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Alert! CEDAW Pre-Session for Czech
Republic, Haiti, Iceland, Japan, Mongolia, Sweden, United Republic of Tanzania,
Vanuatu.
Deadline for Submitting NGO Information is likely to
be 5 June 2015.
Greetings from IWRAW AP. We support NGOs to engage with the CEDAW Committee. We
are writing to alert you of opportunities for NGOs and women's groups from the
above 8 countries to provide information for the CEDAW Committee.
The Pre-Session - What is it?
Because Czech Republic, Haiti, Iceland, Japan, Mongolia, Sweden, United
Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu have been scheduled for review by the CEDAW
Committee at the 63rd session in Feb 2016, the Committee will first hold
a Pre-Session for the above countries from 27-31 July 2015. A smaller group
from the Committee called the Pre-Session Working Group will make an initial
assessment of the state report information during this time.
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.
Your suggestions for the 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 shadow report guidelines for guidance on structuring of
information.
http://www.iwraw-ap.org/cedaw/cedaw-sessions/cedaw-reporting-and-review-process (Best to Paste Link in Browser).
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.
Send your information to the CEDAW Committee's Secretariat by 5 June 2015 to cedaw@ohchr.org.
Please cc iwraw-ap@iwraw-ap.org as this helps us to keep track of reports submitted by NGOs.
In your email to the OHCHR do state if you information can
be made public on their website or keep confidential.
Audrey Lee
IWRAW Asia Pacific