English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

III. CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF
ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST WOMEN (CEDAW)
III.1 CEDAW: BASIC INFORMATION
The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is
an international treaty. CEDAW aims to adopt measures required for the elimination of discrimination
against women in all its forms and manifestations. It was adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly on 18 December 1979 and it entered into force on 3 September 1981. At
present, the CEDAW treaty has 185 State Parties. 107 Thus, it is one of the most highly ratified
of the international human rights treaties.
III.1.1 TEXT OF CEDAW
CEDAW is composed of a Preamble and 30 Articles as follows:
Articles 1-5 and 24 refer to general substantive provisions, including a definition of ‘dis
crimination’ and the general obligations of State Parties;
Articles 6-16 refer to specific substantive areas of trafficking and exploitation of pros
titution, political and public life, nationality, education, employment, health care, eco
nomic and social benefits, rural women, equality before the law, and marriage and
family life;
Articles 17-23 provide for the CEDAW Committee and reporting procedures;
Articles 25-30 refer to administration, interpretation and other matters.
III.1.2 THE CEDAW COMMITTEE
Implementation of CEDAW is monitored by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW Committee). 108 It is composed of 23 experts from various regions
who are nominated by their respective governments and elected by States Parties for four
years. They serve in their personal capacity. The experts exercise the function of monitoring
by: (a) requiring States Parties to submit reports and engage in a constructive dialogue with
the CEDAW Committee; (b) issuing Concluding Comments; and (c) drafting General
Recommendations (GRs).
49
III.1.3 REPORTING PROCESS
States Parties to CEDAW are required to submit an initial report one year after ratifying or
acceding to it, and a periodic report every four years after that. 109 After the submission of its
107
This is as of September 2008
108
CEDAW, Article 17(1)
109
Ibid., Article 18
A Gendered and Rights-Based Review of Vietnamese Legal Documents through the Lens of CEDAW