General Documents Not Relating To Specific States - Chairpersons Meetings - Tenth Meeting (1998) - Integrating the gender perspective into the work of United Nations human rights treaty bodies [HRI/MC/1998/6]

UNITED

NATIONS

HRI

International

Human Rights

Instruments

Distr.

GENERAL

HRI/MC/1998/6

3 September 1998

Original: ENGLISH

I. INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1  3

II. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4  25

3. The rightsbased approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10  13

B. Reform of the human rights treaty system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14  15

C. Clarification of concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16  25

III. STEPS ALREADY TAKEN BY HUMAN RIGHTS TREATY BODIES. . . . . . . . . 26  96

observations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32  38

B. Committee against Torture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43  56

C. Human Rights Committee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57  71

3. General comments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66  67

3. General comments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80  83

and Cultural Rights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86  88

E. Committee on the Rights of the Child. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89  96

Child. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

IV. CONCLUSIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97  101

V. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER ACTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102  117

1. During their eighth meeting, held at Geneva from 15 to 19 September 1997, the persons chairing the United Nations human rights treaty bodies invited the Division for the Advancement of Women to prepare a background paper analysing the measures that have been and should be taken by the treaty bodies in order to integrate gender perspectives into their work.

The General Assembly, in resolution 52/118 of 12 December 1997, endorsed the request for the study, to be used by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the human rights treaty bodies as a guide to incorporating gender perspectives into their work. The Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 1998/27 of 17 April 1998, also welcomed the proposed study. The present report has been prepared in response to these requests.

2. The report consists of two main parts. The first, on background and context, sets the context within which attention to gender by the human rights treaty bodies is to be considered. To that end, recent developments within the United Nations system to increase attention to the human rights of women and the gender dimensions of human rights are reviewed. Conceptual aspects of the protection and promotion of human rights from a gender perspective are also examined in this part of the report.

3. The second main part, on steps already taken by human rights treaty bodies seeks to assess progress made by the human rights treaty bodies in monitoring women's enjoyment of human rights within the framework of the respective treaties. In the context of trends elsewhere in the United Nations system, the analysis assesses to what degree treaty bodies have recognized that gender is an important dimension in defining the substantive content of human rights and impacts on the enjoyment of rights by women. To that end, the second part of the report summarizes steps taken by human rights treaty bodies to increase attention to gender aspects in their work. Based on the treaty bodies' review of States parties' reports since 1993, as reflected in summary records, concluding comments and general comments/recommendations, this part analyses how gender considerations are shaping the work of treaty bodies. For each of the treaty bodies, suggestions are made and areas are identified where further efforts are required. The report concludes with recommendations for action by various actors, primarily by the treaty bodies themselves, to increase attention to the gender dimension in the realization of human rights for all.

4. Three interlinked and mutually reinforcing trends have emanated from recent global United Nations conferences that are of particular relevance for the present study:

(a) Attention to the equal status and human rights of women in general human rights activities has expanded significantly since the World Conference on Human Rights held at Vienna from 14 to 25 June 1993;

(b) Recognition of the impact of women's gender roles on the achievement of women's equality, including the full enjoyment of their human rights, is increasingly shaping the development and implementation of policies and programmes in all sectoral areas in which the United Nations has a mandate;

(c) A growing trend among entities of the United Nations system to emphasize a human rights - or rights-based - approach to planning and programming.

5. The World Conference on Human Rights fully articulated the need to integrate the human rights of women into the work of human rights treaty bodies, stating that:

‘Treaty monitoring bodies should include the status of women and the human rights of women in their deliberations and findings, making use of gender-specific data. States should be encouraged to supply information on the situation of women de jure and de facto in their reports ... Steps should also be taken ... to ensure that the human rights activities of the United Nations regularly address violations of women’s human rights, including gender-specific abuses’.

