against Women

Thirty-fifth session

Summary record of the 737th meeting

Held at Headquarters, New York, on Friday, 2 June 2006, at 4 p.m.

Chair person:Ms. Manalo

Contents

Adoption of the report of the Committee on its thirty-fifth session

Provisional agenda for the thirty-sixth session

Statement by the Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women

Statement by the Chairperson

Closure of the session

The meeting was called to order at 4.15 p.m.

Adoption of the report of the Committee on its thirty-fifth session (CEDA W /C/2006/ II / L . 1 and CRP.1 , CEDAW/C/BIH/CO/3/ CRP. 1, CEDAW/C/CYP/ CO/5/ CRP. 1, CEDAW/C/G U A /CO /6/ CRP. 1, CEDAW/C/MWI/CO/5/ CRP. 1, CEDAW/C/MYS/ CO/2/ CRP. 1, CEDAW/C/ROM/CO/6/ CRP. 1, CEDAW/C/LCA/CO/6/ CRP. 1 and CEDAW/C/TKM/ CO/2/ CRP. 1)

1.Ms. Šimonović, Rapporteur, introduced the sections of the Committee’s draft report contained in document CEDAW/C/2006/II/L.1, as well as its concluding comments, as amended, on the eight State party reports it had considered during the session, contained in documents CEDAW/C/BIH/CO/3/CRP.1, CEDAW/C/CYP/CO/5/CRP.1, CEDAW/C/GUA/CO/6/ CRP.1, CEDAW/C/MWI/CO/5/CRP.1, CEDAW/C/ MYS/CO/2/CRP.1, CEDAW/C/ROM/CO/6/CRP.1, CEDAW/C/LCA/CO/6/CRP.1 and CEDAW/C/TKM/ CO/2/CRP.1.

2.The Chairperson said she took it that the Committee wished to adopt the sections of the draft report contained in document CEDAW/C/2006/II/L.1 and in the documents, as amended, setting out the concluding comments on the eight State party reports.

3.It was so decided.

4.Ms. Šimonović , Rapporteur, introduced the report of the Working Group of the Whole (CEDAW/C/2006/II/CRP.1), giving details of the Committee’s activities under the Optional Protocol to the Convention, action taken by the Committee in implementation of article 21 of the Convention and action taken by the Committee on ways and means of expediting its work.

5.The Chairperson said she took it that the Committee wished to adopt the draft report of the Working Group of the Whole contained in document CEDAW/C/2006/II/CRP.1, as amended, for inclusion in the Committee’s draft report as its report on agenda items 5, 6 and 7.

6.It was so decided.

7.The draft report of the Committee on its thirty-fifth session was adopted, as a whole and as amended, subject to finalization by the Rapporteur.

Provisional agenda for the thirty-sixth session (CEDAW/C/2006/ II /CRP.1)

8.Ms. Šimonović, Rapporteur, drew attention to the provisional agenda for the thirty-sixth session, which was to be found in the report of the Working Group of the Whole (CEDAW/C/2006/II/CRP.1).

9. The provisional agenda for the thirty-sixth session was adopted.

Statement by the Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women

10.Ms. Hannan (Director, Division for the Advancement of Women), speaking on behalf also of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, announced with pleasure that one more State party — Brunei Darussalam — had acceded to the Convention. She welcomed the Committee’s plan to adopt a new method of considering periodic reports by working in parallel chambers for the next few sessions. She was confident that the criteria that the Committee had established for the functioning of the parallel chambers would allow it to maintain the same standard of excellence as when meeting with States parties in plenary.

11.The Committee had been briefed by the Division on the United Nations reform process as it pertained to gender equality and the empowerment of women, especially in the areas of mandate reviews and system-wide coherence in the fields of development, humanitarian assistance and the environment. She also wished to inform the Committee that the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS being held concomitantly had recognized gender inequality as a fundamental driver of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the particular vulnerability of young women and girls, and she herself had at one of the round-tables been able to raise the importance of the Convention as a critical accountability mechanism for promoting women’s human rights in the context of the pandemic.

12.The draft political declaration that would be adopted later that day at the High-level Meeting contained a number of strong provisions that made a commitment to the elimination of discrimination against women and of gender-based violence and to the empowerment of women, especially in sexual matters, and showed an enhanced focus on the importance of gender equality. Lastly, she expressed appreciation to the Committee for the excellent work that it had done on difficult issues during a productive session and for its dedication to promoting the human rights of women all over the world.

Statement by the Chairperson

13.The Chairperson said that the Committee had engaged in a constructive dialogue with eight States parties, four of them reporting for the first time. In the case of one particularly overdue report, a useful precedent had been established when the State party concerned had, at the Committee’s suggestion, submitted a combined report, and then gone on to participate fully in the Committee’s monitoring procedure. She strongly encouraged all eight States parties to use the Committee’s concluding comments as a basis for their follow-up action to develop legislation, policies and programmes and to raise public and official awareness, and invited them to publicize the concluding comments widely to the public at large, to non-governmental organizations and to government officials.

14.Non-governmental organizations had once again contributed significantly to the work of the Committee, and she applauded their sustained advocacy of women’s human rights and the implementation of the Convention. At the same time, the United Nations must support the implementation of the Convention and help States parties as they endeavoured to realize the human rights of women. The United Nations system should encourage the use of the Convention as a general framework for all national development efforts. After very solid preparations that had included a briefing of States parties on the new working methods, the Committee would begin at the next session to meet for the first time in parallel chambers for the consideration of periodic reports, and was ready to take on the significant extra work with confidence.

15.The Committee had also adopted a statement on the reform of the human rights treaty bodies that proposed strengthening a harmonized, integrated treaty body system rather than focusing solely on the proposal for a standing unified treaty body. The three members of the Committee who would be attending the inter-committee meeting later in the month would be carrying the Committee’s message of reform within a system rather than a single body, and would try to gain support for the Committee’s position in order to broaden the range of reform options.

16.The Committee appreciated the support of the Division and the Special Adviser and the ongoing exchanges with them, and was discussing the invitation by the Commission on the Status of Women to make a contribution to the Commission’s annual theme and to suggest ways in which the Committee could complement the work of existing mechanisms with respect to discriminatory laws. That would be an interesting opportunity to enhance the links between the treaty body and the intergovernmental body charged with the promotion of gender equality and the elimination of discrimination against women.

Closure of the session

17.The Chairpersondeclared the thirty-fifth session closed.

The meeting rose at 4.35 p.m.