CEDAW CEDAW/C/2004/I/4 (2003)

CEDAW/C/2004/I/4

Distr.: General

7 November 2003

Original: English

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

Thirtieth session

12-30 January 2004

Item 7 of the provisional agenda*

Ways and means of expediting the work of the Committee

Report of the secretariat

Contents

Paragraphs	Page
I.	Introduction	1–3	2
II.	Developments in the human rights regime	4–9	2
A. Human rights treaty bodies	4–7	2
B. Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights	8–9	4
III.	Requests for information or action and other matters	10–16	4
IV.	Reports to be considered by the Committee at future sessions	17–19	6
V.	Efforts to encourage universal ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, ratification of the Optional Protocol, acceptance of the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention and implementation of the Convention	20–22	7
Annexes
I.	States parties that have signed, ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol to the Convention	10
II.	States parties that have deposited with the Secretary-General instruments of acceptance of the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women	13
III.	States that have not ratified or acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women as at 1 November 2003	15

* CEDAW/C/2004/I/1.

I. Introduction

1. The present report provides information on developments in the United Nations human rights regime, including information concerning other treaty bodies and the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (chapter II). Chapter III contains a summary of the requests received by the Division for the Advancement of Women, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, for information related to, and action by, the Committee as well as other matters, while chapter IV presents information on the reports to be considered by the Committee at future sessions. Chapter V contains information on the efforts of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women and the Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women to encourage universal ratification of the Convention, ratification of its Optional Protocol, acceptance of the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention and implementation of the Convention.

2. A list of States parties that have signed, ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol is contained in annex I, and a list of States parties that have accepted the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, is contained in annex II. A list of States that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Convention is contained in annex III. The status of submission of reports by States parties under article 18 of the Convention is the subject of a separate report of the Secretary-General (CEDAW/C/2004/I/2).

3. At its twenty-ninth session, the Committee requested the secretariat to prepare a synopsis of the Committee's working methods in relation to the recommendations of the fifteenth chairpersons' meeting in order to facilitate further discussion, as well as to facilitate reporting by the Committee's Chairperson to the sixteenth meeting of the chairpersons in 2004. 1 In response to this request, the secretariat has prepared a comprehensive note on the current working methods of the Committee (see CEDAW/C/2004/I/4/Add.1) which is similar to the notes on the working methods of other treaty bodies included periodically in the annual reports of those bodies. The Committee may wish to decide to include the note contained in CEDAW/C/2004/I/4/Add.1 in its annual report so as to make its working methods more widely known to States parties and others interested in its work. At the twenty-ninth session, the Committee also requested the secretariat to prepare a note, for discussion at the thirtieth session, on the implications and possible modalities of the consideration of reports of States parties in two parallel working groups or chambers. 2 In response to that request and in order to assist the Committee in its consideration of this issue, the secretariat has prepared the note set out in CEDAW/C/2004/I/4/Add.2.

II. Developments in the human rights regime

A. Human rights treaty bodies

4. At its seventy-eighth session, held from 14 July to 8 August 2003, the Human Rights Committee continued its discussion of a draft general comment concerning article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 3, 4 At its thirtieth session, held from 5 to 23 May 2003, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights held discussions on a draft general comment on article 3 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (pertaining to the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights set forth in the Covenant). At the same session, the Committee decided to set aside two days during its thirty-first session for specific topics: the date of 21 November 2003 was set aside for the continuation of the discussions on the draft general comment on article 3 of the Covenant; and the date of 24 November 2003 was set aside for general discussion on the right to work (article 6 of the Covenant).

