On Monday, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) will meet for its 57th Session in Geneva, Switzerland.  The Committee is the monitoring body for the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, often described as an international bill of rights for women, which defines discrimination against women and sets an agenda for national action to end it. 

In January 2013, Herta Kaschitz, Governor of the Austrian Union of Soroptimist International and a former staff member of the UN Division for the Advancement of Women, wrote an introduction to CEDAW for the SoroptiVoice blog. This week, she writes about two important new recommendations adopted by the Committee last year, on the economic consequences for women of marriage, family
relations and their dissolution and women in conflict
prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations.

As an update to the blog which I wrote in
January 2013, when the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination was holding its 54^th session, it is important to note
that the Committee has since adopted two further General Recommendations
(Gen.Rec.) to bring the total number to 30. As explained earlier, the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
was adopted in 1979, entered into force in 1981 and has at present 187 States
parties. It is the most comprehensive treaty on women’s human rights and has
often been referred to as the “international bill of rights for women”.

Under article 21 of CEDAW, the Committee may
make suggestions and general recommendations to States parties to elaborate on their
obligations and also to address areas not specifically covered in the text of
the Convention.

At its session in February 2013,  the Committee adopted Gen.Rec. 29, dealing with the economic consequences of marriage, family
relations and their dissolution. The economic consequences for women of
marriage, divorce, separation and death have been of growing concern to the
Committee. Research conducted in some countries has found that while men
usually experience smaller, if not minimal, income losses after divorce and/or
separation, many women experience a substantial decline in household income and
increased dependence on social welfare where it is available. Throughout the
world, female-headed households are the most likely to be poor.

While Article 16 of the Convention provides for
the elimination of discrimination against women at the inception of marriage,
during marriage and at its dissolution by divorce or death, and Gen.Rec. 21
specifically refers to the economic dimensions of marriage and its dissolution,
this new recommendation builds upon principles articulated in Gen.Rec.21, other
relevant Gen.Recs., such as No. 27 (referring to older women), and the
Committee’s jurisprudence, and concerns any form of family in the wide sense;
it covers also customary/religious unregistered marriages, polygamous
marriages, registered partnerships, and de facto unions. It should serve as a
guide for States parties in achieving a de jure and de facto egalitarian regime
under which the economic benefits and costs of family relations and the
economic consequences of their dissolution are borne equally by men and women.

Most
recently, at its 56^th session in October 2013, the Committee adopted Gen. Rec. 30 on women in conflict
prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations. This Gen.Rec.’s primary
aim and purpose is to provide authoritative guidance to States parties on
legislative, policy and other appropriate measures to ensure full compliance
with their obligations under the Convention to protect, respect and fulfil
women’s human rights. It also builds upon principles articulated in previously
adopted Gen.Rec., such as Gen.Rec.28.

The Committee reiterates that States
parties’ obligations to protect women’s human rights continue to apply during
conflict or states of emergency without discrimination between citizens and
non-citizens within their territory or effective control, even if not situated
within the territory of the State party. The Committee has repeatedly expressed
concern about the gendered impacts of conflict and women’s exclusion from
conflict prevention efforts, post-conflict transition and reconstruction
processes and the fact that reports of States parties do not provide sufficient
information on the application of the Convention in such situations.

This
Gen.Rec. specifically guides States parties on the implementation of their
obligation of due diligence in respect of acts of private individuals or
entities and makes suggestions as to how non-State actors can address women’s
rights in conflict-affected areas. It covers the application of the Convention
also to conflict prevention, international and non-international armed
conflicts, situations of foreign occupation, as well as other forms of
occupation and the post-conflict phase. Furthermore, it covers situations of
internal disturbances, ethnic and communal violence, states of emergency, war
against terrorism and other forms of organized crime. In all crisis situations
women’s rights are guaranteed by an international law regime that consists of
complementary protections under the Convention and international humanitarian,
refugee and criminal law.

The Committee recognizes that the various
thematic resolutions of the Security Council (in particular 1325 (2000) and the
subsequent resolutions), in addition to resolutions such as 1983 (2011), which
provides specific guidance on the impact of HIV and AIDS on women in conflict
and post-conflict contexts, are crucial political frameworks for advancing
advocacy regarding women, peace and security. In addition, the Gen. Rec. makes
particular reference to all forms of gender-based violence, trafficking and
full participation of women in the peace-building process in all areas of
concern of the Convention. On the basis of this Gen.Rec., States parties are
obliged to include information on provisions adopted in conflict prevention,
conflict and post-conflict situations in their country reports under Article 18
of the Convention.

SI’s UN Representatives in Geneva will be attending the 57th Session of CEDAW and we will share their updates via our website and social media.