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CEDAW in Its Fifteenth Year
Reprinted from "The Women's Watch" published by International Women's Rights Action Watch
The January 1997 CEDAW session saw a dramatic increase in NGO presence and attention to the Committee's work. In addition to representatives of international NGOs, some of whom have been faithfully observing CEDAW sessions for years, several national level organizations were on hand to observe the review of their governments' reports and to learn more about the reporting and review process. IWRAW - Asia Pacific, in collaboration with UNIFEM, brought eight NGO representatives from reporting countries to New York for a CEDAW orientation. Several of these NGOs returned home to brief their colleagues or hold press conferences to publicize the testimony of their government delegations concerning implementation of the Convention.
The sixteenth session also marks the first time that the Committee itself has formally encouraged the advocacy role of NGOs in the work of the Committee. Although no formal mechanisms have been adopted yet, a decision was taken to hold informal lunchtime meetings with NGOs at the next session in order to continue exploring ways of formalizing relationships with NGOs. All the other human rights treaty bodies have established mechanisms that provide a forum for NGO input regarding matters of mutual concern.
The Committee acknowledged that NGO information is invaluable in shedding light on the de facto implementation of the Convention. It also emphasized that NGO information was not clandestine in any way, and that making it available before a session to the States Parties under review would contribute significantly to raising the level of the discussion. This does not mean, however, that the sources of all independent information must be identified. The Committee remains sensitive to the fact that, while some NGOs welcome the opportunity to make their opinions better known, others may be puffing themselves at risk by providing alternative information.
Once again the Committee encouraged States Parties to consult national level NGOs in the preparation of reports, but it also suggested that UN resources be made available to train national NGOs to prepare 'shadow' reports. Committee members expressed frustration that too often well intentioned NGO reports were unusable, either because they are not translated into the UN languages or because they arrive too late. The Committee recommended that specialized agencies and other UN bodies with local offices be encouraged to cooperate with NGOs in the work they are attempting to do with the Convention, including the preparation of alternative reports.
Angela King, the Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women, announced that the General Assembly, on an interim basis, had approved the Committee's request for two three-week sessions annually. The seventeenth session of CEDAW will be held in New York from 7 - 25 July 1997. The eighteenth session will be held in January 1998.