5. At its thirty-third session, held from 19 May to 6 June 2003, the Committee on the Rights of the Child adopted its fourth general comment, on adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. At its thirty-fourth session, held from 15 September to 3 October 2003, the Committee adopted a recommendation in which it agreed on the principle of meeting in two chambers in the future, with due consideration being given to equitable geographical distribution. It requested the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session to approve and provide appropriate financial support to the Committee to work in two chambers as of October 2004 for an initial period of two years. At the thirty-fourth session, the Committee also adopted its fifth general comment, on general measures of implementation for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and held its annual day of discussion on 19 September 2003, which focused on the rights of indigenous children.

6. At its thirtieth session, held from 28 April to 16 May 2003, the Committee against Torture initiated the drafting of a general comment on article 2 of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. 5, 6 For the first time, the Committee considered a report in the absence of a delegation, except for a member of the Permanent Mission who took notes. The Committee adopted provisional conclusions and recommendations on that report and requested the State party to provide written responses to its questions and comments and the issues raised in the provisional conclusions and recommendations, which the Committee intends to adopt at its thirty-first session, to be held from 10 to 21 November 2003. Within the context of its new procedure for follow-up to its conclusions and recommendations, the Committee requested a State party to submit information on the implementation of specific recommendations before the submission of its next periodic report.

7. At its sixty-third session, held from 4 to 22 August 2003, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination adopted conclusions on the situation in two States parties under its review procedure, pursuant to which the Committee considers the situation in States parties whose initial or periodic reports are considerably overdue. 7 Through its observations and recommendations with respect to States parties in such a situation, the Committee draws the attention of the State party concerned to the consequences of such non-compliance and reminds it of its reporting obligations under article 9 of the Convention. It furthermore makes recommendations to the State party with a view to ensuring the implementation of the Convention. The Committee also adopted two decisions relating to the situation in two States parties under its early warning and urgent action procedure. In its annual report to the General Assembly, the Committee includes a special chapter on such cases for the Assembly to take what action it deems appropriate. At the same session, the Committee completed the review of its methods of work initiated at its sixtieth session and adopted a working paper. 8

B. Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights 9

8. The Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, at its fifty-fifth session held from 28 July to 15 August 2003, adopted a number of resolutions and decisions relevant to the work of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, including resolution 2003/28, on harmful traditional practices affecting the health of women and the girl child; resolution 2003/26, on systematic rape, sexual slavery and slavery-like practices; and resolution 2003/3, on the report of the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery.

9. The Subcommission decided to entrust Ms. Florizelle O'Connor with the preparation of a working paper on women in prison, including issues relating to the children of women in prison, for submission to the Subcommission at its fifty-sixth session (see decision 2003/104 on women in prison). By way of follow-up to the final report on systematic rape, sexual slavery and slavery-like practices during armed conflict (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1998/13), the Subcommission decided to request Ms. Françoise Hampson to submit to the Subcommission at its fifty-sixth session a working paper on the criminalization, investigation and prosecution of acts of serious sexual violence occurring in the context of an armed conflict or committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population (see decision 2003/108 on a working paper on the criminalization, investigation and prosecution of acts of serious sexual violence). In its decision 2003/114 on reservations to human rights treaties, the Subcommission decided to request Ms. Françoise Hampson to update her expanded working paper on this topic and to submit a final working paper to the Subcommission at its fifty-sixth session, with a view to transmitting it to the treaty bodies and the International Law Commission. In its resolution 2003/12 on a study on non-discrimination as enshrined in article 2, paragraph 2, of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Subcommission requested Mr. Emmanuel Decaux to prepare a working paper on non-discrimination as enshrined in article 2, paragraph 2, of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 10 taking into account other relevant studies of the Subcommission, in order to enable it to take a decision at its fifty-sixth session on the feasibility of a study on that subject.

III. Requests for information or action and other matters

10. The Division for the Advancement of Women received various requests for information related to, or action by, the Committee. The Division has responded to these requests in the manner described below. The Committee may wish to respond further to some of those requests.

