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IWTC WOMEN’S GLOBALNET #340 OUTCOME OF THE 41ST
SESSION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN August
28, 2008 Helena
Gronberg |
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1. CEDAW
COMMITTEE ELECTION RESULTS On 30 July 2008 States parties to the
Convention of the Elimination of all Forms Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW) elected the following candidates to fill the eleven positions on the
CEDAW Committee that will become vacant on 31 December 2008: - Ms. Nicole Ameline ( France ) They will serve a four-year term beginning
January 1, 2009. All Committee members
serve in their personal capacities, and not as representatives of the States
parties. The CEDAW Committee, composed of 23 experts on
women’s rights from around the world, is responsible for reviewing the
country reports submitted by the countries that are party to the treaty. 185
countries are party to the treaty, the United States being the only
industrialized country that has not ratified the convention. 2. OUTCOME
OF 41st SESSION OF CEDAW The countries examined at the most recent
CEDAW session that convened in New York from June 30 to July 18, 2008 were Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Nigeria, Slovakia,
United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen. NGOs from
all of the countries submitted shadow reports, alternative reports submitted
by NGOs to supplement or present alternative information to the periodic
government reports. For shadow reports, see: http://www.iwrawap.org/resources/shadow_reports.htm In addition to making recommendations to States
regarding issues to which the Committee believes countries should pay special
attention, the Committee made progress on two general recommendations:
migrant women and article 2 of the Convention, which lays out measures for
states to pursue a policy of eliminating discrimination against women. Country specific concluding remarks
can be found at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/cedaws41.htm 3. NEXT
CEDAW MEETINGS As of January 2008 the responsibilities of
servicing the CEDAW Committee were transferred from the Division for the
Advancement of Women (DAW) in New York to the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva. While most CEDAW
meetings will take place in Geneva, some meetings will continue to be held in
New York. The next (42nd) session of the
CEDAW Committee will be held in Geneva from October 20 to November 7, 2008.
The countries to be examined are Bahrain, Belgium, Cameroon, Canada, Ecuador,
El Salvador, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Mongolia, Myanmar, Portugal, Slovenia
and Uruguay. To read government reports see http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/cedaws42.htm. Shadow reports will be available on
the IWRAW Asia Pacific website at http://www.iwraw-ap.org/resources/shadow_reports.htm
by mid-end September. The 43rd session will be held in
Geneva in January 2009. The countries to be examined are Armenia, Bhutan,
Dominica, Germany, Guatemala, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Israel, Liberia, Libya
Jamahiriya and Rwanda. 4. RESOURCES
FOR WORKING WITH CEDAW - The Circle
of Empowerment,
Twenty-five Years of the UN Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women is a
collection of essays and personal reflections from individuals who have
served on the CEDAW Committee. It introduces readers to the issues and
activism that surround the convention as one of the most important human
rights tools ever created. The Circle
of Empowerment reveals the profound impact the convention has had on
women's lives around the world. With examples and moving reminiscences from Japan
to Tunisia to the Caribbean and beyond, this readable collection addresses
CEDAW's impact on women in Islam, labor markets, migration, violence against
women, trafficking, women in politics, and more. The publication is available through Women Ink.at https://id311.securedata.net/womenink.org/merchantmanager/product_info.php?products_id=473 - International Women’s Rights Asia Pacific. A Resource Guide Our Rights Are Not Optional, A Resource Guide is an easy-to-use resource guide that provides information and materials that can be employed to strengthen efforts led by women’s rights advocates and governments that are working to promote effective implementation of CEDAW at national level. The publication is also available through Women Ink.: https://id311.securedata.net/womenink.org/merchantmanager/product_info.php?products_id=323 - Domestic Application of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Potential and
Actuality , by Anuradha Rao and the
International Women’s Rights Action Watch, reviews the principles by which
states are implementing CEDAW and provides an overview of state obligation to
the treaty, and how it can be woven into national laws and policies in order
to have a practical impact. Read the analysis at: - The International Women’s Rights Project at the Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria in
Canada provides a comparative analysis of CEDAW on national systems. The pilot
study was developed and carried out in ten countries to gather qualitative
and quantitative data from the "grassroots" in order to develop
better measurements of the implementation of human rights guarantees from the
perspective of women's rights activists. Find out more at: http://www.iwrp.org/ - The Bora Laskin Law Library at the University of Toronto provides links to several sites related
to the history, the drafting and the discussion of CEDAW over the years as
well as enforcement mechanisms. Get more information at: http://www.lawlib.utoronto.ca/Resguide/women2.htm#II |
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