United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour praised the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women during a special ceremony, at UN Headquarters in New York on 23 July 2007, to celebrate the Committee's 25 years of work in monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Participants in the commemorative session outlined their vision for the future and highlighted the Committee's achievements, assessing its role in implementing the Convention, its impact and main challenges.

The ceremony followed the official commencement of the Committee's thirty-ninth session (23 July to 10 August 2007), during which experts reviewed national and regional reports on the work being done to advance gender equality in both developed and developing countries. Other speakers during the commemoration were: UN General Assembly President, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa; Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, Rachel Mayanja; Vice-Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women, Julio Peralta,; President of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, Jackie Shapiro; and Sapana Pradhan Malla of the International Women's Rights Watch Asia Pacific. Carolyn Hannan, Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women, read a statement on behalf of a long-time CEDAW expert member, Hanna Beate Schopp-Schilling.

The 23-member Committee was established in 1982, following the adoption of CEDAW in 1979 and its entry into force in September 1981. It is mandated to ensure that its 185 States parties, legally bound to meet their obligations under the Convention, put its provisions into practice. CEDAW, often described as an "international bill of rights for women", defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination in all forms. In the past quarter of a century, it has become part of the international human rights treaty system, which aims to ensure equality for women in the enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms without "any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex". Countries that have ratified or acceded to the Convention have also committed to submitting national reports, at least every four years, on measures they have taken to comply with treaty obligations. The Committee has reviewed over 400 reports from 154 countries over the last 25 years.

Ms. Arbour said that Committee experts, elected by 38 States parties then, had begun work of translating the Convention's groundbreaking approach from aspiration to reality. The diversity of members' experiences and commitments, and their links to the non-governmental sector, had ensured the relevance of the Committee's work for all women and girls worldwide. "The Convention introduced the notion of substantive equality for women, emphasizing that although there may be no overtly discriminatory laws, women are not considered equal until they enjoy, in fact and in reality, the same opportunities and privileges as men, " Ms. Arbour noted. Ratified by almost the entire international community, CEDAW marked the "first step in a comprehensive human rights framework for women and girls", she added.

Drawing attention to the Convention's Optional Protocol, Ms. Arbour said it enabled the Committee to undertake inquiries into possible grave or systematic violations of women's rights. She pointed out that the Committee was a pioneer in addressing issues, such as female circumcision, violence against women and HIV/AIDS. Its general recommendation on violence against women had provided the impetus for the adoption of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the establishment of a Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and various regional human rights instruments. Its general recommendations on equality in marriage and family relations, women in political and public life and health had also been widely influential. "By promoting the Committee and women's human rights generally, we push the entire human rights agenda forward", Ms. Arbour said.

Ms. Al Khalifa stated that the panel's effective monitoring work and guidance had "significantly enhanced the accountability of States for women's enjoyment of their human rights and shaped the progress of women worldwide". She described CEDAW as a landmark tool for setting out global normative standards of gender equality, noting that the Committee ensured its implementation nationally through the States parties. The Committee had constantly voiced its concern about the States' reservations in respect of the Convention and has been raising awareness of the impact on women of major global trends, including globalization, human trafficking and HIV/AIDS. It had also played a fundamental role in making the United Nations more gender-sensitive and in promoting women's universal human rights.

Ms. Mayanja emphasized the Convention's profound impact on the legal and socio-political development of States parties. That impact was visible in the strengthening of constitutional provisions for the protection of women's rights, efforts to bring existing legislation into conformity with Convention principles, improvements in the capacity of national institutions to guarantee gender equality, and increasing the use by domestic courts of the Convention and the Committee's general recommendations. She mentioned the Constitutions of South Africa and Uganda as prime examples of such influence, pointing out that Nepal's Supreme Court had relied on the Convention in directing the Government to address discriminatory laws and Canada's Supreme Court had drawn on the treaty and the Committee's general recommendation on violence against women in considering a case of alleged sexual assault.

Moderating the commemorative session, Committee Chairperson Dubravka Simonovic outlined not only the Committee's achievements, but also its main challenges. Despite the nearly 400 reports reviewed by the Committee, discrimination against women still persisted, with de facto discrimination remaining universal. Very few countries allowed the Convention to be directly applicable in the courts and not enough judges knew about the treaty. Some States were still submitting their initial reports and many of them were overdue, she noted. Societal attitudes could not be changed with a new law alone; a concerted and committed effort is required of all stakeholders.