WOMENS HUMAN RIGHTS ALLIANCE

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WOMENS HUMAN RIGHTS ALLIANCE

• CEDAW as a Tool for Achieving Equality
• Equality Social Inclusion in the 21st Century
• 1st 3rd February 2006

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Presentation

• What is CEDAW?
• The Reporting Process to the UN
• The 33rd CEDAW Session July 2005
• The Concluding Comments
• The Role of NGOs

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Within the UN Structure
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The CEDAW Convention

• Adopted in 1979 by UN General Assembly 180
  countries have signed it
• International Bill of Rights for Women
• Defines what constitutes discrimination against
  women and sets out an agenda for national action
  to end such discrimination

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CEDAW

• A radical treaty that aims to
• transform the structural barriers to equality
• address multifaceted nature of problems women
  face

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CEDAW core principles

• Equality
• Non-discrimination

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Substantive Equality

• Promoting
• Equality of opportunity through law, policy,
  
• programmes and institutional arrangements
• Equality of access by eliminating all obstacles
  that prevent access to the opportunities
  taking positive steps to ensure goal of equality
  is achieved
• Equality of results

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Non-discrimination

• Based on the principal that discrimination
• is socially constructed
• Is not a natural principal of human interaction
• Recognition of the need for concerted action
• against inequality and the institutional
• mechanisms that perpetuate it

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What CEDAW saysThe Articles

• Discrimination
• Special measures
• Cultural practices
• Trafficking
• Politics
• Nationality

• Health
• Employment
• Education
• Law
• Marriage
• Family benefits
• Rural women

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Article 1- Definition of Discrimination

• Any distinction, exclusion or restriction, made
  on the basis of sex, which has the effect or
  purpose of impairing or nullifying the
  recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women,
  irrespective of their marital status, on a basis
  of equality of men and women, of human and
  fundamental freedoms, in the political, economic,
  social, cultural, civil or any other field

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Article 5 cultural practices

• A change in the traditional role of men as well
  as the role of women in society is needed to
  achieve full equality between men and women

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Article 12 - Health

• 1. States Parties shall take all appropriate
  measures to eliminate discrimination against
  women in the field of health care in order to
  ensureaccess to health care services, including
  those related to family planning

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GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS

• Deal with issues related to specific articles
• GR 19 Violence against women
• GR 21 Marriage family relations
• GR 23 Women in public life
• GR 24 Health
• GR 25 Temporary special measures
• For information on CEDAW visit
• I W R A W www.iwraw-ap.org

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How does CEDAW work? the reporting process

• When a a government ratifies CEDAW, it commits to
  put in place legislation policy to ensure
  womens equality
• Every 4 years government submit a progress
  report to the CEDAW Committee
• Government is then examined at a session of the
  CEDAW Committee

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The CEDAW Committee

• 23 experts on womens issues from around the
  world
• Meet twice annually at UN in New York
• 8 governments report at a session
• After a government has been examined the
  Committee produce Concluding Comments outlining
  concerns recommendations

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Role of NGOs

• Submit alternative or Shadow Report a
  critique of the government report
• Attend CEDAW session in NY to lobby Committee
  members
• Observe government examination
• Carry out follow up work to monitor
  recommendations

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Irish Government examination13th July 2005 all
day

• Delegation led by Minister of State, Frank Fahey
  - presented Irelands Statement
• Government commended on progress, challenged on
  lack of progress in range of areas..
• Concluding Comments issued - highlighting
  concerns and making recommendations

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The Concluding CommentsAreas of concern

• Violence against women
• Stereotyping
• Poverty social exclusion
• Under-representation of women in politics

• Trafficking
• Employment
• Reproductive Health
• National Womens Strategy

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Stereotyping

• Concerns
• Persistence of traditional stereotypical views of
  women men in family society, reflected in
• - Article 41.2 of the Constitution.
• - Womens educational choices.
• - Womens employment patterns.
• - Womens low participation in politics

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Stereotyping recommendations

• Eliminate traditional stereotypical attitudes
  through education, training, sustained
  awareness-raising campaigns directed at men and
  women.
• Take CEDAW fully into account in considering
  amendments to Article 41.2, include obligation
  of State to actively pursue substantive equality.
• Replace male-orientated language in the
  Constitution.
• Encourage the media to represent women more
  positively, to help foster cultural change.

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Role of NGOs.Holding the government accountable

• Using the Concluding Comments
• In policy documents, submissions, research,
  action plans
• In funding proposals
• In lobbying and campaigning work letters,
  meetings with TDs and in media work
• In training education programmes
• LOCAL REGIONAL.NATIONAL levels

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CHALLENGES ahead

• Lack of information on CEDAW
• Lack of understanding of and resistance to
  principal of substantive equality
• Resistance to human rights based approaches
• Managing the backlash and keeping womens issues
  on the agenda

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CEDAW is a powerful too to articulate , advocate
and monitor womens human rights

• Its not.
• What can CEDAW really do for women?
• But
• What do you plan to do with the CEDAW?
• WHRA
• womenshumanrights_at_eircom.net
• www.whra-ireland.org

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CONFERENCE

• TAKING CEDAW SERIOUSLY
• Thursday, 23rd March, 2006
• GALWAY

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UK and CEDAW

• UK Government signed CEDAW in 1981
• Submitted 5th periodic report June 2003
• Waiting to be examined
• Download copy of report
• United Nations Division for the Advancement of
  Women Homepagewww.un.org/womenwatch/daw/
  (country reports)