{"id":212373,"date":"1998-02-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T20:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?p=212373"},"modified":"2019-03-12T20:25:24","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T20:25:24","slug":"auto-insert-212373","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/auto-insert-212373\/","title":{"rendered":"CSW – Forty-Second Session – Press release"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

States Parties to
\n Convention on Women
\nTenth Session
\n1st Meeting (AM)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/span>STATES PARTIES TO CONVENTION ON ELIMINATION<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t<\/span>OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
\n\t\t<\/span>   ELECT TWELVE EXPERTS TO SERVE ON MONITORING BODY<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  The States parties  to the Convention on the  Elimination of All Forms  of
\nDiscrimination  against Women  this  morning  elected 12  experts  to  serve
\nfouryear  terms  on  the  Committee on  the  Elimination  of  Discrimination
\nagainst  Women, beginning 1 January  1999.  The Committee  is the monitoring
\nbody for the Convention.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  Acting  by  secret  ballot,  the meeting elected eight new members and re-<\/p>\n

elected   four  current  members.   The  expert  members  are  nominated  by
\ngovernments but serve in their personal capacity.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

  Re-elected to  the Committee were:  Charlotte Abaka, of Ghana; Emna Aouij,
\nof Tunisia; Ivanka Corti, of Italy; and Carmel Shalev, of Israel. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  Addressing the  meeting on behalf of  the Secretary-General, Angela  King,
\nSpecial  Adviser on Gender  Issues and Advancement  of Women, said that with
\n161 States parties to  the Convention, it was second only to the  Convention
\non  the Rights of the Child as the most widely ratified human rights treaty.
\nDespite some  far-reaching  reservations  by  certain  countries,  universal
\nratification  of the  Convention by  the  year  2000 remained  an achievable
\ngoal.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  At the  outset of  the meeting, the  States parties elected  the following
\nofficers for  their meeting:   Samir Moubarak  (Lebanon), Chairperson;  Wila
\nGrace  Banda Chigaga  (Zambia),  Karin A.M.C.  Wester  (Netherlands),  Janis
\nPriedkalns (Latvia), and Carlston B. Boucher (Barbados), Vice-Chairpersons.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  Meetings of the States parties to the Convention are held every two years.<\/p>\n

  Work Programme of States Parties<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  The States parties to  the Convention on  the Elimination of All Forms  of
\nDiscrimination  against Women met  this morning  to elect 12  members of the
\nCommittee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  The  23-member   expert  Committee   is  the  monitoring   body  for   the
\nimplementation of  the Convention,  the most  comprehensive legally  binding
\ntreaty  on women's rights.   Often  referred to as an  international bill of
\nrights for women, the  Convention sets an agenda for national action to  end
\ndiscrimination.  The first  16 of its 30 articles  call on States parties to
\ntake  appropriate measures to  ensure women's civil, political, economic and
\ncultural rights  and their legal  equality.  The  Convention was adopted  by
\nthe General  Assembly on  18  December 1979  and  entered  into force  on  3<\/p>\n

September 1981.  Experts  serve the Committee in their personal capacity and
\nare elected for four-year terms.  <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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

information on the  candidates is available in document CEDAW\/SP\/1998\/3  and
\nAdd.1.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  The 12 Members whose terms will expire on 31 December are: Charlotte Abaka,<\/p>\n

of Ghana;  Emna Aouij,  of Tunisia; Tendai  Ruth Bare,  of Zimbabwe; Desiree<\/p>\n

Patricia  Bernard, of Guyana; Miriam Estrada  Castillo,  of  Ecuador; Ivanka<\/p>\n

Corti, of Italy; Aurora  Javate  de  Dios,  of  the  Philippines;  Sunaryati<\/p>\n

Hartono, of Indonesia;  Ginko Sato,  of Japan; Carmel Shalev, of Israel; Lin<\/p>\n

Shangzhen, of China; and Mervat Tallawy, of Egypt.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  The 11 Members who will continue  to  serve  on  the  Committee  until  31<\/p>\n

December 2000 are:  Ayse Feride Acar, of Turkey; Carlota Bustelo  Garcia del<\/p>\n