11. In a letter addressed to the Chairperson of the Committee, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) requested information on measures adopted by treaty bodies to implement the recommendations addressed to them in the study on human rights and disability: the current use and future potential of United Nations human rights instruments in the context of disability, which was presented at the fifty-eighth session of the Commission on Human Rights, in 2002. The study will be available to members of the Committee at its thirtieth session. In response to that request, the Division for the Advancement of Women provided OHCHR with excerpts concerning disability-related issues from the lists of issues and questions and concluding comments emanating from the twenty-sixth to twenty-ninth sessions of the Committee.

12. The OHCHR requested the secretariat to inform the Committee of the following recommendation of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action so that the Committee could take appropriate action: recommendation 19 (b) made during the first session of the Working Group, held in Geneva from 21 to 31 January 2003, invited treaty bodies "to consider providing the Working Group with information on how they are using the respective conventions in order to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in their respective fields of competence". In response to that request, the Division informed OHCHR that the recommendation of the Working Group would be brought to the attention of the Committee at its thirtieth session, in January 2004. The Division further indicated that, in its concluding comments, the Committee routinely refers to the outcome of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, requesting States parties to include information on the implementation of aspects of those documents relating to relevant articles of the Convention in subsequent reports (a sample paragraph from recent concluding comments was included).

13. In a letter addressed to the former Chairperson of the Committee, the Chairperson of the International Law Commission and Special Rapporteur on reservations to treaties referred to the Preliminary Conclusions on Reservations to Normative Multilateral Treaties, including Human Rights Treaties, adopted by the International Law Commission in 1997 11 and indicated that the Commission intended to resume its consideration of the topic and adopt final conclusions, probably during its fifty-fifth or fifty-sixth session, in 2003 or 2004. In that connection, the Chairperson of the International Law Commission and Special Rapporteur proposed an exchange of views and one or more joint meetings between the bodies concerned, including the treaty bodies, and the Commission. They also indicated that the Commission was open to any suggestions the Chairperson of the Committee might wish to make on the topic covered by the Preliminary Conclusions. In response to that request, the Division for the Advancement of Women provided information to the Chairperson of the Commission and Special Rapporteur on the work of the Committee in relation to reservations.

14. OHCHR requested information with regard to forthcoming sessions of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In response to those requests and in accordance with past practice and the continuing cooperation among treaty bodies, the Division provided OHCHR with copies of the concluding comments, or references thereto, of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women concerning the States parties whose reports those treaty bodies would be considering.

15. At its twenty-ninth session, the Committee discussed the possibility of holding an informal meeting of the members of the Committee in Maastricht, the Netherlands, in the spring of 2004 to discuss working methods. Members of the Committee had indicated that the meeting should avoid conflicting with the forty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women and the consideration by the Commission on Human Rights of its agenda item on women at its sixtieth session. On the basis of the available information regarding the forty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women and the sixtieth session of the Commission on Human Rights, the Division would suggest that the meeting of the Committee in Maastricht be held from 29 March to 1 April 2004.

16. In accordance with the Committee's request, the Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women sent a letter to the entities of the United Nations system, drawing their attention to the Committee's concern about the limited engagement of entities of the United Nations system in its work, and bringing to their attention the Committee's guidelines to enhance cooperation with specialized agencies. 12 In addition, and in accordance with past practice, the Director sent letters to the specialized agencies, and to certain funds, programmes and offices of the United Nations, the human rights treaty bodies and special mechanisms of the Commission on Human Rights inviting them to submit information with regard to those States parties whose reports would be considered at the thirtieth session of the Committee. The letter also drew attention to the closed meeting of the Committee with representatives of United Nations bodies on those States parties whose reports would be before the Committee. Furthermore, the letter drew attention to the meeting of the pre-session working group for the thirty-first session, and the closed meeting with entities of the United Nations to be held at that time.

