Eight Years in CEDAW
| Author | Cees Flinterman |
| DOI | 10.1177/016934411102900103 |
| Published date | 01 March 2011 |
| Date | 01 March 2011 |
| Subject Matter | Column |
Netherlands Q uarterly of Human R ights, Vol. 29/1, 8–12, 2011.
8 © Netherlands I nstitute of Human Ri ghts (SIM), Printed in the Net herlands.
COLUMN
eIgHt YeARs In CeDAW
C F*
On 31 December 2010 my second term as a member of the United Nations Committee
on t he Elimin ation of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) came to a n end.
So far CEDAW has had a predominantly female membersh ip with only t wo Swedes,
one Finn and mys elf as exceptions. ere is clearly a need to involve more men as
members of the Committee; it was, therefore, very disappointing that even during
the last elections for CEDAW in 2010 only one male candidate (from Oman!) was
nominated a nd that mos t regrettably this nomination was wit hdrawn. is reects
the stereoty pical view from most, if not al l 186 States part ies to the UN Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discri mination Against Women (the Convention)
that the realisation of the principle of equalit y of women and men is primarily an issue
that concerns women.
Membership of CEDAW certainly requires the investment of a considerable amount
of time, energ y and commitment. Over the past eight years I attended 20 sessions of
the Committee itself and 16 sessions of its Working Group on Communications under
the Optional Protocol of which I h ave been a member since its inception in 2004.
Altogether those sessions comprised 72 meeting weeks in New York and since 2008 also
Geneva. During al l those weeks CEDAW examined almost 200 State report s, adopted
four General Recommendations, adopted views on 20 individua l case s submitted
under the Optional Protocol, conducted one inqu iry under the s ame Protocol and
adopted a la rge number of statements on various issu es and urgent mat ters, such as
statements on Iraq, Afgha nistan, Haiti, the role of national pa rliaments, the role of
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the strengthening of the United Nations
treaty bodies system. Si nce 2003, the Committee met moreover in three i nformal
sessions (Utrecht, 2004; Berlin, 2006; and Paris, 2010); those se ssions were nanced
by the governments of the count ries concerned and were used by the Committee to
have in-depth discu ssions on matters for which there is usual ly too little time during
regular se ssions of the Committee, such as issues relating to the working methods of
the Committee a nd general discussions on pending general recommendations.
* Editor in Chie f of the Net herlands Q uarterly of Human Rights. From 2003 unt il 2010 he was a
member of t he United Nations Co mmittee on t he Elimination of Discrimi nation Against Women
(CEDAW). In 2010, he was elected in t he United Nations Huma n Rights Commit tee for the period
2011–2014.
To continue reading
Request your trial