Real, of Spain; Silvia  Cartwright,  of  New Zealand;  Yolanda Ferrer Gomez,<\/p>\n

of Cuba; Aida Gonzalez, of Mexico; Salma Khan, of Bangladesh; Yung-Chung Kim,<\/p>\n

of Republic  of Korea; Ahoua  Ouedraogo, of Burkina Faso; Anne Lise Ryel, of<\/p>\n

Norway; Hanna Beate Schopp-Schilling, of Germany; and Kongit Sinegiorgis, of<\/p>\n

Ethiopia.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  The  States parties  also have  before  them  information provided  by the
\nSecretary-General   according  to   article  28   of  the   Convention,   on
\nobservations, declarations,  objections and  notifications of  withdrawal of
\nreservations relating to the Convention (document CEDAW\/SP\/1998\/2).
\n  
\n  By the  terms of  the Convention,  States parties  are called  on to  take
\nmeasures such as:  guaranteeing basic  human rights and fundamental freedoms
\nof women;  ensuring suppression of  the traffic in  and exploitation of  the
\nprostitution  of   women;  eliminating  discrimination   against  women   in
\npolitical and public life; ensuring women's  equal rights to acquire, change
\nor  retain their  nationality; and eliminating discrimination  in the fields
\nof education,  employment, health  and other  areas of  economic and  social
\nlife.   Other articles address  such issues as  the problems  faced by rural
\nwomen,  equality  before  the law,  and  the  elimination  of discrimination
\nagainst women within marriage  and the family.  The  rights of women to take<\/p>\n

part in the political and public life of their  countries and to perform all
\nfunctions  at  all  levels  of  government   are  also  guaranteed  by   the
\nConvention.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  Article  1  of the  Convention  defines  discrimination against  women  as
\nfollows:  "any distinction,  exclusion or restriction  made on the basis  of
\nsex  which  has  the  effect  or  purpose  of  impairing  or nullifying  the
\nrecognition,  enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective  of their marital
\nstatus, on  a basis  of  equality of  men and  women,  of  human rights  and
\nfundamental freedoms  in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or
\nany other field".<\/p>\n

  States Parties<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  As  at 15  January,  the following  161  States have  either  ratified  or
\nacceded to the Convention:  Albania,  Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua  and<\/p>\n

Barbuda,  Argentina,  Armenia,  Australia,   Austria,  Azerbaijan,  Bahamas,
\nBangladesh,  Barbados, Belarus,  Belgium,  Belize, Benin,  Bhutan,  Bolivia,
\nBosnia and Herzegovina,  Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso,  Burundi,
\nCambodia,  Cameroon, Canada,  Cape Verde,  Central African  Republic,  Chad,
\nChile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire,  Croatia,
\nCuba, Cyprus,  Czech Republic,  Democratic Republic  of the Congo,  Denmark,
\nDominica,  Dominican  Republic,  Ecuador,  Egypt,  El  Salvador,  Equatorial
\nGuinea, Eritrea,  Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji,  Finland, France, Gabon,  Gambia,
\nGeorgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea,  Guinea-Bissau,
\nGuyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq,  Ireland,
\nIsrael, Italy,  Jamaica, Japan, Jordan,  Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan,  Kuwait,
\nLao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia,  Libya,
\nLiechtenstein, Lithuania and Luxembourg.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  Also, Madagascar,  Malawi,  Malaysia,  Maldives, Mali,  Malta,  Mauritius,
\nMexico,   Mongolia,   Morocco,   Mozambique,    Myanmar,   Namibia,   Nepal,
\nNetherlands,  New Zealand,  Nicaragua,  Nigeria,  Norway, Pakistan,  Panama,
\nPapua New  Guinea, Paraguay, Peru,  Philippines, Poland, Portugal,  Republic
\nof  Korea, Republic  of Moldova, Romania, Russian  Federation, Rwanda, Saint
\nKitts  and Nevis,  Saint Lucia,  Saint  Vincent  and the  Grenadines, Samoa,
\nSenegal,  Seychelles, Sierra  Leone,  Singapore, Slovakia,  Slovenia,  South
\nAfrica,  Spain,  Sri   Lanka,  Suriname,  Sweden,  Switzerland,  Tajikistan,
\nThailand,  The former  Yugoslav Republic  of Macedonia,  Togo, Trinidad  and
\nTobago,  Tunisia, Turkey,  Turkmenistan,  Uganda,  Ukraine, United  Kingdom,
\nUnited Republic of Tanzania,  Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu,  Venezuela, Viet
\nNam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n

