Mechanisms to Ensure Compliance
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M Womens E C H A N I S M Rights S Mechanisms to ensure compliance Committee membership and selection process The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women tasked to monitor compliance with the Women’s Convention was established in 1982, it came into force. It consists of 23 members recognised for competence in their fields of specialisation. Al- though nominated and elected by their respective governments, The Committee on the Elimination which should be States parties to the Women’s Convention, the of Discrimination against Women members serve on the Committee as independent experts. The current roster of members logic behind this is the double role of the state as protector and violator of human rights. The expert is therefore best left to work chair Ms. Aída González Martínez Mexico solo, free from his/her government’s suasion. vice-chairs The members are elected by secret ballot from a list of nominees. Ms. Yung-Chung Kim South Korea Each State party is entitled to name one nominee to the list. Ms. Ahoua Ouedraogo Burkina Faso Governments have made a point of nominating women to the Ms. Hanna Beate Schöpp-Schilling Germany Committee; in its nearly 20-year history, only once did the Com- members mittee have a male member. Members serve a four-year term with Ms. Charlotte Abaka Ghana the possibility of re-election. Committee membership is anchored Ms. Ayse Feride Acar Turkey on equitable geographic distribution and regional groups coordi- Ms. Emna Aouij Tunisia nate the nomination to ensure the global character of the Ms. Carlota Bustelo García del Real Spain Ms. Silvia Rose Cartwright New Zealand Committee. Ms. Ivanka Corti Italy Ms. Cui Feng China Reporting procedure Ms. Naela Gabr Egypt A formal reporting process is followed in the scrutiny of imple- Ms. Yolanda Ferrer Gómez Cuba mentation of the Women’s Convention. Governments are required Ms. Savitri Goonesekere Sri Lanka Ms. Rosalyn Hazelle St. Kitts and Nevis to submit a report within a year of becoming States parties to the Ms. Salma Khan Bangladesh Women’s Convention. Thereafter, they are to submit reports every Ms. Rosario Manalo Philippines four years. Ms. Mavivi Myakayaka-Manzini South Africa Ms. Zelmira Regazzoli Argentina Ms. Anne Lise Ryel Norway The initial report is a comprehensive review of women’s situation Ms. Carmel Shalev Israel in the country and an identification of obstacles to the full pro- Ms. Kongit Sinegiorgis Ethiopia tection and promotion of women’s rights. The subsequent progress Ms. Chikako Taya Japan reports elaborate on the interventions made, in progress or planned, and identify the difficulties that continue to inhibit women’s en- joyment of their guaranteed rights and freedoms. Governments OF MANJULA PADMANABHAN/FORUM ‘95 COURTESY ❖ Media Pack on Women and Human Rights ❖ Isis International-Manila PO Box 1837, Quezon City Main, Quezon City 1100, Philippines ❖ ❖ 1 Tels: (632) 435-3405, (632) 435-3408, (632) 436-0312 ❖ Fax: (632) 924-1065 E-mail: [email protected] URL: http://www.isiswomen.org conform to pre-set guidelines for their re- reports in all—101 initial, and 70 second, ports. These must be well-written and 46 third and 14 fourth periodic reports. supported by gender-disaggregated statis- The Committee has also received five re- tics. ports on an exceptional basis—from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, Croatia, Yugo- The 23 members first study the reports, slavia (Serbia and Montenegro), and then raise questions which are collated by Congo—which were solicited by the Com- the UN Division on the Advancement of mittee because of reportedly gross and Women and arranged into thematic issues. systematic violation of women’s rights in States Signatories of the These questions are sent to the concerned these countries. Optional Protocol delegation which must answer these ques- tions, also in writing, before its scheduled General recommendations Austria Greece formal dialogue with the Committee. From time to time, the Committee issues Belgium Iceland general recommendations meant to enhance Bolivia Italy The Committee holds two three-week governments’ interpretation and implemen- Chile Liechtenstein Colombia Luxembourg meetings yearly when it discusses the tation of the Women’s Convention. The Costa Rica Mexico States parties’ reports. It follows the UN recommendations take the form of analy- Czech Republic Netherlands practice of “constructive dialogue” in ses of the nature and scope of governmental Denmark Norway examining the reports. In public sessions, obligations under the Women’s Convention, Ecuador Senegal a government’s representatives introduce and are based on the Committee’s evalua- Finland Slovenia the report, and then respond to questions tion of the official reports. France Sweden and comments from the Committee Germany members. Often, these questions and So far, the Committee has issued 24 such comments are on issues not covered in the