CSW – Forty-Second Session – Press release

States Parties to
 Convention on Women
Tenth Session
1st Meeting (AM)

STATES PARTIES TO CONVENTION ON ELIMINATION

OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
   ELECT TWELVE EXPERTS TO SERVE ON MONITORING BODY

  The States parties  to the Convention on the  Elimination of All Forms  of
Discrimination  against Women  this  morning  elected 12  experts  to  serve
fouryear  terms  on  the  Committee on  the  Elimination  of  Discrimination
against  Women, beginning 1 January  1999.  The Committee  is the monitoring
body for the Convention.

  Acting  by  secret  ballot,  the meeting elected eight new members and re-

elected   four  current  members.   The  expert  members  are  nominated  by
governments but serve in their personal capacity.

  The newly elected members are:   Feng Cui, of China; Naela Gabr, of Egypt;
Savitri Wimalawathie  Ellepola Goonesekere, of  Sri Lanka; Rosalyn  Hazelle,
of  Saint Kitts  and Nevis;  Rosario G.  Manalo, of  the Philippines; Mavivi
Lillian Yvette Myakayaka-Manzini, of South  Africa; Zelmira M. E. Regazzoli,
of Argentina; and Chikako Taya, of Japan.

  Re-elected to  the Committee were:  Charlotte Abaka, of Ghana; Emna Aouij,
of Tunisia; Ivanka Corti, of Italy; and Carmel Shalev, of Israel.

  Addressing the  meeting on behalf of  the Secretary-General, Angela  King,
Special  Adviser on Gender  Issues and Advancement  of Women, said that with
161 States parties to  the Convention, it was second only to the  Convention
on  the Rights of the Child as the most widely ratified human rights treaty.
Despite some  far-reaching  reservations  by  certain  countries,  universal
ratification  of the  Convention by  the  year  2000 remained  an achievable
goal.

  At the  outset of  the meeting, the  States parties elected  the following
officers for  their meeting:   Samir Moubarak  (Lebanon), Chairperson;  Wila
Grace  Banda Chigaga  (Zambia),  Karin A.M.C.  Wester  (Netherlands),  Janis
Priedkalns (Latvia), and Carlston B. Boucher (Barbados), Vice-Chairpersons.

  Meetings of the States parties to the Convention are held every two years.

  Work Programme of States Parties

  The States parties to  the Convention on  the Elimination of All Forms  of
Discrimination  against Women met  this morning  to elect 12  members of the
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

  The  23-member   expert  Committee   is  the  monitoring   body  for   the
implementation of  the Convention,  the most  comprehensive legally  binding
treaty  on women's rights.   Often  referred to as an  international bill of
rights for women, the  Convention sets an agenda for national action to  end
discrimination.  The first  16 of its 30 articles  call on States parties to
take  appropriate measures to  ensure women's civil, political, economic and
cultural rights  and their legal  equality.  The  Convention was adopted  by
the General  Assembly on  18  December 1979  and  entered  into force  on  3

September 1981.  Experts  serve the Committee in their personal capacity and
are elected for four-year terms.  

  The  22 experts  nominated for  today's  election  and the  States parties
which have proposed them are as follows:  *Charlotte Abaka, of Ghana;  *Emna
Aouij,  of Tunisia;  *Ivanka  Corti, of  Italy; Feng  Cui, of  China; Haydee
Deutsch, of Venezuela; Hansine  Napwaniyo Donli, of Nigeria; *Miriam Estrada
Castillo, of Ecuador;  Naela Gabr, of Egypt;  Ana Isabel Garcia  Quesada, of
Costa  Rica;  Savitri  Wimalawathie  Ellepola  Goonesekere,  of  Sri  Lanka;
*Sunaryati  Hartono,  of Indonesia;  Rosalyn  Hazelle,  of Saint  Kitts  and
Nevis; Rosario G. Manalo, of Philippines;  Miria Matembe, of Uganda;  Mavivi
Lillian  Yvette  Myakayaka-Manzini,  of  South  Africa;  Ernest  Njara,   of
Madagascar;  Mamosebi Theresia  Pholo, of  Lesotho; Eugenie  Nakpa  Polo, of
Togo;  Rokmeenee Narainamah  Ramana Narayen,  of  Mauritius; Zelmira  M.  E.
Regazzoli, of Argentina; *Carmel Shalev, of  Israel; Chikako Taya, of Japan;
and  Rosa Rita Alvarez, of  the Dominican Republic.  (The asterisk indicates
that  the expert  is  currently a  member of  the Committee.)   Biographical

information on the  candidates is available in document CEDAW/SP/1998/3  and
Add.1.

