Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women opens forty-fifth session

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women this morning opened its forty-fifth session, hearing a statement from High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, and adopting its agenda and organization of work for the session. The Committee also heard reports from the Chairperson and other Committee members on various issues, including on the ways and means of expediting the work of the Committee. At the beginning of the meeting, the Committee held a moment of silence for the people of Haiti.

In her opening statement, Ms. Pillay, highlighting a number of recent developments of interest to the Committee, noted that United Nations Security Council resolution 1888 on women, peace and security, adopted in September 2009, introduced several measures which demonstrated the commitment of the Security Council to effectively address the matter of sexual violence in conflict, and requested the Secretary-General, inter alia, to appoint a Special Representative to lead, coordinate and advocate efforts to end conflict-related sexual violence against women and children. Also in September 2009, the General Assembly had adopted a resolution in which it supported the establishment of a new entity to deal with the rights of women.

Naela Gabr, the Chairperson of the Committee, reporting on activities undertaken between the Committee’s forty-fourth and forty-fifth sessions, was delighted to report that two new States had accepted the Optional Protocol, thereby bringing the number of States parties to that instrument to 99. In the five months since the last session in New York, she had attended the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly, where, she had informed participants that the Committee would discuss ways and means to ensure that its interaction with the new [women’s rights] entity was effective for a better implementation of the Convention. She also attended, on 3 December, the commemoration of the thirtieth Anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in New York.

The Committee also heard presentations from the Chairperson of the pre-session Working Group for the forty-fifth session, on the work they had undertaken with respect to preparation of lists of questions for State party reports, and from a representative of the Human Rights Treaties Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who provided an update regarding work on general comments and on expediting the work of the Committee.

When the Committee reconvenes this afternoon at 3 p.m., it is scheduled to hold an informal meeting with non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions to discuss the situation in countries to be reviewed by the Committee during the first week of the session.

Statements

NAVI PILLAY, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said a number of recent developments of interest had taken place since the Committee’s last session. In 2009, they had marked the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption by the General Assembly of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, and the tenth anniversary of its Optional Protocol. A series of events had taken place at national and regional levels to commemorate that anniversary throughout the year, culminating in a global event at United Nations Headquarters in New York. At that event, she had highlighted that the greatest strength of the Convention had been its capacity to empower individual women to recognize their human rights and claim them. In addition, United Nations Security Council resolution 1888 on women, peace and security, adopted in September 2009, introduced several measures which demonstrated the commitment of the Security Council to effectively address the matter of sexual violence in conflict, and requested the Secretary-General, inter alia, to appoint a Special Representative to lead, coordinate and advocate efforts to end conflict-related sexual violence against women and children.

Also in September 2009, the General Assembly had adopted a resolution in which it supported the establishment of a new entity to deal with the rights of women. While the modalities governing the functioning of that entity were yet to be determined, it was hoped that it would improve coherence within the United Nations system, and further strengthen the work of the Organization on women's rights, Ms. Pillay said.

In relation to harmonization of working methods, members of the different treaty bodies had met in Geneva for the tenth Inter-Committee Meeting at the end of November. Henceforth, one of the two annual Meetings would be transformed into a Working Group tasked to focus initially on strengthening follow-up. On the broader level of strengthening the treaty body system, Ms. Pillay had encouraged all relevant stakeholders, in her statement at the twelfth session of the Human Rights Council, to initiate a process of reflection on how to streamline and strengthen the treaty-body system to achieve better coherence and effectiveness. The process of reflection had begun, and she believed that that would offer numerous opportunities for members to participate and express their views in their individual capacity or as members of treaty bodies.

Looking to the future, Ms. Pillay was confident that the Committee would continue to strengthen its relationship with the Special Procedures mandate holders. In March 2010, the Commission on the Status of Women would undertake a 15-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly. Emphasis would be placed on the sharing of experiences and good practices, with a view to overcoming remaining obstacles and new challenges, including those related to the Millennium Development Goals.