IV. Reports to be considered by the Committee at future sessions

17. At its twenty-ninth session, the Committee drew up the list of States parties whose reports would be considered at future sessions. All those States parties nominated by the Committee for consideration of their reports at its thirtieth session will be able to present their reports at that session. The Committee proposed the following list of reports to be considered at its thirty-first session: the combined initial, second and third periodic report of Angola; the follow up report of Argentina; the fifth periodic report of Bangladesh; the fifth periodic report of the Dominican Republic; the combined second and third periodic report of Equatorial Guinea; the combined initial, second and third periodic reports of Latvia and Malta; and the fifth periodic report of Spain. Except for Equatorial Guinea, States parties invited to present periodic reports at the thirty-first session have confirmed that they will be able to present their reports at that session. Equatorial Guinea has been contacted in writing and by telephone but efforts to confirm attendance by its representatives have not been successful. Consequently, the secretariat has contacted the State party selected by the Committee as back up to ascertain its availability to present its periodic report at the thirty-first session.

18. In finalizing the list of reports to be considered at the thirty-first session and proposing those to be considered at future sessions, the Committee's attention is drawn to the report of the Secretary-General on the status of submission of reports (CEDAW/C/2004/I/2) which contains a list of States parties whose reports have been submitted but not yet considered.

19. The Committee's reporting guidelines indicate that initial reports should not exceed 100 pages, while periodic reports should not exceed 70 pages. No indication is provided as to a suggested length of the replies of States parties to the list of issues and questions prepared by the pre-session working group. The Committee may wish to consider this matter with a view to providing States parties with guidance when preparing their replies.

V. Efforts to encourage universal ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, ratification of the Optional Protocol, acceptance of the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention and implementation of the Convention

20. The Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women and the Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women have continued their efforts to encourage universal ratification of the Convention, acceptance of the Optional Protocol and the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention, and the fulfilment of reporting obligations. The Special Adviser addressed those issues in her statement before the Third Committee during the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly and the Director of the Division provided information on technical assistance available through the Division to States parties. The Director also provided information on the technical assistance activities of the Division at the informal meeting of the Committee with States parties whose reports have been due for more than five years, in July 2003.

21. In September 2003, the Division convened a training workshop for States parties in the African region, with the Committee's former Chairperson serving as the main resource person. The workshop was preceded by a judicial colloquium on the domestic application of the Convention. Both events were held in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, in cooperation with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania. Also in September 2003, in response to a request from the Minister for Women's Affairs for technical assistance to facilitate the implementation of the Convention in Afghanistan, the Division submitted a detailed proposal to the Minister setting out the modalities for such assistance. Preliminary discussions have also taken place with the Government of Sierra Leone concerning support with regard to implementation of and reporting under the Convention. In October 2003, the Division provided funding for a former member of the Committee to assist the Government of Mali in finalizing its combined second, third, fourth and fifth periodic report. The Division and the Committee's Chairperson participated in a training seminar on the Convention for parliamentarians in Geneva in October 2003, which was organized by the Division and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The Division contributed funding for the meeting of the drafting group of the Committee, which met in Berlin from 17 to 19 October 2003 to finalize the draft general recommendation on article 4 (1). The Division and the Office of the Special Adviser participated in a meeting, co-hosted by the Government of Croatia and the United Nations Development Fund for Women, on the implementation of the Convention in central and eastern Europe (Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovenia) and held in Dubrovnik, Croatia on 25 and 26 October.

22. The Handbook for Parliamentarians on the Convention and the Optional Protocol, which the Division prepared together with the Inter-Parliamentary Union, was issued in July 2003 in English and presented at United Nations Headquarters during the Committee's twenty-ninth session. Translation of the Handbook into the other official languages of the United Nations is in progress. The Division facilitated the granting, by the United Nations Publications Board, of permission to translate the Handbook into Turkish, at the request of a non-governmental organization. The Division continued preparation of a comprehensive training package on the Convention and the Optional Protocol.

