WILPF & Women's Human Rights Protection

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW)

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as the international bill of rights for women. Fullfillment of CEDAW relies on advocacy efforts of women's human rights defenders worldwide, and their full participation in its processes.

What is CEDAW?

CEDAW is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly. It is often described as the international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.

As of May 2009, 185 countries have ratified the Convention, over 90% of the UN's membership. The Convention compels States to end all discrimination against women “by any person, organizations, or enterprise,” and mandates the creation of institutions to ensure these standards (art.2(a)). States are required to incorporate gender equality into their legal system, include the elimination of all discriminatory legislation, and make adjustments to national constitutions (art 2(a)). In addition to creating specific standards to eliminate discrimination in the private and public sphere, CEDAW addresses gender equality in cultural life.

Calendar and NGO Deadlines:

The CEDAW Committee welcomes Country specific reports of NGOs, the NGO Shadow Reports. All submissions should arrive two weeks prior to the beginning of the Session. Submissions should be sent by email (in PDF format) and thereafter by post. If you want to learn more, please click here.

On NGO Participation/Shadow Reports

• International Women’s Rights Action Watch has an agreement with the UN’s Division for the
  Advancement of Women (DAW) to be a liaison point between DAW and civil society. This organization facilitates the distribution of NGO Shadow reports.
• This Gender Index from UNGA is a compilation documenting State commitments and claims on gender issues, that is useful in national level advocacy.
• To see Shadow Reports from Previous Sessions, click here.

Who form the Committee ?

CEDAW is monitored by a Committee of 23 regionally diverse experts that hold sessions twice annually to review State reports and NGO Shadow reports. NGO Shadow reports are organized and prepared by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with consultative status to the UN, and are a chance for local expertise to be channeled into UN discussions. Each State reports to the Committee every four years, and the Committee has the power to further explore violations that arise as issues during these discussions. 

CEDAW sessions produce many documents useful for women’s rights advocacy. CEDAW Committee recommendations are generally presented through concluding statements, and are the Committee’s primary outcome.  State party reports and NGO Shadow reports are additional resources that shed light on the status of women’s equality in the countries under review.

The CEDAW Committee is one of the few treaty bodies that hears individual complaints where States agree, and conducts confidential inquiries in cases of State’s unwillingness to cooperate, as in Juarez, Mexico in 2003.  This opens opportunities for Genevan NGOs to be directly involved with women who come to CEDAW sessions to report on  violations.

Resources on CEDAW:

PeaceWomen:

WILPF’s PeaceWomen project maintains a database of NGO’s working on women, peace and security issues around the world. PeaceWomen has compiled information on organizations worldwide working on women, peace and security issues. It contains a database of Women's organizations working for peace and justice at the grassroots level, nationally, sub-regionally, regionally and internationally; UN programs in the field and at UN headquarters working on women and/or peace; Government programs specifically on women and/or peace; and Countries' permanent missions to the UN. This can be accessed on the PeaceWomen website.

On the CEDAW Committee:

• To better understand how CEDAW works, have a look at an Overview of the CEDAW Committee’s Working Methods.
• To find out if your country is party to CEDAW, look at this list of State parties to CEDAW.
• To see the latest documentation of your country's CEDAW review, here are State Reports/ Status of Review.

On CEDAW and Security Council Resolution 1325

• Publication by UNIFEM: “Women Peace and Security: CEDAW and Security Council Resolution 1325: A Quick Guide”
• WILPF's Peacewomen website features an NGO Database of organizations who work with Security Council Resolution 1325.

Resources:

• The UN’s Division for the Advancement of Women
• International Women’s Rights Action Watch (IWRAW)- Asia Pacific

Updated by: Ilse Wermink (rights@wilpf.ch)
07 July 2009