The Convention permits ratification subject to reservations,
provided that the reservations are not incompatible with the object
and purpose of the Convention. Some States parties that enter
reservations to the Convention do not enter reservations to
analogous provisions in other human rights treaties. A number of
States enter reservations to particular articles on the ground that
national law, tradition, religion or culture are not congruent with
Convention principles, and purport to justify the reservation on
that basis. Some States enter a reservation to article 2, although
their national constitutions or laws prohibit discrimination. There
is therefore an inherent conflict between the provisions of the
State's constitution and its reservation to the Convention. Some
reservations are drawn so widely that their effect cannot be limited
to specific provisions in the Convention.
For specific reservations by country, click here.
To download a PDF version of CEDAW/SP/2006/2: Declarations,
reservations, objections and notifications of withdrawal of
reservations relating to the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women, click on the preferred
language link: [ A C E F R S]
Impermissible reservations
Article 28, paragraph 2, of the Convention adopts the
impermissibility principle contained in the Vienna Convention on the
Law of Treaties. It states that a reservation incompatible with the
object and purpose of the present Convention shall not be
permitted.
Although the Convention does not prohibit the entering of
reservations, those which challenge the central principles of the
Convention are contrary to the provisions of the Convention and to
general international law. As such they may be challenged by other
States parties.
Articles 2 and 16 are considered by the Committee to be core
provisions of the Convention. Although some States parties have
withdrawn reservations to those articles, the Committee is
particularly concerned at the number and extent of reservations
entered to those articles.
The Committee holds the view that article 2 is central to the
objects and purpose of the Convention. States parties which ratify
the Convention do so because they agree that discrimination against
women in all its forms should be condemned and that the strategies
set out in article 2, subparagraphs (a) to (g), should be
implemented by States parties to eliminate it.
Neither traditional, religious or cultural practice nor
incompatible domestic laws and policies can justify violations of
the Convention. The Committee also remains convinced that
reservations to article 16, whether lodged for national,
traditional, religious or cultural reasons, are incompatible with
the Convention and therefore impermissible and should be reviewed
and modified or withdrawn.
Removing reservations
The Committee considers that those States parties which have
entered reservations to the Convention have certain options open to
them. According to the Special Rapporteur appointed by the
International Law Commission to report on the law and practice
relating to reservations to treaties a State party may:
(a) After having examined the finding in good faith, maintain its
reservation;
(b) Withdraw its reservation;
(c) "Regularize" its situation by replacing its impermissible
reservation with a permissible reservation;
(d) Renounce being a party to the Treaty.
To date, few reservations to article 2 have been withdrawn or
modified by any State party and that reservations to article 16 are
rarely withdrawn.
The role of the Committee
The Committee has certain responsibilities as the body of experts
charged with the consideration of periodic reports submitted to it.
The Committee, in its examination of States' reports, enters into
constructive dialogue with the State party and makes concluding
comments routinely expressing concern at the entry of reservations,
in particular to articles 2 and 16, or the failure of States parties
to withdraw or modify them.
The Special Rapporteur considers
that control of the permissibility of reservations is the primary
responsibility of the States parties. However, the Committee again
wishes to draw to the attention of States parties its grave concern
at the number and extent of impermissible reservations. It also
expresses concern that, even when States object to such reservations
there appears to be a reluctance on the part of the States concerned
to remove and modify them and thereby comply with general principles
of international law.
The Committee in two of the general
recommendations and its statement
on reservations has called on the States to re-examine their
self-imposed limitations to full compliance with all the principles
in the Convention by the entry of reservations. Removal or
modification of reservations, particularly to articles 2 and 16,
would indicate a State party's determination to remove all barriers
to women's full equality and its commitment to ensuring that women
are able to participate fully in all aspects of public and private
life without fear of discrimination or recrimination. States which
remove reservations would be making a major contribution to
achieving the objectives of both formal and de facto or substantive
compliance with the
Convention. |