Twenty-first session

Summary record (partial) of the second part* of the 425th meeting

Reconvened at Headquarters, New York, on Monday, 7 June 1999, at 3 p.m.

Chairperson:Ms. González

Contents

Opening of the session: commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (continued)

* The summary record of the first part of the meeting appears as document CEDAW/C/SR.425.

The meeting was reconvened at 3.10 p.m.

Opening of the session: commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (continued)

Round table discussion on “The Impact of the Convention at the Domestic Level”

1.The Chairperson said that 163 States had become parties to the Convention and that the Committee had considered some 50 reports of States parties during the past three years. It had also provided an assessment of progress in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action to the Commission on the Status of Women at the latter’s most recent session.

2.The review of States parties’ reports was at the heart of the Committee’s mandate. However, the impact of the Convention also encompassed the experience of individuals whose work was influenced by knowledge of the Convention; the institutional level of Government, where it provided a framework for legislation, policies and programming; the work of international organizations, which referred to it in working with Governments at the project and policy levels; and the activities of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the field of women’s rights.

3.The round-table discussion, which would not be covered in the summary record of the meeting, would include statements from individuals, including 12 former members of the Committee, and representatives of organizations with first-hand experience in using the Convention to achieve equality for women.

The discussion covered in the summary record ended at 3.15 p.m.

The meeting rose at 6.35 p.m.