COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN CONCLUDES
FORTY-FIFTH SESSION

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this morning concluded its forty-fifth session, adopting concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Malawi, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Egypt, Botswana and Panama, which it examined at this session, as well as adopting a statement calling for an active role for Haitian women as a key resource in Haiti’s recovery, and a statement on the inclusion of Afghan women in the process of peace building, security and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

The eight countries whose reports were examined at the present session are among the 186 States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. In ratifying the Convention, these States commit to submitting regular reports to the Committee on how they are implementing the Convention’s provisions. Following an examination of those reports, in the presence of delegations from the States parties, the Committee adopted, in private session, concluding observations and recommendations for each report, contained in the following documents: for Botswana, CEDAW/C/BOT/CO/3; for Egypt, CEDAW/C/EGY/CO/7; for Malawi CEDAW/C/MWI/CO/6; for the Netherlands CEDAW/C/NLD/CO/5; for Panama CEDAW/C/PAN/CO/7; for Ukraine CEDAW/C/UKR/CO/7; for the United Arab Emirates CEDAW/C/ARE/CO/1; and for Uzbekistan CEDAW/C/UZB/CO/4. These documents will be available on the Committee’s Web page next week at the following link: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/cedaws45.htm.

In her closing statement, Naela Gabr, Chairperson of the Committee, said that during this session, the Committee had considered the reports of eight States parties and had held informal meeting with entities of the UN System, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations. The Committee was thankful to those entities which had provided it with detailed information and encouraged them to deepen their advocacy for the promotion and protection of women’s human rights and the implementation of the Convention.

In addition, the Committee had also continued its discussions on the draft general recommendation on older women and adopted new methods of work, including a methodology to assess States parties reports received under the Committee’s follow-up procedures, said Ms. Gabr. The Committee had also adopted statements on the situation in Haiti; on the inclusion of Afghan women in the process of peace building, security and reconstruction in Afghanistan; on the 15 year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action; and on its relationship with non-governmental organizations.

The constructive dialogue the Committee had had with the States parties that had presented their reports had allowed identifying gaps and challenges and Committee Experts together with State representatives had sought to identify strategies for further action and to find solutions to the challenges of persistent discrimination, said Mr. Gabr. All States needed to check the compatibility of their legislation with the Convention. In many States, the Convention should be used as a central legally binding instrument for the development of policies for the advancement of women.

The Committee members are: Nicole Ameline (France); Ferdous Ara Begum (Bangladesh); Magalys Arocha Dominguez (Cuba); Violet Tsisiga Awori (Kenya); Barbara Evelyn Bailey (Jamaica); Meriem Belmihoub-Zerdani (Algeria); Niklas Bruun (Finland); Saisuree Chutikul (Thailand); Dorcas Coker-Appiah (Ghana); Cornelis Flinterman (Netherlands); Naela Mohamed Gabr (Egypt); Ruth Halperin-Kaddari (Israel); Yoko Hayashi (Japan); Indira Jaising (India); Soledad Murillo de la Vega (Spain); Violeta Neubauer (Slovenia); Pramila Patten (Mauritius); Silvia Pimentel (Brazil); Victoria Popescu (Romania); Zohra Rasekh (Afghanistan); Dubravka Šimonoviæ (Croatia); and Zou Xiaoqiao (China). Ms. Gabr is the Chairperson; Ms. Halperin-Kaddari, Ms. Pimentel and Ms. Zou are Vice Chairpersons; and Ms. Neubauer is Rapporteur.

The next session of the Committee will be held in New York from 12 to 30 July 2010, during which it will consider the reports of Albania, Argentina, Australia, Central African Republic, Fiji, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Russian Federation, Seychelles and Turkey.


For use of the information media; not an official record

CEDAW10/015E