COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN TO HOLD EIGHTEENTH SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS
Press Release
WOM/1003
COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN TO HOLD EIGHTEENTH SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS
19980116 Background ReleaseDiscrimination against women in conflict situations and their aftermath are among the issues to be examined as the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women convenes its eighteenth session at Headquarters from 19 January to 6 February.
The 23-member expert Committee, the monitoring body of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, will discuss measures taken by nine States parties to that treaty to ensure the full development and advancement of women in the political, social, economic and cultural fields.
To be considered at the forthcoming session are the initial reports of Azerbaijan, Croatia, Czech Republic and Zimbabwe. The Committee will also examine the combined second and third reports of Bulgaria and Indonesia, the combined second and third periodic reports, as well as the fourth periodic report, of the Dominican Republic, and the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Mexico.
The report of Azerbaijan states that the Armenian aggression and its destructive consequences are the principal factors and difficulties affecting the fulfilment of its obligations under the Convention. Croatia's report draws attention to women's decreased ability to exercise their rights in the aftermath of war, adding that the situation of rural women became more difficult as a result of the destruction of agricultural estates because of the aggression against the country.
The report of the Czech Republic details its gradual integration into the democratic international economic and social structures, and links the problems faced by women to the principal changes under way concerning the emancipation in the political, economic and social systems and the re-establishment of a citizen's identity, formerly suppressed by the communist system. Zimbabwe's initial report addresses discrimination against rural women, who form a large percentage of the population connected with or involved in agriculture, as well as the issue of traditional and cultural practices that directly and indirectly hamper women's advancement.
Since it was established, the Committee has considered 89 initial, 60 second, 29 third and five fourth periodic reports. It has also taken up five reports on an exceptional basis -- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Rwanda, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the former Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women convenes two sessions per year. States parties are required to submit an initial report within one year of accession to the Convention and periodic reports at least every four years. The reports are to give account of the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures adopted by the States to give effect to the provisions of the Convention and of progress achieved towards that end.
In addition to reviewing reports and evaluating progress made by countries, the Committee formulates recommendations to the States parties as a whole on eliminating discrimination against women. The Committee reports annually to the General Assembly, through the Economic and Social Council, and makes suggestions and recommendations based on its examination of the information provided by States parties.
During the eighteenth session, the Committee will also have before it a working paper on draft general recommendations on article 12 of the Convention, which concerns women and health. The recommendations will be considered in accordance with the Committee's decision to select and review specific articles of the Convention and consider other issues as part of a long-term programme.
The experts are also expected to consider a draft working paper on reservations to the Convention. At its last session, the Committee had decided that part of its contribution to the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should include a written statement on reservations. A number of States parties -- both developed and developing countries -- have made reservations to specific articles of the Convention, while a number of States have made objections to the reservations made by others.
Reservations to the Convention have been made on such issues as equal rights for women regarding freedom to choose their residence and domicile (article 15.4), submitting disputes between States concerning the interpretation of the Convention to arbitration (article 29.1), and the granting to women equal rights with men with respect to the nationality of their children (article 9.2).
The Committee will also consider a report on ways and means of expediting its work, which addresses a number of issues raised during its sixteenth and seventeenth sessions. They include relations with specialized agencies and other United Nations entities, the relationship between the
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Committee and the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on violence against women and other rapporteurs/representatives on human rights matters, and the promotion of the Convention and the Committee through technical and advisory services. Annexed to the report is a list of States parties whose reports are more than five years overdue, States parties whose reports have been submitted but have not yet been considered, and a note for the Committee on the technical cooperation programmes of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
During the session, representatives of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) are scheduled to make presentations to the Committee on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope of their activities. Also, reports of the following agencies would be before the Committee: World Health Organization (WHO); International Labour Organization (ILO); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Women's Anti-Discrimination Convention
Adopted in 1979, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is the most comprehensive, legally binding treaty on women's human rights. Often referred to as an international bill of rights for women, the Convention sets up an agenda for national action to end discrimination. The first 16 articles of the Convention call on States parties to take appropriate measures to ensure women's civil, political, economic and cultural rights and their legal equality.
By the terms of the Convention, States parties are called on to take measures such as: guaranteeing basic human rights and fundamental freedoms of women; ensuring the suppression of the traffic in, and the exploitation of the prostitution of women; eliminating discrimination against women in political and public life; ensuring equal rights to acquire, change or retain their nationality; and eliminating discrimination in the fields of education, employment, health and other areas of economic and social life. Other articles address issues such as problems faced by rural women, equality before the law and elimination of discrimination against women within marriage and the family. The rights of women to take part in the political and public life of their countries and to perform all functions at all levels of government are also guaranteed by the Convention.
Article 1 of the Convention defines discrimination against women as follows: "any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a
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basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field".
States Parties to Convention
As of 15 January, the following 161 States have either ratified or acceded to the Convention, which entered into force on 3 September 1981: 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, 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, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, 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, Myanmar, 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, Slovakia, 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 the following: Charlotte Abaka, of Ghana; Ayse Feride Acar, of Turkey; Emma Aouij, of Tunisia; Tendai Ruth Bare, of Zimbabwe; Desiree Patricia Bernard, of Guyana; Carlota Bustelo Garcia del Real, of Spain; Silvia Rose Cartwright, New Zealand; Ivanka Corti, of Italy; Aurora Javate de Dios, of the Philippines; Miriam Yolanda Estrada Castillo, of Ecuador; Yolanda Ferrer Gomez, of Cuba; Aida Gonzalez, of Mexico; Sunaryati Hartono, of Indonesia; Salma Khan, of Bangladesh; Yung-Chung Kim, of the Republic of Korea; Ahoua Ouedraogo, of Burkina Faso; Anne Lise Ryel, of Norway; Ginko Sato, of Japan; Hanna Beate Schopp-Schilling, of Germany; Carmel Shalev, of
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Israel; Lin Shangzhen, China; Kongit Sinegiorgis, of Ethiopia; and Mervat Tallawy, Egypt.
Committee Officers
The Chairman of the Committee is Ms. Khan, of Bangladesh. The Vice- Chairmen are: Ms. Abaka, of Ghana; Ms. Bustelo, of Spain; and Ms. Estrada, of Ecuador. Ms. de Dios, of the Philippines, is the Rapporteur. The Committee's officers were elected in January 1997 for a two-year term.
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