PRESS CONFERENCE BY COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN

The ratification and accession to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women -- the most comprehensive international human rights treaties for the advancement of women -- continued at a steady pace and was nearing universal accession, correspondents were told at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon by several members of the Convention’s monitoring body.

Highlighting the work of the twenty-eighth session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the expert body that monitors compliance with the Convention, the Committee Chairperson, Feride Acar of Turkey, said the Committee had been able to see a cross section of women’s progress, as well as the issues facing them in the different countries reporting during the three week session.

[Composed of 23 experts, the Committee meets twice a year to review national reports submitted by States parties to the Convention on measures they have adopted and progress made.  States parties are required to submit reports within one year after the entry into force of the Convention and every four years thereafter.  During the current session, which concludes tomorrow, the Committee considered the reports of Albania, Canada, Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, Kenya, Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland.]

One of the cross-cutting issues was violence, Ms. Acar said.  Despite the level of economic development or regional location, all the countries had reported problems of violence against women, including domestic violence.  States parties, however, had also reported on many concrete steps to combat violence, including the enactment of domestic legislation.

Another overarching issue was trafficking in women and girls, she said.  One of the root causes of trafficking was the increasing feminization of poverty.  Wage disparities in the employment sector also continued to be a factor in the different countries studied, including the Nordic countries.  Stereotypical attitudes, one of the most difficult forms of discrimination to eliminate, continued to interfere with the implementation of the Convention.

A highlight of the session had been the submission of a report by the Republic of the Congo, Ms. Acar said.  The Republic of the Congo, which had ratified the Convention in 1982, was now up to date with its reporting obligations.  The submission of the report gave further hope for the country’s significant political will to implement the provisions of the Convention.

The Committee also held the first-ever meeting with States parties that had signed but not ratified the Convention, Ms. Acar said.  Twenty-one States had been invited to the meeting, and 13 had attended, including the Holy See, Iran, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Oman, Qatar, San Marino, Syria, Sudan, Swaziland, United Arab Emirates and the Untied States.  She had been encouraged to learn that some countries were considering ratifying the Convention in the near future.  The Sudan and the United Arab Emirates had indicated their intention to ratify the Convention.   The representative of Syria had said that its instrument of

ratification would be deposited with the Secretary-General’s Office in the very near future.

By ratifying the Convention, States commit to undertake a series of measures to end all forms of discrimination against women, Carolyn Hannan, the Director of the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, said.  Those measures included incorporating the principle of equality of women and men in national constitutions and legislation; abolishing discriminatory laws and adopting new laws that prohibited discrimination; establishing tribunals and public institutions to ensure the protection of women against discrimination; and taking measures to ensure the elimination of all acts of discrimination against women by persons, organizations or private companies in all areas of development, including health, education and employment.  The Division for the Advancement of Women provided substantive and technical servicing for the Committee, as well as technical assistance to States parties regarding implementation of the Convention.

In August 2002, nine new members had been elected to the Committee, said

Ms. Acar, a member of the Committee since 1997.  After several years of absence, the Committee once again had experts from Central and Eastern Europe.  It also had two male experts -- from Sweden and the Netherlands -- which reflected the slow but steady interest of men in the Committee’s work.

As one of the nine new members, the Committee Vice-Chairperson, Victoria Popescu of Romania, said she had been impressed by the constructive dialogue between the Committee and the States parties.  Such dialogue was important for building bridges between the experts and the States parties on how to proceed towards full compliance with the Convention.  She had been particularly pleased to hear the frankness of the delegates in presenting reports and their acknowledgement of the gap between de jure and de facto equality. 

Equally important were the Committee’s recommendations to further implement the obligations assumed under the Convention, she said.  The follow-up and monitoring process should be carried out in partnership with governments and other organizations.  Although it was the first responsibility of governments to ensure implementation of the Convention’s provision, without the active participation of non-governmental organizations, civil society, academia, and the various United Nations agencies that would not be possible.

In 2000, the Optional Protocol to the Convention had come into force and now had 49 States parties, she said.  [The Optional Protocol entitles the Committee to consider petitions from individuals or groups of women who have exhausted national remedies and to conduct inquiries into grave or systematic violations of the Convention.]

Under the Optional Protocol, she explained, there were two procedures, namely, the communications and inquiry procedures.  The Committee, which was entitled to conduct both procedures, was preparing to handle the additional work that would come as a result of the procedures under the Optional Protocol.  The Optional Protocol was unique in terms of international law in that it had a non-reservation clause.

The importance of communication between the Committee and the States parties and the need to encourage States parties must also be stressed, she said.  The

experts constantly appealed to the States with reservations to the Convention to narrow and ultimately withdraw their reservations.

Asked whether violence against women was more prevalent in developed or developing countries, Ms. Acar said that, unfortunately, violence was prevalent everywhere.  What was being done about violence was a factor.  Some States were more able to provide prosecution, punishment and support for victims through laws and services.  That sometimes had a relationship to the means available to a State.

In many societies, discussing violence, especially domestic violence, was still considered taboo, she added.  Accepting that violence was not a private affair was one of the most important steps a society could take.  Once that step was taken, violence became more visible.  Women needed to know that they would be protected.  Differentiations could be made according to domestic legislation, adequate services and allocation of resources.

Asked to name an outstanding achievement, Ms. Acar said that many States had now put into force specific laws against domestic violence.  While the Committee’s work was not the only factor, it had been a catalyst for the advancement of gender equality in many countries.

Ms. Popescu said that while it was difficult to give figures, the Committee had to increase awareness of the need to take measures to ensure the advancement of women.  It was not a linear process and there were sometimes setbacks.  In spite of cultural constraints or natural disasters, there had been many steps forward.

It was important to note that non-governmental organizations increasingly saw the Convention as an important instrument to help them achieve their goals and whereby they could have dialogue with their governments.

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