recommendations, including urging dis- report but on those the Committee mem- patch in governments’ eradication of bers were alerted to by NGOs as these are traditions, customs and practices to jus- allowed to engage in the evaluation process tify gender-based violence as a form of via the submission of “shadow” or protection or control of women. The Com- alternative reports. At the end of the mittee cited as examples of such gender session, two Committee members are violence forced marriage, bride-price and assigned to synthesise the discussions in dowry deaths, and acid attacks. Another the form of a “Concluding Comments” that recommendation concerns the persistence is sent out immediately to the government of the practice of female genital mutila- concerned. The summing-up contains the tion and calls on more resolute action to areas requiring improvement—a eliminate this practice. Its most recent rec- euphemism for commitments not met by ommendation is on how a human rights the government concerned, such as the perspective can be integrated into all as- detention of indigenous women for pects of policy and programmes relating questionable reasons, inadequate social to women’s health. The Committee also has services to migrant workers or the at least three recommendations expressing criminalisation of women who have alarm over how the extent of the reserva- abortions. The summing-up also contains tions to the Women’s Convention tended the remaining questions and unresolved to undermine the purpose of the Women’s issues, as well as recommendations Convention itself and calling on govern- identified by the Committee. The ments to withdraw these reservations. These “Concluding Comments” serve as the Committee recommendations do not con- Committee’s take-off point in the stitute law, and therefore do not amount examination of the government’s next to obligations that States ought to follow; report. rather, they serve as reminders on govern- ments’ translation of the Women’s So far, the Committee has evaluated 231 Convention to practice. 2 C Womens O M P L I A Between Words and Action: N C Rights E Compliance with Womens Equal Rights A possible gauge of compliance with the for girls from indigenous populations. women from health risks connected with Convention on the Elimination of All Forms w Ghana has amended its Criminal Code abortion. Meantime, in Ukraine, because of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to prohibit customary or ritual enslavement of inadequate family planning education also known as the Women’s Convention is of any kind including trokosi, the offer of and services, abortion is the basic means the status of reporting to the CEDAW Com- virgin girls to priests as atonement for past of regulating births to the extent that the mittee. So far, the Committee noted, there crimes committed by family members. number of children born dead far exceeds are 203 overdue reports, of which 60 are w In Fiji, a government programme is in the number of children born alive—at 148 initial reports. Non-submission of the re- place so that qualified women are repre- abortions for every 100 births. ports alone already reveals the cavalier at- sented in high-level posts in the civil serv- titude of governments toward women’s ice and statutory boards. Elsewhere, such as Norway, women still earn and own less than men, despite a 20-year- rights. In Asia-Pacific, eight countries have w Turkey has committed to collaborate yet to submit their initial reports: Cambo- with NGOs to eliminate “honour killings,” old Gender Equality Act. The number of dia, Fiji, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, Samoa, the execution of a woman by her male fam- women seeking shelter in Ireland’s 12 shel- Singapore and Vanuatu; and three coun- ily members because of a perceived misuse ters for abused women has so increased tries are late in their periodic reports: Bhu- of her sexuality. that in Dublin, in 1997, almost 1,000 vic- tan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. tims had to be turned away due to over- But, as Salma Khan, former chair of the crowding of the centres. Likewise in Brit- To be sure, governments have undertaken Committee, noted, the gap between vision ain, one of nine women is a victim of se- a change or two in their laws, or have and reality, and between ratification and vere domestic violence. adopted policies to enhance women’s sta- implementation of the Women’s Conven- In Australia, pregnant workers still experi- tus in society. Several have set up the in- tion, remains wide. In Nepal, traditional ence unfair treatment at work including im- stitutional mechanisms—the national com- customs such as child marriage, dowry, mediate dismissal, reduced work hours for missions on women or other similar bodies polygamy, deuki (a tradition of dedicating casual employees, and the bosses’ and col- mandated to monitor the integration of girls to a god or goddess to become “tem- leagues’ touching of a woman’s stomach women’s rights into development.