  Statement by Representative of Secretary-General<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  ANGELA  KING,  Assistant  Secretary-General,  Special  Adviser  on  Gender
\nIssues  and the  Advancement of  Women, spoke  on behalf  of  the Secretary-
\nGeneral.  She said that  161 States were now party to the Convention, making
\nit second only  to the Convention  on the Rights  of the Child  as the  most
\nwidely ratified human rights  treaty.  Although  the year 2000 was only  two
\nyears away,  the objective of universal  ratification by  that year remained
\nan achievable goal.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  While the Convention remained subject to  a large number of  reservations,
\nincluding  a number which  were far-reaching,  some progress  had been made.
\nFor example,  at its fifty-first  session, the  General Assembly  reiterated
\nthe call  of the  Fourth World  Conference on  Women for  States parties  to
\nlimit  the  extent  of their  reservations.    Furthermore, the  Committee's
\npersistent  questioning  about   States'  parties  reservations  during  the
\npresentation of  their reports  had led to  the withdrawal or  limitation by
\nseveral States parties of those reservations. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  Ms.  King said  that  over its  past  three  sessions,  the Committee  had
\ndeepened its  relationship with specialized  agencies, funds and  programmes
\nof  the  United  Nations  system  and  with  non-governmental  organizations
\n(NGOs).  Such  groups  were  now  invited  to  present  information  to  the
\nCommittee's presessional working group on States parties' periodic  reports.
\nIn addition,  informal contact between Committee  members and  NGOs had been
\nstrengthened.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n

  Turning to the main  purpose of today's meeting,  Ms. King reminded States
\nparties of  the recommendation  of the  eighth meeting  of persons  chairing
\nhuman rights treaty bodies.  It stated that  States parties were to  refrain
\nfrom nominating or electing  to treaty bodies  persons performing  political
\nfunctions or  occupying positions which were  not readily reconcilable  with
\nthe obligations of independent experts under the given treaty. <\/p>\n

  Election to Committee<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  The results of the  balloting were as  follows:  number of ballot  papers,
\n154;  number   of  invalid  ballots  2;   number  of   valid  ballots,  152;
\nabstentions, 0;  number of representatives  voting, 152; required  majority,
\n77.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  Elected were:   Mavivi Lillian Yvette Myakayaka-Manzini, South Africa, 100
\nvotes;  Naela Gabr,  Egypt, 98  votes; Chikako Taya,  Japan, 96  votes; Feng
\nCui, China, 92 votes; Savitri Wimalawathie  Ellepola Goonesekere, Sri Lanka,
\n89;  Zelmira  M. E.  Regazzoli,  Argentina,  85  votes;  Rosario G.  Manalo,
\nPhilippines, 81  votes;  and Rosalyn  Hazelle,  Saint  Kitts and  Nevis,  79
\nvotes.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  Re-elected  were:  Emna  Aouij, Tunisia,  119 votes;  Ivanka Corti, Italy,
\n110 votes; Carmel Shalev,  Israel, 83 votes; and  Charlotte Abaka, Ghana, 79
\nvotes. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

  Results for  other candidates  participating were  as  follows:   Mamosebi
\nTheresia Pholo, Lesotho, 68 votes;   Sunaryati Hartono, Indonesia, 67 votes;
\nAna  Isabel Garcia  Quesada, Costa  Rica,  64  votes;   Rokmeenee Narainamah
\nRamana  Narayen,  Mauritius,  61  votes; Miria  Matembe,  Uganda,  60 votes;
\nErnest Njara,  Madagascar, 60  votes; Eugenie  Nakpa Polo,  Togo, 58  votes;
\nMiriam Estrada Castillo, Ecuador,  51 votes; Haydee  Deutsch, Venezuela,  48
\nvotes; Hansine  Napwaniyo Donli,  Nigeria 39; Rosa  Rita Alvarez,  Dominican
\nRepublic, 35 votes.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>* *** *<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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. […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[1329],"document-source":[1809],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1841],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-212373","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-press-release","document-source-commission-on-the-status-of-women-csw","document-subject-women","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/212373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/212373\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=212373"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=212373"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=212373"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=212373"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=212373"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=212373"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=212373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}