6. Since their fifth meeting in September 1994, in follow-up to a recommendation by the Commission on the Status of Women,

the integration of a gender perspective in the work of the treaty bodies has been a regular theme of the meetings of the chairpersons of the human rights treaty bodies. The chairpersons have stated their support for the relevant recommendations contained in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and have proposed a number of recommendations for action by each treaty body in order to effectively integrate gender considerations into their work practices. The chairpersons' discussion at their eighth meeting in 1997 focused on the reform of the treaty system and also included discussion of gender perspectives.

7. In the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing from 4 to 15 September 1995, Governments committed themselves to the promotion of an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes, including with regard to human rights of women.

The Platform also emphasized that the goal of full realization of human rights for all required explicit attention to the systematic and systemic nature of discrimination against women in the application of international human rights instruments.

8. Since the convening of the Vienna and Beijing conferences, steps to integrate a gender perspective within the United Nations human rights framework have been taken in various forums. The General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council have given detailed guidance with regard to the principles and practical implications of the gender approach. Most notably, the Economic and Social Council adopted agreed conclusions 1997/2 on ‘Mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system’.

These provided a definition of the concept of gender mainstreaming,

a set of principles and specific recommendations for action by intergovernmental machinery and at the institutional level.

Agreed conclusions 1997/2 also make repeated reference to the need to mainstream a gender perspective systematically in areas including human rights.

9. In its review of the critical area of concern ‘human rights of women’, the Commission on the Status of Women, at its fortysecond session, recognized the central role of human rights treaty bodies in strengthening enjoyment of human rights by women. It therefore invited treaty bodies, within their mandates, ‘to continue to monitor a better understanding of the rights contained in international human rights instruments and their particular significance to women’. The Commission on Human Rights has decided to reflect a gender perspective under all its agenda items while also including a standing item on integration of human rights of women and a gender perspective.

10. In July 1995, the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the (then) Centre for Human Rights organized an expert group meeting in Geneva on the development of guidelines for the integration of a gender perspective into United Nations human rights activities and programmes.

11. In 1996, the United Nations Population Fund, in collaboration with the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, organized a round table on ‘Human Rights Approaches to Women’s Health, with a focus on Reproductive and Sexual Health Rights’. Experts from all of the human rights treaty bodies attended the meeting, as did representatives of the United Nations agencies, nongovernmental organizations, as well as other experts and observers. It was the first time that a group of this nature had met to discuss the interpretation of women’s rights relating to a particular theme. The meeting formulated 32 recommendations for improving women’s health rights, several of which focused directly upon measures to be taken by the human rights treaty bodies.

12. The United Nations Population Fund/Division for the Advancement of Women/Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights round table on human rights approaches to women's health is indicative of the growing trend among entities of the United Nations system to emphasize a human rights - or rightsbased - approach to planning and programming.

This trend was also apparent in a special discussion of senior United Nations officials at the coordination segment on ‘follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action’, held by the Economic and Social Council in July 1998.

13. In response to the increased emphasis on human rights throughout the United Nations system, and recognizing that women's enjoyment of human rights is conditioned by their gender roles, the Administrative Committee on Coordination Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality is convening a workshop to clarify the understanding and practical implications of a rights-based approach to women's empowerment and advancement. It will provide a forum for exchanging experiences and examining ways to merge protection and promotion of human rights and the realization of gender equality at the programmatic and policy level.

14. Over the past decade the human rights treaty system has undergone critical review and discussion about reform is continuing. The reports of the independent expert appointed to identify measures for improving the effective functioning of the human rights treaty system, submitted in 1988, 1993 and 1997,

have been the basis for extensive discussions, including by the individual treaty bodies and the meeting of the chairpersons.

15. This climate of review and reform affords a valuable opportunity for the United Nations human rights treaty bodies to ensure that any reform measure, whether it is of a procedural or a substantive nature, proceeds from an approach that is sensitive to the gender implications of human rights. The understanding of international human rights law is shaped by the treaty bodies both through norm-interpretation and assessment of compliance of States parties with convention obligations. The challenge is thus to develop approaches to norm-interpretation and monitoring consistent with the objectives of each of the human rights treaties, and which increase attention to the gender dimensions of these objectives.

