against Women
Forty-second session
Summary record of the 867th meeting
Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on Friday, 7 November 2008, at 4 p.m.
C hair person:Ms. Šimonović
Contents
Adoption of the report of the Committee on its forty-second session
Provisional agenda for the forty-third session
Statement by the Chairperson
Closure of the session
The meeting was called to order at 4.20 p.m.
Adoption of the report of the Committee on its forty-second session (CEDAW/C/2008/III/L.1; CEDAW/C/BHR/CO/2, CEDAW/C/BEL/CO/6, CEDAW/C/CAN/CO/7, CEDAW/C/ECU/CO/7, CEDAW/C/SLV/CO/7, CEDAW/C/KGZ/CO/3, CEDAW/C/MDG/CO/5, CEDAW/C/MNG/CO/7, CEDAW/C/MMR/CO/3, CEDAW/C/PRT/CO/7, CEDAW/C/SVN/CO/4 and CEDAW/C/URY/CO/7)
1.Ms. Dairiam (Rapporteur) introduced document CEDAW/C/2008/III/L.1, containing sections of the Committee’s draft report, and the conference room papers containing its concluding comments, as amended, on the 12 reports by States parties which it had considered during the session.
2.The Chairperson said she took it that the Committee wished to adopt the sections of the draft report contained in document CEDAW/C/2008/III/L.1 and the conference room papers just mentioned.
3. It was so decided.
4.Ms. Dairiam (Rapporteur) introduced the draft report of the Working Group of the Whole which described the activities and actions taken by the Committee under items 5, 6 and 7 of the provisional agenda (CEDAW/C/2008/III/1).
5.The Chairperson said she took it that the Committee wished to adopt the draft report of the Working Group of the Whole, 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 forty-second session was adopted as a whole , as amended, subject to finalization by the Rapporteur.
Provisional agenda for the forty-third session
8.Ms. Dairiam (Rapporteur) drew attention to the provisional agenda for the forty-third session, which was to be found in the report of the Working Group of the Whole.
9. The provisional agenda for the forty-third session was adopted.
Statement by the Chairperson
10.The Chairperson said that, at the previous meeting, the Committee had heard a statement by Ms.Navi Pillay, the new High Commissioner for Human Rights.
11.During the session, the Committee had considered the reports of 12 States parties and adopted concluding comments and had worked hard with State representatives to identify solutions to the challenges of persistent discrimination. Regular and timely reporting strengthened States’ accountability for compliance with international treaty obligations. She urged States parties to ensure that the Committee’s concluding comments were discussed in Parliament and that periodic and follow-up reports were also made available.
12.On behalf of the Committee, she expressed appreciation for the contributions made by the representatives of United Nations entities. She also expressed gratitude for the contributions of non‑governmental organizations at briefings and informal meetings and encouraged them to deepen their advocacy for the promotion and protection of women’s human rights and the implementation of the Convention. There had also been some input from national human rights bodies and she urged all such bodies to pay increased attention to the Committee’s work as they served as a bridge between Government and civil society. She congratulated Mauritius and Mozambique on their decision to accept the Optional Protocol during the current session.
13.The Committee had adopted its general recommendation No. 26 on migrant women workers and had begun work on general recommendations on older women and on the economic consequences of divorce, while the adoption of a draft general recommendation on article 2 was planned for 2009. The Committee had also adopted a statement on the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and had considered its inputs to the Durban Review Conference that would take place in April 2009. There had been a fruitful discussion with representatives of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to discuss ways of collaborating on issues of concern to that Office.
14.She called on States parties to consider the possibility of supporting the celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of the Convention and the tenth anniversary of the Optional Protocol in 2009. That anniversary could raise the visibility and implementation of the Convention and the Optional Protocol.
15.She paid tribute to the experts whose terms on the Committee would expire at the end of 2008: they had all made remarkable contributions to the work of the Committee. She also expressed appreciation to Ms. Kintu, the Secretary, for her valuable support.
16.The Committee had significantly increased its efficiency over the past three years and the transfer of its servicing from the Division for the Advancement of Women to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had been smooth.
17.Ms. Kintu (Secretary) said that she would soon be retiring after 25 years with the United Nations. She expressed gratitude for all that she had learned from the members of the Committee.
Closure of the session
18.After an exchange of courtesies, the Chairperson declared the forty-second session closed.