The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is a powerful legal instrument for articulating, advocating, and monitoring women's human rights. Until the mid-nineties, the UN was not open to the voices of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Now, however, NGOs play a vital role in making the Convention an instrument of women's empowerment, through advocacy and monitoring of governments’ implementation of the treaty. Sessions involving 23 members of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) are held every January and June. Eight governments which have ratified the Convention are called upon to report at each session; countries report to CEDAW every four years. One year before the sessions, the UN makes an announcement of the countries that are to present at the coming session.
In advance of CEDAW sessions, NGOs have the opportunity to distribute their own reports on the status of women in their country to CEDAW members. The actual sessions consist of presentations by government representatives. CEDAW members are then able to use the information provided to them by NGOs and others in the questioning period of the session where they can challenge government testimony. NGO reports provide a crucial balance to government testimony. Because the Convention's enforcement mechanism is based on a reporting system and allows NGO shadow reports, it is imperative that NGOs are informed and use the reporting mechanism effectively to maintain government accountability both inside the country and at the United Nations.
The International Women's Rights Action Watch (IWRAW), organized in 1985 at the World Conference on Women in Nairobi, Kenya to monitor implementation of the convention, responded to this communications need by developing a network of NGOs focusing on women. IWRAW has developed a database of over 5,000 organizations around the world and notifies NGOs within countries that will report at the coming CEDAW session. IWRAW compiles shadow reports based on research that include a broad range of contacts in each country and distributes these reports to CEDAW Committee members prior to sessions. It also offers NGOs flexible assistance on developing their own reports. Some NGOs request that IWRAW write the report for them and others request guidance on developing their own report. In order to expedite assistance to NGOs, IWRAW has a procedural guide on how to organize and convey NGO 'shadow reports' to CEDAW.
The guide is available on IWRAW's web site (www.igc.org/irwaw/ngo/guide). Its text follows an instructive, coaching format, that surpasses cosmetic descriptions of requirements to guide the writer in considering questions of audience, specificity of content and argument. IWRAW also makes sample shadow reports available for NGOs that would benefit from a model.
In addition to providing support for NGO reports, IWRAW also invites a select number of NGO representatives to attend their country’s CEDAW session at the UN. Organizations generally fund their own travel expenses and IWRAW assists in some cases. The women who attend a CEDAW session not only heighten their organizations’ visibility but also raise their own individual status and the status of their fellow country women. Upon returning home, the attendee may hold a press conference to present the Committee’s recommendations to the public, thereby further expanding the visibility of women’s concerns.
Broader changes in perceptions of human rights have also occurred since the inception of IWRAW’s participation in the implementation of the Convention.
Supporting non-governmental organizations in their use of international mechanisms to press government for change
