COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN TO HOLD SEVENTEENTH SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS, 7 - 25 JULY

3 July 1997

Press Release
WOM/973

COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN TO HOLD SEVENTEENTH SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS, 7 - 25 JULY

19970703 Background Release To Consider Reports of Namibia, Armenia, Luxembourg, Israel, Italy, Argentina, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bangladesh

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women -- convening from 7 to 25 July at Headquarters in the second of its two 1997 sessions -- will consider the reports of nine States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on their efforts to implement the provisions of the only United Nations treaty that deals exclusively with women's rights.

The 23-member expert Committee is the monitoring body for the implementation of the Convention, which was adopted in 1979 and opened for signature in March 1980. States are required to submit reports within one year after accession and thereafter at least every four years. Reports are to focus on legislative, judicial and administrative measures adopted by States to give effect to the provisions of the Convention and on progress achieved in that regard.

During its forthcoming seventeenth session, the Committee will review the initial reports of Namibia and Armenia. It will examine the initial and second reports of Luxembourg and Israel; the second periodic report of Italy; the second and third periodic reports of Argentina; the combined initial, second and third periodic reports of Antigua and Barbuda; the third periodic report of Australia; and the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Bangladesh.

The Committee is currently chaired by Salma Khan, of Bangladesh. Its three vice-chairpersons are: Charlotte Abaka, of Ghana; Carlota Bustelo Garcia del Real, of Spain; and Miriam Yolanda Estrada Castillo, of Ecuador. Aurora Javate de Dios, of the Philippines, is the Rapporteur. The officers of the Committee, which is comprised of experts serving in their personal capacity, are elected for a two-year period. The current bureau was elected in January 1997. The Committee is meeting twice this year following the Assembly's approval of its call to meet in two three-week sessions annually. It reports annually to the Assembly through the Economic and Social Council, and makes suggestions and recommendations based on its examination of the information provided by States.

As has been past practice, two working groups will meet during the session. Working Group I is devoted to suggesting ways and means to expedite the work of the Committee, and Working Group II will deal with implementation of article 21 of the Convention, which provides that the Committee may make suggestions and general recommendations based on the examination of reports and information received from States parties. In addition, the Committee will have before it reports from specialized agencies of the United Nations on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their activities.

The Convention, which entered into force in 1981, has been ratified by 160 countries as of 2 July. In 1997 thus far, six countries -- Andorra, Kyrgyz Republic, Lebanon, Mozambique, Switzerland and Turkmenistan --- have acceded to it.

Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against Women

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women entered into force on 3 September 1981. It is the single most authoritative document to emerge from the United Nations Decade for Women (1976-1985). The Convention spells out what is meant by discrimination and how equality can be achieved. In so doing, it establishes not only an "international bill of rights for women", but also an agenda for action by countries to guarantee those rights.

The Convention, in 30 articles, describes legislative, political, economic and cultural measures to ensure the full advancement of women. It elaborates constitutional and other measures that States can adopt to ensure equal rights for men and women in the areas of education, employment and property. Further, it calls upon States parties to eliminate discrimination against women in matters relating to marriage and to ensure that women have the right to decide freely on the number and spacing of their children. Moreover, the Convention seeks to ensure appropriate services to women in connection with pregnancy.

Other articles of the Convention aim to provide women with equal opportunity to play a role in the political and public life of the country; equal rights with men to retain, change or acquire nationality; and equal access to bank loans and mortgages.

States Parties to Convention

The following 160 States have either ratified or acceded to the Convention: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia,

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Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania and Luxembourg.

Also Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Committee Membership

The 23-expert members of the Committee, serving in their personal capacity, are: Charlotte Abaka, of Ghana; Ayse Feride Acar, of Turkey; Emna Aouij, of Tunisia; Tendai Ruth Bare, of Zimbabwe; Desiree Patricia Bernard, of Guyana; Carlota Bustelo Garcia del Real, of Spain; Silvia Rose Cartwright, of New Zealand; Ivanka Corti, of Italy; Aurora Javate de Dios, of the Philippines; Miriam Yolanda Castillo, of Ecuador; Yolanda Ferrer Gomez, of Cuba; Aida Gonzalez, of Mexico; Sunaryati Hartono, of Indonesia; Salma Khan, of Bangladesh; Yung-Chung Kim, of Republic of Korea; Ahoua Ouedraogo, of Burkina Faso; Anne Lise Ryel, of Norway; Ginko Sato, of Japan; Hanna Beate Schopp-Shilling, of Germany; Carmel Shalev, of Israel; Lin Shangzhen, of China; Kongit Sinegiorgis, of Ethiopia; and Mervat Tallaway, of Egypt.

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