Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women - Seventeenth session)


              III.  REPORT OF THE CHAIRPERSON ON THE ACTIVITIES
                    UNDERTAKEN BETWEEN THE SIXTEENTH AND 
                    SEVENTEENTH SESSIONS OF THE COMMITTEE


24.  The Chairperson of the Committee noted that most of her activities
between the sixteenth and seventeenth sessions of the Committee had
consisted of participating in seminars on the Convention organized by
non-governmental organizations.  The only United Nations meeting she had
attended was the forty-first session of the Commission on the Status of
Women, which was of particular importance because the open-ended working
group of the Commission on the elaboration of a draft optional protocol to
the Convention had met during the session.

25.  The Chairperson informed the Committee that, throughout its meetings,
the open-ended working group had been appreciative of comments and replies
to questions by Ms. Silvia Cartwright, who had participated as a resource
person on behalf of the Committee.

26.  The Chairperson stated that the Committee had not been directly
represented at the fifty-third session of the Commission on Human Rights,
but that Ms. Ivanka Corti had attended in her capacity as Chairperson of
the meeting of persons chairing human rights treaty bodies.  The
Chairperson suggested that in the future the Committee should be
represented independently.

27.  The Chairperson described the various meetings of non-governmental
organizations in which she had participated.  From 8 to 10 April 1997, she
had attended an international round table held at Amman, on equal
opportunities for women:  a question of rights and humanity, convened by
the London-based Rights and Humanity Group.  On 8 and 9 May, she had
attended a round table at New Delhi on United Nations reforms, good
governance and civil society, organized jointly by the Commission on Global
Governance, the United Nations Development Fund for Women and Women's
Feature Services.  From 23 to 28 February, she had visited the Islamic
Republic of Iran at the invitation of the Government and had addressed the
Women's Solidarity Association of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the
Convention and the role and responsibility of the Committee and States
parties to the Convention in relation to the human and social rights of
women.  She had visited South Africa from 25 to 31 May, at the invitation
of the National Institute for Public Interest Laws and Research, sharing
her experiences of training in her own country with respect to the
Committee, and giving briefings on the working procedures of the Committee. 


28.  The Chairperson reminded members that the Committee had adopted
general recommendation 23 on articles 7 and 8 at its sixteenth session. 
She pointed out that various members of the Committee had suggested that
new procedures were necessary for the adoption of general recommendations,
as was the development by the Committee of a long-term programme of work
for general recommendations.  She informed the Committee that Ms. Carmel
Shalev had proposed that the Committee begin work on a general
recommendation on article 12 relating to women's health.

29.  The Chairperson recalled that the Committee had decided at its
sixteenth session to continue the review of its rules of procedure at the
seventeenth session. 

30.  Ms. Cartwright, the representative of the Committee as resource person
to the open-ended working group of the Commission on the Status of Women on
the elaboration of a draft optional protocol to the Convention, noted that
support for the proposed optional protocol, which would provide for the
right to petition the Committee, had gained momentum since 1996.  She had
noted broad support for the inclusion of an inquiry procedure in the
protocol. Ms. Cartwright indicated that major issues remained to be
considered by the working group, including the question of who should be
entitled to lodge complaints with the Committee under any protocol and the
resource implications of any protocol.  She suggested that the work under
any optional protocol should be conducted by a designated sub-group of
Committee experts and that the Committee begin to consider working methods
and procedures that would be employed when the protocol entered into force. 
Ms. Cartwright requested the Secretariat to provide the Committee with a
report relating to the procedures of the Human Rights Committee, the
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Committee
against Torture with regard to their communications procedures and
suggested that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women consider appropriate procedures for an optional protocol at its
nineteenth session.  

31.  Ms. Corti stated that she had attended the fifty-third session of the
Commission on Human Rights in her capacity of chairperson of the meeting of
persons chairing human rights treaty bodies.  She had also attended the
third meeting of the special rapporteurs/representatives/experts and
chairpersons of working groups of the special procedures of the Commission
on Human Rights and of the advisory services programme in May 1996, in the
same capacity.  Ms. Corti underlined the importance of the treaty bodies,
and particularly the Committee, within the human rights framework and
suggested that the Commission on Human Rights should give more prominence
to the role of these bodies.  She also suggested that the Committee should
further develop its links with the Centre for Human Rights and take steps
to develop a closer relationship with the Special Rapporteur on violence
against women, its causes and consequences.




            IV.  CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES    
                 PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 18 OF THE CONVENTION 


                              A.  Introduction

32.  At its seventeenth session, the Committee considered the reports
submitted by nine States parties under article 18 of the Convention:  two
initial reports, two combined initial and second periodic reports, and one
combined initial, second and third reports; two combined second and third
periodic reports; one third periodic report; and one combined third and
fourth periodic report.

33.  As decided at its thirteenth session, in 1994, the Committee prepared
concluding comments on each report considered.

34.  The Committee's concluding comments on the reports of States parties,
as prepared respectively by the members of the Committee, and a summary of
the introductory presentations by the representatives of the States parties
are provided below.  The summary records provide more detailed information
on the Committee's consideration of the reports of the States parties.


               B.  Consideration of reports of States parties

                             1.  Initial reports

                                   Armenia

35.  The Committee considered the initial report of Armenia (CEDAW/C/ARM/1
and Corr.1) at its 344th, 345th and 349th meetings, on 14 and 16 July 1997
(see CEDAW/C/SR.344, 345 and 349).

36.  The representative of Armenia emphasized that, after the declaration
of independence in 1991, Armenia had begun the implementation of economic
and political reforms.  The process of transition to a market economy had
been affected by the blockade of the main transportation routes, a severe
energy crisis and the damage inflicted by the devastating earthquake of
1988.  Despite social and economic difficulties, the Government of Armenia
attached great importance to the international human rights treaties,
including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women, to which it had acceded in 1993 without reservations.  To
secure the sufficient implementation of the Convention, the Government had
started to carry out legal reforms aimed at adjusting existing legislation
to international norms and standards specified in that instrument.  The
Fourth World Conference on Women had marked a turning point for women's
rights in Armenia.

37.  The representative noted that the initial report had been submitted to
the Secretariat in 1995.  The report had been prepared during the period of
economic and political restructuring and the blockade on goods, services
and energy imposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey and in a situation of
continuing conflict between Nagorny Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

38.  The report had been prepared in cooperation with the Ministry of
Justice, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health and
appropriate commissions of the National Assembly.  The corrigendum, dated
11 February 1997, replaced part of the original report and reflected
changes resulting from the adoption of the Constitution in 1995,
developments in the legal framework and actual conditions for Armenian
women.

39.  The representative informed the Committee that there was no special
institution responsible for the protection of women's rights.  The Ministry
for Social Security and the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights were the
main institutions currently responsible for women's issues in the country.

40.  The representative of Armenia outlined the political, economic and
legal situation in Armenia and its impact on the status of women.  He
stated that the new Constitution underlined the principle of equality of
human rights of women and men.  Legally, women enjoyed full guarantees
against discrimination but the difficult socio-economic situation in the
country had not always allowed their full implementation.  That situation,
which had resulted in a drastic decline in the standard of living, an
increase in the unemployment rate and impoverishment, had affected women
more than men.  Hence, the Parliament had adopted in 1991 a resolution on
urgent measures for the protection of women, maternity and childhood and
the strengthening of the family, which granted supplementary rights to
women and mothers, especially single mothers, in the areas of work and
social security.  A national programme of action had been launched, inter
alia, to disseminate laws on protection of women's rights and to establish
information and legal counselling services.

41.  In Armenia, a majority of women had achieved a high level of education
and often outnumbered men in the area of higher education.  However, women
accounted for a higher level of unemployment than men and occupied few
positions at all levels of decision-making.  Women in the labour market
were usually concentrated in traditional female occupations.  In spite of
the low representation of women in governmental positions, they were active
in social and economic life.  During recent years, more than 30 women's
organizations had emerged in the country and covered a wide spectrum of
issues, including the preparation of women for leadership roles in society
and the protection of their rights.

42.  With regard to women's reproductive health, the representative noted
that women had the right to abortion until the fourteenth week of
pregnancy.  He stated, however, that in reality abortion was the primary
method of birth control in Armenia and there was a lack of family planning
services.  The Government was taking measures to disseminate information
about contraceptives and to improve their availability.

43.  The representative indicated that the Government of Armenia was
particularly concerned about the large number of refugees in the country,
with women constituting the majority, and was implementing a wide set of
measures aimed at their integration into social and economic life.

44.  The representative concluded by stating that the Government of Armenia
recognized that much remained to be done to achieve full equality between
women and men.  He assured the Committee of the willingness of the
Government to continue to take all the necessary measures to implement the
principles of the Convention.

Concluding comments of the Committee

     Introduction

45.  The Committee welcomed the presentation by the Government of Armenia
and commended it on its ratification of the Convention without reservations
so soon after independence in 1991 and on the timely submission of the
initial report, which contained detailed information about the
implementation of the Convention in accordance with the Committee's
guidelines.  It expressed its appreciation of the willingness of the
representatives of Armenia to engage in an open, candid constructive
dialogue with the Committee.

     Positive aspects

46.  The Committee commended the Government on its effort to carry out
reform of its laws so as to align them with the standards of international
human rights instruments, including the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

47.  It noted with satisfaction the incorporation of the Convention in
domestic law, and its precedence over conflicting national legislation. 
The Committee welcomed the fact that the Government had translated the
Convention into Armenian and disseminated it widely.

48.  The Committee acknowledged favourably the Government's intention to
introduce a fundamental legal reform within the ongoing revision of the
criminal code, in respect of violence against women and their sexual
exploitation through prostitution and trafficking.

49.  The Committee observed with satisfaction the exceptionally high level
of literacy and education in Armenia, in particular among women.

50.  The Committee commended the Government on its identification of four
priority areas of concern in relation to women's health, and on its
programme to establish a system of family planning services and to provide
contraceptives to women free of charge.

     Factors and difficulties affecting the implementation of the
Convention

51.  The Committee noted that the immediate effect of the competitive
politics introduced as a result of democratization in Armenia had been
adverse to the position of women.  This was reflected in their dramatic
loss of representation at all levels of decision-making.

52.  The Committee also noted that the process of transition to a market
economy appeared to have resulted in the economic marginalization of women,
exacerbated by the economic toll of the 1988 earthquake, and the armed
conflict around Nagorny Karabakh.

53.  The Committee noted cultural stereotypes which overemphasized the
traditional role of women as mothers in a protective and restrictive way.

     Principal areas of concern

54.  The Committee expressed and reiterated its gravest concern about the
absence of a specific national machinery for the advancement of women and
the elimination of discrimination against women.

55.  The Committee was extremely concerned that the Government of Armenia
had until now failed to acknowledge and address the matter of violence
against women, which appeared to be a subject of taboo in Armenian society,
although there were many indicators of it being as serious a problem as in
other societies.

56.  The Committee was also extremely concerned about the high rate of
unemployment (over 60 per cent according to the report), the occupational
segregation of women in low-paying sectors and the small number of women in
positions at the senior management level.

57.  The Committee expressed its concern about the fact that there were no
policies and programmes in place to guarantee security and social benefits
to women who worked in the informal sector.

58.  The Committee also noted with concern the paternalistic restrictions
imposed by the labour laws, which were aimed at protecting maternity and
resulted in the legal limitation of women's employment opportunities and
choices.

59.  Similarly, the Committee was concerned about the Government's report
of increasing prostitution, especially in relation to the limited economic
options for women in Armenia.  The Committee noted the lack of access of
women engaging in prostitution to appropriate health services, including
for the prevention and care of HIV/AIDS.

60.  As to the subject of women's health, the Committee expressed its deep
concern with regard to the Government's plan to consider proposals for
privatization of the health system.  The Committee emphasized the adverse
effects for women and other vulnerable groups of privatization in the
health area, even in highly developed countries.

     Suggestions and recommendations

61.  The Committee strongly urged the Government of Armenia to establish a
national machinery for the advancement of women, fully staffed and
resourced, so as to integrate the perspective of women's human rights and
gender analysis into all ongoing policy-making and strategic development
planning activities.

62.  The Committee recommended that the Government take temporary special
measures to create employment opportunities for women, including special
credit and loan programmes for women entrepreneurs.

63.  The Committee also recommended that temporary special measures be
adopted to remedy the severe decrease in the political representation of
women since independence, and to increase their participation in all areas
of public life.

64.  The Committee further recommended that the Government give due
attention to the subject of violence against women, by encouraging a public
discussion of its various forms, initiating appropriate legislation,
training law enforcement officers, judges and health professionals,
including adequate numbers of female personnel, to identify, manage and
eliminate the manifestations of violence against women, and by guaranteeing
that the necessary psycho-social and health services are available to
victims of violence, with particular attention to internally displaced and
refugee women.

65.  The Committee strongly urged the Government to use the education
system and the electronic media to combat the traditional stereotype of
women "in the noble role of mother" and to raise awareness of the role of
men in caring and their responsibility for parenting.

66.  The Committee suggested that there was a strong need to collect
information and sex disaggregated data in all areas, in particular as
regards violence against women, prostitution and health.

67.  The Committee suggested that in the planning and implementation of
privatization policies and programmes the Government of Armenia should
ensure that it fulfilled its social responsibilities and obligations under
international human rights law so that its policies and programmes would
not deprive women and other vulnerable groups of enjoyment of their human
rights, especially in the area of health.

68.  The Committee requested the Government to address the concerns
included in the present comments in its next report, and to include
information on the implementation of the Committee's general
recommendations, particularly general recommendation 19 on violence against
women.  It also requested the wide dissemination of these comments
throughout Armenia.


                                   Namibia

69.  The Committee considered the initial report of Namibia (CEDAW/C/NAM/1)
at its 336th, 337th and 342nd meetings, on 8 and 11 July 1997 (see
CEDAW/C/SR.336, 337 and 342).

70.  The report was introduced by the Director-General of Namibia's
Department of Women Affairs in the Office of the President.  She recounted
that Namibia had acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women, without reservations, on 23 November 1992,
within two years of gaining its independence.  The Convention had served as
a complement to a Constitution designed to promote the rights of women.

71.  The Department of Women Affairs had been established shortly after
independence in 1990.  Its aim was to ensure the integration of women into
the overall development process, to guide policy formulation, to monitor
its implementation and to see that the gender component was always taken
into account.  The Department actively publicized the Convention and
encouraged women to assert their rights.  The representative explained that
all government policies and programmes in Namibia would be guided by a more
integrated gender policy to be finalized in 1997.

72.  She explained that Namibia's initial report described nine
gender-sectoral committees comprising representatives of governmental and
non-governmental organizations who were consulted in the implementation of
national programmes to ensure that all government policies and programmes
were gender-sensitive.

