UNITED

NATIONS

Distr.

GENERAL

CEDAW/SP/1996/4

20 February 1996

ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

MEETING OF STATES PARTIES TO THE

CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION

OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION

AGAINST WOMEN

Ninth meeting

New York, 29 February 1996

CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN

Results of the fifteenth session of the Committee on the

Elimination of Discrimination against Women

1.	The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women held its fifteenth session from 15 January to 2 February 1996. It adopted four decisions and three suggestions, as well as other decisions and recommendations under item 6 on ways and means of expediting the work of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

2.	The Secretary-General would like to draw the attention of States parties at their ninth meeting to decision 1 and suggestion 3. The full report of the Committee will be issued in due course.

Decision 1

1.	The Committee expresses its appreciation to the States parties for the decision that was adopted at the eighth meeting of States parties, and takes note with appreciation of General Assembly resolution 49/164 and decision 49/448, both of 23 December 1994, and Assembly resolution 50/202 of 22 December 1995, agreeing to amend article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention.

2.	The Committee looks forward to the ratification of the amendment by States parties as quickly as possible.

96-03957 (E) 260296	/...

*9603957*

3.	For the interim period, the Committee urges the appropriate intergovernmental bodies to authorize adequate meeting time to enable the Committee to continue to reduce the backlog in States parties' reports awaiting review.

4.	The Committee considers that at least 2 three-week sessions annually, each preceded by a pre-session working group, are needed to alleviate the heavy workload of the Committee.

5.	The Committee requests the Secretariat to inform the Committee at its sixteenth session on action taken at the ninth meeting of States parties concerning article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention pursuant to General Assembly resolution 50/202.

Suggestion 3

7.	The Committee commends all States parties that have ratified the Convention, but having regard to the increasing number of outstanding initial reports (48), second periodic reports (41), third periodic reports (55) and fourth periodic reports (38), the Committee suggests that States parties comply with article 18 of the Convention by submitting their reports promptly in order to ensure that the Committee carries out effectively its mandate under the Convention.

-----