NAELA GABR, Committee Chairperson, said that, while there remained 186 States parties to the Convention, she was delighted to report that two States had accepted the Optional Protocol, thereby bringing the number of States parties to the instrument to 99. In the five months since the last session in New York, she had attended the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly. In her statement to the Assembly, she had reiterated that the Committee had taken a consistent interest in the question of the United Nations reform pertaining to its gender equality architecture, and, in that regard, had congratulated the General Assembly on its recent decision to create a new gender entity. She had also indicated that the Committee would discuss ways and means to ensure that its interaction with the new entity was effective for a better implementation of the Convention. She also reaffirmed the Committee's intention to continue its efforts to ensure that incoming reports were considered in a timely manner and monitor the implementation of the Convention in States Parties with long overdue reports.

Ms. Gabr further informed the Assembly that the collaboration between the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Division for the Advancement of Women had allowed a smooth transition, and that the High Commissioner for Human Rights had also ensured that the strong links between the Committee and the inter-Governmental machinery responsible for the promotion of gender equality had been maintained. Close relationships had been forged with individual treaty bodies. In that connection, from 30 November to 3 December, she had attended the tenth Inter-Committee Meeting, which had recommended the establishment of a Working Group on follow-up, as well as that the follow-up procedure of each treaty body be undertaken in a transparent manner and therefore be considered as a public procedure.

On 3 December, she had attended the commemoration of the thirtieth Anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in New York, on which occasion she had recalled that, since it began its work of translating the ground-breaking approach of the Convention from aspiration to practice, Committee members had worked with competence, dedication, integrity and imagination. At the commemoration, Ms. Gabr had also highlighted that through its practical approach during dialogue with States parties, in concluding observations after consideration of reports and analysis of petitions and inquiries, the Committee had become recognized as the legitimate and internationally respected voice for the human rights of women and girls. She had stressed that the Committee regarded the Convention as a living instrument, which must remain relevant to the emerging concerns of women in all parts of the world. In spite of that progress, the Committee knew that more needed to be done; more efforts were needed from all stakeholders to strengthen the implementation of the Convention if there were to be results on the ground and in the lives of individual women. OHCHR, for its part, should find ways to strengthen its efforts to increase its support to the Committee by allocating additional human and financial resources, as well as providing technical assistance for reporting and the implementation of recommendations to States Parties that requested such assistance.

Responding to the Chairperson’s call, Ms. Pillay observed that she was about to go to her office to sign the documents for the six new posts that were being attributed to the Committee.

DORCAS COKER-APPIAH, Chairperson of the Pre-Session Working Group for the forty-fifth session, reporting on activities of the Working Group, said that it had prepared lists of issues and questions with respect to the reports of Botswana, Egypt, Malawi, the Netherlands, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan. It had also agreed to prepare intersessionally one outstanding list of issues and questions with respect to the report of Ukraine, since a translated version of the report was not available for consideration by the pre-session Working Group. Lists of issues and questions drawn up by the Working Group were transmitted to the seven States Parties concerned, and focused on themes addressed by the Convention, including education and training; gender stereotypes, poverty and employment, violence against women, including domestic violence; trafficking in women and exploitation of prostitution; equality before the law; and marriage, family relations, and the economic consequences of divorce.

KAREN LUCKE, Senior Human Rights Officer a.i., Human Rights Treaties Division of OHCHR, reporting on implementation of article 21 of the Convention (suggestions and general recommendations by the Committee to the General Assembly), and on ways and means of expediting the work of the Committee, noted that work had continued on the general recommendations on older women and protection of their human rights. In terms of expediting the Committee’s work, the Committee had before it, as usual, a report on ways and means of enhancing the work of the body, containing information provided by the Secretariat, comments made by the Committee, and information on developments in the human rights regime. The report discussed developments in respect of human rights treaty bodies, the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, and the thirtieth anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. It also provided information on States Parties to be considered at future sessions. Annexes to the report identified States that had not ratified or acceded to the Convention, and States Parties whose reports had been submitted as of the date the report was concluded, and had yet to be considered by the Committee.

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