Shadow reports,
also referred to as alternative or parallel reports, are documents
submitted by NGO’s to international treaty body organizations which
supplement and challenge the periodic country reports that governments
are required to submit as a party to the treaty. The findings of treaty
bodies, such as the Committee for the Convention of the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW), are significantly influential to the development of human
rights in the respective member states. Through shadow reports, NGO’s
can incorporate themselves into this evaluation process, strengthening
and expanding their cause.