16. The term ‘gender’ refers to the socially constructed roles of women and men that are ascribed to them on the basis of their sex, in public and in private life. The term ‘sex’ refers to the biological and physical characteristics of women and men. Gender roles are contingent on a particular socio-economic, political and cultural context, and are affected by other factors, including age, race, class and ethnicity. Gender roles are learned, and vary widely within and between cultures. As social constructs, they can change. Gender roles shape women's access to rights, resources and opportunities.

17. Both the Vienna and the Beijing conferences and other recent United Nations conferences have contributed to the understanding that women's equality and non-discrimination between women and men, as well as women's equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, do not occur automatically as a result of the overall protection and promotion of human rights. They have thus strengthened an approach whereby these goals are to be addressed explicitly and systematically at all stages of the implementation of human rights instruments, including in the conceptualization of the protected rights and freedoms.

18. Mainstream human rights approaches have long been based on the presumption that human rights norms are gender neutral or unaffected by gender. However, structural imbalances of power between women and men, the systemic nature of discrimination against women and the general absence of women in law creation and implementation processes continue to reflect disproportionately the experiences of men and exclude the experiences of women. These imbalances also influence the generally accepted understanding of international human rights law whose structure and substance may present or preserve obstacles to women's equality. Many of the substantive norms of international law are defined in relation to men's experience and stated in terms of discrete violations of rights in the public realm. In addition, inattention to rights of particular interest to women in international human rights law and practice has resulted in neglect and pervasive denial of the rights of women, in particular in the private sphere. These factors have contributed to a lack of enjoyment of human rights by women that, at its roots, has gender-specific explanations.

19. A focus on gender recognizes that women's unequal status is based on and is perpetuated by structures of systemic inequality and discrimination against women. The standard of measurement in the realization of women's equality is not the current male standard of equality, which would simply be a reaffirmation of the status quo. Rather, a new standard of equality should be envisaged based on a reconsideration of current assumptions and a reconceptualization of the meaning of equality from a gender perspective. This standard would reflect the visions, interests and needs of women, as well as those of men.

2. A dual strategy: a women-specific and a gender approach in international human rights law

20. Calls for attention to women's human rights by mainstream human rights mechanisms have led to the question of how to divide - or share - responsibility for women's human rights between these mechanisms on the one hand, and women-specific mechanisms (i.e. the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) on the other. The independent expert addressed the question of the capacity of the treaty system to address specific themes, including the rights of women. He considered that an approach which incorporates gender-specific information and analysis into the implementation of all human rights instruments would unquestionably be correct. Greater coordination efforts among the treaty bodies on specific themes, and the development of clearer proposals as to what ought to be done by which body have been suggested.

21. Integrating a gender perspective into the work of the mainstream human rights mechanisms raises conceptual, as well as institutional issues. Conceptually, a gender perspective of human rights requires more than recognition of women's experience of violations which are identical to those suffered by men; more than attention to discrimination against women in the enjoyment of rights protected in mainstream human rights instruments; and more that attention to specific issues of relevance to women, such as violence against women or women's reproductive function and connected rights.

22. Integrating a gender perspective, or gender mainstreaming, is a conceptual approach to rights/issues requiring that women's and men's socially constructed realities be addressed explicitly in the context of each of the human rights conventions with a view to preventing, or at least reducing, women's disadvantages.

23. In terms of institutions, the focus for integrating gender concerns is the ‘mainstream’, i.e. the processes and institutions that currently shape the human rights discourse, rather than women-specific institutions, such as the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

24. Mainstreaming does not replace the need for targeted, or women-specific institutions and mechanisms, but complements them.

A women-specific approach starts from an issue of women's inequality. A specific policy, strategy or measure is then developed frequently by a women-specific machinery, to address the issue. The mainstreaming approach broadens a general policy or strategy in any sector to take into account considerations of gender with a view to achieving gender equality.

In terms of human rights, it requires an approach to rights and freedoms that accounts for gender-based differences.

25. A dual strategy - attention to women-specific issues by women-specific machinery, and a gender approach by mainstream mechanisms - reinforces an understanding that gender equality must be addressed as a strategic objective by society as a whole, rather than being a ‘women's concern’, an approach which focuses on women as a vulnerable group and on women's issues as marginal issues on the global and national agenda.

26. The five human rights treaty bodies reviewed in this study have proceeded at a different pace in increasing attention to the status and human rights of women and to gender factors. While each has developed its own working methods in accordance with the objectives of its respective treaty, all use a similar approach to the consideration of States parties' reports. This part of the report analyses, in five sections, progress in regard to the amount of attention paid to gender issues through an assessment of:

(a) Constructive dialogue and concluding comments/observations adopted with regard to States parties' reports;

27. Each section also reviews whether the recommendations of the chairpersons with regard to gender have been followed up and assesses interaction between the mainstream treaty bodies and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Areas are identified where each treaty body might consider taking further steps. The analysis is based on the treaty bodies' work since 1993, that is, after the adoption of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, until early 1998.

The report does not cover the work of treaty bodies under communications procedures.

28. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination makes no reference on its face to its applicability without distinction on the basis of sex. However, as the Convention is grounded in the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights, its applicability to women and men is without doubt, and the Committee would thus be justified in addressing the gender dimensions of the articles of the Convention.

29. The Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women recognized the particular vulnerability of women belonging to groups specified in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Women frequently experience double discrimination because of their gender roles and intensified by other aspects such as race, ethnicity or national origin. The Platform highlights women's vulnerability to multiple discrimination in areas including education and training, health, violence, armed conflict, participation in decision-making, the economy and human rights.

30. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has taken no decision to amend its reporting guidelines to accommodate gender considerations, nor has it considered other specific steps to increase attention to the gender dimensions of racial discrimination. In its discussion of the recommendation of the chairpersons' meeting that the committees consider amending their reporting guidelines to reflect a gender perspective,

some members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination suggested that gender issues did not fall within the Committee's mandate. Some members, while expressing sympathy towards gender issues, were of the view that gender perspectives could not be incorporated into their work until problems of overlap with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women were resolved. Others showed sensitivity to the intersectionality of discrimination on the basis of race and sex. Views were expressed that the appropriate approach was to pass on any information regarding sex discrimination to the relevant committee via a liaison officer. The discussion revealed a certain degree of uncertainty over concepts such as ‘gender’ and ‘gender-based’, as well as ‘gender-disaggregated data’.

31. No steps were taken by the Committee following its discussion on gender in 1996. The Committee's current guidelines do not request States parties to disaggregate data and information by sex.

32. A review of the Committee's work since mid-1993 shows that among the main areas of concern raised by Committee members are legislative and constitutional provisions, including the definition of ‘racial’ discrimination and ‘minority’ groups; discrimination against foreigners, especially foreign workers; conduct of law enforcement officials and security forces in a series of specific situations; militarization of society; situation of refugees and displaced persons; operation of the legal system; discrimination in education, employment and with regard to access to health care; treatment of children; statistics on demographic composition, collection of social indicators and data disaggregated on the basis of ethnicity; specific forms of discrimination

such as caste systems, xenophobia; role of mass media; poverty; structural discrimination and affirmative action; impact of economic policies such as structural adjustment.

33. The Committee addressed concerns of women or gender issues in a limited number (approximately 10 per cent) of concluding observations.