  The 12 Members whose terms will expire on 31 December are: Charlotte Abaka,

of Ghana;  Emna Aouij,  of Tunisia; Tendai  Ruth Bare,  of Zimbabwe; Desiree

Patricia  Bernard, of Guyana; Miriam Estrada  Castillo,  of  Ecuador; Ivanka

Corti, of Italy; Aurora  Javate  de  Dios,  of  the  Philippines;  Sunaryati

Hartono, of Indonesia;  Ginko Sato,  of Japan; Carmel Shalev, of Israel; Lin

Shangzhen, of China; and Mervat Tallawy, of Egypt.

  The 11 Members who will continue  to  serve  on  the  Committee  until  31

December 2000 are:  Ayse Feride Acar, of Turkey; Carlota Bustelo  Garcia del

Real, of Spain; Silvia  Cartwright,  of  New Zealand;  Yolanda Ferrer Gomez,

of Cuba; Aida Gonzalez, of Mexico; Salma Khan, of Bangladesh; Yung-Chung Kim,

of Republic  of Korea; Ahoua  Ouedraogo, of Burkina Faso; Anne Lise Ryel, of

Norway; Hanna Beate Schopp-Schilling, of Germany; and Kongit Sinegiorgis, of

Ethiopia.

  The  States parties  also have  before  them  information provided  by the
Secretary-General   according  to   article  28   of  the   Convention,   on
observations, declarations,  objections and  notifications of  withdrawal of
reservations relating to the Convention (document CEDAW/SP/1998/2).
  
  By the  terms of  the Convention,  States parties  are called  on to  take
measures such as:  guaranteeing basic  human rights and fundamental freedoms
of women;  ensuring suppression of  the traffic in  and exploitation of  the
prostitution  of   women;  eliminating  discrimination   against  women   in
political and public life; ensuring women's  equal rights to acquire, change
or  retain their  nationality; and eliminating discrimination  in the fields
of education,  employment, health  and other  areas of  economic and  social
life.   Other articles address  such issues as  the problems  faced by rural
women,  equality  before  the law,  and  the  elimination  of discrimination
against women within marriage  and the family.  The  rights of women to take

part in the political and public life of their  countries and to perform all
functions  at  all  levels  of  government   are  also  guaranteed  by   the
Convention.

  Article  1  of the  Convention  defines  discrimination against  women  as
follows:  "any distinction,  exclusion or restriction  made on the basis  of
sex  which  has  the  effect  or  purpose  of  impairing  or nullifying  the
recognition,  enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective  of their marital
status, on  a basis  of  equality of  men and  women,  of  human rights  and
fundamental freedoms  in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or
any other field".

  States Parties

  As  at 15  January,  the following  161  States have  either  ratified  or
acceded to the Convention:  Albania,  Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua  and

Barbuda,  Argentina,  Armenia,  Australia,   Austria,  Azerbaijan,  Bahamas,
Bangladesh,  Barbados, Belarus,  Belgium,  Belize, Benin,  Bhutan,  Bolivia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina,  Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso,  Burundi,
Cambodia,  Cameroon, Canada,  Cape Verde,  Central African  Republic,  Chad,
Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire,  Croatia,
Cuba, Cyprus,  Czech Republic,  Democratic Republic  of the Congo,  Denmark,
Dominica,  Dominican  Republic,  Ecuador,  Egypt,  El  Salvador,  Equatorial
Guinea, Eritrea,  Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji,  Finland, France, Gabon,  Gambia,
Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea,  Guinea-Bissau,
Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq,  Ireland,
Israel, Italy,  Jamaica, Japan, Jordan,  Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan,  Kuwait,
Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia,  Libya,
Liechtenstein, Lithuania and Luxembourg.

  Also, Madagascar,  Malawi,  Malaysia,  Maldives, Mali,  Malta,  Mauritius,
Mexico,   Mongolia,   Morocco,   Mozambique,    Myanmar,   Namibia,   Nepal,
Netherlands,  New Zealand,  Nicaragua,  Nigeria,  Norway, Pakistan,  Panama,
Papua New  Guinea, Paraguay, Peru,  Philippines, Poland, Portugal,  Republic
of  Korea, Republic  of Moldova, Romania, Russian  Federation, Rwanda, Saint
Kitts  and Nevis,  Saint Lucia,  Saint  Vincent  and the  Grenadines, Samoa,
Senegal,  Seychelles, Sierra  Leone,  Singapore, Slovakia,  Slovenia,  South
Africa,  Spain,  Sri   Lanka,  Suriname,  Sweden,  Switzerland,  Tajikistan,
Thailand,  The former  Yugoslav Republic  of Macedonia,  Togo, Trinidad  and
Tobago,  Tunisia, Turkey,  Turkmenistan,  Uganda,  Ukraine, United  Kingdom,
United Republic of Tanzania,  Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu,  Venezuela, Viet
Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

