The States Parties to the present
Protocol,
Noting that the
Charter of the United Nations reaffirms faith in fundamental human rights, in
the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and
women,
Also noting that the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights Resolution 217 A (III). proclaims that
all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that
everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without
distinction of any kind, including distinction based on sex,
Recalling that the
International Covenants on Human Rights Resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex. and
other international human rights instruments prohibit discrimination on the
basis of sex,
Also recalling the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women4
(“the Convention”), in which the States Parties thereto condemn discrimination
against women in all its forms and agree to pursue by all appropriate means and
without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women,
Reaffirming their
determination to ensure the full and equal enjoyment by women of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms and to take effective action to prevent violations
of these rights and freedoms,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
A State Party to the present
Protocol (“State Party”) recognizes the competence of the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women (“the Committee”) to receive and
consider communications submitted in accordance with article 2.
Article 2
Communications may be
submitted by or on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals, under the
jurisdiction of a State Party, claiming to be victims of a violation of any of
the rights set forth in the Convention by that State Party. Where a
communication is submitted on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals,
this shall be with their consent unless the author can justify acting on their
behalf without such consent.
Article 3
Communications shall be in
writing and shall not be anonymous. No communication shall be received by the
Committee if it concerns a State Party to the Convention that is not a party to
the present Protocol.
Article 4
1. The Committee shall not
consider a communication unless it has ascertained that all available domestic
remedies have been exhausted unless the application of such remedies is
unreasonably prolonged or unlikely to bring effective relief.
2. The Committee shall declare a
communication inadmissible where:
(a) The same matter has
already been examined by the Committee or has been or is being examined under
another procedure of international investigation or settlement;
(b) It is incompatible with
the provisions of the Convention;
(c) It is manifestly
ill-founded or not sufficiently substantiated;
(d) It is an abuse of the
right to submit a communication;
(e) The facts that are the
subject of the communication occurred prior to the entry into force of the
present Protocol for the State Party concerned unless those facts continued
after that date.
Article 5
1. At any time after the receipt
of a communication and before a determination on the merits has been reached,
the Committee may transmit to the State Party concerned for its urgent
consideration a request that the State Party take such interim measures as may
be necessary to avoid possible irreparable damage to the victim or victims of
the alleged violation.
2. Where the Committee exercises
its discretion under paragraph 1 of the present article, this does not imply a
determination on admissibility or on the merits of the communication.
Article 6
1. Unless the Committee considers
a communication inadmissible without reference to the State Party concerned,
and provided that the individual or individuals consent to the disclosure of
their identity to that State Party, the Committee shall bring any communication
submitted to it under the present Protocol confidentially to the attention of
the State Party concerned.
2. Within six months, the
receiving State Party shall submit to the Committee written explanations or
statements clarifying the matter and the remedy, if any, that may have been
provided by that State Party.
Article 7
1. The Committee shall consider communications
received under the present Protocol in the light of all information made
available to it by or on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals and by
the State Party concerned, provided that this information is transmitted to the
parties concerned.
2. The Committee shall hold closed
meetings when examining communications under the present Protocol.
3. After examining a
communication, the Committee shall transmit its views on the communication,
together with its recommendations, if any, to the parties concerned.
4. The State Party shall give due
consideration to the views of the Committee, together with its recommendations,
if any, and shall submit to the Committee, within six months, a written
response, including information on any action taken in the light of the views
and recommendations of the Committee.
5. The Committee may invite the
State Party to submit further information about any measures the State Party
has taken in response to its views or recommendations, if any, including as deemed
appropriate by the Committee, in the State Party’s subsequent reports under
article 18 of the Convention.
Article 8
1. If the Committee receives
reliable information indicating grave or systematic violations by a State Party
of rights set forth in the Convention, the Committee shall invite that State
Party to cooperate in the examination of the information and to this end to
submit observations with regard to the information concerned.
2. Taking into account any
observations that may have been submitted by the State Party concerned as well
as any other reliable information available to it, the Committee may designate
one or more of its members to conduct an inquiry and to report urgently to the
Committee. Where warranted and with the consent of the State Party, the inquiry
may include a visit to its territory.