These cover the following areas:

(h) Sexual violence, including rape, and deaths of women civilians during armed conflict;

34. On a number of occasions, the Committee has demonstrated in its concluding observations an appreciation of the way in which gender and race/ethnicity intersect. For example, in considering the report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on its (then) dependent territory, Hong Kong,

the Committee noted with concern the operation of the ‘two week’ rule, pursuant to which foreign workers cannot remain in Hong Kong more than two weeks after the expiration of their employment contract, thus leaving workers vulnerable to abusive employers. The Committee identified female Filipino foreign domestic workers as the most vulnerable group and noted that the rule ‘appears to have discriminatory aspects under the terms of the Convention’. The Committee also examined the situation and treatment of foreign workers, in particular of women domestic servants, in Kuwait (August 1993) and the United Arab Emirates (August 1995). In its concluding observations with regard to Kuwait, the Committee expressed concern about the treatment of ‘foreign domestic servants’, and recommended that the State party take steps to guarantee the enjoyment by individuals belonging to vulnerable groups of foreigners, including foreign domestic servants, of the rights enshrined in the Convention.

In its review of the report of the United Arab Emirates in 1995, the Committee identified the allegations of illtreatment of foreign workers, including women domestic servants of foreign origin, as a principal subject of concern, and recommended that the State party ‘show the utmost diligence in preventing acts of ill-treatment being committed against foreign workers, especially foreign women domestic servants, and take all appropriate measures to ensure that they are not subjected to any racial discrimination’.

35. These observations indicate that in the States parties concerned, the Committee clearly identified the two overlapping elements contributing to the discrimination identified. The fact that they were women meant that the workers were more likely to be employed in domestic service. The fact that they were foreign domestic workers made them particularly vulnerable to abuse.

36. In considering the report of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,

the Committee expressed concern over the low levels of participation of Albanian girls in rural areas in secondary and higher education. In so doing, the Committee identified several factors leading to the discrimination, namely nationality and location in rural areas, in conjunction with gender.

37. In several concluding observations, the Committee addressed the persistence of dual legal systems in the area of personal status law such as marriage, inheritance and succession.

While the Committee noted that this ‘can lead to unequal treatment between Blacks and Whites’, or cause ‘serious discrepancies in the system applicable to white, coloured and black people’ under existing law, the Committee did not go further and inquire into the situation of women compared to that of men in specified groups.

38. There are instances where Committee members have addressed the situation of women per se in the reporting State rather than the situation of women of a specified group.

39. So far, the Committee has adopted 23 general recommendations.

They address issues such as refugee and displaced persons, the rights of indigenous peoples, training of law enforcement officials in the protection of human rights, the situation on non-nationals, and paragraph 1 of article 1 (the Convention's definition of racial discrimination), all of which are of considerable relevance for women and have clear gender dimensions. No recommendation expressly refers to gender as a factor in the issue, or right, addressed. General recommendation XVIII on the establishment of an international tribunal to prosecute crimes against humanity, considered that such a tribunal with general jurisdiction should be established to prosecute various crimes, including rape. In this context, the general recommendation does not elaborate further the issue of sexual violence against women, including rape.

4. Interaction with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

40. No particular mechanism has been put in place by the Committee to follow the work of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and to maintain liaison with it on issues of common interest. Instead, the Committee uses the mechanism of the meeting of chairpersons to consult with other committees in finding ways to increasing the Committee's efficiency and effectiveness.

41. While no comprehensive analysis of the Committee's review of country situations under the early warning procedure has been conducted for the purposes of this study, a sample analysis of this mechanism reveals that the Committee did not pursue gender-based violations of rights suffered by women of ethnic groups in countries such as Rwanda, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

42. The Committee has recognized in some cases that when considering racial/ethnic discrimination, a range of factors including gender, should be considered. The main task facing the Committee now is to apply this methodology in a more consistent and systematic manner with regard to all provisions of the Convention. The following is an indicative list of issues which the Committee may wish to consider:

(a) The extent to which remedies, such as compensation, are available for the types of discrimination that women of the specified group suffer and the extent to which these women are de facto able to access complaint mechanisms and remedies;

(b) The steps taken to ensure that women of the specified groups are informed of their rights;

(c) The extent to which the legislative prohibitions of racial discrimination as defined by the Convention are sensitive to gender-based acts of racial discrimination;

