INFORMATION NOTE

(Published by the United Nations Department of Public Information DPI/1889/Rev.2--February 1999)

COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women is the international governmental advocate for equality between men and women. As a subsidiary body of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, it aims to support the equality goals of the UN Charter.

The Commission actively monitors the situation of women worldwide and promotes women's rights in all societies. It makes recommendations on issues affecting women and suggests policy goals for UN Member States. The Commission is also empowered to receive complaints on violations of the rights of individual women or groups of women. Founded in 1946, the Commission first met in 1947. It has 45 members representing Governments. Supported in its work by the UN Division for the Advancement of Women, the Commission reports to the General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council.

Non-governmental organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations contribute actively to its work.

International Standards

Few countries afforded women full political rights in 1947 when the Commission held its first session. This issue was therefore given high priority. Commission members believed that only when women had equality in the political arena would they exercise their influence over policy in this and other areas.

Initially the Commission devoted itself to gathering information on the status of women, stimulating the collection of gender sensitive data and information, and setting legal standards. The Commission undertook many studies and elaborated a number of important international instruments on women's legal status in such areas as political participation, nationality and marriage. These instruments set standards to be applied throughout the world and, together with the procedures established for review and implementation, proved to be an effective means of persuading Governments to amend discriminatory legislation and practices at the national level.

The Commission also influenced standard setting in other parts of the UN system. For example, it was instrumental in ensuring that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was a progressive document calling for women's equality with men; it influenced the International Labour Organization in its efforts to protect women at work; and it put pressure on UNESCO to promote equal educational opportunities for girls and women.

In 1979, the Commission's work for women's rights led to the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the landmark treaty commonly considered to be an international bill of rights for women. The Convention entered into force in 1981 and has now been ratified by 163 countries. Implementation of the Convention is monitored by a Committee of 23 independent experts nominated and elected by States parties to the Convention.

Women and Development

During the period of decolonization and increasing international concern over economic and social development which began in the 1960s, the Commission's agenda was broadened to cover the needs of women in developing countries. Equal participation of women in development efforts came to be recognized as crucial for achieving progress. A long-term programme for the integration of women into development planning was formulated which linked the work of the Commission to the first UN Development Decade. Since then, the Commission has continued to deal with women's status in relation to economic and social issues as well as with the promotion of women's human rights.

Global Conferences

The Commission on the Status of Women has helped to initiate and to monitor the implementation of the results of four major global conferences devoted to the question of women's advancement.

The first conference was held in Mexico City in 1975. For the first time, women from all parts of the world joined forces to consider their common struggle for recognition and advancement, declared a Decade for Women from 1976-1985, and adopted a plan of action. The Decade was approved by the General Assembly and a mid-decade conference was held in Copenhagen in 1980 to assess progress in achieving the goals that had been spelled out for equality, development and peace. At the end of the Decade, women and men from 157 nations met in Nairobi and adopted a blueprint for action to the year 2000.

Ten years after the Forward-Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women was adopted in Kenya, the largest ever United Nations conference took place in Beijing, China in September 1995. The Fourth World Conference on Women was attended by representatives of 189 nations, over 2,500 non-governmental organizations and nearly 5,000 representatives of the media. The parallel NGO Forum attracted over 30,000 persons. The Platform for Action that was adopted proposes actions in twelve critical areas which, if implemented, would help to achieve equality between women and men by the year 2000. Each year, the Commission on the Status of Women, which is responsible for monitoring the follow-up to the Beijing conference, examines several of these critical areas to assess progress and recommend priorities for accelerating implementation. The Commission also monitors efforts at mainstreaming a gender perspective at all levels of policy-making and planning.

The Commission in 1999

The forty-third session of the Commission will meet at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 1 to 19 March 1999. In addition to the two critical areas of concern being discussed (women and health, and institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women), the Commission will consider a review of gender mainstreaming in UN organizations and the impact of population ageing on men and women. The Commission will also examine confidential and non-confidential communications on violations of women's rights.

The open-ended parallel working group of the Commission will meet from 1 to 12 March 1999 to continue the drafting of an optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

General Assembly Special Session

The third week of the Commission session, 15-19 March 1999, will be devoted to activities in its capacity as Preparatory Committee for the General Assembly Special Session, entitled "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-first Century", to be held in New York from 5 to 9 June 2000. This Special Session will assess the implementation of the results of the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995 and propose further actions and initiatives. Among the Commission reports will be suggestions on further actions and initiatives that might be considered during the Special Session and information on the initiation of the comprehensive review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.

The Commission on the Status of Women held its first session as Preparatory Committee for the Special Session during its forty-second session in March 1998. Its third session as Preparatory Committee will take place in conjunction with its forty-fourth session, 6 to 24 March 2000.

1999 Membership

Although it started with 15 members appointed by Governments, the Commission has grown in several stages to its current membership of 45 members are elected for four year terms. The membership of the Commission on the Status of Women in 1999 comprises: Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, Chile, China, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Korea, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Senegal, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, and United States of America.

Work Calendar of the Commission on the Status of Women - 1999

- Women and health

- Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women

- Initiation of the comprehensive review and appraisal of the implementation of the Platform for Action 2000

- Comprehensive 5-year review and appraisal of the implementation of the Platform for Action

- Other emerging issues

For more information, please visit http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw