The Economic and Social Council

Recommends to the General Assembly the adoption of the following draft resolution:

"The General Assembly,

"Reaffirming the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action¹and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action,²

"Recalling that the Beijing Platform for Action, pursuant to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, supported the process initiated by the Commission on the Status of Women with a view to elaborating a draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women³ that could enter into force as soon as possible on a right to petition procedure,

"Noting that the Beijing Platform for Action also called on all States that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Convention to do so as soon as possible so that universal ratification of the Convention can be achieved by the year 2000,

"1. Adopts and opens for signature, ratification and accession the Optional Protocol to the Convention, the text of which is annexed to the present resolution;

"2. Calls upon all States which have signed, ratified or acceded to the Convention to sign and ratify or to accede to the Protocol as soon as possible;

"3. Stresses that States Parties to the Protocol should undertake to respect the rights and procedures provided by the Protocol and cooperate with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at all stages of its proceedings under the Protocol;

"4. Stresses that in the fulfilment of its mandate as well as its functions under the Protocol, the Committee should continue to be guided by the principles of non-selectivity, impartiality and objectivity;
 
 

"5. Requests the Committee to hold meetings to exercise its functions under the Protocol after its entry into force, in addition to its meetings held under article 20 of the Convention. The duration of such meetings shall be determined and, if necessary, reviewed by a meeting of the States Parties to the Protocol, subject to the approval of the General Assembly;

"6. Requests the Secretary-General to provide the staff and facilities necessary for the effective performance of the functions of the Committee under the Protocol after its entry into force;

"7. Requests the Secretary-General to include information on the status of the Protocol in her or his regular reports submitted to the General Assembly on the status of the Convention.
 
 

"Annex
 
 

"The States Parties to this Protocol,

"Noting that the Charter of the United Nations reaffirms faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women,

"Noting that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights⁴ proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, including distinction based on sex,

"Recalling that the International Covenants on Human Rights⁵ and other international human rights instruments prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex,

"Also recalling the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women³ ("the Convention"), in which the States Parties thereto condemn discrimination against women in all its forms and agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women,

"Reaffirming their determination to ensure the full and equal enjoyment by women of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and to take effective action to prevent violations of these rights and freedoms,

"Have agreed as follows:
 
 

"Article 1
 
 

"A State Party to this Protocol ("State Party") recognizes the competence of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women ("the Committee") to receive and consider communications submitted in accordance with article 2.
 
 

"Article 2
 
 

"Communications may be submitted by or on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals, under the jurisdiction of a State Party, claiming to be victims of a violation of any of the rights set forth in the Convention by that State Party. Where a communication is submitted on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals, this shall be with their consent unless the author can justify acting on their behalf without such consent.
 
 

"Article 3
 
 

"Communications shall be in writing and shall not be anonymous. No communication shall be received by the Committee if it concerns a State Party to the Convention that is not a party to this Protocol.
 
 

"Article 4
 
 

"1. The Committee shall not consider a communication unless it has ascertained that all available domestic remedies have been exhausted unless the application of such remedies is unreasonably prolonged or unlikely to bring effective relief.

"2. The Committee shall declare a communication inadmissible where:

"Article 5
 
 

"1. At any time after the receipt of a communication and before a determination on the merits has been reached, the Committee may transmit to the State Party concerned for its urgent consideration a request that the State Party take such interim measures as may be necessary to avoid possible irreparable damage to the victim or victims of the alleged violation.

"2. Where the Committee exercises its discretion under paragraph 1 of this article, this does not imply a determination on admissibility or on the merits of the communication.
 
 

"Article 6
 
 

"1. Unless the Committee considers a communication inadmissible without reference to the State Party concerned, and provided that the individual or individuals consent to the disclosure of their identity to that State Party, the Committee shall bring any communication submitted to it under this Protocol confidentially to the attention of the State Party concerned.

"2. Within six months, the receiving State Party shall submit to the Committee written explanations or statements clarifying the matter and the remedy, if any, that may have been provided by that State Party.
 
 

"Article 7
 
 

"1. The Committee shall consider communications received under this Protocol in the light of all information made available to it by or on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals and by the State Party concerned, provided that this information is transmitted to the parties concerned.

"2. The Committee shall hold closed meetings when examining communications under this Protocol.

"3. After examining a communication, the Committee shall transmit its views on the communication, together with its recommendations, if any, to the parties concerned.

"4. The State Party shall give due consideration to the views of the Committee, together with its recommendations, if any, and shall submit to the Committee, within six months, a written response, including information on any action taken in the light of the views and recommendations of the Committee.

"5. The Committee may invite the State Party to submit further information about any measures the State Party has taken in response to its views or recommendations, if any, including as deemed appropriate by the Committee, in the State Party’s subsequent reports under article 18 of the Convention.
 
 

"Article 8
 
 

"1. If the Committee receives reliable information indicating grave or systematic violations by a State Party of rights set forth in the Convention, the Committee shall invite that State Party to cooperate in the examination of the information and to this end to submit observations with regard to the information concerned.

"2. Taking into account any observations that may have been submitted by the State Party concerned as well as any other reliable information available to it, the Committee may designate one or more of its members to conduct an inquiry and to report urgently to the Committee. Where warranted and with the consent of the State Party, the inquiry may include a visit to its territory.

"3. After examining the findings of such an inquiry, the Committee shall transmit these findings to the State Party concerned together with any comments and recommendations.

"4. The State Party concerned shall, within six months of receiving the findings, comments and recommendations transmitted by the Committee, submit its observations to the Committee.

"5. Such an inquiry shall be conducted confidentially and the cooperation of that State Party shall be sought at all stages of the proceedings.
 
 

"Article 9
 
 

"1. The Committee may invite the State Party concerned to include in its report under article 18 of the Convention details of any measures taken in response to an inquiry conducted under article 8 of this Protocol.

"2. The Committee may, if necessary, after the end of the period of six months referred to in article 8.4, invite the State Party concerned to inform it of the measures taken in response to such an inquiry.
 
 

"Article 10
 
 

"1. Each State Party may, at the time of signature or ratification of this Protocol or accession thereto, declare that it does not recognize the competence of the Committee provided for in articles 8 and 9.

"2. Any State Party having made a declaration in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article may, at any time, withdraw this declaration by notification to the Secretary-General.
 
 

"Article 11
 
 

"A State Party shall take all appropriate steps to ensure that individuals under its jurisdiction are not subjected to ill-treatment or intimidation as a consequence of communicating with the Committee pursuant to this Protocol.
 
 

"Article 12
 
 

"The Committee shall include in its annual report under article 21 of the Convention a summary of its activities under this Protocol.
 
 

"Article 13
 
 

"Each State Party undertakes to make widely known and to give publicity to the Convention and this Protocol and to facilitate access to information about the views and recommendations of the Committee, in particular, on matters involving that State Party.
 
 

"Article 14
 
 

"The Committee shall develop its own rules of procedure to be followed when exercising the functions conferred on it by this Protocol.
 
 

"Article 15
 
 

"1. This Protocol shall be open for signature by any State that has signed, ratified or acceded to the Convention.

"2. This Protocol shall be subject to ratification by any State that has ratified or acceded to the Convention. Instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

"3. This Protocol shall be open to accession by any State that has ratified or acceded to the Convention.

"4. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
 
 

"Article 16
 
 

"1. This Protocol shall enter into force three months after the date of the deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the tenth instrument of ratification or accession.

"2. For each State ratifying this Protocol or acceding to it after its entry into force, this Protocol shall enter into force three months after the date of the deposit of its own instrument of ratification or accession.
 
 

"Article 17
 
 

"No reservations to this Protocol shall be permitted.
 
 

"Article 18
 
 

"1. Any State Party may propose an amendment to this Protocol and file it with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General shall thereupon communicate any proposed amendments to the States Parties with a request that they notify her/him whether they favour a conference of States Parties for the purpose of considering and voting on the proposal. In the event that at least one third of the States Parties favour such a conference, the Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of the States Parties present and voting at the conference shall be submitted to the General Assembly of the United Nations for approval.

"2. Amendments shall come into force when they have been approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations and accepted by a two-thirds majority of the States Parties to this Protocol in accordance with their respective constitutional processes.

"3. When amendments come into force, they shall be binding on those States Parties that have accepted them, other States Parties still being bound by the provisions of this Protocol and any earlier amendments that they have accepted.
 
 

"Article 19
 
 

"1. Any State Party may denounce this Protocol at any time by written notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Denunciation shall take effect six months after the date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General.

"2. Denunciation shall be without prejudice to the continued application of the provisions of this Protocol to any communication submitted under article 2 or any inquiry initiated under article 8 before the effective date of denunciation.
 
 

"Article 20
 
 

"The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all States of:

(a) Signatures, ratifications and accessions under this Protocol;

(b) The date of entry into force of this Protocol and of any amendment under article 18;

(c) Any denunciation under article 19.
 
 

"Article 21
 
 

"1. This Protocol, of which the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the United Nations.

"2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit certified copies of this Protocol to all States referred to in article 25 of the Convention."
 
 
 
 

Actions to be taken by Governments, the United Nations system and civil society, as appropriate
 
 
 
 

1. Universal access, on a basis of equality between women and men, to quality, comprehensive and affordable health care and health services and information by women throughout the life cycle
 
 

(a) Ensure universal access on a basis of equality between women and men to appropriate, affordable and quality health care and health services for women throughout the life cycle;

(b) In order to bridge the gap between commitments and implementation, formulate policies favourable to investments in women’s health and intensify efforts to meet the targets identified in the Platform for Action;

(c) Ensure universal access for women throughout the life cycle, on a basis of equality between women and men, to social services related to health care, including education, clean water and safe sanitation, nutrition, food security and health education programmes;

(d) Integrate sexual, reproductive and mental health services, with emphasis on preventative measures, within the primary health-care system to respond to the broad health needs of women and men, in a life-cycle approach;
 
 

(e) Design and implement programmes, with the full involvement of young people, to educate and inform them on sexual and reproductive health issues, taking into account the rights of the child to access to information, privacy, confidentiality, respect and informed consent, and the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents and legal guardians;

(f) Allocate and reallocate, where appropriate, adequate resources to put in place the necessary measures which ensure that quality health services are accessible to those women throughout their life cycle who are living in poverty, are disadvantaged or socially excluded;

(g) Increase efforts directed towards poverty eradication, by assessing the impact of broader macroeconomic policies on the feminization of poverty and on women’s health; and address the health needs of those vulnerable, throughout their life span;

(h) Adopt preventive and promotional health policies at an early stage where possible in order to prevent health problems and dependence of older women and enable them to lead independent and healthy lives;

(i) Ensure that special attention is given to supporting women with disabilities, and empower them to lead independent and healthy lives;

(j) Address the need for appropriate screening services for women, within the context of national health priorities;

(k) Encourage women to practise regular sport and recreational activities which have a positive impact on women’s health, well-being and fitness throughout the whole life cycle, and ensure that women enjoy equal opportunities to practise sport, use sport facilities and take part in competitions.
 
 

(a) Accelerate efforts for the implementation of the targets established in the Beijing Platform for Action with regard to universal access to quality and affordable health services, including reproductive and sexual health, reduction of persistently high maternal mortality and infant and child mortality²⁰ and reduction of severe and moderate malnutrition and iron deficiency anaemia,²³ as well as to provide maternal and essential obstetric care, including emergency care, and implement existing and develop new strategies to prevent maternal deaths, caused by, inter alia, infections, malnutrition, hypertension during pregnancy, unsafe abortion²⁴ and post-partum haemorrhage, and child deaths, taking into account the Safe Motherhood Initiative;

(b) Promote and support breastfeeding unless it is medically contra-indicated, as well as implement the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative;

(c) Support scientific research into and the development of safe, affordable, effective and easily accessible female-controlled methods of family planning, including dual methods such as microbicides and female condoms that protect against both sexually transmitted diseases and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and prevent pregnancy, taking into account paragraph 96 of the report of the Fourth World Conference on Women;
 
 

(d) Support the development and widespread use of male contraceptive methods;

(e) Educate women and men, particularly young people, with a view to encouraging men to accept their responsibilities in matters related to sexuality, reproduction and child-rearing and to promoting equal relationships between women and men;

(f) Enhance women’s ability and knowledge, and empower them to make informed choices, to prevent unwanted pregnancies;

(g) Work with the media and other sectors to encourage the development of positive attitudes about major transitions in women’s and girls’ reproductive lives, such as the onset of menstruation and menopause, and provide appropriate support, where needed, for women undergoing these transitions;

(h) Eradicate the practice of female genital mutilation, and other harmful traditional and customary practices affecting the health of women and girls, since such practices constitute a definite form of violence against women and girls and a serious form of violation of their human rights, including through development of appropriate policies and enactment and/or reinforcement of legislation, and ensure development of appropriate tools of education and advocacy and adopt legislation outlawing their practice by medical personnel;

(i) Take all necessary measures to prevent all harmful practices, such as early marriages, forced marriages and threats to women’s right to life.
 
 

3. HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and other infectious diseases
 
 

(a) Support public education and advocacy and secure the highest level of political commitment to the prevention of and research into sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, their care, treatment and the mitigation of their impact, including through the provision of social services and support, together with poverty alleviation;

(b) Increase prevention measures to reduce the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic worldwide and sexually transmitted diseases among the groups most heavily at risk, in particular young people, including through education and awareness-raising campaigns and improved access to high-quality condoms and improved accessibility to anti-retroviral therapy to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and treatment, care and support for HIV/AIDS-related illnesses;

(c) Enact laws and take measures to eliminate sexual violence against women and girls, which is one of the causes of HIV/AIDS infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, and review and enact laws and combat practices, as appropriate, that may contribute to women’s susceptibility to these infections, including enacting legislation against those sociocultural practices that contribute to AIDS, and implement legislation, policies and practices to protect women, adolescents and young girls from discrimination related to HIV/AIDS;

(d) Eliminate the stigmatization and social exclusion that surround HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and other infectious diseases such as leprosy and filariasis, and lead to under-detection, lack of treatment and violence, especially for women, so that infected women who reveal their HIV status are protected from violence, stigmatization and other negative consequences;
 
 

(e) Increase the preventative, as well as the therapeutic, measures against tuberculosis and malaria, and accelerate the research into the development of a vaccine against malaria, which has a harmful effect especially on pregnant women in most parts of the world, particularly in Africa;

(f) Educate, counsel and encourage men and women infected with HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases to inform their partners to help protect them from infection, and ensure that the spread of these diseases is curtailed.
 
 

4. Mental health and substance abuse
 
 

(a) Make available gender-sensitive and age-sensitive mental health services and counselling, as necessary, with particular attention to the treatment of psychiatric illness and trauma throughout the life cycle, inter alia, by integrating them into primary health-care systems and through appropriate referral support;

(b) Develop effective preventive and remedial health services to provide appropriate counselling and treatment for mental disorders related to stress, depression, powerlessness, marginalization and trauma since women and girls may suffer more from these ailments resulting from various forms of discrimination, violence and sexual exploitation, particularly in situations of armed conflict and displacement;

(c) Support research and dissemination of information on gender differences in the causes and effects of the use and abuse of substances, including narcotic drugs and alcohol, and develop effective gender-sensitive approaches to prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, including those specifically designed for pregnant women;

(d) Design, implement and strengthen prevention programmes aimed at reducing tobacco use by women and girls; investigate the exploitation and targeting of young women by the tobacco industry; support action to prohibit tobacco advertising and access by minors to tobacco products; and support smoke-free spaces, gender-sensitive cessation programmes, and product labelling to warn of the dangers of tobacco use, noting the Tobacco Free Initiative proposed by the World Health Organization in July 1998;

(e) Promote equitable sharing of household and family responsibilities between women and men, and provide social support systems, where appropriate, to help women who, as a result of their multiple roles in the family, often may suffer from fatigue and stress;

(f) Support research on the relationship between women’s and girls’ physical and mental health, self-esteem and the extent to which women of all ages are valued in their societies to address issues such as substance abuse and eating disorders.
 
 

(a) Support for gender-specific research on the short- and long-term effects of the occupational and environmental health risks of work, including work in the formal and informal sector, performed by both women and men, and take effective legal and other measures to reduce these risks, including risks in the workplace, in the environment and from harmful chemicals, including pesticides, radiation, toxic waste and other such hazards that affect women’s health;
 
 

(b) Protect the health of women workers in all sectors, including agricultural and domestic household workers, through effective environmental and occupational health policies for gender-sensitive work environments, free from sexual harassment and discrimination, which are safe and ergonomically designed to prevent occupational hazards;

(c) Take specific measures to protect the health of women workers who are pregnant or have recently given birth or are breastfeeding from harmful environmental and occupational hazards, and their children;

(d) Provide full and accurate information about environmental health risks to the public, in particular to women, and take steps to ensure access to clean water, adequate sanitation and clean air.
 
 

(a) Advance a comprehensive interdisciplinary and collaborative research agenda on women’s health which encompasses the entire life span of all women, including women from special and diverse groups within populations;

(b) Establish concrete accountability mechanisms at the national level for reporting on the implementation of the health and other related critical areas of the Platform for Action;

(c) Improve the collection, use and dissemination of data disaggregated by sex and age, and research findings, and develop collection methodologies that capture the differences between women’s and men’s life experiences, including through the use and, where necessary, further coordinated development of gender-specific qualitative and quantitative health indicators that go beyond morbidity, mortality and social indicators, capturing quality of life, social as well as mental well-being of women and girls;

(d) Promote research on the interrelationship between poverty, ageing and gender;

(e) Ensure participation of women at all levels in the planning, implementation and evaluation of health programmes; ensure also a gender perspective in the health sector at all levels, including through the elaboration of gender- and age-sensitive health policies and budgets, and the creation of an enabling environment supported by a legislative framework and monitoring, follow-up and evaluation mechanisms within individual countries;

(f) Mainstream a gender perspective into the curricula as well as the training of all health-care and service providers in order to ensure high-quality health services for women that can help eliminate discriminatory attitudes and practices by certain health professionals which impede women’s access to health services; and ensure that a gender perspective is developed and applied to treatment and prevention practice in the health sector;

(g) In order to ensure that women’s rights are addressed, the curricula of health-care providers should include relevant human rights topics to strengthen medical ethics and ensure that girls and women are treated with respect and dignity;

(h) Increase education and research among health service providers and users to address the unnecessary medicalization of women’s health conditions;
 
 

(i) Ensure, where indicated, that clinical trials of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other medical products include women with their full knowledge and consent and ensure that the resulting data is analysed for sex and gender differences;

(j) Collect data concerning scientific and legal developments on human genome and related genetic research and their implications for women’s health and women’s rights in general and disseminate such information and results of studies conducted in accordance with accepted ethical standards.
 
 

(a) Take action, in the context of health sector reform and development and growing diversification of the provision of care, to secure equal and equitable access to care for women and to ensure that health sector reform and development efforts promote women’s health; and address under-provision of health care;

(b) Take the opportunity provided by health sector reform and development to systematically integrate the process of gender analysis in the health sector and undertake gender impact assessments and monitoring of all health sector reforms and development to ensure that women benefit equally from them;

(c) Develop strategies designed to seek to reduce occupational concentration by gender to eliminate gender-based pay inequality, to ensure high-quality working conditions in the health work force, and to provide appropriate skills training and development.
 
 

(a) Assure a strong political commitment by the international community to implement strengthened international cooperation for development and to mobilize domestic and international finance resources from all sources for development and the provision of health services for women;

(b) Promote progress in regard to external debt relief which, with improvement in the terms of trade, could help generate resources, both public and private, to expand and upgrade health services, with special attention to the physical and mental health of women;

(c) Encourage the international community, including bilateral donors and multilateral development organizations, to assist developing countries in ensuring the provision of basic social services, including health-care services for women, in particular during periods of economic difficulty; socially and gender-sensitive approaches to structural adjustment policies are further encouraged;

(d) Encourage concerted efforts, through enhanced cooperation and coordination to minimize the negative impacts and maximize the benefits of globalization and interdependence, to, inter alia, enhance the provision of health-care services in developing countries, especially for women;

(e) In the framework of international cooperation encourage sound macroeconomic policies and institutions to, inter alia, support the provision of health- care services for women.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Actions by Governments, national machineries and other institutional mechanisms, and the international community, including the United Nations system, for the advancement of women and for gender equality
 
 
 
 

1. Actions to be taken by Governments
 
 

(a) Provide continued strong political commitment to supporting the strengthening of national machineries and the advancement of women;

(b) Ensure that national machineries are placed at the highest possible level of government and all institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women are invested with the authority needed to fulfil their mandated roles and responsibilities;

(c) Provide adequate and sustainable financial and human resources to national machineries and other institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women through national budgets, while also granting national machinery the possibility of attracting funds from other bodies for the purpose of specific projects;

(d) Structure appropriately the functions of national machineries at all levels in order to ensure effectiveness in gender mainstreaming;

(e) Ensure that mainstreaming a gender perspective is fully understood, institutionalized and implemented. These efforts should include promoting awareness and understanding of the Platform for Action;

(f) Continue to take steps to ensure that the integration of a gender perspective in the mainstream of all government activities is part of a dual and complementary strategy to achieve gender equality. This includes a continuing need for targeted priorities, policies, programmes and positive action measures;

(g) Ensure that senior management in each ministry or agency takes responsibility for fulfilling gender equality commitments and integrating a gender perspective in all activities, and that appropriate assistance from gender experts or gender focal points is available;

(h) Promote and ensure, as appropriate, the establishment of effective gender focal points at all decision-making levels and in all ministries and other decision-making bodies, develop close collaboration among them and create follow-up mechanisms;

(i) Create and/or encourage the creation and strengthening of institutional mechanisms at all levels, including taking all measures to ensure that national machineries as well as focal points within specific institutions are not marginalized in the administrative structure but supported at the highest possible level of government and entrusted with clearly defined mandates which define their function as a policy advisory body;

(j) Promote capacity-building including gender training for both women and men in government ministries so as to be more responsive to the needs and interests of women and gender equality, and develop their own capacity by making use of available national and international models and methodologies in the field of gender equality;
 
 

(k) Promote, where appropriate, and ensure accountability and transparency of government through effective monitoring mechanisms and tools such as gender-disaggregated statistics, gender budgeting, gender auditing and gender impact assessment, based on established benchmarks, and other performance indicators and regular public reporting, including under international agreements;

(l) Provide assistance, as appropriate, to agencies including those outside government in formulating gender-sensitive performance indicators, necessary to measure and review progress made in the field of gender equality, including the advancement of women and gender mainstreaming;

(m) Continuously improve the gathering and disaggregation of data and the development of statistics and indicators in all critical areas of the Platform for Action for use in analysis, policy development and planning;

(n) Give visibility to the relationship between remunerated and unremunerated work and its importance to gender analysis, and promote greater understanding among relevant ministries and organizations by developing methods for assessing its value in quantitative terms in order to develop appropriate policies in this respect;

(o) Recognize and acknowledge that unremunerated work by women in, for example agriculture, food production, natural resources management, caring for dependants and household and voluntary work, is a considerable contribution to society. Develop and improve mechanisms, for example time-use studies, to measure in quantitative terms unremunerated work in order to:

(p) Strengthen the relations among civil society, all governmental agencies and national machineries;

(q) Ensure that the needs, rights and interests of all women, including those who are not members of organizations, and live in poverty in rural and urban areas, are identified and mainstreamed into policy and programme development. This should be done in ways that value the diversity of women and recognize the barriers many women face that prohibit and prevent their participation in public policy development;

(r) Respect the involvement of non-governmental organizations in assisting Governments in the implementation of regional, national and international commitments through advocacy and raising awareness of gender equality issues. Women should be actively involved in the implementation and monitoring of the Platform for Action;

(s) Coordinate or consult with, as appropriate, non-governmental organizations and civil society in national and international activities including elaborating national action plans, preparing reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and implementing the Platform for Action;

(t) Ensure transparency through open and participatory dialogue and the promotion of balanced participation of women and men in all areas of decision-making;

(u) Support autonomous organizations and institutions involved in research, analysis and evaluation of activities on gender issues and use the results to influence the transformation of policies and programmes;
 
 

(v) Create clear anti-discrimination regulations with adequate mechanisms, including a proper legal framework for addressing violations;

(w) Initiate, where necessary, gender equality legislation and create or strengthen, where appropriate, independent bodies, such as the ombudsperson and equal opportunity commission, with responsibility and authority for inter alia, promoting and ensuring compliance with gender equality legislation;

(x) Involve parliaments and, wherever appropriate, the judiciary in monitoring progress in gender mainstreaming and strengthening gender-related aspects of all government reporting, and ensure transparency through open and participatory dialogue and the promotion of balanced participation of women and men in all areas and at all levels of decision-making.
 
 

2. Actions to be taken by national machineries and other institutional mechanisms
 
 

(a) Design, promote the implementation of, execute, monitor, evaluate and mobilize support for policies that promote the advancement of women and advocate gender equality and promote public debate;

(b) Act as catalysts for gender mainstreaming in all policies and programmes and not necessarily as agents for policy implementation. However, national machineries are partners in policy formulation and may also choose to implement and coordinate specific projects;

(c) Assist other parts of Government in taking specific actions in the gathering and disaggregation of data and the development of statistics and indicators in all critical areas of the Platform for Action for use in analysis, policy development, planning and programming;

(d) Promote research and dissemination of research findings and information on women and gender equality, including disparities of income and workload between women and men and, where appropriate, among women;

(e) Take specific actions, inter alia, the establishment of documentation centres, to disseminate gender-relevant data and other information, including on the important contribution of women to society and research results in easily accessible formats and places in order to promote more informed public dialogue, including through the media, on gender equality and issues pertinent to the advancement of women;

(f) Ensure the ongoing training on gender issues, at all levels, of the personnel of the national machineries to promote programme and policy sustainability;

(g) Develop, as appropriate, policies to recruit technical staff with expertise in gender equality issues;

(h) Create or strengthen collaborative links with other agencies at local, regional, national and international levels;

(i) Recognize civil society as an important source of support and legitimacy and therefore create and strengthen the relationship with civil society through regular consultations with non-governmental organizations, the research community, social partners and other concerned groups. This will create a strong basis for gender-sensitive policy and the advancement of women;
 
 

(j) Establish partnerships, liaise and consult with women’s organizations, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, the media and other agencies on national and international policies relating to women and gender and inform them of the international commitments of their Governments;

(k) Engage the media in dialogue aimed at re-examining gender stereotypes and negative portrayal of both women and men;

(l) Create and strengthen collaborative relationships with the private sector, including through initiating advocacy dialogue and advising private companies to address the issues affecting women in the paid labour force, and set up ways and means to promote equality of women and men.
 
 

3. Actions to be taken by the international community, including the United Nations system
 
 

(a) Implement Economic and Social Council agreed conclusions 1997/2;

(b) Implement fully the revised system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women (1996–2001);

(c) Ensure that individual managers are held accountable for implementing the strategic plan of action for the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat (1995–2000) within their areas of responsibility, and that heads of departments and offices develop gender action plans which establish concrete strategies for the achievement of gender balance in individual departments and offices, with full respect for the principle of equitable geographical distribution and in conformity with Article 101 of the Charter of the United Nations, so as to ensure, as far as possible, that the appointment and promotion of women will not be less than 50 per cent, until the goal of 50/50 gender distribution is met;

(d) Request the Administrative Committee on Coordination Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality to continue its work to implement the Beijing Platform for Action and to promote the integration of a gender perspective in the implementation and follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits;

(e) Support the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, including through support for the important activities of the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women in the fulfilment of their respective mandates;

(f) Support national Governments in their efforts to strengthen national mechanisms through official development assistance (ODA) and other appropriate assistance;

(g) Encourage multilateral, bilateral, donor and development agencies to include in their programmes of assistance, activities that strengthen national machineries;

(h) Encourage Governments and national machineries to undertake wide consultations with their civil societies when providing information on gender and women’s issues to relevant international bodies;

(i) Document and publish "good practices", and provide logistical support and ensure equal access to information technology wherever appropriate. In this regard, the offices of United Nations resident coordinators, in particular the women in development programmes and gender units, should play a critical role;

(j) Develop and disseminate gender-disaggregated data and qualitative performance indicators to ensure effective gender-sensitive planning, monitoring, evaluation and implementation of programmes;

(k) Encourage multilateral development institutions, bilateral donors, and international non-governmental organizations to make available methodology already developed on the collection and analysis of gender-disaggregated data measurement and valuation of unwaged work and to provide technical assistance and other resources, including financial resources as appropriate, to developing countries and countries with economies in transition;

(l) In order to elaborate a systematic and comprehensive approach to information on unremunerated work, the Division of the Advancement of Women of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat should prepare and circulate among all States a detailed and well-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire should seek inputs on developments in measuring and valuing unremunerated work and on policies and programmes as well as laws that recognize and address such work;

(m) Request the Division for the Advancement of Women to expand the Directory of National Machineries, by including, for example, mandates, number of staff, e-mail addresses, fax numbers and working-level contacts, so that this comprehensive information can facilitate better communication among national machineries around the world.
 
 
 
 

Draft decision I
 
 

Enabling the Commission on the Status of Women to continue to carry out its mandate^*
 
 

Draft decision II
 
 

Report of the Commission on the Status of Women on its forty-third session and provisional agenda and documentation for the forty-fourth session of the Commission^**
 
 

2. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters.
 
 

4. Comprehensive review and appraisal of the implementation of the Platform for Action.
 
 

Documentation
 
 

Report on the implementation of the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women, on the basis of national reports, taking into account the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women (Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/6, sect. III, para. 5 (f))

Comparative report on how different categories of projects and programmes of United Nations organizations are including women’s interests and gender mainstreaming issues and on resources allocated in this regard (General Assembly resolution 52/231, para. 14)

5. Follow-up to Economic and Social Council resolutions and decisions.

6. Communications concerning the status of women.
 
 

Documentation
 
 

Lists of confidential and non-confidential communications concerning the status of women

7. Provisional agenda for the forty-fifth session of the Commission.

8. Adoption of the report of the Commission on its forty-fourth session.
 
 

Draft decision III
 
 

Extraordinary meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women^*
 
 

"The Commission on the Status of Women,

"Reaffirming the commitments made in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women³⁶ that women have the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,

"Recalling that the Platform for Action, in the critical area on women and health,³⁷ included women’s mental health on the agenda for women’s empowerment, by asserting that health was a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being; women had the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; health and well-being eluded the majority of women; and one of the major barriers for women to the achievement of the highest attainable standard of health was gender-based inequality,
 
 

"Upholding the importance of attaining full mental health for all people, as recognized in General Assembly resolution 46/119 of 17 December 1991, entitled ‘The protection of persons with mental illness and the improvement of mental health care’,

"Welcoming the strong commitments to women and mental health made by the Director General of the World Health Organization at the forty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women,

"Concerned that depression affects women twice as often as men, owing, among other factors, to the imposed inferior social and economic status of women and girls throughout the world,

"Concerned also that women throughout their life cycle experience tremendous health burdens created by gender discrimination; all forms of violence, including domestic and sexual violence; lack of appropriate physical and mental health care, nutrition and education or access to them; high rates of illiteracy; and the stress of multiple and conflicting roles,

"Acknowledging that special attention must be given to the mental health needs of women, including those who are marginalized because of, inter alia, race, ethnicity, religion, age, social and economic status, physical and/or mental disability, exploitative commercial sex, displacement, migration and HIV/AIDS,

"1. Calls for the urgent implementation of the health objectives of the Beijing Platform for Action and other relevant international agreements with the integration of mental health as a priority issue;

"2. Requests Governments to include in their national policies and plans of action for women specific measures that would address the mental health needs of women and girls, especially the need for psychosocial care and counselling services;

"3. Calls upon Governments to take all possible steps to eliminate discrimination against women and girls in mental health care and to provide access to appropriate treatment that is responsive to women’s mental health needs at all ages;

"4. Urges Governments to develop and implement public awareness campaigns on mental health and education and public health policies that are gender-sensitive and focus on women and girls who are most in need of psychological support;

"5. Requests Governments to provide or enhance mental health education and both pre-service and in-service training to primary health care workers, social service professionals, teachers and other educators, and community workers;

"6. Calls upon Governments to develop and implement legislation and comprehensive social and economic policies that address the mental health needs of women and girls;

"7. Encourages non-governmental organizations, private funding institutions and individual donors to organize and support, with the consent of the Governments concerned, mercy missions (along the lines of Médecins sans frontières) to areas where psychological/psychiatric problems are prevalent among the population, in particular among poor urban and rural women, with a view to providing not only primary treatment but also training for family members and/or other persons who may take over the care of the afflicted persons;

"8. Requests pharmaceutical companies to donate medicines for the treatment of mental disorders, or to make them more affordable to areas where psychological/psychiatric problems are prevalent;
 
 

"9. Requests the relevant United Nations bodies, in collaboration with relevant agencies, to adopt measures and develop projects that address and support the mental health needs of women and girls;

"10. Calls upon the United Nations to develop and disseminate a training manual designed to provide primary health care workers, social service professionals, and other community workers with the appropriate skills for assisting women and girls who are experiencing problems and mental disorders as a result of trauma, all forms of discrimination, exploitation, abuse and oppression;

"11. Urges the Secretary-General to find ways within the United Nations and in coordination with other relevant agencies to organize regional expert group meetings with a view to developing gender- and age-disaggregated and gender-sensitive psychosocial and mental health situation analyses and indicators as bases for determining progress in women’s and girls’ emotional well-being and mental health, for submission to the Commission on the Status of Women at its forty-seventh session;

"12. Invites concerned non-governmental organizations, funding sources and the private sector to support and develop a programme that will bring a wide range of expertise and proven interventions to the training of local community workers, teachers and primary health care staff and provide appropriate interventions for stress-related disorders to girls and women in crisis;

"13. Decides to include in the framework of the review process for the special session of the General Assembly to appraise and assess progress achieved in implementation of the Beijing Programme for Action the emerging issue of mental health of girls and women, so that further initiatives and action can be undertaken;

"14. Invites States Members and United Nations agencies concerned to report on existing measures relevant to the present resolution, and/or taken to implement it, for consideration by the Commission at its forty-fourth session."
 
 

"Ensure that senior management in each ministry or agency takes the responsibility for guaranteeing that the goal of gender equality is pursued, that a gender perspective is integrated in all activities and that senior managers get appropriate assistance from gender experts or gender focal points".
 
 

"1. The Working Group on Communications on the Status of Women was guided in its deliberations by the mandate given by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 76 (V) of 5 August 1947, as amended by the Council in its resolutions 304 I (XI) of 14 and 17 July 1950 and 1983/27 of 26 May 1983.

"2. The Working Group considered the list of confidential communications (see E/CN.6/1999/SW/COMM.LIST/33 and Add.1) and of non-confidential communications (see E/CN.6/1999/CR.35) concerning the status of women.

"3. The Working Group took note of the 13 confidential communications and two non-confidential communications received directly by the Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations Secretariat and of the 83 confidential communications received by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It also took note of the fact that no confidential communications had been received by other United Nations bodies or specialized agencies.

"4. The Working Group expressed its deep concern in relation to the continuing grave violations of women’s human rights, including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and the persistent and pervasive discrimination against women.

"5. The Working Group was concerned at the continuing abusive treatment of women, including custodial deaths, torture, rape, abduction, disappearances, arbitrary arrests, forced abortions and sterilizations, harassment and arson by security forces, including military and police forces, or by other governmental authorities, particularly where separatist movements were reported.
 
 

"6. The Working Group was concerned by the targeting of civilians, including women and children, for bombing, and by internally displaced persons being subject to confiscation of property, torture and floggings, harassment and forcible evictions in conflict situations. The Working Group also noted with concern discrimination against women in access to international humanitarian aid.

"7. The Working Group noted with concern the failure of Governments in times of political instability to protect civilians, including women and children, who were victims of massacre and violations of human rights, including death threats, torture, rape, disappearances, hostage-taking and arbitrary detention. The Working Group also noted with concern the failure of Governments to punish those responsible for the violations.

"8. The Working Group noted with concern the failure of Governments to protect the rights of ethnic and religious minority women, particularly during times of civil unrest, riot and in post-conflict situations. It also noted with concern the discrimination against minorities, in particular the denial of their rights to political participation, the denial of language rights and the denial of rights to equal access to governmental employment, education and health care.

"9. The Working Group was concerned at the allegations of the violations of the human rights of women, including widespread arbitrary arrest, use of excessive force during arrests, incommunicado detention, prolonged administrative detention, detention of minors, torture and ill-treatment, unfair trial and forcible exile of political opponents and prisoners. In addition, the Working Group noted with concern abusive treatment of the wives, children and relatives of political opponents and prisoners.

"10. The Working Group was deeply concerned about ongoing and large-scale trafficking in women and girls, and noted with concern the lack of effective national and international measures against forcible trafficking in women and girls.

"11. The Working Group noted with concern the continued discrimination against indigenous families, including women and children. The Working Group also expressed its concern about the harassment of indigenous organizations and the death threats they received.

"12. The Working Group also expressed its concern about alleged cases of violation of the right to freedom of expression, particularly concerning women journalists who had suffered the threat of arbitrary arrest and detention as a consequence of their work. The Working Group expressed concern about cases of arrest, harassment, detention and the disappearance of journalists.

"13. The Working Group further noted with concern the ongoing harassment, including acts of violence, intimidation and death threats, of human rights defenders by members of the police and other authority figures. The Working Group was also concerned by the lack of investigation from authorities in cases where the safety and freedom of human rights defenders, members of non-governmental organizations and women activists had been threatened.

"14. The Working Group noted with concern violations of the civil and economic rights of migrant women workers, including foreign contract workers, who were subjected to ill-treatment, limited personal freedom and inadequate or no payment for their work, without the possibility of recourse to the legal system of the receiving country for justice.

"15. The Working Group is deeply concerned about the continuing de facto discriminatory treatment of certain social groups, including women, reflected by limitations on their full participation in public life, educational choices and employment opportunities and by alleged child slavery and prostitution.
 
 

"16. The Working Group noted with concern remaining discriminatory provisions against women in national legal systems.

"17. The Working Group took note of cases referring to difficulties for women in exercising their right to nationality, citizenship and the right to family unity.

"18. The Working Group was gravely concerned by more than 35,000 communications regarding gross violations of all of the basic human rights of women in one case. They included violations of civil and political rights and of economic, social and cultural rights — specifically, freedom of movement and religion and of the equal right to work, education and health. The Working Group was also concerned by communications regarding forced child prostitution, suicide and severe depression among women.

"19. The Working Group was further gravely concerned in regard to that case by communications regarding particularly inhuman punishment, including women being beaten for disobedience, tortured, shot, burnt alive and sprayed with acid, which constitutes flagrant violation of the right to life.

"20. In considering the non-confidential communications, the Working Group took note of the continued absence of women in decision-making processes in the context of conflict prevention and resolution. In addition, the Working Group was concerned that women and children were the primary victims of war and poverty.

"21. The Working Group expressed appreciation to those Governments that had sent replies conducive to the clarification of the cases concerned. It noted, however, that some Governments had not replied. The Working Group urged the Commission to encourage all Governments concerned to send their replies in due time and to cooperate in order to improve the communication mechanism.

"22. With reference to the criteria used in selecting the communications to be submitted to the Commission on the Status of Women, the Working Group reiterated that the content of communications must refer to women and issues affecting women — that is, to injustices or discriminatory acts or practices against women."

"1. Should the Commission on the Status of Women adopt draft resolution E/CN.6/1999/WG/L.3 as recommended by the Open-ended Working Group on the Elaboration of a Draft Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, such decision would, in principle, entail programme budget implications related to the additional meetings required for the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
 
 

"2. At present, based on current standard costs, one additional week of meetings of the Committee (i.e., five working days and two meetings a day) would entail additional requirements of $67,620 for subsistence allowance to the members of the Committee and $107,400 for conference services, at full cost. At this stage, however, it is too early to provide precise estimates for the requirements of the Committee. These requirements would be provided at the time of the entry into force of the optional protocol. In the meantime, no additional requirements would be necessary."
 
 

"Algeria fully associates itself with the view of the International Law Commission that the regime governing reservations set forth in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties is, because of its flexibility, perfectly suited to the requirements of treaties, irrespective of their subject matter or nature, inasmuch as it establishes a balance between the goal of preserving the integrity of the text and the requirement of universality.

"The argument that some treaties, including those relating to human rights, should have their own set of specific reservations cannot be justified juridically, since the regime governing reservations must not be subject to any derogation and/or limitation. While it is true that Algeria agreed to an infringement of this principle in the case of the optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, that is because of the optional and procedural character of the protocol and because Algeria had no wish to break the consensus.

"Accordingly, Algeria wishes to emphasize here that the fact that States are not allowed to formulate reservations should not set a precedent in relation to either the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties or the practice accepted thus far for becoming a party to an international instrument.

"Algeria considers that women’s emancipation, although an extremely noble goal which is supports wholeheartedly, must not be utilized to justify a serious infringement of the norms and practice of international law. It hopes that the fact that there are no reservations will not deter States from becoming parties to the protocol, for which Algeria would like to see as broad and universal support as possible in view of the importance of the necessary improvement of the status of women."
 
 

"Australia will be taking the text away for further careful consideration and consultation at the domestic level. Australian domestic treaty-making procedures require a high level of consultation at the national level, including the involvement of Parliamentarians, State and Territory Governments within our Federal system and the wider community, before any steps can be taken toward becoming party to any new treaty. And naturally, this instrument will be subject to these procedures."
 
 

"The Austrian delegation associates itself with the statement presented by the Presidency of the European Union.

"In addition, Austria would like to stress that the Convention requires a State party not only to refrain from conduct that infringes directly on the rights but also to take positive measures to insure that a right set forth in the Convention can be effectively enjoyed.

"Therefore, the Austrian delegation takes the view that the Committee will accept communications concerning each and every substantive provision set forth in the Convention and will examine whether the State party has taken all necessary steps to fulfill the obligations as stipulated in the Convention. Thus, the Committee — in interpreting the term ‘rights’ referred to in article 2 of the optional protocol — could use as source of inspiration the case law of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

"Furthermore, the Austrian delegation is of the opinion that — during its examination of a communication — the Committee is free to place itself at the disposal of the parties concerned with a view to facilitating settlement of the matter on the basis of respect for the rights and obligations as defined in the Convention."
 
 

"The Cameroonian delegation associates itself with the delegations which have preceded it in commending you for the determination which you have displayed throughout the work of our Commission, a determination which has enabled us to reach an outcome that gives us cause for satisfaction today. Cameroon is bound to become a party to the optional protocol, just as it accepts the oversight mechanism for the implementation of the International Labour Organization instruments to which it is a party.

"As regards article 17 of the protocol, however, we can understand the misgivings expressed by some delegations, given that the principle of reservation is set forth in various international instruments, thereby endowing them with a degree of flexibility which permits States to ratify them while denouncing any provisions found troublesome.

"Everyone should understand, however, that we are dealing here with a special case: the advancement of women. We hope that the protocol will be widely disseminated at the national level, and that all who support the advancement of women and respect for their basic rights will recognize the merits of this protocol, including its article 17."
 
 

"Canada understands that an act or failure to act by a State party which gives rise to violations of rights or obligations under CEDAW may be the basis for a communication or inquiry pursuant to the protocol.

"With respect to the question of standing in article 2, Canada understands that the CEDAW Committee has the authority to determine the question of consent according to the particular circumstances of each case, and that the Committee should interpret article 2 in a way no less favourable than the existing practice and procedures of other human rights treaty bodies."
 
 

"The Government of China attaches great importance to the protection of women’s rights and supports the efforts of the international community in eliminating discrimination against women, including the elaboration of an optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The delegation of China hopes that the optional protocol would be widely accepted by States with different social, cultural or historical background so as to contribute positively to the elimination of discrimination against women.

"On Article 2:

"Article 2 should ensure that victims will be able to submit communications to the Committee under that article, at the same time, it should also prevent totally irrelevant persons from taking advantage of the special situation of the victims for their own purposes by acting in the name of the victims. The delegation of China, therefore, is of the opinion that the will of the victims should be fully respected, and that their representatives, if any, should be from the same country as the victims.

"On Article 4:

"It is the general practice that politically motivated communications are inadmissible in other communication procedures concerning human rights in the framework of the United Nations. That is an important principle to protect human rights properly. And this principle should be equally applied to communication procedures under this protocol. In this respect, the delegation of China is of the opinion that the phrase of ‘an abuse of the right to submit a communication’ contained in subparagraph 4 of paragraph 2 of this article applies to communications submitted for political purpose.

"On Article 8:

"In view of the substantial amount of human and financial resources required to carry out the inquiry procedure, that procedure should apply only to cases where women’s rights are seriously violated and on a massive scale. The delegation of China, therefore, understands that a single event of violation of women’s rights should not constitute "grave or systematic violations" as described in paragraph 1 of this article.

"On Article 11:

"States parties to the protocol shall protect individuals against ill-treatment or intimidation as a consequence of communicating with the Committee pursuant to this protocol. However, States parties should implement this provision in the framework of their national law. And this provision shall not prevent States parties from taking legal action against those who have committed crimes or otherwise breached the law in the process of communicating with the Committee.

"On Article 13:

"The improvement of women’s status involves efforts in various fields, including publicizing the protocol and the Convention. In view of this, developing countries have the right to allocate resources in the best interest of the women in their countries according to the specific situation of these countries.

"On Article 17:

"The Convention on the Law of Treaties contains clear provisions concerning reservations, which apply to human rights treaties adopted previously. The delegation of China is of the view that such provisions should also apply to the present protocol. However, in order to reach consensus in the working group, the delegation of China accepted a no-reservation clause in this protocol on the condition that such a clause should not constitute a precedent in drafting human right treaties in the future."
 
 

"We make the following statement, taking as our framework the general principles of international law and the standards for the implementation of regional instruments for the protection of human rights:

"1. As regards article 2, it is our understanding that, when communications are submitted ‘on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals’, a broad-based approach will be taken in determining who will be entitled to submit such communications, in order to ensure effective access to justice;

"2. With respect to the question of consent, referred to in the second part of article 2, we assume that the personal, social and cultural conditions of women who have suffered the alleged violation of their rights will be taken into account;

"3. We take it that the term ‘violation’ in the first sentence of article 2 refers to omissions as well as acts of the State party. The same interpretation holds true for article 8;

"4. In article 4, the rule of exhaustion of domestic remedies will be understood as being of benefit to States and accordingly may be waived.

"We wish to emphasize the importance of incorporating the inquiry procedure in the optional protocol. The existence of such a procedure in the Inter-American system is proving its worth as a form of collaboration with States in the fulfilment of their international obligations.

"We end by stating that the efforts undertaken during the past few years with a view to the adoption of the optional protocol reflect the commitment of our States to improving the status of women and eliminating all forms of discrimination."
 
 

"I speak on behalf of Finland, Norway, Iceland and Denmark. While fully associating ourselves with the statement made by the Presidency of the European Union, we would like to offer the following additional interpretative observations to the protocol that we have adopted today.

"From the outset of the negotiations three years ago, we have strongly supported the idea of giving NGOs a separate standing in the protocol, by including a reference to the NGOs in article 2, and allowing for the possibility that they in their own right could bring a communication to the attention of the Committee. While accepting that it was not possible to agree on this proposal, we nevertheless take comfort in the wording found in article 2, ‘groups of individuals’ which we take to mean that NGOs alleging to be victims of a violation can bring a communication to the attention of the Committee.

"Another issue that to our delegations has been of the utmost importance, has been the retention of the word ‘provisions’ in article 2 of the protocol. We take this to mean that the communication procedure as well as the inquiry procedure will encompass the full Convention, and that the Committee will accept communications concerning each and every substantive provision set forth in the Convention.
 
 

"We have taken great comfort in the converging statements to the effect that the word ‘rights’ in the text be interpreted in accordance with established practice from other human rights instruments and encompass the full Convention. In this connection, we should in particular like to refer to the CERD Convention, article 14, and the practice of the CERD Committee. It is therefore our expectation that the CEDAW Committee when entertaining a communication or embarking on an inquiry procedure will uphold this broad and generally accepted interpretation. Only in so far as the Committee accepts the principle that obligations of the State confer rights on individuals and groups of individuals will the Committee be an effective instrument in the realization and promotion of the human rights of women by putting an end to discrimination against women in all its forms.

"Regarding article 9, paragraph 2, it is our view that the term ‘inform’ should be understood as a part of a process of interaction between the States Parties and the Committee under the inquiry procedure."
 
 

"The delegation of Egypt hopes that the adoption of the draft optional protocol will be an important step in promoting the role of the General Assembly of the United Nations in enhancing the rule of law in the international community and in strengthening the rights of women at the threshold of the third millennium. At the same time, Egypt’s delegation would like on this important occasion to state a number of positions of principle in the clearest possible terms.

"1. With regard to article 2, the delegation of Egypt stresses that allowing the submission of communications on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals, as this article does, must be conditional on their being exceptional and compelling circumstances in which it is not possible to obtain the consent of the victim to the submission of such communications. The term ‘groups of individuals’ means requiring that each individual in the group should be identified separately.

"2. With regard to paragraph 1 of article 8, the delegation of Egypt affirms the understanding that prevailed in the Working Group, namely that the reference to grave violations, using the plural form, means the repeated occurrence of such violations.

"3. With reference to article 11, the delegation of Egypt stresses that the duty of States to ensure that victims or their representatives submitting communications are not subjected to ill-treatment or intimidation should be within the limits set by national legislation.

"4. The delegation of Egypt has agreed to the inclusion of article 17 in view of the protocol’s optional and procedural character, so that it cannot be adduced as a precedent.

"The delegation of Egypt requests that this statement be included in the official documents relating to the protocol."
 
 

"I have the honour to present this statement in relation to articles 2 and 8 of this optional protocol on behalf of the delegations of the member States of the European Union, and on behalf of the delegations of the Central and Eastern European countries association with the European Union, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the associated country Cyprus, as well as the EFTA country of Switzerland and the EFTA countries members of the EEA, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway:
 
 

"(a) The delegations referred to above understand the second sentence of article 2 in the light of the practice of existing human rights treaty bodies, as reflected in their rules of procedure, namely the rules of procedure of the Human Rights Committee, rule 90 (b), the rules of procedure of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Rule 91 (b), and the rules of procedure of the Committee against Torture, Rule 107 (1) (b).

"(b) We, the delegations referred to above, in accordance with general principles of International Law, understand the reference to ‘violation’ in the first sentence of article 2 and the reference to ‘violations’ in the first paragraph of article 8 of any of the rights set forth in the Convention to include an act as well as a failure to act by the State Party concerned."
 
 

"We, like all other delegations, came to this meeting with our own national positions. We recognized that there was willingness among delegations to conclude work on the optional protocol during this session as well as a willingness to adopt the draft by consensus. Some of our delegations compromised our own positions in the interest of achieving such consensus. The draft we have adopted today is far from being a perfect text. It falls far beyond the threshold we would have liked to set for a mechanism that deals with matters as peculiar and far-reaching as providing legal remedies for violation of women’s rights.

"Our main concern in the text is that article 2, as it is now worded could place the burden of proof on the victim. Considering the realities in our countries, and the fact that legal illiteracy is high, that the majority of women are not aware of their rights within their own national jurisdictions, let alone those contained in international human rights instruments. The article makes the accessibility to this optional protocol for these women even more difficult.

"Having said that, we would like to place on record our understanding of some of the articles contained in the optional protocol:

"Article 2:

"We understand that the question of consent would have been resolved through the exhaustion of domestic remedies and in any event would not preclude the victims of violations who may not be capable of giving legal consent from being represented.

"It is also our understanding that the second sentence of article 2 will be interpreted in the light of the practice of existing human rights treaty bodies, and that the Committee, when developing its own rules of procedure will take into account the peculiarities of the Convention.

"Article 8:

"The phrase ‘grave or systematic’ will be construed broadly so as not to impede the effective functions of the Committee.

"Article 9:

"The interpretation of this article will not preclude dialogue between the Committee and concerned States parties."
 
 

"In article 2, we recognize the need for a broad ‘standing’ to provide for cases of violations of rights or discrimination against women where women are not able to bring complaints to the Committee themselves for various reasons. Our understanding of this article is that, particularly where there exists a tradition of a civil society and rule of law, those acting on behalf of an alleged victim of the violations of the rights set forth in the Convention, should be able to demonstrate sufficient interest to justify acting on behalf of the victim. This would also mean that, except in the case of a legal counsel, the author should normally be a party involved in the process of seeking domestic jurisdiction. At any rate, the party should be able to demonstrate a standing association with the society concerned. We would interpret ‘consent’ as not acting contrary to the wishes of the victim and without violating her right to privacy should she so desire.

"In article 4 (1), ‘unreasonably prolonged’ should be interpreted in the light of the normal speed of justice in the country concerned. It should generally be able to establish that the delay itself is discriminatory. In article 4 (2), the Committee in interpreting subparagraphs (iii) and (iv) should guard itself, in particular, against insufficiently substantiated and politically motivated complaints, particularly when such motivation has an international character intended to exploit the procedure for ends unrelated to the protection of the rights of women.

"In seeking responses from States Parties, in article 7 (4), the Committee should take into account the logistical difficulties some, particularly developing, countries can face in obtaining information from far flung places and through various layers of language and case-history.

"On article 10, we have gone along with the ‘opt-out’ provision in a spirit of compromise. In our view, the protocol combines two distinct procedures, that of a ‘complaints’ mechanism and an ‘inquiry’ mechanism, that should really have been two separate protocols rather than one integral one. Alternatively, the inquiry mechanism could be regarded as an ‘additional’ protocol. An ‘opt-in’ procedure would have captured this ‘additionality’ or separate layer, better.

"We have no reservations to the protocol as finally drafted. For this reason, and because this protocol relates to women, we have been able to go along with article 17 on ‘no reservations’. However, our willingness to deviate from the established conventions international law on this should not be seen as a compromise in principle and cannot be used as a precedent for any future instrument."
 
 

"I have the honour to express Indonesia’s interpretation on the application of the optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, in particular concerning articles 2 and 11.
 
 

"First, I should like to state that the Indonesian delegation accepts the draft of the optional protocol as it stands, and that it is our earnest hope that the language of the draft will encourage the expeditious adoption and ratification of the optional protocol. In implementing article 2, I would like to note that it is the position of the Indonesian Government that it will adhere to the principle requiring the consent of the victims. In that regard, it is our view that victims must have the ability to choose for themselves whether or not to pursue redress through an international mechanism established by the United Nations under the optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. This freedom of choice must be respected. Furthermore, in order for women to be fully informed of their rights, the Government, together with non-governmental organizations, have the responsibility to disseminate major United Nations human rights conventions and United Nations human rights supervisory mechanisms, including the mechanism under the optional protocol to the CEDAW.

"I would note that while draft article 2 establishes those procedures for individual communications to be received by the United Nations, with the consent of the victims, that there do exist other channels of communication outside of the optional protocol, such as procedure 1503 of the Commission on Human Rights, which do not call for the consent of the victims.

"We do recognize that there are situations which may arise where the consent of the victims cannot be obtained and there is need for application of the optional protocol. In such event, my delegation is of the view that interpretation of such events should be in conformity with the rules of procedure of existing human rights treaty bodies, namely the rules of procedure of the Human Rights Committee, rule 90 (b), the rules of procedure of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, rule 91 (b), and the rules of procedure of the Committee against Torture, rule 107 (1) (b).

"With regard to article 11, my delegation would like to note that it is in line with Indonesia’s proactive policy in dealing with the promotion and protection of the human rights of women. The Government of Indonesia is committed to the protection of victims who come forward, through its draft legislation for witness protection which is now in the final stage of completion. In addition to that legislative measure, the Government of Indonesia, within the framework of technical cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at Geneva, will implement witness protection programme for the officials of the Office of the Attorney General and National Police. The Government fully realized the necessity to encourage the women victims to seek redress when their rights have been violated and to come forward as witness and give evidence in court so that law enforcement procedures can be fully applied, and the perpetrators of crimes be brought to justice.

"While fully respecting the rights of individuals or groups of individuals to exercise their rights under the optional protocol, we need to underline the obligation that national legislation must also be respected, which is in line with the thrust of article 29 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"In closing, let me reiterate my delegation’s strong desire to see the draft optional protocol be adopted and ratified at the earliest time, and to become an international effective instrument in the protection of the rights of women."
 
 

"We would like, respectfully, to offer certain clarifications regarding a few of the articles.

"First, regarding article 2, we interpret the requirement for consent of a ‘group of individuals’ on whose behalf a complaint has been filed to refer to the consent of each individual in the cited group.

"Second, in article 8, the phrase ‘grave or systematic violations’ refers, on our understanding, to exclude singular isolated incidents.
 
 

"In addition, the assignment in article 11 of a State’s responsibility ‘to ensure that individuals under its jurisdiction are not subject to ill-treatment or intimidation’ applies strictly within the jurisdiction of the state in question.

"Finally, we wish to submit that the ‘no reservations’ clause in article 17 should not be a precedent for any future instrument."
 
 

"The Italian delegation associates itself with the statement presented by the Presidency of the European Union.

"We consider the protocol an historical achievement, because it gives women an important instrument to exercise their recognized human rights, even if my delegation would have preferred a stronger optional protocol.

"We are confident that the Committee jurisprudence will be open to a developing interpretation of the most controversial points, in the light of the practice of other human rights treaty bodies, and also of the peculiarity of the CEDAW Convention, which provides for a wider scope of social and cultural human rights than other international instruments.

"The Italian delegation understands that the formulation groups of individuals includes NGOs acting on their own capacity and not only on behalf of victims.

"Concerning the cases in which NGOs or other authors will act on behalf of victims, it is in our expectation that the Committee will adopt a broad interpretation of the provision enabling them to act without the consent of the victim, and accept a communication not only when it would be impossible but really difficult for victims to act personally or to give their consent.

"We cannot forget that wherever women’s rights are seriously violated, women are detained, or tortured, or at risk of retaliation.

"The Italian delegation understands the term rights under article 2 as referring to all the substantive provisions set forth in the Convention, also concerning social and cultural achievements. Therefore we take the view that the Committee will accept a communication whenever it is related not only to a direct violation but also to a failure of a State to comply with an obligation set forth in the CEDAW Convention.

"We are aware that the adoption of the protocol is the result not only of the work of government representatives and legal experts but also of the pressure and mobilization of NGOs and women’s movements.

"This places a major responsibility on our shoulders, to ensure speedy ratification of the protocol and effective enforcement of its provisions.

"We are convinced that women’s movements which have worked with us for the protocol will continue to work to make it a stronger instrument for a full implementation of women’s human rights."
 
 

Japan
 
 

"The delegation of Japan wishes to make interpretative statement on the following points:
 
 

"Article 2:

"The phrase ‘on behalf of’ is interpreted in light of the practices already established under the rules of procedures of other human rights instruments. It is also my delegation’s understanding that the term ‘groups of individuals’ is being used so as to indicate that each individual in a group is identified.

"Article 8:

"An inquiry procedure, which is conducted by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women upon its receipt of reliable information indicating grave or systematic violations by a State party to this protocol of rights set forth in the Convention to Eliminate Discrimination against Women, shall not be conducted for individual and accidental cases.

"Article 11:

"This article intends to protect individuals who communicated with the Committee either under article 2 or under article 8, but a State party to this protocol that makes a declaration under article 10 shall not have any such obligation under article 11 with regard to individuals communicating with the Committee under article 8."
 
 

"Jordan wishes to express its continued and serious concern with article 17 relating to reservations. In this form adopted by the Working Group, article 17 precludes reservations to the optional protocol. Jordan believes that article 17 within the context and nature of the protocol not only has the potential to discourage ratification efforts of this protocol but also runs contrary to the well established practice of ‘permitting’ appropriate reservations in all non-restrictive multilateral treaties as coded in articles (19–23) of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Jordan, like many States, regards the Convention rules, in their entirety, as stating custom as underscored by the European Commission on Human Rights in the Temeltasch Case.

"Article 19 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties articulates the general permissibility of a State to formulate a reservation notwithstanding the exceptional cases listed by the article 19 of the aforementioned convention, including article 19 (a), which precludes a State from formulating a reservation if the treaty prohibits the reservation which article 17 of this protocol seems to be based on.

"In this regard, we do not hold the view that the integrity of the protocol would have been affected in the absence of a prohibition on reservations or that there is compelling necessity that the optional protocol prohibit reservations. The optional protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Protocol Instituting a Conciliation and Good Offices Commission to be responsible for seeking a settlement of any dispute which may arise between States Parties to the Convention Against Discrimination in Education, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination are only examples of this practice. Any exception should show compelling considerations of mutual interests being affected if reservations were permitted, as the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea and the recent ICC Rome Statute clearly demonstrated. We view non-restrictive multilateral treaties as being generally governed by this ‘permissive’ practice with no categorized exceptions, including universal human rights treaties and procedural instruments, to achieve those rights.

"The integrity of any non-restrictive multilateral treaty or protocol would only be materially affected if a reservation of a substantial kind were to be formulated which renders it incompatible with the object and purpose of the treaty coded in article 19 (c) of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

"My delegation, ultimately views, and I quote from the commentary of the International Law Commission 1966, that ‘what is essential to ensure both the effectiveness and the integrity of the treaty is that a sufficient number of states should become parties to it, accepting the great bulk of its provisions’. We view that in the present era of diversity and change and of challenge of traditional concepts, the rule calculated to promote the widest possible acceptance of common agreement and expressed in a multilateral instrument may be the one better suited to the immediate needs of the international community which allows for ‘qualified permissibility’ and maintains progressive development towards the eventual elimination of compelling conditions that rendered reservations on the national level. In the spirit of constructive compromise, my delegation did not want to break consensus but stresses that the adoption of article 17 should not constitute a precedent in the future."
 
 

"The Moroccan delegation stresses that the interpretation of the provisions of the Protocol will be subordinated to absolute respect for the sovereignty of Morocco and its moral and spiritual values and to the compatibility of those provisions with the Constitution of Morocco."
 
 

"1. The Netherlands delegation is of the opinion that the draft optional protocol to the women’s Convention that we just adopted provides a sound legal basis for the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to further enhance its role in the protection of women’s human rights. The communications procedure and the inquiry procedure which are contained in the optional protocol are important means, as experience has shown with other global and regional human rights treaties. These procedures give more substance and meaning to the provisions of the women’s Convention in situations most needed.

"2. From the practice of other international human rights treaty bodies, it is evident to the Netherlands delegation that the admissibility criteria contained in article 4, paragraph 2, subparagraph iii (manifestly ill-founded or not sufficiently substantiated) are concrete illustrations of the general admissibility criterion contained in article 4, paragraph 2, subparagraph ii, which provides that a communication should be compatible with the provisions of the Convention."
 
 

"New Zealand welcomes adoption of the text of the optional protocol.

"New Zealand would like to place on the record its understanding of Article 2.

"Our understanding is that this article is to be interpreted by reference to the current practice of other human rights treaty bodies in relation to communications procedures."
 
 

"On the substantive aspects of the optional protocol, my delegation would like to stress the following points:

"1. We understand article 2 in light of existing practices of human rights treaty bodies contained in their rules of procedure. In article 2, the justification of an author to act on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals must take into consideration the structural contexts of women’s lives — the political, social, economic and cultural constraints and obstacles in women’s public and private lives. These structural constraints place women in situations where they may not be able to exercise their rights fully much less give their consent in crisis and emergency cases. We therefore broadly interpret the circumstances justifying an author acting on behalf of a victim to include some of these circumstances:

Where a complaint is made on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals, such complaints may be made by NGOs such as women’s groups and human rights organizations which are already protecting and defending women’s human rights on the ground in many countries.

"2. On article 8 (1), we understand the term ‘grave’ to be distinct from systemic and imposes no higher standard than ‘serious’ violations.

"3. In both article 2, and 8 (1) we interpret violation of any rights set forth in the Convention as inclusive of all of the provisions and obligations under the Convention as a whole and not parts of it, namely articles 2–16 and enunciated in article 24 of the Convention.

"My delegation has always felt that although all of us here are representing our Governments, it is really on behalf of the women in our respective countries, especially the most marginalized, vulnerable, oppressed and silenced women, that we are dedicating this work on the optional protocol. Finally, let me express my delegation’s grateful thanks and appreciation to the women’s groups and NGOs that have been with us all these years, giving us both valuable information and inspiration to carry on."
 
 

"The delegation of the Russian Federation has joined the consensus on the draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

"At the same time, we believe that retaining the current wording of article 17 will render ratification of the optional protocol by a large number of States difficult, thereby significantly reducing the effectiveness of this international instrument, which must really protect the rights of women on a universal basis."
 
 

"I should like, on behalf of my country, to convey our warm thanks to the Working Group and its Chairperson, as well as to the Coordinator, for the efforts made by one and all to ensure agreement on the optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

"While Tunisia stresses the importance of the protocol in promoting the rights of women and ensuring respect for such rights in practice in order to bring parity and equality of opportunity, it considers that the protocol can only be ratified within the framework of respect for constitutional legality in each country and for each country’s national sovereignty.

"I request that this statement be included in the record of the meeting."
 
 

"I have the honour to speak on behalf of the delegation of the United Kingdom and also on behalf of the delegation of Sweden.

"We understand article 6, paragraph 1, of the protocol to mean that in cases where the individual or individuals refuse consent to the disclosure of their identity to the State Party, the Committee may not continue to consider their communication under articles 2 to 7 of the protocol.

"The Committee may, of course, take into account the information received with the communication, if it is relevant to its other functions, for example those under article 8 of the protocol and under article 20 of the Convention.
 
 

"The representative of Germany made a statement earlier today on behalf of all the member States of the European Union and the Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union as well as the other delegations listed in his statement. I have the honour to have been asked to add the following observations on behalf of the same delegations.

"Having listened with great interest to the statements made by other delegations today, we have been struck by the number of recurring themes. We are particularly pleased to note the widely shared view that this optional protocol provides procedures for the enforcement of the human rights of women which are in no way less effective than the procedures available in other human rights instruments; indeed that its provisions build on those existing instruments and should be interpreted in the light of the rules of procedure and the evolving practice and experience of the other human rights treaty bodies.

"We believe that in turn the CEDAW Committee, in exercising its functions under this protocol, will make a valuable contribution to the development of international human rights law."
 
 

"The United States of America wishes to record its continued and serious concern with article 17 relating to reservations. Article 17 has the potential to discourage ratification efforts and is contrary to the well established practice of permitting appropriate reservations."