(d) The extent to which investigatory mechanisms accord investigation of racial discrimination against women equal priority as acts of racial discrimination against men;

(e) Request that all data provided on racial/ethnic groups be disaggregated by sex and evaluate disadvantages and obstacles that women of specified groups encounter when compared to men of the same group;

(f) The understanding of access to public places (for example, in the India report, access to ‘wells’) and denial of, or obstacles to, access by women of specified groups;

(g) Portrayal of women from specified groups: the extent to which women from specified groups are constructed for purposes of anti-racial/ethnic propaganda and to incite ethnic hatred (for example, the way Tutsi women were portrayed as evil temptresses and spies during the genocide in Rwanda);

(h) Ethnic/gender-based violence against women, such as rape and sexual violence perpetrated against women of an ethnic group, forced pregnancy, ‘ethnic cleansing’, and the like;

(j) The situation of migrant women workers (as in the examples of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates).

43. As with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel or Inhuman Treatment or Punishment makes no reference on its face to its applicability without distinction on the basis of sex. Again, as the Convention is grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, its applicability to women and men is without doubt, and the Committee would thus be justified in addressing the gender specific dimensions of the articles of the Convention.

44. While it is obvious that not all violence against women constitutes torture within the meaning of the Convention, there are a number of issues the Committee could raise. In this regard, guidance can be obtained from the Platform for Action adopted at Beijing. Two of the areas discussed in the Platform, violence against women and women and armed conflict, contain provisions and recommendations that are pertinent to the Convention and the Committee's work.

45. Developments concerning the integration of a gender perspective have been reported to the Committee, mainly by its Chairperson in follow-up to the meeting of the chairpersons of human rights treaty bodies. However, the Committee has not yet taken any specific action to implement various recommendations of the chairpersons. In its recent sessions, the Committee has regularly used gender-inclusive language (references are to ‘persons’, ‘victims’, ‘citizens’).

46. A review of the Committee's work since late 1993, indicates that the major areas addressed by the Committee in its concluding comments include: remedies for victims of torture including compensation and rehabilitation; legislative provisions, including definitions of the offences; specific methods of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; training for public officials and other relevant personnel; mechanisms to investigate, prosecute and punish torture; conditions in police detention; treatment of asylum seekers; independence of the judiciary; fair trial and due process issues; amnesty/impunity laws; discriminatory treatment of specified groups; complaints mechanisms; cooperation with nongovernmental organizations; monitoring mechanisms.

47. The Committee's consideration of the situation of women, or gender issues, during its dialogue with States parties falls into the following broad categories:

48. Most cases of torture or ill-treatment against women raised by the Committee involve rape, sexual assault or some form of sexual humiliation.

Some Committee members have expressed the view that rape constitutes torture, as in the example of Mexico,

where a member stated that rapes of arrested persons by policemen constitute, by definition, acts of torture. One State party has been questioned as to whether rape was viewed as an act of torture.

49. During the Committee's thirteenth session, the segregation of prisoners was raised with several reporting States.

This issue did not receive attention in subsequent sessions. The needs of women specific to their reproductive function has also been raised,

although the emphasis appeared to have been on the well-being of the foetus.

50. The review indicates that, over a five-year period, during which the situation in approximately 60 different States parties was examined, none of the Committee's concluding comments made reference to the situation of women. This is particularly noteworthy as Committee members have either asked specific questions or made comments focusing on women or gender issues in approximately one fourth of the reports considered.

4. Interaction with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

52. At its twelfth session, the Committee designated one of its members (Mrs. Iliopoulos-Strangas) to follow the activities of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

At its sixteenth session, held during April and May 1996, the Committee had before it the report of the Fourth World Conference on Women as well as an informal note by the secretariat on the implications for the Committee's methods of work of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and of the recommendations concerning gender issues adopted by the persons chairing human rights treaty bodies at their sixth meeting. The Committee took note of these documents and agreed that Mrs. Iliopoulos-Strangas would continue to follow the activities of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

According to the Committee's reports, no further information was provided by