  Statement by Representative of Secretary-General

  ANGELA  KING,  Assistant  Secretary-General,  Special  Adviser  on  Gender
Issues  and the  Advancement of  Women, spoke  on behalf  of  the Secretary-
General.  She said that  161 States were now party to the Convention, making
it second only  to the Convention  on the Rights  of the Child  as the  most
widely ratified human rights  treaty.  Although  the year 2000 was only  two
years away,  the objective of universal  ratification by  that year remained
an achievable goal.

  While the Convention remained subject to  a large number of  reservations,
including  a number which  were far-reaching,  some progress  had been made.
For example,  at its fifty-first  session, the  General Assembly  reiterated
the call  of the  Fourth World  Conference on  Women for  States parties  to
limit  the  extent  of their  reservations.    Furthermore, the  Committee's
persistent  questioning  about   States'  parties  reservations  during  the
presentation of  their reports  had led to  the withdrawal or  limitation by
several States parties of those reservations.

  Ms.  King said  that  over its  past  three  sessions,  the Committee  had
deepened its  relationship with specialized  agencies, funds and  programmes
of  the  United  Nations  system  and  with  non-governmental  organizations
(NGOs).  Such  groups  were  now  invited  to  present  information  to  the
Committee's presessional working group on States parties' periodic  reports.
In addition,  informal contact between Committee  members and  NGOs had been
strengthened.

  Ms. King drew  attention to some of the  issues raised by the Committee at
its  January  and  July  1997  sessions.     Those  issues,  including  that
concerning overdue reports and the combining  of reports, were contained  in
the  report of the  Committee on  the Elimination  of Discrimination against
Women (document A/52/38/Rev.1).  At its  July session, the Committee adopted
a general  recommendation on women in public life, under articles 7 and 8 of
the Convention.   Also adopted was a three-stage process for the preparation
of  such  general recommendations.  It  was  further  agreed  that the  next
general  recommendation  would  address  issues  of  women's  health,  under
article 12  of the  Convention.   The Committee  also decided  to present  a
statement on reservations  as its  contribution to the fiftieth  anniversary
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

  Turning to the main  purpose of today's meeting,  Ms. King reminded States
parties of  the recommendation  of the  eighth meeting  of persons  chairing
human rights treaty bodies.  It stated that  States parties were to  refrain
from nominating or electing  to treaty bodies  persons performing  political
functions or  occupying positions which were  not readily reconcilable  with
the obligations of independent experts under the given treaty.

  Election to Committee

  The results of the  balloting were as  follows:  number of ballot  papers,
154;  number   of  invalid  ballots  2;   number  of   valid  ballots,  152;
abstentions, 0;  number of representatives  voting, 152; required  majority,
77.

  Elected were:   Mavivi Lillian Yvette Myakayaka-Manzini, South Africa, 100
votes;  Naela Gabr,  Egypt, 98  votes; Chikako Taya,  Japan, 96  votes; Feng
Cui, China, 92 votes; Savitri Wimalawathie  Ellepola Goonesekere, Sri Lanka,
89;  Zelmira  M. E.  Regazzoli,  Argentina,  85  votes;  Rosario G.  Manalo,
Philippines, 81  votes;  and Rosalyn  Hazelle,  Saint  Kitts and  Nevis,  79
votes.

  Re-elected  were:  Emna  Aouij, Tunisia,  119 votes;  Ivanka Corti, Italy,
110 votes; Carmel Shalev,  Israel, 83 votes; and  Charlotte Abaka, Ghana, 79
votes.

  Results for  other candidates  participating were  as  follows:   Mamosebi
Theresia Pholo, Lesotho, 68 votes;   Sunaryati Hartono, Indonesia, 67 votes;
Ana  Isabel Garcia  Quesada, Costa  Rica,  64  votes;   Rokmeenee Narainamah
Ramana  Narayen,  Mauritius,  61  votes; Miria  Matembe,  Uganda,  60 votes;
Ernest Njara,  Madagascar, 60  votes; Eugenie  Nakpa Polo,  Togo, 58  votes;
Miriam Estrada Castillo, Ecuador,  51 votes; Haydee  Deutsch, Venezuela,  48
votes; Hansine  Napwaniyo Donli,  Nigeria 39; Rosa  Rita Alvarez,  Dominican
Republic, 35 votes.

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