The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the most comprehensive international legal instrument addressing women's rights. It brings together in a single binding document provisions requiring the elimination of discrimination on the basis of sex, and in so doing is key to the promotion of gender equality. The implementation of the Convention is monitored by a United Nations treaty body, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which examines reports from States parties and issues concluding observations and recommendations for follow-up action.
The seminar was organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in cooperation with the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW) and took place on 19 October 2006 at IPU Headquarters in Genera. It primarily targeted members of parliaments of those States parties to the Convention whose reports were considered or will be considered by the CEDAW Committee at during the course of 2006.
Its aim was to identify opportunities for strengthening parliament's role both in the reporting process, including preparation and presentation of reports, and in follow-up to the Committee's concluding observations in regard to the reporting State. Various experts, including a member of the CEDAW Committee, a member of the Committee's Secretariat, and members of parliament with experience in this field, facilitated this information seminar. In its afternoon session, the seminar focused more particularly on the issue of violence against women, which is one of the areas covered by the Convention.
