CEDAW
1. INTRO: The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations
General Assembly. Described as an international bill of rights for women, it was
instituted on 3 September 1981 and ratified by 189 states. The UDHR, ICCPR,
ICESCR, and other core treaties clearly state how women’s rights should be free from
discrimination. The centrality of this concern was made crystal clear by the adoption
of CEDAW.
2. MEMBERS AND OFFICERS OF THE COMMITTEE (ART-17):
- The CEDAW Committee consists of 23 experts on women’s rights worldwide.
- The members are nominated by their national governments and elected through a
secret ballot by the state party to the convention.
- once elected they serve in an independent capacity, not as representatives of their
countries.
- The members are elected for a period of 4 years, approximately half the members of
the Committee are elected every two years.
- members are elected according to regions divided into Latin America and
the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe.
- The Committee is responsible for reviewing each State party’s progress, as well as
the challenges they are experiencing in implementing the Convention.
- The officers of the committee are composed of a chairperson, three vice-
chairpersons, and a rapporteur. Officers of the committee are nominated by
another member of the committee, as opposed to a government which nominates
members for the committee. All officers are elected by majority vote to a two-
year term of office and remain eligible for re-election after their term expires.
- The CEDAW Chairperson position is currently held by Hilary Gbedemah.
- All UN members expect for six member states, Iran, Palau, Somalia, Sudan,
Tonga, and the United States have not ratified the convention.
3. IMPORTANT PROVISIONS U/ CEDAW:
The Convention is enlisted with 30 Articles which can sorted into 3 groups. The first
group Articles 1 to 5 include the definition clauses, nature, scope, and measures to
be achieved by the state parties, i.e. the obligations of the state.
The second group deals with Articles 6 to 16 that are related to the subject matter
which addresses various spheres of women’s lives. It highlights the specific forms of
discrimination and outlines measures that the state must undertake to eliminate
discrimination in each of these areas for e.g. Article 6 deals with the Trafficking and
exploitation of prostitution.
Article 10 with Education and so on. The last set of the group includes Article 17-22 and
Article 23-30 which deals with the CEDAW committee and reporting process and Ratification,
Reservation, and procedural matters dealt with under CEDAW in state parties. These include
procedural and administrative matters such as the composition of the committee and way of
reporting process and operation of the Convention. (CP NOTES)
AFTER ART.10
- The State Parties shall take appropriate steps to ensure Employment opportunities and
equal Healthcare facilities including those relating to family planning. Women have been
given the right to enter into marriage.
- The State Parties shall also take into account the problems of rural women.
- Under article 18 of the Convention, States Parties are obliged to submit an initial report
within one year of the entry into force of the Convention for the individual State Party
and every four years thereafter.
- Articles 25 to 30 deals with the administration of CEDAW, these articles provides for the
general administrative procedures concerning enforcement of the CEDAW, ratification
and entering reservations.
4. The Optional Protocol-CEDAW
The “Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)”
is now in the process of developing the CEDAW Optional Protocol (OP-CEDAW). The “OP-
CEDAW” empowers the Committee to accept individual correspondence alleging violations
of CEDAW by a State Party. The Committee's jurisprudence was praised for, among other
things, “holding the state accountable for failing to protect women from sexual harassment
and determining that customary inheritance legislation discriminates against women.
OP-CEDAW was drafted in 1996. The UN General Assembly adopted it by consensus in 1999
and came into effect in 2000. The OP-CEDAW consists of 105 states. The Committee agreed
that 47 communications: 24 were deemed inadmissible and judged 23 on their excellence.
The OP-CEDAW is articulated carefully and gives minimal suggestions of the intent of each
decision. It authorizes individuals to communicate to the Committee that CEDAW has not
been upheld by the government (articles1-2). The Committee assesses the correspondence
(Article 5) and shall send its opinions and recommendations to the parties (Article 7). The
Committee will commence an investigation to investigate severe or systemic “CEDAW”
violations (article 8). Although the “OP-CEDAW” itself makes no sense of the intent of
decisions, its function is illuminated by the drawing past. States are tremendously accepting
that the “OP-CEDAW” is intended to make “CEDAW” more successful.
