WUNRN
IWRAW Asia Pacific – Info Contact: iwraw-ap@iwraw-ap.org
What Is the
CEDAW Committee Pre-Session & Why Should NGOs Engage with It?
The CEDAW
Committee Pre-Session happens several months before the session at which the
formal review of the government is scheduled (usually 2 sessions before). This
is where the CEDAW Member State Report review process begins.
A Pre-Session
Working Group of the CEDAW Committee meets to review States Parties reports and
any additional information that has been submitted during the Pre-Session. The
Pre-Session Working Group comprises about five or more members of the CEDAW
Committee. During this review, the working group identifies gaps in information
and sends the government a list of questions and issues that the government
must answer in writing before the formal review.
The Pre-Session
is very important, as it determines the direction, tone and issues for dialogue
between the CEDAW Committee and your government during the CEDAW Session. It is
your last chance to get the government to submit written information on certain
issues that the government may have overlooked or may be trying to avoid in its
report. It is very important for NGOs to send information on issues related to
women in their country for the CEDAW Pre-Session, as this can assist the CEDAW
Committee’s Pre-Session Working Group in framing the questions it will ask your
government during the CEDAW review.
What is a List of
Critical Issues and Questions Your list of issues and questions should include:
• The most
important issues facing women in your country, • what is missing in the
government’s report and
• What you want
the working group to ask your government.
Your list of
issues and questions need not be long or complicated, as long as it allows the
working group to better understand what is happening in your country. It should
be structured article by article, from Articles 1-16 (which are the substantive
articles of the CEDAW Convention). Please refer to the shadow report guidelines
for guidance on structuring of information.
If you already
have a draft shadow/alternative report, you can submit the draft with a list of
issues and questions. Feedback from some Committee members is that they find
lists of issues or executive summaries highlighting key issues, to be more
helpful than exhaustive reports at this point. Therefore, if you intend to
submit a draft or final version of your shadow/alternative report, we encourage
you to highlight the key concerns, issues, and questions they would like the
Committee to focus on in a list of issues and questions or in an executive
summary.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
http://www.iwraw-ap.org/cedaw/cedaw-sessions/cedaw-reporting-and-review-process/
CEDAW Reporting and Review Process
Under Article 18 of
the CEDAW Convention, a State party is obligated to present a report to the
CEDAW Committee one year after ratification and every four years thereafter on
the legislative, administrative and other measures that they have to take to
implement their obligations under this treaty.
Each States party is
invited to send a delegation to engage in a constructive dialogue with the
CEDAW Committee on the report that it has submitted.
Two
sessions before the review, the Committee will hold a pre session working group discussion that draws up
a list of issues and questions which the state has to address in writing before
the review.
At the review, one
CEDAW Committee member is appointed as the rapporteur for the country. She
briefs the Committee on the issues pertaining to the country, leads the review
and drafts the Concluding Observations.
The following flowchart illustrates the
different stages involved in the CEDAW Reporting/Review process. They include
both official (state-related) and non-official (NGO) processes.
Reports Submitted on an Exceptional Basis
Follow-up Procedure (Post-CEDAW Review)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women
Forty-fourth session
20 July-7 August 2009
Ways and Means of Expediting the Work of the Committee on Elimination of
Discrimination against Women
A. Pre-session working group
6.
On the basis of drafts prepared by the country rapporteurs, with the support of
the secretariat, a pre-session working group of the Committee, also supported
by the secretariat, draws up short lists of issues and questions with regard to
reports which the Committee will consider at upcoming sessions. In general,
each list contains no more than 30 clear and direct questions that focus on
major areas of concern with regard to the implementation of the Convention by
the State party concerned. In preparing the lists of issues and questions for
periodic reports, the pre-session working group pays particular attention to
the State party’s follow-up to the Committee’s previous concluding
observations. The lists of issues and questions are intended to facilitate the
preparations by the State party for the constructive dialogue with the
Committee, to provide a focus for the dialogue with representatives of the
reporting State and to improve the efficiency of the reporting system.
7.
In order to provide the States parties with the lists of issues and questions
well in advance, the pre-session working group meets for five days (in closed
meetings) in advance of the session at which the reports will be considered.
The pre-session working group is normally composed of five members of the
Committee, taking account of the desirability of a balanced geographical
distribution and other relevant factors. To the extent possible, the country
rapporteurs are members of the pertinent pre-session working group.
8.
The lists of issues and questions are promptly sent to the States parties
concerned, usually within one week after the pre-session working group
concludes its work. States parties are invited to provide their responses
within six weeks thereafter. The lists of issues and questions, together with
the responses from States parties, which are United Nations official documents,
are translated in the languages of the United Nations and made available on the
website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
9.
The State party’s reply to the list of issues and questions should be short,
precise and to the point and should not exceed the limit of 25 to 30 pages
(Times New Roman type, 12 point font, single-spaced) and should be submitted to
the secretariat electronically. States parties may attach a limited number of
additional pages of statistical data only. Annexes are made available to the
Committee in the language in which they are received.