73.  The initial report, which had been submitted to the Secretariat in
1996, covered the period from 1992 to 1995.  The representative summarized
the report and supplied further information up to 1997, thereby giving an
up-to-date summary of the situation in Namibia.  She highlighted the
Married Persons Equality Act, which had been passed since the submission of
the report, and which provided for equality between spouses in financial
transactions, marital property and guardianship of children.

74.  The Committee was informed that the Department of Women Affairs was in
the process of formulating a national gender policy, and that the Law
Reform and Development Commission had responsibility for guiding law
reform, which would remove all existing legal discrimination against women. 
Violence against women and children had emerged as one of the greatest
challenges to the advancement of women in Namibia, and was perceived to be
a widespread and serious problem despite a lack of current statistical
information.  Legislation was currently being enacted to address violence
against women.  Reports of rape and attempted rape were increasing
annually, and there were calls for law reform in that area, as the current
law remained discriminatory in some areas and was considered ineffective.

75.  Religious beliefs, cultural practices and remaining inequities under
general and customary laws were factors that continued to allow men to
dominate women in the family context.  Sexual stereotyping of women as
mothers had led to difficulties for many women in choosing career paths
other than motherhood.  Regional gender workshops organized by the
Government were being used to combat sexual stereotyping.

76.  The representative stated that there had been a slight improvement in
the proportion of women in political positions, and that the impact of
women in Parliament would be strengthened by the Parliamentary Women's
Caucus.  She emphasized that the implementation of affirmative action would
serve to attract the participation of more women in politics.  Women still
tended to be under-represented in senior positions in both government and
the private sector.  Namibia's first woman judge had been appointed since
the initial report was completed, and the post of Ombudsman was occupied by
a woman.

77.  The Namibian Constitution guaranteed the right of education to all
persons, and education was compulsory up to 16 years of age.  Female
enrolment had increased at every age level, and there had been a
corresponding improvement in female literacy among younger age groups. 
Teenage pregnancy, which was common, was the biggest challenge to female
educational advancement.  It was a major factor in the school drop-out rate
for girls.

78.  Sex discrimination and sexual harassment in the labour sector were
forbidden by the 1992 Labour Act.  Equal pay for equal work was a mandate
of the Act, although women currently worked in occupations that tended to
be associated with low levels of remuneration.  Rural women were the
largest demographic group in Namibia.

79.  Namibia's fertility rate was one of the highest in the world and the
Government continued to be committed to reducing that rate through public
campaigns and expanded family planning services.  Abortion was illegal,
except in cases of incest and rape and for reasons of health of the mother
or baby.  Legal abortions and infanticide were significant problems in
Namibia, but the law on abortion and sterilization was under discussion. 
There was also a high incidence of polygamy in some communities.  HIV and
AIDS were increasing at an alarming rate, especially among women, as a
result of their low social and economic status.

80.  Workshops to implement the Beijing Platform for Action were being held
nationally, and community programmes were being developed.  The Convention
and the Platform for Action were seen as complementary and of equal
importance, but she noted that the implementation of both was affected by a
lack of funds.  She reminded the Committee that Namibia had made a firm
commitment at the Fourth World Conference on Women to pay special attention
in four areas:  education, training and the girl child; women and law;
violence against women and children; and health.

81.  The representative concluded by stating that Namibia had made great
strides in improving the position of women, although it would take more
time to transform Namibia into a truly gender-equal society.  That was a
realizable objective because of the willingness of Namibian women to have
their voices heard, and the progressive realization of the guarantees in
the Constitution and the Convention, and the promises of the Platform for
Action.

Concluding comments of the Committee

     Introduction

82.  The Committee thanked the State party for its report, which was both
well-structured and contained detailed information.  It also complimented
the Director-General of the Department of Women Affairs in the Office of
the President for her lucid and frank presentation.

83.  The Committee was satisfied with the detailed analysis given in the
report, which presented a clear and frank picture of the situation of women
in Namibia.

84.  The Committee commended the Government of Namibia for the peaceful
transition to an independent State and for demonstrating general respect
for the human rights of all people in Namibia.

     Positive aspects

85.  The Committee commended the Government of Namibia for ratifying the
Convention without reservations so soon after its successful and long
struggle for independence.

86.  The Committee noted with satisfaction that non-governmental
organizations had been involved in the preparation of the report.

87.  The establishment of the Department of Women Affairs and the recent
upgrading of the Department to cabinet level were also commended by the
Committee.  The Committee noted with satisfaction the achievements of the
Department.

88.  The Committee noted with appreciation the establishment of the Law
Reform and Development Commission and the legal measures that had been put
in place following the ratification of the Convention.  It noted that they
had contributed to the impressive progress towards gender equality.

89.  The Committee welcomed the Married Persons Equality Act and looked
forward to the enactment of the proposed Children's Act.

90.  The Committee noted with satisfaction the positive developments in the
area of women in decision-making and, in particular, the appointment in
December 1996 of a woman as the first Ombudsman.

91.  The Committee commended Namibia for the establishment of women and
child abuse centres.

92.  The Committee welcomed the appointment of the first woman judge.

93.  It commended the Government for focusing on affirmative action as a
means of closing the gap in gender equality.

94.  The Committee welcomed the establishment of nine gender-sectoral
committees and commended the programme of sensitization of parliamentarians
and public officers with respect to the Convention.

     Factors and difficulties affecting the implementation of the
     Convention

95.  The Committee noted that women in Namibia continued to face persistent
discrimination which arose out of some traditional and customary laws.

96.  The Committee also identified the general lack of knowledge relating
to human and legal rights as an obstacle to the implementation of the
Convention.

97.  The Committee noted that poverty afflicted the majority of the
Namibian population and a majority of the poor were women.  It considered
that women's poverty made it difficult for them to fulfil their aspirations
as guaranteed by the Convention.

     Principal areas of concern

98.  The Committee expressed its concern that the report did not address
the Committee's general recommendations.

99.  The Committee identified as areas of concern the lack of a time-frame
in the implementation of affirmative action programmes and also the lack of
programmes to sustain the objectives and achievements of those programmes.

100. The Committee was concerned with the lack of human rights education,
as well as education for legal literacy, and advocacy programmes to achieve
de facto equality.

101. The Committee was greatly concerned about the prevalence of domestic
violence and the persistence of certain traditional practices which
reinforced stereotyped attitudes and strengthened discrimination against
women.

102. The Committee expressed concern about the fact that despite new laws,
women, in particular those in the rural areas, were unable to own land.

103. The Committee was concerned that the issue of maternity leave was
dealt with under article 4 of the Convention as it was of the view that
such a measure was not a measure of affirmative action.

104. The Committee noted with concern that the Married Persons Equality Act
did not sufficiently address discrimination in the family.

105. The Committee expressed concern that the health of prostitutes was not
taken into account and that, unlike other women, they did not have access
to health care.

106. The Committee noted with serious concern the low level of
participation of women in higher education and the high drop-out rate of
girls from the formal education system.

107. The Committee also expressed concern with respect to the current
inadequacy of the law on rape and other forms of violence against women.

108. The Committee was concerned that pregnant teenage women were punished
by expulsion from school.

109. The Committee noted with concern the incidence of discrimination
against women in the labour market.

110. The Committee was concerned about the prevalence of polygamous
marriages and the non-registration of customary marriages.

111. The Committee was also concerned about the high number of illegal
abortions in Namibia and the high rate of maternal mortality, and the fact
that the inadequacy of the existing law on abortion contributed to the
problem.

112. The Committee expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that although
the Director-General of the Department of Women Affairs had been upgraded
to cabinet level she did not have the right to vote in the Cabinet.

     Suggestions and recommendations

113. The Committee requested the State party to ensure that the Committee's
general recommendations were addressed in Namibia's next report to the
Committee.

114. The Committee stressed that the implementation of affirmative action
measures should have time-frames and should include educational and other
programmes that would sustain the objectives and achievements of existing
affirmative action programmes.

115. The Committee recommended the adoption of an integrated programme for
the full implementation of the Convention.

116. The Committee recommended that the Government intensify educational
and advocacy programmes to achieve de facto equality and design and
implement programmes that would redefine the roles of women and men in the
family.

117. The Committee recommended that the Government introduce, at all
levels, more educational programmes on human rights and legal literacy for
women.

118. The Committee recommended that the Department of Women Affairs ensure
that research was done to identify the customary laws that contravened the
letter and spirit of the Convention and that attempts be made to replace
those laws.

119. The Committee recommended that the Government ensure the effective
monitoring of the implementation of all affirmative action policies and
programmes.

120. The Committee recommended that the Government take immediate action to
combat domestic violence.  That should include such legal measures as
amending the law on rape and extending it to include marital rape.  The
Committee also recommended that the State courts have sole jurisdiction in
cases of sexual violence, and that victims be given better privacy and
protection during court proceedings.

121. The Committee emphasized the importance of measures such as improving
the economic empowerment of women, to reduce their dependence on men and
their vulnerability to domestic violence.  The Committee also recommended
that the Government introduce awareness-raising programmes for health
professionals, the police and the judiciary to improve their understanding
of the problem that violence posed for women.

122. The Committee recommended that the Government introduce measures and
programmes, including affirmative action, to increase women's participation
at all levels of the judiciary.

123. The Committee suggested that the Government should endeavour to bring
about legal change with regard to land ownership by women, especially in
rural areas.

124. Recalling its recommendations contained in general recommendation 21
in this regard, the Committee urged the Government to address the issue of
polygamous marriages.  The Department of Women Affairs should introduce an
intensive programme to discourage polygamy.

125. The Committee recommended that the Government ensure, as soon as
feasible, the registration of all customary marriages, so as to ensure that
women could enjoy all rights that accrued as a result of marriage.

126. While the Committee recognized the need to sustain traditional courts,
it urged the Government to ensure that those courts comply with the
principles of the Convention in all respects.

127. The Committee recommended that the Government of Namibia adopt the
necessary measures to review the laws containing punitive measures against
women who had undergone illegal abortions.

128. The Committee recommended that the Government continue its
collaboration with non-governmental organizations in implementing the
Convention and reporting under it.

129. The Committee strongly urged the State party to encourage political
parties in Namibia to encourage the participation of women and to take all
appropriate measures in that regard.

130. The Committee requested the Government to address in its next report
the concerns included in the present comments and to provide information on
the implementation of the Committee's general recommendations.

131. The Committee requested the wide dissemination in Namibia of these
concluding comments so as to make Namibians aware of the steps that have
been taken to ensure de facto equality for women and the further steps
required in this regard.


                   2.  Initial and second periodic reports

                                   Israel

132. The Committee considered the combined initial and second reports of
Israel (CEDAW/C/ISR/1-2) at its 350th, 351st and 353rd meetings, on 17 and
21 July 1997 (see CEDAW/C/SR.350, 351 and 353).

133. The representative of Israel indicated that her country saw the
signing and ratification of the Convention as natural and important steps
in the general process of ensuring the achievement of equality between
women and men.  She noted that Israel attached great importance to the
process of reporting to the Committee and considered the latter to be a
vehicle to achieve the advancement of women.

134. The representative observed that the compilation of the report had
afforded an opportunity to take a comprehensive view of the achievements in
and the obstacles to the advancement of women in Israel.  It had created an
institutional awareness of women's social concerns and needs. 
Non-governmental organizations had had the opportunity to offer feedback on
the report and this had led to a new forum of ongoing dialogue between
government and civil society.

135. She stated that Israel placed great importance on the situation and
status of women in society, and noted that the issue of women's status in
society had constantly been on the national agenda.  A constitutional and
normative infrastructure had been established and a continuous process of
review and passage of legislation was taking place with regard to the
status of women.  Implementation mechanisms had been established and
developed according to need.  She noted that the process applied equally to
all women in Israel - Jewish and Arab alike.

136. The representative elaborated the two parameters informing women's
status.  The first reflected the basic quality of women's lives, and the
second involved the evaluation of participation of women in public life,
the workplace, wage equity and educational opportunities.

137. She noted that discrimination against women was defined by Israel's
legal system in conformity with the definition contained in article 1 of
the Convention.  The principle of equality was understood as being
substantive and not merely formal and took into account de facto
discrimination and the importance of affirmative action.

138. Legislative developments had done much to advance the status of all
women in Israel and played an important role in educating the younger
generation and the public in general concerning the special norms adopted
for the advancement of women.  The process of instilling norms and values
of gender equality was an ongoing one, and several important bills in this
area were at different stages of the legislative process.

139. The representative described various governmental initiatives to
promote the advancement of women.  Among them were the appointment of the
Prime Minister's Adviser on the Status of Women, and the Knesset Committee
for the Advancement of the Status of Women.

140. She indicated that education was a key factor in any real and stable
change of perceptions and of gender roles.  The reduction of illiteracy
among women was encouraging and women's enrolment in universities was
greater than that of men.  Women's health was steadily improving among all
population groups.  Women's participation in the workforce was related to
educational level and family situation but women had a greater tendency to
work part time.

141. She explained that the scope of social and work-related benefits was
one of the most influential factors affecting women's economic status in
Israel.  Maternity insurance and the system of alimony payments benefited
women positively.  She noted that despite the lack of sufficient data on
the economic situation of single-parent families headed by women,
legislation had been enacted to ensure generous support.

142. The representative described the situation in Israel with regard to
marriage, age of marriage, cohabitation, child custody, property
distribution, selection of family names and new reproductive technologies. 
She stated that much progress had been made with regard to gender-based
violence in Israel.  There had been legislative developments, to which the
work of several investigative and reform committees had contributed
extensively, as well as practical developments.

143. There was a lack of concrete data and information on the issues of
prostitution and exploitation of women and the Israeli legal framework took
an abolitionist approach to prostitution.  The representative drew the
Committee's attention to the position of certain groups of women in Israeli
society, including Bedouin women and women immigrants from the former
Soviet Union and Ethiopia.

144. She stated that social patterns, gender roles and stereotyping
affected the advancement of women in any society.  Women's involvement in
the media was an example of this; the position of women vis-a`-vis the
Israeli media was inconsistent.  Although employment of women in the media
and coverage of certain women's issues were increasing, stereotyping of
women as sex objects and victims continued to some extent.

145. While there had been little progress in the advancement of women at
the national political level, women's participation in local politics was
more positive.  Women's participation at the senior levels of government
and the civil service had shown gradual improvement as well.  Following
enactment of the relevant legislation, the introduction of affirmative
action into the boards of directors of government companies and into the
civil service had contributed significantly to the advancement of women.

146. The representative concluded by drawing the Committee's attention to
the employment of women in the security and defence forces.  That
participation had received extensive attention and been the subject of
debate because of the important social role played by army service in
Israeli society.  The "glass ceiling" phenomenon could be seen in the
defence forces, with women's promotion taking, on average, nine months
longer than that of men.

Concluding comments of the Committee

     Introduction

147. The Committee thanked the State party for its very comprehensive and
frank report, which dealt with all the articles of the Convention from both
the juridical and the sociological perspectives.  It also appreciated the
high level of the delegation and complimented the representative of the
State party for her lucid presentation.