5. INDIA AND THE CEDAW
India ratified CEDAW in 1993. The country, on the other hand, has issued two declarations on
the Convention. The two articles to which India has proposed statements are Article 5, “to
eliminate the discriminatory cultural and social practice”, and Article 16, on “equality in
marriage and families”. Art. 14,15,16,19,23 of the Indian Constitution ensures the rights
which are in consonance with the CEDAW.
Role of the Judiciary in Stimulation and Protection of Women’s right:
Gaurav Jain, vs. Union of India & Other, Referred to CEDAW in 1997 as a case involving “sex
workers and their children by stating that Indian ratification of the Convention obliges them
to act accordingly because all forms of discrimination based on gender infringes fundamental
freedoms and human rights”.
Sheela Barse V. State of Maharashtra. “Article 21” of the constitution provides that “no
person shall be deprived of his life and personal liberty except according to procedure
established by law”. The problem of women in police lock-ups comes before the Supreme
Court in the said above-mentioned case. The case arose out of a letter to the Supreme Court
complaining of “custodial violence meted out to women prisoners in police lock-ups in
Bombay”. Acting on the letter, The Supreme Court laid down “guidelines on how women in
police lock-ups should be treated”. The guidelines incorporated a number of safeguards: (i)
“Separate place of
detention should be
provided for female
suspects”. (ii) “Female
suspects should be
interrogated only in the
presence of female police
officers”. (iii) “Every
person who is arrested
should be informed of
the grounds of arrest and
of the right to apply for
the bail. A pamphlet
these rights should be affixed in every police station”. (iv) “The police should intimate the
nearest legal aid committee about the arrest, and the committee should give immediate
legal assistance to the arrested person”. (v) “Session Judges should make surprise visits to
police lock-ups periodically”. (vi) “On arrest, the police should inform a relative or friend of
the arrested person”. (vii) “The magistrate before whom an arrested person is produced
must inquire whether the arrested person ant complain of torture or mal treatment in police
custody in inform him/her that under section 54 of the code of criminal procedure, 1973
he/she has the right to be medically examined. This rule applied to both men and women
CONCLUSION:
“The international Bill of Human Rights lays down a comprehensive set of rights to which all
persons, including women, are entitled”. “Equality is the foundation of every domestic
society”, which aims to “social justice and human rights”. The main thrust of the Women’s
Convention is “aimed at eliminating all forms of discrimination encountered by women in all
areas affecting their lives, and a perusal of the relevant articles attests to this”.
OPTIONAL PROTOCOL FOR LONG ANSWER:
INTRO AND FEW (5-6) POINTS RELATING TO IT, THEN
WHAT IS OPTIONAL PROTOCOL?
Articles of the protocol- CP
What is an Optional Protocol?
Very often, human rights treaties are followed by "Optional Protocols" which may either
provide for procedures with regard to the treaty or address a substantive area related to the
treaty. Optional Protocols to human rights treaties are treaties in their own right, and are open
to signature, accession or ratification by countries who are party to the main treaty.
The optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women includes:
The Communications Procedure
Gives individuals and groups of women the right to complain to the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women about violations of the Convention.
this procedure is known as "the communications procedure".
The Inquiry Procedure:
It enables the Committee to conduct inquiries into grave or systematic abuse of
women's human rights in countries that become States parties to the Optional
Protocol. This is known as an inquiry procedure, this capacity is found in Article 8 of
the Optional Protocol.
The Optional Protocol is a subsidiary agreement to the convention. It does not
establish any new rights but rather allows the rights guaranteed in the convention to
be enforced.
BACKGROUND OF THE PROTOCOL
- During the drafting of CEDAW, a complaints procedure was suggested, but this
was not taken up.
- The World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna (1993) The Conference
acknowledged the need for new procedures to strengthen the implementation of
women's human rights.
- An independent expert group met at the Maastricht Centre for Human Rights and
adopted a draft Optional Protocol. Participants came from all regions and included
members of CEDAW, the Human Rights Committee etc.
- The 4th World Conference on Women called on UN member States to support the
elaboration of the Optional Protocol. (1995)
- In March 1996 the Commission on the Status of Women established an open-
ended working group to produce a formal draft
- This was reported back after three years of deliberation in early 1999. The
Optional Protocol was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 6 October 1999.
