Does
the CEDAW Committee have enough legal expertise?: The competence
of the CEDAW Committee to adjudicate complaints
Concern:
The members of the CEDAW Committee have neither the expertise
nor the representative authority to adjudicate claims against
States Parties with respect to communications brought through
the OP-CEDAW. |
Response:
Currently the CEDAW Committee’s main responsibility is to
review reports submitted by States Parties, and make recommendations
as to how these actors can effectively implement the CEDAW Convention
at the national level. The Committee’s new role with regard
to the OP-CEDAW is an extension of this function. The recommendations
the Committee passes in response to individual complaints and
its own inquiries will be similar in nature to the recommendations
it makes to States Parties upon their presentation of reports
under Article 18. The OP-CEDAW does not impose any new substantive
obligations on States Parties. Rather, the OP-CEDAW simply allows
for a more effective mechanism by which to monitor a State Party’s
compliance to its obligations under the CEDAW Convention. While
this is a significant step in terms of monitoring specific State
obligations, the nature of the CEDAW Committee’s responsibility
remains essentially the same.
While a certain
amount of discretion in deciding on such issues will inevitably
be left up to the members of the CEDAW Committee, the members
have proven to be both competent and capable of handling such
discretion. The specific criteria for choosing members of the
Committee facilitates the creation of a body that is both knowledgeable
and aware of the nature and effects of violations to women’s
human rights in general, as well as sensitive to the specific
needs of particular constituencies of women and the societies
they represent around the globe. Furthermore, the fact that the
members of the CEDAW Committee are chosen by their respective
States Parties and the CEDAW Committee is organised in a way that
reflects institutional and geographical diversity, reflects the
inherently representative nature of the Committee.
