Activities and
Initiatives of Women Worldwide
NGOs are important
for CEDAW – Take part
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1.
CEDAW Committee holds 37th, 38th
and 39th Sessions in 2007 2.
Countries Reporting on CEDAW
in 2007 3.
The Role of NGOs 4.
Shadow/Alternative Reports
and International Women’s Rights Action Watch – 5.
IWRAW-AP’s Guide on CEDAW 6.
Connecting CEDAW with UNSCR
1325 |
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1. CEDAW COMMITTEE HOLDS 37TH, 38TH AND 39TH
SESSIONS IN 2007 A
committee of 23 highly respected independent legal experts who are
responsible for monitoring Member States compliance with the Convention on
the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) will
convene the 37th Session of the CEDAW Committee at UN headquarters
in CEDAW,
adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, was the first international
human-rights instrument to explicitly define all forms of discrimination
against women as fundamental human-rights violations. Member States that ratify CEDAW (as of
November 2006, there are 185
countries) are required to report to the CEDAW Committee every four years on
progress made in the implementation of CEDAW at national level. During the reporting sessions, government
representatives are encouraged to engage in constructive dialogue with the
CEDAW Committee regarding gaps and challenges. With an Optional Protocol to
CEDAW coming into force in 2000, the
CEDAW Committee may now consider petitions from individual women or groups of
women who have exhausted all national remedies, For
further information about the members visit http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/members.htm |
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2.Countries reporting on cedaw in 2007 Countries
reporting at the 37th Session: Countries
reporting at the 38th Session: Countries
reporting at the 39th Session: More information: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/37sess.htm |
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3. the Role of NGOs As
governments interpret their treaty obligations to CEDAW in diverse ways --
ranging from reluctance to active incorporation of provisions into national
legislation-- NGOs
have a crucial role to play in shaping government action. -
One, NGOs can keep the CEDAW provisions in the media and on the public agenda
thereby reminding States of their obligations. -
Two, NGOs are better placed to forge links with communities and households
and can feed information to and from State institutions to citizens. -
Three, NGOs’ relationships at community and household level enable them to develop
alternatives to State models of intervention. -
Four, NGOs are well equipped to monitor State activities regarding CEDAW and
their impact. NGOs
can also participate in the CEDAW process in the reporting by States parties,
the formulation of General Recommendations, and in the composition of the
CEDAW Committee. |
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4. Shadow/Alternative Reports and the
global to local program of
international women’s rights action watch-- One
specific way in which NGOs can participate in the CEDAW process is by writing
a shadow or alternative report. A shadow report is a document that an NGO
prepares with access to the government report submitted to the CEDAW
Committee. When no government report is available, the NGO document is called
the alternative report. Shadow/alternative
reports serve as important complements to the official government report. Whereas government reports tend to be more
descriptive regarding what is being done to implement CEDAW at the national
level, shadow/alternative reports are often more analytical and/or critical
in their assessment. Well-prepared shadow/alternative reports
provide the CEDAW Committee with insight as to questions that might be posed
to governments as they present their reports. For very useful instructions and information about this, please visit http://www.iwraw-ap.org/using_cedaw/writing_shadow.htm International
Women’s Rights Action Watch-Asia Pacific (IWRAW-AP) is an international NGO
that provides technical support and mentoring to NGOs using CEDAW as a tool
for applying international human rights standards at the national level and
in a wide range of contexts. Although IWRAW-AP is based in A
particularly valuable service is provided through its “From Global to Local”
program that aims to assist women’s groups, in countries reporting to the
CEDAW Committee, to prepare shadow/alternative reports and facilitate the
flow of alternative information to the CEDAW Committee, in order to help
increase the impact and effectiveness of the review of the government report.
At
the 37th session, IWRAW-AP will assist women’s groups from To learn more: http://www.iwraw-ap.org/aboutus.htm |
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5. iwraw-ap’s resource guide on cedaw ‘our rights are not optional’ now
available through women, ink. IWRAW-AP’s
recent 127 page publication about CEDAW, “Our Rights Are Not Optional,” is
now available through Women, Ink. This easy-to-use resource guide is designed
to provide information and materials to be used to strengthen the efforts of
women’s rights advocates and governments, which are The
first section provides a general overview of CEDAW and its Optional Protocal,
and their use as tools for social change. The next section discusses the legal, political
and strategic dimensions in promoting ratification of the protocol. Lastly, the third section focuses on
enhancing advocacy and use of the protocol and raises political and ethical
issues NGOs To order, see: Women, Ink. online at: www.womenink.org |
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6. Connecting CEDAW with UNSCR 1325 Increasingly,
CEDAW’s monitoring mechanism is being used to press for action on other
issues or resolutions that have no accountability mechanisms. A case in point is the landmark Security
Council Resolution (SCR) 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, which has no accountability
mechanism. Given the relevancy of SCR 1325
to women in many of the countries reporting in 2007 (13 of the 36 countries
reporting in 2007 are in conflict or post-conflict situations), it will be
interesting to note the extent to which key actors involved in the CEDAW
process — governments, NGOs, and the CEDAW Committee -- use CEDAW and SCR
1325 together in order to broaden, strengthen and operationalize gender
equality in the context of conflict, peace building and post-conflict
reconstruction. For further information on connecting points between CEDAW and SCR
1325, download UNIFEM’s, publication “Women Peace & Security CEDAW and
SCR 1325: A Quick Guide” at http://www.womenwarpeace.org/UNIFEM_CEDAW_and_1325.pdf |
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