Notes

1. See Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 38 (A/58/38), Part two, para. 449.

2. See ibid., para. 452.

3. See ibid., Supplement No. 40 (A/58/40).

4. Article 2 reads as follows:

"1. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

"2. Where not already provided for by existing legislative or other measures, each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to take the necessary steps, in accordance with its constitutional processes and with the provisions of the present Covenant, to adopt such legislative or other measures as may be necessary to give effect to the rights recognized in the present Covenant.

"3. Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes:

"(a) To ensure that any person whose rights or freedoms as herein recognized are violated shall have an effective remedy, notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity;

"(b) To ensure that any person claiming such a remedy shall have his right thereto determined by competent judicial, administrative or legislative authorities, or by any other competent authority provided for by the legal system of the State, and to develop the possibilities of judicial remedy;

"c) To ensure that the competent authorities shall enforce such remedies when granted."

5. See Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 44 (A/58/44), para. 13.

6. Article 2 reads as follows:

"1. Each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction.

"2. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.

"3. An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture."

7. See Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 18 (A/58/18).

8. See ibid., annex IV.

9. The present section is based on the draft report of the Subcommission on its fifty-fifth session (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/L.11 and Add.1). The final report was not yet available at the time of submission of the present report.

10. Article 2, paragraph 2 reads as follows:

"The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status."

11. See Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-second Session, Supplement No. 10 (A/52/10), para. 157.

12. See ibid., Fifty-eighth Session, Supplement No. 38 (A/58/38), part two, paras. 462 and 463.

Annex I

States parties that have signed, ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol to the Convention

States parties	Date signed	Date of ratification or accession
1. Albania	23 June 2003 a
2. Andorra	9 July 2001	14 October 2002
3. Argentina	28 February 2000
4. Austria	10 December 1999	6 September 2000
5. Azerbaijan	6 June 2000	1 June 2001
6. Bangladesh	6 September 2000	6 September 2000
7. Belarus	29 April 2002
8. Belgium	10 December 1999
9. Belize	9 December 2002 a
10. Benin	25 May 2000
11. Bolivia	10 December 1999	27 September 2000
12. Bosnia and Herzegovina	7 September 2000	4 September 2002
13. Brazil	13 March 2001	28 June 2002
14. Bulgaria	6 June 2000
15. Burkina Faso	16 November 2001
16. Burundi	13 November 2001
17. Cambodia	11 November 2001
18. Canada	18 October 2002 a
19. Chile	10 December 1999
20. Colombia	10 December 1999
21.Costa Rica	10 December 1999	20 September 2001
22. Croatia	5 June 2000	7 March 2001
23. Cuba	17 March 2000
24. Cyprus	8 February 2001	26 April 2002
25. Czech Republic	10 December 1999	26 February 2001
26. Denmark	10 December 1999	31 May 2000
27. Dominican Republic	14 March 2000	10 August 2001
28. Ecuador	10 December 1999	5 February 2002
29. El Salvador	4 April 2001
30. Finland	10 December 1999	29 December 2000
31. France	10 December 1999	9 June 2000
32. Georgia	1 August 2002 a
33. Germany	10 December 1999	15 January 2002
34. Ghana	24 February 2000
35. Greece	10 December 1999	24 January 2002
36. Guatemala	7 September 2000	9 May 2002
37. Guinea-Bissau	12 September 2000
38. Hungary	22 December 2000 a
39. Iceland	10 December 1999	6 March 2001
40. Indonesia	28 February 2000
41. Ireland	7 September 2000	7 September 2000
42. Italy	10 December 1999	22 September 2000
43. Kazakhstan	6 September 2000	24 August 2001
44. Kyrgyzstan	22 July 2002 a
45. Lesotho	6 September 2000
46. Liechtenstein	10 December 1999	24 October 2001
47. Lithuania	8 September 2000
48. Luxembourg	10 December 1999	1 July 2003
49. Madagascar	7 September 2000
50. Malawi	7 September 2000
51. Mali	5 December 2000 a
52. Mauritius	11 November 2001
53. Mexico	10 December 1999	15 March 2002
54. Mongolia	7 September 2000	28 March 2002
55. Namibia	19 May 2000	26 May 2000
56. Nepal	18 December 2001
57. Netherlands b	10 December 1999	22 May 2002
58. New Zealand c	7 September 2000	7 September 2000
59. Nigeria	8 September 2000
60. Norway	10 December 1999	5 March 2002
61. Panama	9 June 2000	9 May 2001
62. Paraguay	28 December 1999	14 May 2001
63. Peru	22 December 2000	9 April 2001
64. Philippines	21 March 2000
65. Portugal	16 February 2000	26 April 2002
66. Romania	6 September 2000	25 August 2003
67. Russian Federation	8 May 2001
68. Sao Tome and Principe	6 September 2000
69. Senegal	10 December 1999	26 May 2000
70. Serbia and Montenegro	31 July 2003 a
71. Seychelles	22 July 2002
72. Sierra Leone	8 September 2000
73. Slovakia	5 June 2000	17 November 2000
74. Slovenia	10 December 1999
75. Solomon Islands	6 May 2002 a
76. Spain	14 March 2000	6 July 2001
77. Sri Lanka	15 October 2002 a
78. Sweden	10 December 1999	24 April 2003
79. Tajikistan	7 September 2000
80. Thailand	14 June 2000	14 June 2000
81. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	3 April 2000	17 October 2003
82. Timor-Leste	16 April 2003 a
83. Turkey	8 September 2000	29 October 2002
84. Ukraine	7 September 2000	26 September 2003
85. Uruguay	9 May 2000	26 July 2001
86. Venezuela	17 March 2000	13 May 2002