148. The Committee appreciated the fact that the report was submitted on
time and followed the Committee's guidelines.

149. The Committee was pleased that non-governmental organizations had been
given an opportunity to consider the report and that they were able to
submit supplementary reports.

150. The Committee was disturbed that all the questions put forward by
members to the representatives of Israel were not responded to in the
Government's written answers.  The Committee is of the view that response
to all the questions would have clarified issues and problems.

     Positive aspects

151. The Committee commended the fact that Israel had developed progressive
legislation as well as comprehensive programmes on violence against women
and on equal employment opportunities.

152. Although equality was not part of the basic law of Israel, the
Committee commended the fact that the Supreme Court could give effect to
the principle of equality in its judgements.

153. The Committee noted with satisfaction that most Israeli women had a
high level of education, especially at the tertiary level.

154. The Committee commended the very extensive analysis of women in the
media and the programmes to reorient society against stereotypical images
of women.

155. The Committee commended the existence of the compulsory National
Health Insurance Law of 1995, which guarantees universal access to health
care for all communities.

     Factors and difficulties affecting the implementation of the
Convention

156. The Committee considered that the fact that no basic law embodied the
principle of equality or prohibited discrimination hindered the
implementation of the Convention.

157. The Committee regretted the fact that Israel had maintained its
reservations to articles 7 (b) and 16 of the Convention.  It also regretted
the fact that women could not become religious judges and that the
religious laws that to a considerable degree govern family relations
discriminated against women.

158. The Committee considered that the persistence of conflict and violence
hindered the implementation of the Convention.  Moreover, as a consequence
of the ongoing conflict, much power was concentrated in the armed forces. 
Women, who were not represented in senior leadership in the armed forces,
were discriminated against and their perspective on peacekeeping and their
negotiating skills were not utilized.

     Principal areas of concern

159. The Committee noted with concern that the Government had not
formulated an overall plan or measures to implement the Convention and the
Beijing Platform for Action.

160. The Committee was very concerned about the fact that there was no
specific governmental machinery responsible for promoting and coordinating
policies for women.

161. The Committee was concerned about the fact that non-Jewish women had
worse living conditions than Jewish women.  They received a lower level of
education, participated less in the government service and occupied limited
decision-making posts.

162. The Committee was also concerned because non-Jewish women enjoyed
poorer health, resulting in very high maternal and infant mortality rates. 
There were also fewer employment opportunities available to them.

163. The Committee was concerned about remaining instances of polygamy,
forced marriage and genital mutilation, as well as "honour killings".

164. The Committee noted with concern that a very low percentage of women
occupied political decision-making posts and that the situation had barely
changed over the years.

165. The Committee noted with concern that a marked disparity existed
between the average earnings of women and men in many sectors and that
women were also disproportionately represented in part-time employment.

166. The Committee was concerned about the fact that many more women than
men worked in the informal sector and performed unpaid work, thereby
prospectively limiting their access to benefits associated with the formal
sector.

167. The Committee noted with concern that the public health system
allocated considerable resources to in vitro fertilization, yet
contraceptives were not free of charge.

168. The Committee was concerned about the fact that a large number of
women were arrested for prostitution.  The Committee was likewise concerned
about the large number of advertisements for sex services in daily
newspapers, which contributed significantly to the spread of prostitution.

169. The Committee was concerned because despite the existing legislation,
cases of violence against women still occurred frequently, owing in large
measure to traditional ideas of the roles of women and negative societal
attitudes towards the problem of violence against women.

     Suggestions and recommendations

170. The Committee recommended that the Government of Israel should ensure
that the Convention was implemented throughout the territory under its
jurisdiction.

171. The Government or the parliament should adopt an overall plan for the
implementation of the Convention and the Beijing Platform for Action
through specific measures and within a definite time-frame.

172. The Committee recommended that the right to equality and the
prohibition of both direct and indirect discrimination against women should
be reflected in a basic law.

173. The Committee suggested that in order to guarantee the same rights in
marriage and family relations in Israel and to comply fully with the
Convention, the Government should complete the secularization of the
relevant legislation, place it under the jurisdiction of the civil courts
and withdraw its reservations to the Convention.

174. The preamble to the Convention states that full development and the
cause of peace require the maximum participation of women on equal terms
with men in all fields.  The Committee thus recommended that all necessary
measures be taken to ensure peace with the full participation of all women,
Jewish and Christian, Muslim and Druze alike.  This was necessary to create
an environment where women could enjoy their rights fully and so that
equality of opportunities in economic and social development, especially of
rural women, could be assured.

175. The Committee looked forward to the adoption of the bill creating the
governmental machinery to be known as the "Authority on the Status of
Women" and hoped that the machinery would be given sufficient resources to
carry out its work.

176. The Committee recommended that measures to guarantee the exercise of
human rights of non-Jewish women, including those living in the rural
areas, particularly in relation to health, education and employment, should
be intensified.  Special measures should be taken to close the gap between
Arab and Jewish schools and address the higher drop-out rates of Arab and
Bedouin girls.  Adequate resources should be allocated for school
facilities and education opportunities, including scholarships.  Further,
the participation of Arab women in the civil service and in decision-making
posts should be increased.

177. The Committee recommended that the Government strengthen its efforts
and expand its actions to eliminate violence against women, especially
violence within the family, in all communities.

178. The Committee strongly suggested that the Government of Israel take
necessary steps to eliminate practices which could not be justified on any
grounds, such as forced marriages, female genital mutilation, honour
killings and polygamy.

179. The Committee recommended that satellite accounts should be used to
evaluate the value of unpaid work and that they should be incorporated into
the national accounts.

180. The Committee recommended that some of the resources allocated to the
treatment of infertility should be used to study its causes and its
prevention.

181. The Committee recommended that public health services supply free and
accessible contraceptives.

182. The Committee requested the Government of Israel to address the
following issues in its next report:  the status of disabled women; how
indirect discrimination in the workplace is dealt with; the leave
entitlement of mothers and fathers for the birth of a child or when they
have young children, and the actual use made of such entitlement; the
impact on the social roles of women and men of programmes aimed at changing
stereotypes; programmes for gender sensitization of the judiciary, police
and health professionals; and financial support provided by the Government
for all non-governmental organizations in the territory of Israel.

183. The Committee requested the wide dissemination in Israel of these
concluding comments so as to make individuals aware of the steps that have
been taken to ensure de facto equality for women and the further steps
required in this regard.

                                 Luxembourg

184. The Committee considered the initial and second periodic reports of
Luxembourg (CEDAW/C/LUX/1 and 2) at its 338th, 339th and 344th meetings,
on 9 and 11 July 1997 (see CEDAW/C/SR.338, 339 and 344).

185. The reports were introduced by the Director of the Ministry for the
Advancement of Women, who thanked the Committee for considering the reports
so soon after their submission.  She informed the Committee that Luxembourg
had recently assumed the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the
European Union and would put emphasis on the equality of women and men
during its term, in particular in the context of the follow-up to the
Fourth World Conference on Women and in the negotiations on the expansion
of the European Union to include the countries of Central Europe as well as
in a European conference on organization of work.

186. In its "Action Plan 2000", the national action plan to implement the
Beijing Platform for Action, the Government of Luxembourg had committed
itself to the withdrawal of the two reservations to the Convention.  The
reservation to article 7, concerning the hereditary transmission of the
crown of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to the oldest male descendant, might
be removed in the near future, as the Sovereign had agreed, in principle,
to a ministerial proposal to change article 3 of the National Constitution
to that effect.  Attempts to withdraw the reservation to article 16
relating to choice of surname of children would meet with strong
opposition, as the tradition whereby children took their father's surname
was deeply rooted and long-standing.

187. The representative noted that difficulties had been encountered in
attempts to enlist women under their own names on electoral lists and not,
as had been the custom, under their husband's surname.  The Act of 18
August 1995 had established full equality of women and men with regard to
names on electoral lists.

188. The Committee was informed about the various steps being taken to
establish a national machinery, as had been requested by the women's
movement for over 30 years.  Initially, a service within the Ministry of
the Family and Solidarity had dealt with the advancement of women.  In
1995, the creation of the Ministry for the Advancement of Women had given
women and men the appropriate institutional mechanism, separate from family
policy, to ensure equal rights and equal opportunities for both sexes.

189. The representative outlined the three priorities of action of the
Ministry:  mainstreaming of gender concerns; education, training and
employment; and social policy.  In the field of mainstreaming, the Action
Plan 2000 described measures to be taken in the short, medium and long
term.  An effort had been made to mainstream gender concerns into education
and training, sustainable development, and development assistance to offer
gender training to the civil service.  The National Council of Luxembourg
Women had initiated a major strategy on mainstreaming gender equality,
notably by inviting local communities to designate focal points for the
advancement of women and to set up commissions.

190. The representative pointed out that, in the field of education,
training and employment, the first step was to change mentalities among all
members of society and that that should start at an early stage.  Various
partners at the community level were involved in combating sex-role
stereotypes, including teachers' and parents' associations and
non-governmental organizations.  The second step was to promote gender
equality in the workplace.  Laws on sexual harassment and the designation
of gender focal points in the private sector had been elaborated.  The
Government also intended to designate gender focal points in the civil
service.  Discrimination in the workplace persisted, however, with women
earning only 70 per cent of the salary of their male counterparts.

191. Referring to social policy, the Director stressed that the major
concern of her Ministry was guaranteed individual social insurance for all
women.  A successful campaign had been launched, targeting girls and young
women aged from  12 to 21 years, to combat violence against women, offering
information, shelter and counselling.  She informed the Committee that
Luxembourg would take the initiative, including at the European and
international levels, to combat trafficking in and sexual exploitation of
women.  Specific measures with regard to housing, guidance and
administration had been taken to integrate migrant women into society.

192. The representative noted that equality between women and men was not
yet a de facto reality in Luxembourg and that it was necessary to raise the
awareness of men about their responsibilities.  A change of mentality and
behaviour was needed.  That would be a long and complex process involving
all actors in society.

Concluding comments of the Committee

     Introduction

193. The Committee welcomed the first and second periodic reports of
Luxembourg, which followed the Committee's guidelines.

194. The Committee expressed its satisfaction for the excellent
presentation of the representative of the Government of Luxembourg and
noted that Luxembourg currently held the Presidency of the European Union. 
The Committee thanked the representative for her explanation of the
historical and cultural context of the country and for the additional
information provided in the replies to the questions of experts, in
particular with regard to policy and the direction of the national action
plan for the implementation of the Convention.

     Positive aspects

195. The Committee welcomed the separation of the Ministry for the
Advancement of Women from the Ministry of the Family and noted that the
Ministry aimed to promote the mainstreaming of gender in all policies and
programmes of the Government and local authorities and thereby recognized
gender as a fundamental dimension in all areas of private and public life.

196. The Committee noted with appreciation the preparation of the national
action plan as a follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women.  It
commended the action plan, which included the new governmental policy for
cooperation with developing countries and the provision of funds for the
advancement of women.

197. The Committee welcomed the programme of the Ministry for the
Advancement of Women to disseminate the Convention widely and in particular
noted its new publication for schools and training courses.

198. The Committee also welcomed the new measures to combat violence
against women and the newly established facilities for young women victims
of sexual violence.

199. The Committee further welcomed the permanent contact and consultations
the Ministry for the Advancement of Women had established with
non-governmental organizations, which had facilitated the elaboration of
the action plan and equality policy in general.

     Factors and difficulties affecting the implementation of the
Convention

200. The Committee noted that the reservations made by the State party to
articles 7 and 16 (g) impeded the full implementation of the provisions of
the Convention.  Although there had been attempts to remove the reservation
to article 7, the Committee found it difficult to understand why greater
efforts had not been made to address the reservation to article 16 (g).

     Principal areas of concern

201. The Committee expressed concern at the fact that a clear definition of
the principle of equality between the sexes was not expressly enshrined in
the Constitution.  It noted that failure to include an express
constitutional provision required legislative amendment on a case-by-case
basis to ensure equality in each sector.

202. Insofar as the implementation of article 11 of the Convention was
concerned, the Committee noted with concern the persistence of
discrimination, with the majority of women in part-time jobs and the
evident disparities in treatment between the public and private sectors.

203. The Committee expressed concern at the lack of sex disaggregated
statistical information in the fields of labour, health, prostitution and
rural women.  It noted that that impeded assessment of the progress in the
implementation of the Convention over time.

204. The Committee expressed concern about the fact that, although a
constitutional review was currently under way, there was no information as
to when the principle of equality would be discussed.

205. The Committee expressed its concern about the persistence of gender
disparities, in particular in labour conditions, job evaluation and
gender-based job insecurity and with regard to the evident discrimination
women suffered in the private sector.

206. The Committee was concerned about the fact that the State party had
not yet made use of article 4 of the Convention to ensure equitable
participation of women in the conduct of public affairs and, generally, in
the economic, social and cultural life of the country.  Additionally, the
Committee regretted that effective measures to overcome attitudes based on
traditional roles, which hindered equality between men and women, had not
yet been adopted.

207. The Committee noted with concern the high level of violence against
women, in particular domestic violence, and regretted the delay in adoption
of a law on sexual harassment.

208. The Committee was concerned at the existing national provisions
concerning the implementation of article 6 of the Convention, in particular
the lack of effective measures for the protection and rehabilitation of
women prostitutes.

209. The Committee was also concerned by the lack of gender analysis of
women's health needs, in particular in relation to their reproductive
rights.

210. The Committee was deeply concerned at the existing legislation on
abortion, which penalized women.  It noted that, at the same time, no
sufficient mechanisms to prevent abortion, including free distribution of
contraceptives, were in place.

211. The Committee was concerned about the fact that no adequate steps had
been taken to ensure that the high number of women foreigners in Luxembourg
were able to take advantage of the guarantees in the Convention.

212. The Committee expressed its concern in respect of restrictions on
women in relation to remarriage after divorce. 

     Suggestions and recommendations

213. The Committee strongly suggested the introduction of steps towards the
removal of the reservations to articles 7 and 16 (g) as promised in the
oral presentation of the representative of the Government.  The Committee
encouraged the Ministry for the Advancement of Women in its efforts to that
end and requested the Government to keep it informed of developments on the
matter.

214. The Committee urged that constitutional reforms include the
incorporation of the principle of equality in the text of the Constitution.

215. The Committee suggested the introduction of temporary special measures
to strengthen the participation of women in the political, economic and
social life of the country.

216. In the light of recent achievements in some other countries of the
European Union in the implementation of article 7 of the Convention, the
Committee recommended that the Government examine strategies to ensure the
better representation of women in decision-making posts in all fields.

217. The Committee recommended that the Ministry for the Advancement of
Women initiate the adoption of measures aimed at eliminating the gap
between the treatment of women and men in the public and private sectors. 
The Committee further recommends that the Government examine the gap
between women and men in the labour force, particularly in the context of
part-time work.

