The
Administration of the OP-CEDAW
With the adoption
of the Optional Protocol to CEDAW (OP-CEDAW) in December 2000,
the CEDAW Committee has the power to receive complaints by women
or on behalf of groups of women, through the Communications
Procedure. The OP-CEDAW also gives the CEDAW Committee the
power to launch an inquiry into grave and systematic violations
of women's human rights on its own initiative.
The administration
of the Communications Procedure and the Inquiry
Procedure is the responsibility of the CEDAW Committee and
its Secretariat (the Division for the Advancement of Women, DAW).
To carry out its quasi-judicial role in relation to the effective
consideration of communications and inquiries, designated members
of DAW and the CEDAW Committee may be assigned tasks by this expert
body.
In all instances,
the proper administration of the OP-CEDAW is ensured by a system
of regular reporting between DAW and designated members of the
CEDAW Committee. Moreover, the Committee has adopted a detailed
set of official guidelines "Rules of
Procedure" on the administration of communications and
inquiries under the OP-CEDAW.