a/ Accession.

b/ For the Kingdom in Europe, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.

c/ With a declaration to the effect that "consistent with the constitutional status of Tokelau and taking into account its commitment to the development of self-government through an act of self-
determination under the Charter of the United Nations, this ratification shall not extend to Tokelau unless and until a Declaration to this effect is lodged by the Government of New Zealand with the depositary on the basis of appropriate consultation with that territory".

Annex II

States parties that have deposited with the Secretary-General instruments of acceptance of the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

State parties	Acceptance date
Andorra	14 October 2002
Australia	4 June 1998
Austria	11 September 2000
Bahamas	17 January 2003
Brazil	5 March 1997
Canada	3 November 1997
Chile	8 May 1998
China	10 July 2002
Cyprus	30 July 2002
Denmark	12 March 1996
Egypt	2 August 2001
Finland	18 March 1996
France	8 August 1997
Germany	25 February 2002
Guatemala	3 June 1999
Iceland	8 May 2002
Italy	31 May 1996
Japan	12 June 2003
Jordan	11 January 2002
Lesotho	12 November 2001
Liechtenstein	15 April 1997
Luxembourg	1 July 2003
Madagascar	19 July 1996
Maldives	7 February 2002
Mali	20 June 2002
Malta	5 March 1997
Mauritius	29 October 2002
Mexico	16 September 1996
Mongolia	19 December 1997
Netherlands a	10 December 1997
New Zealand	26 September 1996
Niger	1 May 2002
Norway	29 March 1996
Panama	5 November 1996
Portugal	8 January 2002
Republic of Korea	12 August 1996
Sweden	17 July 1996
Switzerland	2 December 1997
Turkey	9 December 1999
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland b	19 November 1997

a/ For the Kingdom in Europe, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.

b/ For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, the British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Annex III

States that have not ratified or acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women as at 1 November 2003

Africa

Somalia

Sudan

Swaziland

Asia and the Pacific

Brunei Darussalam

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Kiribati

Marshall Islands

Micronesia (Federated States of)

Nauru

Oman

Palau

Qatar

Tonga

United Arab Emirates

Western European and other States

Holy See

Monaco

San Marino

United States of America