218. The Committee recommended that concrete measures be taken to implement
fully the conclusions of The Hague Ministerial Declaration, which are in
the spirit of article 6 of the Convention.

219. In relation to the removal of the stereotyped attitudes and
perceptions of the role of women in society and to raise the awareness of
men of their family responsibilities, the Committee suggested that
educational programmes in schools be reoriented in accordance with
article 5 of the Convention.

220. In the field of violence against women, the Committee recalled its
general recommendation 19 (eleventh session), on violence,1 and suggested
that the Ministry take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to
combat the sexual abuse of women, in particular within the family, so as to
ensure effective protection of women against domestic and other forms of
violence.

221. The Committee emphasized the need for the adoption of effective
measures to prevent abortion and for a review of the social insurance
benefits system so as to allow women to have access to free contraceptive
methods.

222. The Committee recommended that an analysis of women's health needs be
undertaken and that awareness-raising campaigns on mammography continue so
as to ensure that more women made use of that service.

223. The Committee recommended that legislative steps be taken to remove
outdated restricting women's right to remarry after divorce, as well as
those that classify children as "legitimate/natural" or "illegitimate", a
distinction that is in the spirit of neither the present Convention nor the
Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Luxembourg is also a party.

224. The Committee also recommended that the action plan include provisions
for the better integration of refugee and migrant women into the social and
economic life of Luxembourg.

225. The Committee encouraged the State party to pursue and develop further
its policy of disseminating information and increasing awareness of the
Convention.  It recommended the integration of the provisions of the
Convention and women's rights into the training curricula of professional
groups, such as teachers, law enforcement and correctional officers,
judges, social workers and health personnel, who deal with women.

226. The Committee requested the Government, when preparing its third
report, to take into account the Committee's general recommendations, the
present concluding comments and the issues addressed during the
constructive dialogue with the Committee at its seventeenth session.  The
report should, in particular, include detailed information on the extent to
which each right protected under the Convention is enjoyed in practice and
should refer to specific factors and difficulties that might impede the
application of the Convention.  The Committee also requested the Government
to include in its next report statistical data disaggregated by sex.

227. The Committee also requested the wide dissemination in Luxembourg of
these concluding comments so as to make individuals aware of the steps that
have been taken to ensure de facto equality for women and the further steps
required in this regard.


               3.  Initial, second and third periodic reports

                             Antigua and Barbuda

228. The Committee considered the combined initial, second and third
periodic reports of Antigua and Barbuda (CEDAW/C/ANT/1-3) at its 340th,
341st and 348th meetings, on 10 and 16 July 1997 (see CEDAW/C/SR.340, 341
and 348).

229. In her introductory statement, the representative of the State party
indicated that Antigua and Barbuda had become party to the Convention on
31 August 1989, at which time the Convention had been fully incorporated in
domestic law.  She noted that the report before the Committee had been
submitted in 1994 and that significant developments in implementation had
occurred since then.  Accordingly, an addendum had been submitted to the
Committee to update the report.

230. The representative indicated that the Women's Desk had been upgraded
in 1985 to a Directorate of Women's Affairs, which had responsibility for
promoting the social, political and economic interests of women and their
development.  Pursuant to the Beijing Platform for Action, the Directorate
had identified as priority areas of concern the elimination of violence
against women, education and training, the eradication of poverty, the
encouragement of more women to become involved in the decision-making
process and the expansion of general health and reproductive health
programmes mainly targeted at young women.  To fulfil international and
regional commitments, the Directorate's plans to mainstream gender in all
government departments/divisions included a training workshop involving
heads of ministries, local government officers, non-governmental
organizations and heads of department.  It had also revised its national
Plan of Action for Gender Affairs.  The Directorate had recently organized
a forum to publicize the Convention and was planning to introduce courses
to encourage women to enter politics and decision-making.

231. The representative noted that several major legal reforms had been
introduced or were currently pending or planned.  The Sexual Offences Act
1995 and the Maintenance Act were now in force.  The family (protection
against domestic violence) bill, which would provide for protection orders
and orders with regard to the occupation of the matrimonial home, would be
debated during 1997 and an equal opportunity act would be introduced in the
near future.

232.  The representative informed the Committee that sex-role stereotyping
remained a problem in Antigua and Barbuda.  Within the education system,
the need to reduce the stereotyping of roles was accepted.  For that
reason, both sexes were exposed to similar disciplines and training within
the system.  However, there was a realization that socialization within the
home and wider society also influenced boys and girls to choose traditional
skills even when offered a wider range of options.  Within the school
system, boys were more exposed to technical skills and girls to domestic
skills.  The Ministries of Education, Health and Labour offered family life
education programmes to promote attitudes of equal responsibility of women
and men in the care and socialization of children.  Domestic violence,
sexual harassment, sexual abuse, battery and rape were prevalent and rarely
reported as many men considered such conduct acceptable.  The
representative noted that a 24-hour domestic violence hotline was scheduled
to be introduced in August 1997 by the Directorate, in collaboration with a
number of non-governmental organizations and the private sector.

233. The representative informed the Committee that plans currently in
place to allow pregnant teenagers to continue their education included
working with fathers as appropriate and the provision of functional
literacy skills programmes, skills training, parenting classes and family
life education, which involved family planning and HIV/AIDS education.  

234. The representative indicated that although women constituted the
majority of voters in Antigua and Barbuda, the political participation of
women remained low and strategies and plans of action would be introduced
to reverse that.

235. The representative informed the Committee that there was a high rate
of perinatal mortality among women in Antigua and Barbuda.  She noted that
abortion was illegal in the country, although termination of pregnancy on
medical grounds was permitted.

236. The Committee was told that women comprised a significant part of the
agricultural population in Antigua and Barbuda.  Although they were not
subject to direct discrimination, farms operated by women farmers were
usually less than half the size of those of their male counterparts and
women farmers very often had multiple responsibilities.  The Directorate of
Women's Affairs provided training and support to women farmers.

237. The representative indicated that the Divorce Act 1997 provided
irretrievable breakdown as the sole ground for divorce and allowed for
divorce to be sought after one year of marriage.  In certain circumstances,
men could now be convicted of sexual assault against their wives.  The
representative noted, however, that women in de facto relationships
suffered legal disadvantages.

238. The representative reiterated the strong commitment of Antigua and
Barbuda to the elimination of discrimination against women and the
implementation of the Convention and the Beijing Platform for Action.  She
stated that that commitment had been manifested in the preparations for and
participation in the Fourth World Conference on Women, as well as in the
preparations for the presentation of Antigua and Barbuda's report before
the Committee.    

Concluding comments of the Committee

     Introduction

239. The Committee welcomed the fact that Antigua and Barbuda had ratified
the Convention without reservations.  The Committee commended the State
party for its report, given that it was a small island State with limited
resources. 

240. The Committee also commended the State party on its frank and full
presentation and the submission of the addendum to its report, which,
although presented late in the day, together with the representative's
statement, provided a complete picture of the implementation of the
Convention in Antigua and Barbuda.  The Committee was gratified with the
obvious political will in the country with regard to the advancement of
women.

241. However, the Committee was disappointed that the report provided no
information with regard to the implementation of the Platform for Action
and the measures that had been taken by the State party to address the
general recommendations of the Committee.

     Positive aspects

242. The Committee commended Antigua and Barbuda on the early establishment
of the Women's Desk soon after attaining independence, and its later
upgrading and expansion to the Directorate of Women's Affairs.  The
Committee also commended the Government on its intention to upgrade that
office further, to a ministry, when a woman was elected to office.

243. The Committee welcomed the introduction of important legislation,
including the Equal Opportunity Act, the Divorce Act and the Sexual
Offences Act.  It looked forward to the results of the introduction of the
equal pay and domestic violence bills and noted with appreciation the use
by Antigua and Barbuda of model legislation developed by the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM).

244. The Committee complimented the State party on the successful measures
it had taken to reduce the birth rate.

245. The Committee noted with satisfaction the introduction of gender
management systems.

246. The Committee applauded the assurances made by the President that the
inequalities in power-sharing at the highest decision-making levels would
be redressed.

247. The Committee commended the introduction of the domestic violence
hotline and related support services.

248. The Committee welcomed the introduction of measures to address teenage
pregnancies and the focus on the situation of the girl child.

     Factors and difficulties affecting the implementation of the
     Convention

249. The Committee noted that Antigua and Barbuda, being a small island
State, seemed to be handicapped by a lack of financial and human resources
in the compilation of statistical data, which might be an obstacle in fully
implementing the Convention.

     Principal areas of concern

250. The Committee was concerned about the fact that few measures had been
taken to increase the political participation of women.  It noted the
absence of women in Parliament and the lack of measures to increase the
participation of women in public life generally.

251. The Committee was concerned about the lack of integrated measures to
address violence against women.

252. The Committee noted the lack of decision-making power of the
Directorate for Women's Affairs.

253. The Committee was concerned about the lack of information in the
report on prostitution and trafficking in women.

254. The Committee was also concerned about the continuing selection by
female students of stereotypical subjects.  It was also concerned about the
greater exposure of girls within the school system to domestic skills and
boys to technical skills.

255. The Committee was concerned about the low level of occupational
achievement by educated women and male dominance in technical and
professional fields, on the one hand, and the concentration of women in the
lower-paid service sector, including the tourist industry, on the other.

256. The Committee noted that women's concerns had not yet been integrated
into the national five-year plan.

257. The Committee was concerned about the situation of rural women and
their access to credit.

258. The Committee was also concerned about the continuing illegality of
abortion, which would lead to unsafe abortions.  It also noted with concern
the lack of family planning education programmes and the fact that
contraceptives were not covered by medical benefits schemes. 

259. The Committee was deeply concerned about the high level of teenage
pregnancy.

260. The Committee expressed concern about the high rate of perinatal
mortality.

261. The Committee noted the lack of special measures for women with
HIV/AIDS, as well as the absence of measures to address drug addiction
among women.  The Committee expressed the hope that more information would
be given about the problem in the next report.

262. The Committee expressed concern about the position of women in common
law relationships.

     Suggestions and recommendations

263. The Committee recommended that the Directorate of Women's Affairs be
elevated to a higher rank and thus upgraded and strengthened.

264. The Committee suggested that gender issues be integrated into the
five-year plan.

265. The Committee suggested that the Government of Antigua and Barbuda
utilize article 4 of the Convention in accelerating de facto equality for
women. 

266. The Committee recommended that the Government of Antigua and Barbuda
encourage greater participation of women in politics by introducing
temporary special measures.

267. The Committee suggested that Antigua and Barbuda introduce appropriate 
policies and programmes for sex education and family planning education.

268. The Committee recommended that Antigua and Barbuda ratify
International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 100 concerning Equal
Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value and take the
necessary measures for its implementation.

269. The Committee recommended the introduction of programmes to encourage
men to take account of their family responsibilities.

270. The Committee noted that culture is a positive vehicle for influencing
the advancement of women, and suggested that cultural art forms be used as
a vehicle to promote respect for women.  The Committee also suggested that
the media be used to promote positive attitudes towards women.

271. The Committee urged the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to include
in its next report fuller information on the remaining obstacles to the
full enjoyment of women's human rights, particularly in relation to
article 6 of the Convention and in regard to the legal and economic
position of women in common law relationships.

272. The Committee requested the wide dissemination in Antigua and Barbuda
of these concluding comments so as to make individuals aware of the steps
that have been taken to ensure de facto equality for women and the further
steps required in this regard.


                    4.  Second and third periodic reports

                                  Argentina

273. The Committee considered the second and third periodic reports of
Argentina (CEDAW/C/ARG/2 and Add.1 and 2 and CEDAW/C/ARG/3) at its 355th
and 356th meetings, on 22 July 1997 (see CEDAW/C/SR.355 and 356).

274. In introducing the reports, the representative of Argentina pointed
out that the country had undergone profound changes since the National
Government had taken office in 1989.  During that time, programmes on
health, education and social welfare had been transferred to the provinces
in order to strengthen the federal system.

275. The reform of the National Constitution in 1994 was an important step
towards the achievement of equality for Argentine women.  Most
international human rights treaties, including the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, now have
constitutional status and are therefore considered complementary to the
rights guaranteed in the text of the Constitution.  Furthermore, the new
Constitution promotes affirmative action in order to achieve de jure and de
facto equality.  It also reaffirms the need for special security
regulations to cover women during pregnancy and lactation.

276. The representative indicated that the National Women's Council had
developed a strong policy for monitoring the application of the Quotas Act,
which had led even to the presentation of legal actions demanding that
lists of political parties which did not comply with the requirements of
the law be declared non-official.

277. The representative stressed the high status of the National Women's
Council, which was at the ministerial level and reported directly to the
President.  The Council had recently focused on decentralizing its
structure by strengthening the machinery of the provinces.  Thus far,
provincial councils for women had been established in 9 of the 24
provinces.  The National Council also provided technical assistance and
training to support the machinery at the provincial level.

278. Regarding the status of women in the labour market, the National
Women's Council had established close cooperation with the Ministry of
Labour and Social Security, aimed at promoting women in the labour force.

279. To disseminate information on the rights of women, the National
Women's Council had distributed 35,000 free copies of a bimonthly magazine
and a CD-ROM containing information on the national and international
legislation in the field of women, including the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Beijing
Platform for Action.

280. The representative informed the Committee about measures taken to
prevent violence in the family and to assist the victims of violence. 
Special centres for information and advice and permanent telephone services
had been established.  An agreement between the National Women's Council
and the Ministry of Justice had proposed a training programme for
councillors and officials who deal with victims of violence.  Together with
the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the National Women's Council
had launched a national training programme on violence against women.

281. The representative stated that, at all educational levels, women
constituted more than 50 per cent of the students.  The Ministry of
Education and Culture had established a special entity in charge of women's
affairs.  Its activities included the revision of curricula, training of
staff in the provinces and a research competition relating to women in the
educational system.

282. The representative indicated that women's health had improved
throughout the last decade.  The life expectancy of women increasingly
exceeded that of men and maternal mortality rates had gone down.  The
Ministry of Health had launched training programmes to promote women's
health issues.

283. To support rural women, a project providing training and credit
facilities for women farmers was set up in 1989.

284. The Secretariat of Natural Resources had declared its commitment to
including a gender perspective in all programmes and policies, as requested
in the Beijing Platform for Action.

285. The representative informed the Committee that measures had been taken
for the full implementation of the integrated system of retirement pensions
of housewives approved by Law 24.828.  Furthermore, bills had been
presented to the National Congress to regulate labour relations concerning
domestic employees and their retirement system.

286. The representative concluded by stating that legal measures were in
preparation to ensure that women received alimony; a bill creating a
national register of those in default of alimony payments had already been
passed by the House of Representatives and was pending in the Senate.