3. After examining the findings of
such an inquiry, the Committee shall transmit these findings to the State Party
concerned together with any comments and recommendations.
4. The State Party concerned
shall, within six months of receiving the findings, comments and
recommendations transmitted by the Committee, submit its observations to the
Committee.
5. Such an inquiry shall be
conducted confidentially and the cooperation of the State Party shall be sought
at all stages of the proceedings.
Article 9
1. The Committee may invite the
State Party concerned to include in its report under article 18 of the
Convention details of any measures taken in response to an inquiry conducted
under article 8 of the present Protocol.
2. The Committee may, if
necessary, after the end of the period of six months referred to in article
8.4, invite the State Party concerned to inform it of the measures taken in
response to such an inquiry.
Article 10
1. Each State Party may, at the
time of signature or ratification of the present Protocol or accession thereto,
declare that it does not recognize the competence of the Committee provided for
in articles 8 and 9.
2. Any State Party having made a
declaration in accordance with paragraph 1 of the present article may, at any
time, withdraw this declaration by notification to the Secretary-General.
Article 11
A State Party shall take all
appropriate steps to ensure that individuals under its jurisdiction are not
subjected to ill treatment or intimidation as a consequence of communicating
with the Committee pursuant to the present Protocol.
Article 12
The Committee shall include
in its annual report under article 21 of the Convention a summary of its activities
under the present Protocol.
Article 13
Each State Party undertakes
to make widely known and to give publicity to the Convention and the present
Protocol and to facilitate access to information about the views and
recommendations of the Committee, in particular, on matters involving that
State Party.
Article 14
The Committee shall develop
its own rules of procedure to be followed when exercising the functions
conferred on it by the present Protocol.
Article 15
1. The present Protocol shall be open
for signature by any State that has signed, ratified or acceded to the
Convention.
2. The present Protocol shall be
subject to ratification by any State that has ratified or acceded to the
Convention. Instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.
3. The present Protocol shall be
open to accession by any State that has ratified or acceded to the Convention.
4. Accession shall be effected by
the deposit of an instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the
United Nations.
Article 16
1. The present Protocol shall
enter into force three months after the date of the deposit with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations of the tenth instrument of ratification
or accession.
2. For each State ratifying the
present Protocol or acceding to it after its entry into force, the present
Protocol shall enter into force three months after the date of the deposit of
its own instrument of ratification or accession.
Article 17
No reservations to the present
Protocol shall be permitted.
Article 18
1. Any State Party may propose an
amendment to the present Protocol and file it with the Secretary-General of the
United Nations. The Secretary-General shall thereupon communicate any proposed
amendments to the States Parties with a request that they notify her or him
whether they favour a conference of States Parties for the purpose of
considering and voting on the proposal. In the event that at least one third of
the States Parties favour such a conference, the Secretary-General shall
convene the conference under the auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment
adopted by a majority of the States Parties present and voting at the
conference shall be submitted to the General Assembly of the United Nations for
approval.
2. Amendments shall come into
force when they have been approved by the General Assembly of the United
Nations and accepted by a two-thirds majority of the States Parties to the
present Protocol in accordance with their respective constitutional processes.
3. When amendments come into
force, they shall be binding on those States Parties that have accepted them,
other States Parties still being bound by the provisions of the present
Protocol and any earlier amendments that they have accepted.
Article 19
1. Any State Party may denounce
the present Protocol at any time by written notification addressed to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations. Denunciation shall take effect six
months after the date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General.
2. Denunciation shall be without
prejudice to the continued application of the provisions of the present
Protocol to any communication submitted under article 2 or any inquiry
initiated under article 8 before the effective date of denunciation.
Article 20
The Secretary-General of the
United Nations shall inform all States of:
(a) Signatures,
ratifications and accessions under the present Protocol;
(b) The date of entry into
force of the present Protocol and of any amendment under article 18;
(c) Any denunciation under
article 19.
Article 21
1. The present Protocol, of which
the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally
authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General of the
United Nations shall transmit certified copies of the present Protocol to all
States referred to in article 25 of the Convention.