Pre-sessional working group

Sixtieth session

21-25 July 2014

Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

Report of the pre-sessional working group

1.It is the practice of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to convene a pre-sessional working group for five days to prepare lists of issues and questions relating to the initial and periodic reports that will be considered by the Committee at one of its future sessions.

2.The Committee decided that the pre-sessional working group for the sixtieth session of the Committee would meet from 21 to 25 July 2014, immediately after the fifty-eighth session, in order to ensure that sufficient time would be available to States parties to submit their written replies to the lists of issues and questions, as well as to ensure their timely translation.

3.The following experts were designated as members of the pre-sessional working group and attended the session:

Ms. Olinda Bareiro BobadillaMs. Hilary GbedemahMs. Biancamaria PomeranziMs. Dubravka ŠimonovićMs. Xiaoqiao Zou

4.The pre-sessional working group elected Ms. Zou as its Chair.

5.The pre-sessional working group prepared lists of issues and questions with regard to the reports of Azerbaijan, Denmark, Ecuador, Eritrea, Gabon, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives and Tuvalu. In that regard, it was guided by Committee decision 49/IX, according to which the Committee decided to limit such lists to 20 questions. In practice and exceptionally, some lists contain a maximum of 21 questions.

6.To assist in the preparation of the lists of issues and questions, the pre‑sessional working group had before it the reports of the States parties listed above, in addition to the core documents of most of those States parties; the general recommendations adopted by the Committee; background information and draft lists of issues and questions prepared by the secretariat; and other pertinent information, including concluding observations of the Committee and other treaty bodies, if relevant. In preparing the lists, the pre-sessional working group paid particular attention to the States parties’ follow-up to the concluding observations of the Committee on their previous reports, if applicable (not for initial reports).

7.The pre-sessional working group benefited from written and oral information submitted by entities and specialized agencies of the United Nations system, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations.

8.The lists of issues and questions adopted by the pre-sessional working group were transmitted to the States parties concerned and are contained in the following documents:

(a)List of issues and questions in relation to the fifth periodic report of Azerbaijan (CEDAW/C/AZE/Q/5);

(b)List of issues and questions in relation to the eighth periodic report of Denmark (CEDAW/C/DNK/Q/8);

(c)List of issues and questions in relation to the combined eighth and ninth periodic reports of Ecuador (CEDAW/C/ECU/Q/8-9);

(d)List of issues and questions in relation to the fourth and fifth periodic reports of Eritrea (CEDAW/C/ERI/Q/5);

(e)List of issues and questions in relation to the sixth periodic report of Gabon (CEDAW/C/GAB/Q/6);

(f)List of issues and questions in relation to the fourth periodic report of Kyrgyzstan (CEDAW/C/KGZ/Q/4);

(g)List of issues and questions in relation to the combined fourth and fifth periodic reports of Maldives (CEDAW/C/MDV/Q/4-5);

(h)List of issues and questions in relation to the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Tuvalu (CEDAW/C/TUV/Q/3-4).

9.In accordance with Committee decisions 22/IV, 25/II and 31/III, the lists of issues and questions focused on themes addressed by the Convention. Those themes include the constitutional and legislative framework; national machinery for the advancement of women; stereotypes and harmful practices; violence against women, including domestic violence; trafficking in women and exploitation of prostitution; participation of women in decision-making; education and training; employment; health; social and economic benefits; rural women; the situation of disadvantaged groups of women, such as older women, women with disabilities, women belonging to ethnic minorities and refugee and migrant women; equality before the law; and marriage and family relations.