General Documents Not Relating To Specific States - Meetings of State Parties or of the UN Economic and Social Council - CEDAW - 1995 - Provisional Agenda

CEDAW

Convention on the Elimination

of All Forms of Discrimination

against Women

5. Discussion of General Assembly decision 49/448 of 23 December 1994, on consideration of the request for the revision of article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which reads as follows:

"The General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Third Committee, aware that the Governments of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden had made a written request for the revision of article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by replacing the words 'normally meet for a period of not more than two weeks annually in order' by the words 'meet annually for a period necessary', and having noted that article 26 of the Convention stipulates that the General Assembly shall decide upon the steps, if any, to be taken in respect of such a request decided:

"(a)To request the States parties to the Convention to consider the request for a revision of article 20, paragraph 1, at a meeting to be convened in 1995;

"(b)To request the States parties at the meeting to limit the scope of revision of the Convention to article 20, paragraph 1, thereof."

In its resolution 49/164 of 23 December 1994, on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Assembly recommended "that the States parties to the Convention, in the light of the reports mentioned in paragraphs 6 and 7 above, review the working situation of the Committee and its capacity to fulfil its mandate more effectively, and in this context also that the States parties consider the possibility of amending article 20 of the Convention so as to allow for sufficient meeting time for the Committee". It also requested the States parties to the Convention to meet in 1995 in order to consider the review of article 20 of the Convention mentioned in paragraph 8 above. The reports mentioned in the resolution included the report of the Secretary-General on the working methods of the Committee and its capacity to fulfil its mandate 1/ as well as the reports of the Committee on its twelfth 2/ and thirteenth 3/ sessions.

At its fourteenth session, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women adopted general recommendation 22, in which it recommended "that the States parties favourably consider amending article 20 of the Convention in respect of the meeting time of the Committee, so as to allow it to meet annually for such duration as is necessary for the effective performance of its functions under the Convention, with no specific restriction except for that which the General Assembly shall decide"; it further recommended "that the Meeting of States Parties receive an oral report from the Chairperson of the Committee on the difficulties faced by the Committee in performing its functions".

2/ Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 38 (A/48/38).