Concluding comments of the Committee

     Introduction

287. The Committee expressed its appreciation for the detailed responses
provided by the Government of Argentina to all the questions sent in
advance, as well as the updating of the information contained in the second
and third periodic reports which the delegation had provided during their
presentation.

288. The Committee was very appreciative of the fact that the delegation
had reiterated the firm stance taken by the Government, as part of
democratization, regarding its willingness to continue to develop a
political ideology of equality for women and to ensure the full
implementation of the Convention.

     Positive aspects

289. The Committee welcomed the consolidation of democracy in Argentina.

290. The Committee commended the Government for granting the Convention a
normative status on a par with the Constitution.

291. The Committee noted with satisfaction that the Constitution recognized
the competence of the National Congress to adopt affirmative-action laws so
as to guarantee equality of opportunity and treatment.

292. The Committee applauded the increase in the number of women
parliamentarians, as a result of the effective application of the Quota
Act.

293. The Committee applauded the constitutional recognition of the right of
persons affected, of the High Commissioner and of associations to take
speedy amparo proceedings against acts or omissions that harmed or
threatened rights recognized by the Constitution.

294. The Committee also noted with satisfaction the creation of the Federal
Women's Council and the National Women's Council, organs entrusted with the
task of promoting and coordinating policies of equality.

     Factors and difficulties affecting the implementation of the
Convention

295. The Committee expressed concern that women had been adversely affected
by the economic reforms and by the amendments to the labour and social-
security laws adopted recently.

296. The Committee was concerned about the persistence of stereotypes with
regard to the social roles of women and men.

     Principal areas of concern

297. The Committee noted that reform of the Penal Code, which would bring
it into line with the provisions of the Convention, was still pending.

298. The Committee expressed concern at the fact that the percentage of
women pursuing technical careers continued to be low.

299. The Committee was concerned because the reports of the Government of
Argentina lacked data and analysis concerning the situation of women
subjected to slavery and exploitation for the purposes of prostitution.

300. The Committee was concerned about the very low number of women
occupying managerial posts in the private sector.

301. The Committee was concerned about the fact that the rate of
unemployment for women (20.3 per cent) was five percentage points higher
than that for men (15.7 per cent).

302. The Committee noted with concern that there were no regulations
governing the labour relations of domestic employees.

303. The Committee expressed concern at the fact that there were no
regulations to penalize sexual harassment in the workplace in the private
sector.

304. The Committee was concerned about the fact that, despite economic and
social development in Argentina, maternal mortality and morbidity due to
childbirth and abortion remained high.

305. The Committee was concerned about women in rural areas having less
satisfactory living conditions than those in urban areas.

     Suggestions and recommendations

306. The Committee recommended that the Penal Code be reformed as soon as
possible to bring it into line with the provisions of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, its general
recommendations and the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention,
Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women.

307. The Committee suggested that the Government's plans for equality
should be pursued and strengthened and that their results should be
evaluated in a more systematic way.  Efforts to that end should be
reflected in the next periodic report.

308. The Committee recommended that programmes designed to eliminate
stereotyping of the social roles of women and men should be sustained and
reinforced.  Efforts should be made to increase the number of women
pursuing technical careers and occupying positions considered to be a male
preserve, and to ensure that men share with women the task of caring for
the children.

309. The Committee recommended that services for the care of young children
who had not yet begun compulsory schooling should be increased and
regulated.

310. The Committee suggested that programmes to increase awareness among
the police, judges and health-care professionals concerning the gravity of
all forms of violence against women should be maintained and strengthened.

311. The Committee requested the Government of Argentina to include in its
next report legal and sociological information relating to article 6 of the
Convention.

312. The Committee requested the Government of Argentina to provide
information on measures taken to avoid, in both the public and the private
sectors, discrimination in access to employment and to enforce ILO
Conventions No. 100 concerning Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers
for Work of Equal Value and No. 156 concerning Workers with Family
Responsibilities.

313. The Committee suggested that labour relations of domestic employees
should be regulated.

314. The Committee recommended that sexual harassment occurring in the
workplace in the private sector should be penalized.

315. The Committee suggested that, in accordance with its general
recommendation 17 (tenth session)2 and with the Beijing Platform for Action,
the Government of Argentina should place a value on unremunerated work and
include it in national accounts by means of satellite accounts.

316. The Committee recommended that sex-disaggregated statistics relating
to education, employment and social security should be supplemented, in
particular by including the number of teachers at the various levels of the
education system; the number of students receiving grants; part-time work;
the number of open-ended contracts and those of a specific duration;
average pay; and average retirement pension.

317. The Committee recommended that programmes designed to promote
employment of women, particularly young women, should be intensified.

318. The Committee suggested that increased measures of all types should be
taken to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity.

319. The Committee recommended that legislation which penalized mothers who
had abortions should be reviewed.

320. The Committee recommended the strengthening of programmes and services
directed towards rural women.

321. The Committee requested the Government of Argentina to disseminate
these comments widely throughout Argentina, so as to make individuals aware
of the measures that have been taken to implement the Convention and the
remaining steps required to achieve de facto equality for women.



                                    Italy

322. The Committee considered the second and third periodic reports of
Italy (CEDAW/C/ITA/2 and 3) at its 346th and 347th meetings, on 15 July
1997 (see CEDAW/C/SR.346 and 347).

323. In introducing the reports, the representative of Italy stated that
Italy's basic strategies with respect to the advancement of women were
mainstreaming and empowerment, gender difference being perceived as a
resource rather than a disadvantage.  She noted that women in Italy were
now seeking freedom, independence and personal development and were no
longer willing to be constrained in stereotypical social and family roles.

324. The representative noted that Italian women had reached high levels in
education and were increasingly part of the workforce.  She indicated that,
paradoxically, women's increased employment was manifested in the high
unemployment rate among women, with women no longer content to revert to
their traditional role as housewife.

325. The representative stated that regrettably men's culture and the basic
structures of society had not changed at the same pace as women's and that
men had sometimes actively opposed women's empowerment.

326. The representative pointed out that basic guidelines for government
action for the advancement of women were outlined in the Directive of the
Prime Minister adopted on 7 March 1997.  The Directive, which was aimed at
all levels of public administration, both national and local, had been
formulated after extensive consultation and parliamentary debate, and
mandated all cabinet members to implement the Beijing Platform for Action.

327. The representative informed the Committee that Italy was now going
through a period of welfare reform, as well as convergence measures to join
the European Monetary Union.  She noted that those reforms had the capacity
to affect women negatively and for that reason measures to mainstream a
gender perspective into welfare reform were essential and were being taken
in Italy.

328. The representative drew attention to the measures that had been
introduced in Italy to reduce working hours and to create employment,
including community- based strategies and the encouragement of
entrepreneurship among women, for example by the facilitation of soft
loans.

329. The representative indicated that the burden of caring
responsibilities in Italian society still fell mainly on women, although
there was evidence that men were now taking on their responsibilities in
that regard.  She made clear that government policies and measures were
being introduced to reinforce that change in perspective, including the
creation of opportunities for childcare, facilitated by tax credits and
incentives for non-profit organizations.  In addition, draft legislation on
parental leave, as well as measures to provide for flexible work patterns,
were being introduced.  The representative also noted the innovation of
time banks, mostly managed by women, which allowed for the exchange of
skills and services in communities.

330. The representative informed the Committee that draft legislation to
address violence against women in the home had now been prepared and that a
Commission had been established to investigate allegations of torture,
including rape, perpetrated by Italian soldiers during the 1993 peace
mission to Somalia.  She noted that Italian women had actively participated
in peace missions in the Middle East, the former Yugoslavia and Albania and
the entry of women into the Italian armed forces had been an opportunity to
redefine the role of the armed forces in the country.

331. The representative indicated that women remained under-represented in
decision-making positions and that steps were being taken to address that
issue via approaches aimed at empowering women generally.  She noted that
women were now well represented in decision-making at the local and
municipal levels; in particular, women were particularly well represented
in municipalities in the south, including Sicily.

332. The representative informed the Committee that educational campaigns,
based on the model of a multicultural society, to address racism and
xenophobia had been introduced in Italy.  She noted that it was not enough
to educate the next generation, but that efforts must be made to enable
people to learn from each other.

333. The representative concluded by stating that although much remained to
be done to implement the Convention in Italy, formal equality had been
achieved.  Efforts were still required to achieve substantive equality, but
she was confident that the combination of the mainstreaming and empowerment
strategies would reach that goal.  In that regard she stressed that
feminism and the women's movement had already transformed Italian society
and women's empowerment would lead to further positive change.

Concluding comments of the Committee

     Introduction

334. The Committee expressed its appreciation to the Government of Italy
for its high-level delegation headed by the Minister for Equal
Opportunities, which it considered an indication of the State party's
commitment to the Convention and its appreciation of the work of the
Committee.

335. The Committee noted with satisfaction the second and third reports of
Italy, which were frank, extensive and detailed.  Both reports,
particularly the third, exhibited an imaginative and forward-looking policy
approach and, together with the oral presentation, explained the logic
behind government policies and priorities.  Nonetheless, the Committee
expressed disappointment that the third report had not been submitted until
a late stage thereby precluding its close examination by all members in
advance.

336. The Committee was gratified by the excellent oral presentation and the
answers to its questions, which were thought-provoking and responded very
sensitively to the details and nuances of those questions.  The oral
presentation, moreover, allowed for reflection on the notion of gender
equality as well as presenting the full statistical picture regarding
women's position in Italian society.

     Positive aspects

337. The Committee welcomed the establishment by the present Government of
the Ministry of Equal Opportunities as a coordinating ministry and
expressed  appreciation for the escalated efforts of that office for gender
mainstreaming in the legal, institutional and social aspects of life in
Italy.  In that respect it especially commended the 7 March Directive of
the Prime Minister to focus on gender issues across a wide spectrum of
activities.

338. The Committee noted with appreciation the consistent efforts of the
Government of Italy to enact legislation against discrimination.  In this
respect it welcomed the introduction of the recent draft Domestic Violence
Act into the Parliament and evaluated this as complementary to the Violence
Act of 1996.  It welcomed those initiatives as demonstrations of the
Government's will to ensure the protection of the human rights of women and
combat all kinds of violence directed against them.

339. The Committee welcomed the gender-sensitization and awareness-raising
efforts of the Government, aimed at the elimination of xenophobia and
racism in Italian society.  The Committee was pleased to note the promotion
of the role of women as peacekeepers in different parts of the world.  In
that regard the Committee noted with satisfaction the commitment made, and
the steps taken, to confront acts of violence against women allegedly
perpetrated by Italian soldiers during peacekeeping missions.

340. The Committee noted with satisfaction the intentions and efforts of
the Ministry of Equal Opportunities to ensure gender mainstreaming in the
forthcoming welfare reform by moving the focus from the "male breadwinner
regime" to overcome the injustice faced by women and to respond better to
the needs of the elderly, particularly women.

341. The Committee welcomed the remarkable gains made by Italian women in
education and occupational fields, which had significantly enhanced women's
economic independence and contributed to their de facto equality in many
respects.

342. The Committee welcomed the Government's efforts to promote
entrepreneurship among women through provision of credit and via monitoring
and coordination of the activities of different public and private agencies
in that field.

343. The Committee acknowledged the progressive and humane provisions of
Italy's immigration law, and particularly appreciated those provisions of
immigration legislation that were protective of the human rights of
immigrant women.

     Factors and difficulties affecting the implementation of the
Convention      
344. The Committee noted the persistence of significant cultural, social
and economic differences and inequalities between the north and the south
as major impediments to the full implementation of the Convention to
achieve de facto equality in Italian society.

345. The Committee considered that the feminization of poverty, indicated
by data showing that over 60 per cent of families headed by women were
under the poverty line, constituted a serious obstacle to the full
implementation of the Convention in Italy.

     Principal areas of concern

346. The Committee expressed concern with regard to the inadequacy of
efforts to combat stereotypes through education and other public means.  It
was deeply concerned that no substantial initiative had been taken in Italy
to rid textbooks and teaching materials of stereotypes and/or towards
making women and their contributions to history and society more visible
and apparent.

347. The Committee expressed its concern about the persistence of
patriarchal norms and stereotypes in Italian society and noted with
particular concern the relative lack of attention to that matter in
governmental policies and by governmental officials.  The State party's
attitudes and actions aimed at "utilizing women's own resources" were
viewed by the Committee as potentially reinforcing and glorifying
stereotypical roles of women, thereby impeding the realization of de facto
equality.

348. The Committee noted with deep concern that the presence of women in
politics and decision-making positions remained very limited and that
political participation had fallen in recent years.  Emphasizing the
importance of the presence of women in such positions, the Committee was
concerned that the Government's opinion of the adoption of numerical goals
and quotas as unnecessary had contributed to that situation.

349. The Committee was also concerned about the lack of programmes to
sensitize the public, particularly the police, the judiciary and health
professionals, to the conditions and needs of victims of domestic violence. 
The Committee had expressed serious concern that in the absence of such
measures the anti-discrimination laws, as well as laws on violence against
women, would not be able to combat effectively indirect discrimination, or
ensure accurate reporting and rigorous prosecution of all forms of violence
against women.

350. The Committee was concerned about the lack of sex-disaggregated data
relating to part-time work, and underlined the importance of close
monitoring of the subject by, inter alia, keeping up to date sex-
disaggregated statistics so as to determine the number of women occupied in
part-time employment, which, when their number was disproportionate, was a
factor that contributed to indirect discrimination.

351. The Committee was concerned about the inequality in the sharing of
"caring responsibilities" and the fact that such responsibilities fell
predominantly upon women in Italy, a factor that was particularly acute in
southern Italy.  It noted with concern the absence of efforts or programmes
to encourage Italian men to undertake their fair share of domestic
responsibilities, and to care for the children and the elderly.

352. The Committee expressed concern about the lack of statistics and/or
studies into the causes of a number of health-related issues concerning
women.  It noted with serious concern that studies suggested an increase in
incidence of lung cancer among women.  It also noted the very high
incidence of caesarian section deliveries and the failure of women to take
advantage of early detection technologies, including mammography and pap
smears, and the failure to explain that phenomenon in the report.  In
addition, the Committee was concerned about the lack of data on
occupational health and disease.

353. The Committee expressed particular concern with regard to the limited
availability of abortion services for women in southern Italy, as a result
of the high incidence of conscientious objection among doctors and hospital
personnel.

354. The Committee noted that while the shift in emphasis from the concept
of man as breadwinner that underpinned current welfare reforms was intended
to give women autonomy and reduce humiliating financial dependence, it was
concerned that those reforms posed real risks for women who had been inter
alia homemakers, and not part of the paid workforce, or whose careers had
been interrupted by childcare and other responsibilities, and for older
women who had little earning capacity.

     Suggestions and recommendations

355. The Committee recommended that the Government of Italy continue to
implement and strengthen the current measures it is taking to empower women
and mainstream gender issues.  It encouraged specific affirmative actions
targeted to numerical goals and quotas, in particular in those areas such
as political and decision-making positions of public life, where women's
de facto equality had not been improving at the desired pace.

