platform for Action that was adopted at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.
She also proposed that the Committee urge the Commission on the Status of Women, at its upcoming March session, to prepare an optional protocol to the Convention which would allow individuals and groups the right to petition the Committee directly about violations of women's rights.
By another recommendation, the Committee would consider that two three- week sessions were needed annually to alleviate its heavy workload, and would urge the appropriate intergovernmental bodies to authorize adequate meeting time to enable the Committee to reduce the backlog in State parties' reports awaiting review.
The working group also proposed that the Committee consider at its next session the initial reports of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Slovenia, Israel and Zaire; the second periodic reports of Argentina, Equatorial Guinea and Turkey; and the third periodic reports of Canada and the Philippines. Should approval be given for the Committee to hold a second three-week session in 1997, it would consider the initial reports of Morocco, Antigua and Barbuda, and Armenia; the second periodic reports of the Dominican Republic and Equatorial Guinea; and the third periodic reports of Mexico and Bangladesh.
It was also proposed that the Special Rapporteur on violence against women consult regularly with the Committee and make her reports available to
Women's Anti-Discrimination Committee - 2 - Press Release WOM/897 308th Meeting (PM) 1 February 1996
it. Another proposal would have the Committee welcome the assistance and cooperation of United Nations specialized agencies in implementing its mandate under the Convention and the Beijing Platform for Action. The Committee would also invite the Executive Board of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to give due consideration to a formal relationship with the Committee to implement the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Committee will meet again at a time to be announced tomorrow, 2 February, to adopt the report of its working group II, which deals with the implementation of article 21 of the Convention. Article 21 provides that the Committee may make suggestions and general recommendations based on the examination of reports received from States parties.
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