The
Reporting Process
Under article
18 of the CEDAW Convention, a States 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. This monitoring mechanism emphasises the State's
accountability for ensuring that its citizens enjoy guaranteed
rights and that it is responsible for violations of those rights.
It also emphasises the importance of thorough investigation of
overt and covert violations. The monitoring mechanism thus provide
a process and forum where governments are required to answer to
their responsibilities and where different ways can be used to
ensure that they do this. The CEDAW process allows the CEDAW Committee
to encourage States to fulfill the obligations that they have
agreed to under the CEDAW Convention. It also provides a forum
whereby groups within countries can monitor the progress of their
governments and question this progress, as often opportunities
to do so are not readily available through local processes.
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.
The CEDAW
Committee will receive Shadow Reports from NGOs which provide
additional information on the implementation of the CEDAW Convention
in their country. The CEDAW Committee can use information in this
report to develop questions for the State party during their constructive
dialogue. Following this dialogue, the CEDAW Committee adopts
its Concluding Comments, which identify positive aspects, factors
and difficulties affecting the implementation of the CEDAW Convention,
principal areas of concern and recommendations. These Concluding
Comments should be distributed widely by the States party in its
country. The Concluding Comments are a useful source of information
in discerning how CEDAW understands obligations under a particular
article, and what the State should do to implement the CEDAW Convention.
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 Comments.
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