356. The Committee urged the Government of Italy to take large-scale
measures to combat the widespread acceptance of stereotypical roles of
women and men, particularly in the south, by alerting the public to the
importance of an equitable distribution between women and men of family
roles and "caring responsibilities".  The Committee deemed it essential
that textbooks and teaching material be reviewed and revised to reflect the
non-stereotypical roles of men and women.

357. The Committee recommended that Italy expand its existing legislation
and/or enact new legislation, where needed, in order to effectively deal
with the phenomenon of indirect discrimination.  To that end it emphasized
the importance of measures to sensitize judges, lawyers and law enforcement
personnel to indirect discrimination and to Italy's international
obligations, in particular those outlined in the Convention.

358. The Committee requested the Government to provide full information
evaluating the impact of legislation and policy concerning equality for
women and discrimination in Italy's next report to the Committee.

359. The Committee urged the Government of Italy to embark on public
sensitization campaigns in relation to domestic violence in its various
manifestations (sexual, physical, etc.) to ensure the protection of human
rights of women and the girl child in the family.  In particular, the
Committee recommended that measures be introduced to encourage complaints
and provide mechanisms for effective and timely response to such claims. 
It recommended that health professionals be trained in the care and
management of domestic violence cases.  The Committee also recommended the
introduction of measures to increase the number of domestic violence
shelters throughout Italy.

360. The Committee strongly recommended that the Government take steps to
secure the enjoyment by women, in particular, southern Italian women, of
their reproductive rights by, inter alia, guaranteeing them access to safe
abortion services in public hospitals.

361. The Committee urged the Government of Italy to take the necessary
steps to incorporate participation by non-governmental organizations in the
preparation of the country's next report to the Committee.

362. The Committee recommended that Italy, as a State member of the
European Union, take concrete initiatives to encourage the acceptance by
the European Union of the Convention as a fundamental bill of rights for
women.

363. The Committee recommended that the State party should ensure that all
women had an adequate income and that husbands and fathers were obliged to
provide financial support.  It also recommended that the Government
introduce measures to enforce payment of alimony and of a fair share of the
matrimonial assets, including measures which would enable the courts to set
aside provisions intended to or having the effect of concealing assets and
income and thereby depriving women of the entitlements.

364. The Committee requested the Government of Italy to disseminate these
comments widely throughout Italy, so as to make individuals aware of the
measures that have been taken to implement the Convention and the remaining
steps required to achieve de facto equality for women.


                         5.  Third periodic reports

                                  Australia

365. The Committee considered the third periodic report of Australia
(CEDAW/C/AUL/3) at its 352nd and 353rd meetings, on 18 July 1997 (see
CEDAW/C/SR.352 and 353).

366. The report was introduced by the Assistant Secretary, Office of the
Status of Women, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.  She
explained that the report before the Committee had been prepared in 1993 as
a supplementary report to Australia's second periodic report and had been
submitted to the Secretariat as Australia's third periodic report in 1994. 
In stressing her Government's commitment to its treaty obligations, she
regretted its inability to prepare a formal supplementary report for
consideration by the Committee at the current stage, but noted that
Australia had produced an implementation plan for the Beijing Platform for
Action which was available to the Committee for information.  The detailed
answers to the questions on notice would provide the Committee with an up-
to-date picture of the status of women in Australia.  Noting the high
standards of Australia's past reports as well as past practice, she
regretted that the present report had not benefited from the involvement of
non-governmental organizations.  She indicated her Government's intention
to combine the fourth and fifth periodic reports for the Committee's
consideration at the beginning of the next century.

367. In her introductory statement, the representative of the State party
noted that a robust framework of anti-discrimination legislation, positive
measures, strategies and programmes had been put in place since
ratification of the Convention in 1983.  Government-funded services for
women, specialized governmental machinery, and attention to women's health,
educational curricula, violence against women, employment and women's
participation in public life had resulted in a record of achievement which
was significant by world standards.  At the same time, the Government was
aware of the need to address a number of specific areas where equality for
women remained to be achieved.

368. As to the reservations Australia had entered to the Convention, the
representative noted that while significant progress had been made towards
the provision of comprehensive maternity leave, the Government was not in a
position to remove the reservation regarding paid maternity leave.  On the
other hand, a modification of the reservation regarding "combat-related"
employment in the armed forces was being considered.

369. The change in Federal Government following the March 1996 elections
had brought a fresh approach.  In a strengthening of gender mainstreaming
policy, responsibility for gender issues, which had been concentrated in
the Office of the Status of Women, had now been extended to all areas of
the Commonwealth bureaucracy.  Specialist units in line departments had
responsibility for enhancing linkages and cooperation, including
cooperation with women's organizations.  A tight fiscal environment where
tax increases or budget deficits were not considered to be means for
covering shortfalls had led to difficult choices, but she emphasized the
Government's commitment to expanding opportunity and choice for all.

370. While major advances had been achieved in the area of domestic
violence over the last 20 years, it remained a significant area of concern,
requiring a more comprehensive approach to prevention and response.  A
National Campaign against Violence and Crime would address, inter alia,
domestic violence.  A recent programme had assisted in decreasing the
incidence of family violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
communities.  The portrayal of violence in the media was also receiving
attention.

371. Australia was one of the few countries with a national women's health
policy, and new efforts were under way better to understand women's
specific health needs.  Programmes and services were implemented to improve
the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, including
resource allocation.  In order to address immigrant women's and girls' risk
of genital mutilation, legislation to ban the practice had been introduced
in most Australian states and territories, and programmes to prevent it had
been developed.

372. New temporary measures had been introduced to increase women's
participation in politics at the state and federal level.  Rather than
relying on quotas, the Government had chosen other means, such as mentoring
and executive searches, to increase the number of women in politics.  The
last federal elections had seen a significant increase in the number of
women parliamentarians.  There had been an increase in the percentage of
women in the Cabinet, in state and local government and in political
parties.

373. Women's representation in decision-making and management in the
private sector was increasing slowly.  The Affirmative Action Agency's
awards to recognize worthwhile employers' initiatives, as well as other
measures, such as education strategies and the waiving of annual reporting
requirements for organizations having implemented high-quality affirmative
action programmes over three-year periods, were among the strategies used.

374. The Government was committed to greater participation of women in the
paid labour market through the promotion of greater flexibility in the
workplace, continuing support for childcare and a broadening of options in
employment and training.  Women's participation in the labour force had
grown by 30 per cent in the past 10 years, almost double the increase for
men.

375. The new legislative basis for industrial relations, adopted in 1996,
included provisions for parental leave and the prohibition of employment
termination for reasons of, inter alia, family responsibilities.  Other
provisions expected to benefit women in particular were the removal of
restrictions on regular part-time work and the capacity to formalize
individual workplace agreements.  An Office of the Employee Advocate had
been established to provide advice and assistance in that regard.  She
noted that wage gaps between men and women remained, and that a
comprehensive income security safety net was available which benefited
women to a greater extent than men.

376. In addressing disadvantages experienced by indigenous populations, the
Government was committed to reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islanders and the larger Australian community.  Indigenous women
were playing an active role in those efforts.

377. She noted that the High Court Mabo (No. 2) decision of 1992, which had
overturned the terra nullius doctrine and recognized the existence of
native title, did not refer to gender as affecting the recognition of
native title.

378. To ensure better options for indigenous women, recommendations
contained in a report submitted to Parliament in May 1997 were being
considered by the Government.  A number of new initiatives, including the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders "Healthy Women - Strong Families"
initiative which had been announced at the Beijing Conference, were aimed
at improving the health status of that group of women.

379. The representative concluded by saying that the Government of
Australia believed that far-reaching cultural and economic changes required
the support and acceptance of the community.  She pledged Australia's
determination to build on its existing achievements so as to ensure that
women participated fully in all aspects of life so that their families,
their communities and Australia would prosper.

Concluding comments of the Committee

     Introduction

380. The Committee commended the Government for its past initiatives and
efforts to promote and protect the human rights of women nationally and
internationally.  Australia's leadership for the advancement of women at
the Fourth World Conference on Women and its initiative to make it into a
"conference of commitment" were particularly noteworthy.  The Committee
took note of the fact that Australia had prepared a comprehensive national
action plan to implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
and provided a copy to each member of the Committee.  The Committee
appreciated the comprehensive introductory statement and detailed responses
provided to the Committee's written questions by the representative.

381. The Committee noted, however, that the third periodic report did not
comply with the Committee's reporting guidelines for periodic reports, and
that it essentially reiterated information that had been considered at the
time of presentation of Australia's second periodic report in 1994.  At the
same time, Australia could have combined its third periodic report with the
fourth, which was due in August 1996, to enable the Committee to explore
more fully the developments that had taken place since 1995 when the third
report was submitted.

382. As there seems to be misunderstanding about the status of Australia's
reports under the Convention, for the sake of clarification the situation
is as follows:

     Report                 Date due      Date submitted   Considered

Initial report            August 1984     October 1986        1988
Second periodic report    August 1988     July 1992           1994
Third periodic report     August 1992     March 1995          1997
Fourth periodic report    August 1996     Not submitted
Fifth periodic report     August 2000


     Positive aspects

383. Australia's commitment to the full implementation of the Convention
and to the realization of the human rights of women was reflected in such
legislative and administrative efforts as the New National Agenda for Women
of 1993, the Sex Discrimination Act of 1984 and Amendment of 1995, the
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Act of 1986 and its amendments, the
review of the Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women)
Act of 1986, the annual women's budget statement, the register of women
maintained by the Office of the Status of Women, and the Office of the Sex
Discrimination Commissioner.

384. The Committee welcomed Australia's pioneering role in addressing
violence against women and the measures and strategies that had been put in
place to prevent and eliminate it.  It commended the Government (Bureau of
Statistics) for the establishment of the first comprehensive national
statistical profile on the extent and nature of violence against women, and
for its strong commitment to reducing the incidence of domestic violence
including through preventive measures.  The recommendations emanating from
a National Domestic Violence Forum in September 1996 and the convening of a
National Domestic Violence Summit in 1997 were considered to be important
steps towards raising awareness about the issue and contributing to the
creation of a climate in which such violence would no longer be tolerated.

385. The Committee welcomed the existence of a national health policy for
women, which had been established in 1989, and for which funding was
currently allocated for financial year 1998-1999.  The policy's
participatory approach in providing innovative primary health care and in
emphasizing services for disadvantaged groups of women, including
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and migrant women were commendable,
as was the inclusion of women's reproductive health and sexuality among its
seven priority issues.

386. Legislation enabling the Government to prosecute Australians who
committed sexual offences abroad was also commended.

387. The preparation by the Law Reform Commission of the report on equality
of women before the law was an important step in further strengthening the
equal access of women to justice and in eliminating discrimination and
gender bias in areas such as legal aid, violence against women, immigration
and refugee law.  The recommendation of the Commission to enact an Equality
Act which could lead to the entrenchment of equality legislation in the
Constitution would, if implemented, reinforce Australia's leadership role
with regard to the equality of women.

388. The Committee applauded the Government's intention to ratify the
amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention concerning the
Committee's meeting time and noted with satisfaction Australia's support
for the preparation of an optional protocol to the Convention on a
complaints procedure and the initiation of domestic consultations in that
regard.
     Factors and difficulties affecting the implementation of the
Convention

389. The Committee noted that the changing role of government in terms of
public expenditure and the ongoing decentralization of responsibility in a
number of areas, including health, from the federal to territorial or state
Governments,  had had an impact on the legal and practical implementation
of the Convention.  Australia continued to have two reservations to the
Convention, one with regard to paid maternity leave and one with regard to
"combat-related" employment in the armed forces, which constituted an
obstacle to the full implementation of the Convention.

390. The Committee was aware that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
women continued to face discrimination and disadvantages in terms of access
to rights, opportunities and resources.

     Principal areas of concern

391. The Committee was concerned about the Government's apparent shift in
attention and commitment to the human rights of women and the achievement
of gender equality.  Indications such as the cut by 38 per cent in the
budget of the Office of the Status of Women and a similar reduction of
funding for the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission gave rise
to concern.  While increased efforts at gender mainstreaming into all
sectoral areas were commendable, the Committee was concerned about the
weakened role of national machinery in providing policy advice on equality
issues and in monitoring the effective implementation of such policies. 
The discontinuation of the women's budget statement, as well as of the
national register of women, was regrettable since both had served as a
model for other Governments embarking on similar exercises. 

392. The Committee was alarmed by policy changes that apparently slowed
down, or reversed, Australia's progress in achieving equality between women
and men, such as in housing and childcare programmes, and in employment
assistance.  It was concerned about the delay in appointing a Sex
Discrimination Commissioner and about the Government's declared intention
to change its human rights policy and legislation as it pertained to women.

393. The Committee expressed its concern about the possibility that, at a
time of fiscal constraint, resources for programmes and policies benefiting
women or aimed at overcoming discrimination, for example in health, the
provision of legal aid services, training and awareness programmes on
violence against women for health, judicial, professional and other workers
might be subjected to disproportionate budget cuts.

394. The Committee noted with concern that violence against women,
notwithstanding major efforts, remained a central concern to Australian
women, 7 per cent of whom experienced some type of violence in the course
of a year.  It noted the absence of data concerning violence against
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and assessment of programmes
directed at reducing such violence.

395. The Committee was also concerned about paedophilia and sex tourism
involving Australian men, primarily in Asian countries, and the situation
of women brought to Australia as brides.

396. The Committee noted with concern that new legislation on industrial
relations providing for the negotiation of individual contracts between
employer and employee might have a disproportionately negative impact on
women.  Part-time and casual workers, of whom women formed a
disproportionate share, were usually in a weaker position than other
workers to negotiate favourable working agreements, in particular with
regard to benefits.  The reservation to the Convention with regard to paid
maternity leave, and Australia's non-ratification of ILO Convention No. 103
concerning maternity protection, remained a concern for women workers with
family responsibilities.

397. The Committee was concerned at the continuing adverse situation of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.  Major causes of concern
included a higher incidence of maternal mortality, lower life expectancy,
reduced access to the full range of health services, a high incidence of
violence, including domestic violence, and high unemployment rates.  Their
situation, as well as that of migrant women, was further compromised by an
apparent rise in racism and xenophobia.

     Suggestions and recommendations

398. The Committee recommended that the Government should carefully monitor
the impact of recent policy changes in all areas covered by the Convention
for inclusion in its next periodic report.  To that end, it recommended
that Australia conduct analyses of the successes and shortcomings of the
new policies with a view to providing data for future action, both in
Australia and elsewhere.  It recommended that the Government design a
long-term strategy aimed at the full implementation of the Convention.

