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Direct Link to Full 38-Page Report:

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/Joint_CEDAW_UNHCR_Report_Final_23032010.doc

 

Link to Website of UN CEDAW Committee:

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/index.htm

 

Link to Website of UNHCR - UN Refugee Agency: http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646cbf.html

 

Joint Seminar of CEDAW Committee & UNHCR

 

The seminar was to focus on three main areas of collaboration:

 

(i)                              the particular relevance of the CEDAW to women in situations of displacement, asylum, return, (re)integration or statelessness,

(ii)                            ways in which UNHCR, its partners and women of concern might enhance their use of the CEDAW and of the Committee’s functions, and

(iii)                           possible means of reflecting the perspectives of women and girls of concern to UNHCR, in the General Recommendations on the applicability of the CEDAW.

 

_________________________________________________________________________

 

The participants agreed to the following:

 

Ø                  The Committee to undertake integrating forced displacement and statelessness issues into other General Recommendations currently under preparation on a) States’ obligations under article 2 of the Convention, b) economic consequences of divorce, and c) older women and the protection of their human rights.

 

Ø                  The Committee to further consider the issuance of a General Recommendation on women affected by forced displacement or statelessness. A proposal in this regard would be presented for approval to the 44th session of the Committee.

 

Ø                  UNHCR to produce a shorter, bullet-point version of the background paper, to assist in the drafting of the General Recommendation.

 

Ø                  The Committee to systematically examine how States Parties to the Convention implement their obligations vis-à-vis women of concern to UNHCR as part of its regular activities.

 

Ø                  UNHCR to integrate the standards of the CEDAW in all future guidelines, handbooks and other relevant policy documents.

 

Ø                  UNHCR to work together with the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, on improving the gender aspects of inputs to reports.

 

Ø                  UNHCR to seek to improve the relevance and quality of the confidential comments it communicated to the Committee, including through refining the guidance given to staff who prepared the initial drafts.

 

Ø                  Confidential comments to be sent by UNHCR to the Committee in a timely manner, to ensure that Committee members had enough time to review the information before deliberations start.

 

Ø                  UNHCR to continue the practice of presenting oral confidential comments to the Committee at the closed meeting taking place on the first day of each session.

 

Ø                  UNHCR to consider ways of disseminating the Committee's Concluding Observations and State Party reports among NGOs, other partners, and to women of concern (e.g. in camp committees), drawing particular attention to recommendations on the withdrawal of reservations related to Article 9 on nationality.

 

Ø                  The Committee and UNHCR to further explore how their joint efforts could encourage women suffering from discrimination and violence to file individual complaints, possibly through a tripartite organization involving the Committee, UNHCR and NGOs.

 

Ø                  The Committee to provide information to UNHCR on the individual complaints mechanism under the Optional Protocol.





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