399. In particular, the Committee recommended that an evaluation should be
conducted of the Workplace Relations Act of 1996, assessing its impact upon
women of different age groups, with different educational levels and in
different occupational groups.  The Government should assess whether the
Act leads to increased or decreased part-time and casual work, and its
impact on women workers' benefits and on workers with family
responsibilities, particularly women's ability to obtain maternity leave. 
A similar evaluation and assessment was recommended for Australia's new
childcare benefit scheme.

400. The Committee encouraged the Government to assess the benefits of a
continuing national women's health policy and to ensure that any further
change in that policy did not lead to a decreased access by women,
especially vulnerable groups of women, to comprehensive health services. 
It also recommended that data and indicators on health should be collected,
disaggregated by sex, age, ethnicity, rural/urban areas and other
distinctions.  Data should also be collected on the impact of the shift in
responsibility for health care from the federal to the state level.

401. The Committee recommended that the Convention and the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action should be translated for non-English-
speaking Australians. 

402. The Committee recommended that a comprehensive strategy to eliminate
violence against women should be adopted following the National Domestic
Violence Summit, with an emphasis on prevention, and with sufficient
funding.  It also recommended that ways should be found to involve women's
groups in the development of strategies to reduce violence in the media,
including electronic media, and that they should participate in the
development of regulatory codes of practice of the media.  The Government
should further assess its monitoring and enforcement responsibilities in
that regard. 

403. The Committee noted the differing state provisions in relation to
prostitution and encouraged the Government to assess the effectiveness of
the varying measures in reducing the exploitation of prostitution.

404. The Committee encouraged the Government to collect statistical data on
the participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in the
workforce, in decision-making, in politics and administration, and in the
judiciary with a view to enhancing programmes that would benefit them.  It
suggested that the Government might include representatives of those
communities when it presented its next report to the Committee.

405. The Committee recommended that, in the light of the Mabo and Wik
judgements of the High Court, the Government should develop the necessary
legislative and policy measures to ensure women's equal access to
individual ownership of native land.

406. The Committee encouraged the Government to strengthen its support for
women's studies, to provide funding for research and teaching, and to
facilitate international academic exchange and cooperation in that field.

407. The Committee encouraged the Government to resume its active and
visible participation in international forums on women's equality, such as
the Commonwealth and the United Nations.

408. The Committee requested the wide dissemination in Australia of these
concluding comments so as to make individuals aware of the steps that had
been taken to ensure de facto equality for women and the further steps
required in this regard.


                    6.  Third and fourth periodic reports

                                 Bangladesh

409. The Committee considered the combined third and fourth periodic
reports of Bangladesh (CEDAW/C/BGD/3-4) at its 357th and 358th meetings, on
23 July 1997 (see CEDAW/C/SR.357 and 358).

410. In his opening statement, the representative of Bangladesh confirmed
his country's commitment to the advancement of women, which was a priority
commitment of the Prime Minister.  The Minister informed the Committee that
a number of constitutional and policy measures had been introduced,
including the adoption of a National Policy for Women's Development and the
elaboration of a  National Action Plan for the Implementation of the
Beijing Platform for Action.  These were both ground-breaking documents and
would make real changes in women's status and position.  The Minister noted
that his country had been able to achieve considerable progress in the
advancement and empowerment of women, despite serious obstacles.

411. The Minister announced that Bangladesh was withdrawing its
reservations to articles 13, paragraph (a), and 16, paragraph 1 (f), of the
Convention.

412. Another member of the delegation presented the combined third and
fourth periodic report, recalling that the fourth periodic report had been
submitted ahead of time as an expression of her country's commitment to the
Convention and the promotion of women's rights.  She indicated that the
report had been formally presented to more than 150 representatives of
non-governmental organizations at a day-long workshop organized by the
Ministry of Women and Children Affairs.

413. The representative noted that, according to development indicators
relating to life expectancy, education and health, women's status in
Bangladesh was lower than that of men.  Forty-eight per cent of the rural
and 44 per cent of the urban population lived below the poverty line, with
women suffering chronic nutritional deficiencies that were aggravated
during pregnancy and lactation.  A birth rate as high as 4.6 live births
contributed to a cycle of high maternal mortality, malnutrition, low birth
weight babies and infant mortality.  The maternal mortality rate was one of
the highest in the world (450 deaths per 100,000 live births).  Progress in
the removal of disparities was slow since women were subject to
discrimination both in cultural practice and in personal law.

414. The representative described interventions and strategies to improve
the status of women.  The Government, assisted by non-governmental
organizations, had taken special measures to promote girls' enrolment and
retention at the primary and secondary levels of education, to target girls
in non-formal education and to direct them towards non-traditional fields
of study.  A quota system had been introduced to accelerate recruitment of
female primary school teachers.

415. In the field of employment, the representative informed the Committee
of the quota system applicable to all types of public employment, reserving
10 per cent of recruitment to gazetted posts and 15 per cent to
non-gazetted posts, with a view to facilitating entry and thereby
increasing the number of women.

416. The Committee was informed about increases in women's economic
participation as a result of self-employment-generating credit programmes
run by the Government and non-governmental organizations.  The Bangladesh
experiment of providing women access to credit, and notably the Grameen
Bank model, had been replicated abroad.

417. The representative pointed out that Bangladesh had made history by
having two women succeed each other as Prime Minister and Leader of the
Opposition in Parliament.  The phenomenal turnout of women in the 1996
parliamentary elections showed that women as voters were gaining visibility
and political strength.  However, very few women had been elected to
Parliament through the direct electoral process.  Thirty seats had been
reserved for women in Parliament, in addition to the 300 seats elected
directly from territorial constituencies.  The Constitution provided
reserved seats in all municipal and local government bodies for women, and
this had had a positive effect in ensuring a minimum representation of
women.

418. With regard to violence against women, the Committee was informed
about the incidence of violence, such as murders of wives as a result of
non-payment of dowry, custodial rape, including rape by members of law
enforcement agencies, and violence at the community level by pronouncing
fatwas and misinterpreting religion.  The representative described the
multisectoral action programme being undertaken by the Ministry of Women
and Children Affairs to address violence against women, including
trafficking in women and girls.

419. Turning to the legal framework, the representative pointed out that
the disparity between de jure and de facto rights was due to legal
illiteracy of women and men and various weaknesses in law enforcement.  A
Permanent Law Commission had been established by the Government to review
existing laws and enact new ones to safeguard women's rights and to prevent
violence against women.

420. The representative described the national machinery and institutional
framework to combat gender inequality.  The National Council for Women's
Development, a 44-member body, was headed by the Prime Minister and
comprised ministers and secretaries from several line ministries, public
representatives and eminent individuals.  The establishment of an
Interministerial Coordination and Evaluation Committee, headed by the
Minister for Women and Children Affairs, was envisaged.  She noted that
Bangladesh had been one of the first countries in the world to establish a
full-fledged Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, which included a
Department of Women Affairs as its implementing arm.

421. The representative informed the Committee that her country had taken
serious steps to implement international commitments in the follow-up to
the Fourth World Conference on Women and the International Conference on
Population and Development, as well as legal obligations enshrined in the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  She concluded by saying
that the Convention and the Platform for Action had been translated into
Bangla and widely disseminated.  The National Action Plan offered detailed
action programmes to implement the Platform for Action in Bangladesh.

Concluding comments of the Committee

     Introduction

422. The Committee commended the Government of Bangladesh for its 
comprehensive, frank and clear written and oral presentations, which
followed the guidelines of the Committee and responded to most of the
questions raised by experts.

423. The Committee also welcomed the high-level delegation headed by the
Minister for Women and Children Affairs, assisted by several distinguished
experts from other agencies, academe and non-governmental organizations,
which reflected the importance accorded by the Government to the Committee.

424. The Committee especially welcomed and applauded the decision of the
Government of Bangladesh to withdraw its reservations to article 13,
paragraph (a), and article 16, paragraph 1 (f).  It commended the
initiative of the Government in leading the way for other countries with
similar reservations to also consider lifting their reservations.

425. The Committee noted and appreciated the close collaboration between
the Government and non-governmental organizations in the course of the
preparation of the report, as well as the efforts of the Government to
disseminate its report to a wide range of women's groups and organizations.

     Positive aspects

426. The Committee noted with satisfaction the existence of constitutional
guarantees of equality between women and men.

427. The Committee expressed satisfaction at the high status accorded the
Ministry of Women and Children Affairs in the Government.

428. The Committee appreciated the inclusion of women's concerns in all of
the development plans of the Government.  This was strengthened by the
declaration of the Policy on Women's Advancement, the main blueprint of the
Government for the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.

429. The Committee noted the positive impact of the presence of 30 reserved
seats for women in Parliament and local bodies, as well as in the public
sector.  It especially appreciated the fact that Bangladesh was one of the
few countries in the world with a female Prime Minister and a female Leader
of the Opposition.

430. The Committee noted with appreciation the emphasis placed by the
Government on increasing literacy among women and girls, with the aim of
achieving education for all by the year 2000.

431. The Committee applauded the Government's efforts to popularize and
disseminate the Convention by translating it into Bangla.

432. The Committee appreciated the Government's willingness to collaborate
with women's non-governmental organizations in implementing its programmes
on women.

     Factors and difficulties affecting the implementation of the
Convention

433. The Committee expressed its concern over the Government's remaining
reservations to articles 2 and 16, paragraph 1 (a).  The Committee noted
that it regards article 2 as a fundamental and core provision of the
Convention, while article 16 is critical to the full enjoyment by women of
their rights.

434. The slow economic growth of the country coupled with frequent natural
calamities such as typhoons and floods posed serious constraints to the
ability of the Government to provide adequate resources for women's
programmes and projects.

435. Prevailing stereotyped attitudes and practices justified on social
grounds create a social environment for the acceptance of discrimination
against women, thus impeding the full implementation of the Convention.

     Principal areas of concern

436. The Committee expressed serious concern about the alarming levels of
violence against women in all its forms and especially its most cruel
forms, such as acid throwing, stoning and dowry death, and the inability of
the Government to enforce existing laws effectively, or to provide
immediate relief and justice to victims of such violence.

437. The Committee noted with concern that while education programmes had
increased the level of literacy among girls and women since the last
report, a very large percentage of women and girls still had no access to
education.

438. The Committee was concerned about the fact that maternal mortality and
infant mortality rates remained high and that available primary health and
reproductive health services were still inadequate and often inaccessible
to poor, rural and marginalized women.  Moreover, family planning services
still mainly targeted women, and not enough education on male
responsibility in reproduction had been introduced.

439. On the matter of migrant women, the Committee noted from the report
the lack of discussion and measures to protect women migrant workers from
Bangladesh at all stages of the migration process.

440. The Committee expressed its concern about the continuing prevalence of
stereotyped and patriarchal attitudes towards women in society reflected in
such practices as son preference that undermine the Government's efforts to
achieve equal status of women.

441. The Committee was seriously concerned about the poor working
conditions of  women workers in both the private and the public sector.  It
was particularly concerned with the non-implementation of minimum wage
levels and the lack of social and health benefits, including paid maternity
leave, and the lack of adequate child-care facilities in the manufacturing
sector.  It noted the lack of government monitoring of the conditions of
women in the informal sector.

442. The Committee was concerned at the lack of disaggregated statistical
information and the lack of systematic data gathering on birth and marriage
registration and incidents of violence against women.

443. The Committee expressed serious concern at the absence of special
prisons for women, which posed serious threats to the security and
protection of women committed to prison.

444. The Committee noted that although economic and micro-credit programmes
existed for rural women, the trend towards globalization and liberalization
of trade policies might have an adverse economic impact on the poorest of
the poor, especially women in the rural areas.

445. The Committee was concerned about the fact that, while all development
plans had included gender concerns and issues, their impact on women had
not been adequately monitored and assessed.

446. The Committee noted the absence of adequate information and analysis,
as well as programmes, directed at addressing prostitution in general.

447. The Committee noted with serious concern the reported imposition of
fatwas, using religious justification to punish women.

448. The Committee was concerned at the fact that despite affirmative
action measures to encourage women's political participation, the number of
women in decision-making positions was still small.

     Suggestions and recommendations

449. The Committee urged the Government of Bangladesh, in order to comply
both with its own Constitution and the Convention, to review its remaining
reservations to articles 2 and 16, paragraph 1 (a), with a view to
eventually withdrawing them.

450. The Committee encouraged the Government of Bangladesh to strengthen
its primary health and reproductive health services aimed at substantially
improving the health and well-being of women.

451. The Committee strongly urged the Government of Bangladesh to
strengthen its enforcement and monitoring of existing laws, policies and
mechanisms on violence against women so as to provide victims and survivors
of violence with responsive and effective measures of protection and to
prevent further violence.

452. The Committee strongly urged the Government of Bangladesh to set up a  
separate prison facility and comprehensive programme of rehabilitation for
women prisoners.

453. In view of the impact of globalization on rural economics, the
Government should give high priority to the issues and problems of rural
women, especially their ownership of land and access to credit, loans and
skills training in new agricultural technologies, with a view to
strengthening their productive and employment capacity.

454. The Committee recommended the strengthening of gender sensitization
and training programmes for the judiciary, police and health professionals,
particularly those relating to violence against women.

455. To combat social attitudes, prejudices and social and traditional
practices that discriminate against women, the Committee strongly
recommended that the Government strengthen education and public information
programmes geared towards reinforcing more positive images and roles of
women in society.

456. The Committee recommended that the Government pay particular attention
to improving the wage levels and the terms and conditions of women workers
in the export processing zones, as well as in the informal sector.

457. The Committee urged the Government to strengthen its mechanisms to
protect migrant women workers from exploitation throughout the migration
process, inter alia, by actively exploring bilateral and multilateral
initiatives addressing this issue.

458. The Committee recommended that birth and marriages be systematically
registered so that laws prohibiting child marriage and polygamy might be
rigorously enforced.

459. In responding to the problem of trafficking of women and girls, the
Committee recommended the stronger enforcement of the Women and Child
Repression Act 1995, as well as provision of adequate assistance to women
and girl victims of trafficking.  The regional resolution on trafficking
agreed to by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in
Maldives should be sustained and concretized into actual programmes.

460. The Committee recommended that the Government undertake an impact
assessment of development plans for women.

461. The Committee strongly recommended more proactive measures to hasten
the implementation of education programmes to eliminate female illiteracy.

462. The Committee recommended that research on the root causes and
consequences of prostitution be conducted to enable Governments to respond
accordingly.

463. The Committee recommended the continuance of affirmative action
measures such as quota seats for women in Parliament, in local bodies and
in the civil service.  This should be accompanied by capability building
and skills training to enable women to participate actively in electoral
politics as well as in the civil service.

464. The Committee requested wide dissemination in Bangladesh of these
concluding comments so as to make individuals aware of the steps that have
been taken to ensure de facto equality for women and the further steps
required in this regard.


                                    Notes

     1 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-seventh Session,
Supplement No. 38 (A/47/38), chap. I.

     2 Ibid., Forty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 38 (A/46/38), chap. I.



         V.  WAYS AND MEANS OF EXPEDITING THE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE


465. The Committee considered ways and means of expediting the work of the
Committee (agenda item 7) at its 334th and 359th meetings, on 7 and
25 July 1997.

466. The item was introduced by the Chief of the Women's Rights Unit of the
Division for the Advancement of Women, who presented the report of the
Secretariat (CEDAW/C/1997/II/4) and a working paper containing the draft
rules of procedure (CEDAW/C/1997/WG.I/WP.1).


       Action taken by the Committee on the report of Working Group I

467. At its 359th meeting, on 25 July 1997, the Committee considered the
item on the basis of the report of Working Group I
(CEDAW/C/1997/II/WG.I/WP.1).


                             1.  Overdue reports

468. The Committee invited the Secretariat to advise States parties whose
reports were overdue that advice on receiving assistance from the United
Nations system could be obtained from the Division for the Advancement of
Women.


          2.  Lists of questions for the pre-session working group

469. The Committee decided that the expert designated as country rapporteur
should send her introductory report on the most relevant matters relating
to the situation of women in that country to the pre-session working group. 
Responsibility for preparing questions on subsequent reports for the
working group would be shared among Committee members, two or three members
being given responsibility for each report.  Members with other
responsibilities, such as the resource person for the working group on the
optional protocol and members assigned responsibility for general
recommendations or other documents should be relieved of responsibility for
preparing questions with respect to periodic reports.


              3.  Report of the independent expert on the functioning
                  of the human rights treaty bodies

470. The Committee requested the Secretariat to compile the comments of the
members of the Committee on the report of the independent expert on the
functioning of the human rights treaty bodies for submission to the
Committee at its eighteenth session.


                           4.  Concluding comments

471. The Committee decided that the standard format of concluding comments
would be:  Introduction; positive aspects; factors and difficulties
affecting the implementation of the Convention; principal areas of concern;
suggestions and recommendations.


                5.  Members of the pre-session working group

472. The Committee decided that the members of the pre-session working
group for the eighteenth session of the Committee and their alternates
should be:

             Members                                Alternates

     Ms. Emna Aouij (Africa)                    Ms. Kongit Sinegiorgis

     Ms. Ivanka Corti (Europe)                  Ms. Carlota Bustelo

     Ms. Sunaryati Hartono (Asia)               Ms. Lin Shangzen

     Ms. Yolanda Ferrer Gomez (Latin America)   Ms. Ai'da Gonza'lez


            6.  Dates of the eighteenth session of the Committee

473. Consistent with the calendar of conferences for 1998, the eighteenth
session should be held from 19 January to 6 February 1998, in New York. 
The pre-session working group would meet from 12 to 16 January 1998.


    7.  Reports to be considered at the nineteenth and twentieth sessions

474. The Committee decided that States parties presenting reports at the
January session in any year should submit any additional information,
including any additional reports, prior to 15 September of the previous
year; in the case of the July session, the Committee decided that
additional information should be submitted by 30 March of that year (see
chap. I, sect. B, decision 17/I).

475. The Committee decided that the maximum number of reports to be
considered at each session would normally be eight, drawn from a proposed
list of up to 10 countries (see chap. I, sect. B, decision 17/II).

476. Bearing in mind the criteria of date of submission, geographical
balance and reports delayed from earlier sessions, the reports of the
following States parties should be considered:


                             Nineteenth session

     Initial reports

     Czech Republic

     Second periodic reports

     Nigeria
     Panama
     United Republic of Tanzania

     Third periodic reports

     Belarus
     Republic of Korea (third and fourth)
     United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

     Fourth periodic reports

     Peru

     In the event that one of the above-mentioned States parties should be
unable to present its report, the Committee decided to consider the second
periodic report of Greece.


                              Twentieth session

     Second periodic reports

     Greece
     Thailand

     Third periodic reports

     Austria
     Egypt
     Finland
     Spain

     In the event that one of the above-mentioned States parties should be
unable to present its report, the Committee decided to consider the fourth
periodic report of Sweden.

             VI.  IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 21 OF THE CONVENTION


477. The Committee considered the implementation of article 21 of the
Convention (agenda item 6) at its 334th and 359th meetings, on 7 and 25
July 1997.

478. The item was introduced by the Chief of the Women's Rights Unit of the
Division for the Advancement of Women, who presented the following
documents:

     (a)  Note by the Secretary-General on reports of specialized agencies
on the implementation of the Convention in areas falling within the scope
of their activities (CEDAW/C/1997/II/3);

     (b)  Report of the World Health Organization
(CEDAW/C/1997/II/3/Add.1);

     (c)  Report on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (CEDAW/C/1997/II/3/Add.3);

     (d)  General recommendation 23 on articles 7 and 8
(CEDAW/C/1997/II/5).


                  A.  Action taken by the Committee on the report
                      of Working Group II

479. At its 359th meeting, on 25 July 1997, the Committee considered the
item on the basis of the report of Working Group II
(CEDAW/C/1997/II/WG.II/WP.1) and took the following action:


         1.  Process for the preparation of general recommendations

480. The Committee decided that there would be a three-stage process for
the preparation of general recommendations, as follows:

     (a)  First, a general discussion and exchange of views on the subject
of the proposed general recommendation during an open meeting of the
Committee.  Specialized agencies and other United Nations bodies, as well
as non-governmental organizations, would be encouraged to participate in
the discussion and to prepare informal background papers as appropriate;

     (b)  Second, the result of the general discussion would be compiled by
a member of the Committee and the Secretariat into an initial draft general
recommendation.  That draft would be discussed at the next session by
Working Group II, which could invite resource persons and non-governmental
organizations to take part in discussions as appropriate.  The comments of
the Working Group would be incorporated into a revised draft which would be
distributed to all experts before the next session;

     (c)  The revised draft would be submitted by Working Group II at the
subsequent session for consideration and adoption by the Committee as a
whole.


             2.  Future general recommendations of the Committee

481. The Committee decided that its next general recommendation would be on
women and health (article 12 of the Convention).  In the preparation of the
general recommendation, the Beijing Platform for Action, the report of the
International Conference on Population and Development and other relevant
documents would be used.  The Committee designated Ms. Shalev to assist in
initially integrating information gathered, including information provided
by non-governmental organizations at the informal consultation held during
the seventeenth session, on 24 July 1997, which would be discussed by the
Committee at its eighteenth session in January 1998.

482. The Committee decided that general recommendations on articles 2 and 4
of the Convention would be formulated separately.


           3.  Contribution of the Committee to the fiftieth anniversary
               of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

483. The Committee decided that its contribution to the fiftieth
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should include a
written statement on reservations, particularly in the context of article 2
of the Convention.  Ms. Silvia Cartwright was designated by the Committee
to submit a first draft of a statement relating to reservations, based on
all available material, including that available in the Division for the
Advancement of Women, for discussion at the eighteenth session of the
Committee and adoption at its nineteenth session, bearing in mind the
observance of the fiftieth anniversary on 10 December 1998.


               4.  Open-ended working group of the Commission on the
                   Status of Women on the elaboration of a draft
                   optional protocol to the Convention

484. The Committee nominated Ms. Silvia Cartwright to act as a resource
person to the open-ended working group on the elaboration of a draft
optional protocol to the Convention, which would meet during the forty-
second and forty-third sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women,
in 1998 and 1999.


                        5.  General recommendation 23

485. The Committee took note of the final edited text of its general
recommendation 23 on articles 7 and 8 of the Convention relating to women
in public life (CEDAW/C/1997/II/5) which it had adopted at its sixteenth
session in January 1997, subject to final editing (for the text, see chap.
I, sect. A, above).


              B.  Statements by senior United Nations officials

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

486. At the 349th meeting, on 16 July 1997, the representative of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
introduced the organization's report (CEDAW/C/1997/II/3/Add.3), which had
been submitted to the Committee under article 22 of the Convention.

487. She said that UNESCO administered 10 projects which related to the 12
critical areas of concern identified in the Beijing Platform for Action. 
These included projects on equal access to education; peace; the media;
women's contribution to the management of natural resources and
environmental protection; and access of the girl child to education and
literacy.  Other projects seek to alleviate the daily work burden of women
and girls in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Arab States and Latin America
and the Caribbean.

488. The representative noted that the overall work of UNESCO regarding
women, girls and gender equality was guided by five resolutions adopted by
its General Conference in 1995, which had been held immediately after the
Fourth World Conference on Women.  Those resolutions reflected UNESCO's
commitment to the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of
women, the Beijing Platform for Action, the coordinated and integrated
system-wide follow-up to other major conferences and to the principles of
the Convention.

489. The representative described the UNESCO Web site on women, and the
gender approach of UNESCO's work.  That approach would be tested during the
preparation of two major UNESCO conferences, the World Conference on Higher
Education and the World Science Conference, to be held in 1998 and 1999,
respectively.  Two other events scheduled to take place early in 1998 would
have a significant impact on gender mainstreaming in UNESCO's fields of
competence, namely, the preparation of an international campaign to promote
the access of women and girls to education as a fundamental human right, as
a contribution to the celebration of the anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, and concentration on women's unpaid work.

490. The representative informed the Committee of the forthcoming expert
group meeting on male roles and masculinities in the perspective of a
culture of peace, which was expected to contribute to a greater
understanding of gender socialization within different cultural contexts;
and the proposal of the Government of Luxembourg for a world conference on
men and power.

United Nations Population Fund

491. At the 335th meeting, on 7 July 1997, the Director of the Technical
and Evaluation Division of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
stated that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women was an essential instrument in the global
effort to empower women and to ensure gender equity and equality.  It was
also central to the support of efforts with regard to women's right to
health, including reproductive health, which was crucial to women's
autonomy and to sustainable development.

492. The representative noted that articles 12 and 16 (e) of the Convention
were closely linked to the agreements reached by 179 countries at the
International Conference on Population and Development held at Cairo in
September 1994 and to the Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World
Conference on Women.  He noted that the Programme of Action adopted at
Cairo placed reproductive and sexual health and rights at the centre of the
population and development agenda, and committed Governments to strive to
ensure universal access by 2015 to comprehensive reproductive health care,
including family planning and services to protect sexual health.

493. The representative reminded the Committee of the round table on human
rights approaches to women's health, with a focus on reproductive and
sexual health rights, organized jointly by the Division for the Advancement
of Women, UNFPA and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights and held at Glen Cove, New York, in December 1996.  There
treaty body experts had discussed ways in which the various human rights
bodies could support efforts to protect and promote reproductive and sexual
health rights.  Among the recommendations of the round table was a request
for treaty bodies to incorporate reproductive and sexual rights in their
examination of the reports of States parties, and to use the Cairo and
Beijing documents, where applicable, in preparing guidelines, general
comments, recommendations and responses to reports.

494. He stated that efforts had been made to follow up the Glen Cove
recommendations.  In particular, UNFPA was considering ways to involve
Committee experts in activities to incorporate human rights education in
the UNFPA programming process.  He noted that the Fund had also been
working with the Division for the Advancement of Women to identify areas of
collaboration to strengthen the implementation of the Convention.

495. The representative informed the Committee that the 1997 report of
UNFPA entitled The State of World Population listed the following four key
components of reproductive rights:  the right to reproductive and sexual
health, as a component of overall health, throughout the life cycle; the
right to reproductive decision-making, including the right of access to the
information and the means necessary to exercise voluntary choice in
marriage, forming families and determining the number, timing and spacing
of one's children; equality and equity for men and women, to enable free
and informed choices in all spheres of life, without discrimination based
on gender; and the right to sexual and reproductive security, including
freedom from sexual violence and coercion, and the right to privacy.

496. He noted that approximately 50 per cent of UNFPA programme resources
were devoted to assisting Governments and non-governmental organizations to
increase access to, and improve the quality of, counselling and service
provisions in the reproductive health area.  In the area of population and
development strategies, UNFPA provided support for, inter alia, data
collection and sociocultural and economic research on issues related to
gender equality and women's empowerment.  In the advocacy area, the Fund
emphasized the importance of safeguarding and promoting reproductive
rights, gender equality and male responsibility.

United Nations Development Programme

497. Also at the 335th meeting, the representative of the Gender in
Development Programme of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
stated that the commitment of UNDP to the elimination of discrimination
against women had a number of dimensions, including at the country level,
through the Resident Coordinator system.  He noted that UNDP was also
working closely with the United Nations system partners in inter-agency
working groups and task forces to promote gender equality and the
advancement of women.  In this regard, the agencies in the Joint
Consultative Group on Policy were forging strong alliances to achieve
common goals on gender issues at the country level, including through
cooperation on advocacy and the implementation of the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

498. The representative stated that inter-agency mechanisms were in place
in all regions, including in countries affected by conflict situations,
including Afghanistan.  UNDP was building national capacity among the 134
countries to strengthen the enabling policy and legal frameworks for gender
equality and improving women's access to assets and resources, including
decision-making.  UNDP was committing financial and human resources to
gender equality and the advancement of women.

499. The representative indicated that, at the country level, UNDP was
providing support to the implementation of national action plans for
accession to and implementation of the Convention.  At the regional level,
UNDP support was being provided to sub-Saharan Africa countries to
facilitate public awareness and advocacy campaigns, including through the
translation of the Platform for Action and the Convention into indigenous
languages and the facilitation of the efforts of civil society.  In Asia
and the Pacific, UNDP was supporting a programme with International Women's
Rights Action Watch (Asia/Pacific), aimed at developing women's
constituencies with respect to government accountability with regard to the
Convention.  In Latin America, UNDP assistance was being provided to ensure
that legislative reforms addressed the protection of women's rights.  In
Eastern Europe and the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States,
UNDP sponsored a regional programme to assist countries to strengthen their
institutional capacities and to establish national and regional networks of
non-governmental organizations to address gender issues; while in the Arab
States region, UNDP was working to build the capacity of a regional
institution, providing support in the areas of training, research,
networking and dissemination of information.




             VII.  PROVISIONAL AGENDA FOR THE EIGHTEENTH SESSION


500. The Committee considered the provisional agenda for its eighteenth
session (agenda item 8) at its 359th meeting, on 25 July 1997.  The
Committee decided to approve the following provisional agenda:

     1.   Opening of the session.

     2.   Adoption of the agenda and organization of work.

     3.   Report of the Chairperson on activities undertaken between the
          seventeenth and eighteenth sessions of the Committee.

     4.   Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under
          article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
          Discrimination against Women.

     5.   Implementation of article 21 of the Convention on the Elimination
          of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

     6.   Ways and means of expediting the work of the Committee.

     7.   Provisional agenda for the nineteenth session.

     8.   Adoption of the report of the Committee on its eighteenth
          session.



                        VIII.  ADOPTION OF THE REPORT


501. At its 359th meeting, on 25 July 1997, the Committee adopted the
report on its seventeenth session (CEDAW/C/1997/II/L.1 and Add.1-10), as
orally amended.