In ratifying the CEDAW Convention, the State undertakes an obligation of means and an obligation of results. The subsections of Article 2 illustrate that the State is required to take specified means to ensure compliance with the CEDAW Convention. The State's obligation however does not stop with the establishment or adoption of these measures or means. It can of course go beyond those recommendations set out in Article 2. Whatever the actions adopted however, the State must ensure that the means chosen must actually result in the elimination of all forms of discrimination. This is the obligation of results.

This two-folded obligation is therefore a guarantee not just of rights but also of their realisation. It guarantees that women are given not just equality of means and resources nor only equality of access; it further ensures that equality, both at the de jure and de facto level, results from State's interventions.

• The obligation to respect requires States parties to refrain from interfering with the enjoyment of the rights enshrined in the CEDAW Convention. That is, States parties must not act in a way which violates women's rights. Women's human rights should be respected through the State (and any public authority or institution) abstaining from any act that could amount to discrimination against women. The State should therefore repeal all discriminatory laws and policies (Article 2 (d), (f) and (g)).

• The obligation to protect requires States parties to prevent the violation of the CEDAW Convention by government officials and third parties. In this way rights of women should be protected through effective mechanisms and remedies through which women can obtain redress for rights violations and effective laws and policies prohibiting discrimination (Article 2(b) e.g. anti sex discrimination acts).

• The obligation to fulfill encompasses the State's obligation to facilitate the access to and/or to provide for the full realisation of women's rights. Women's human rights should be fulfilled by the promotion of equality through all appropriate means including proactive measures and enabling conditions required to ensure the full development and advancement of women (Article 3) and affirmative action to accelerate de facto equality (Article 4).

The State has the obligation to eliminate discrimination in all its forms. This undertaking requires an understanding of discrimination and equality from the State. Article 1 of CEDAW defines discrimination. It is evident, especially in the used of the phrase "effect or purpose" that it covers direct and indirect discrimination and envisions not formal equality but substantive equality. For this reason, gender-neutral laws must be subject to reform if their effects discriminate against women.

Article 2 further obligates States to pursue "by all appropriate means" a policy of eliminating discrimination against women. The State in identifying and implementing measures must guarantee that the measures are appropriate. The burden of proving the appropriateness of each intervention rests upon the State. The phrase "without delay" in Article 2 highlights the immediate need to undertake the measures to ensure equality.

The nature of the undertakings in the CEDAW Convention places obligations on all organs of State to work towards the fulfillment of women's rights. It encompasses executive, legislative and judicial organs as well every constituent unit of the State. In terms of accountability therefore, the State is liable for conduct consisting of an action or omission that is attributable to it. It is obvious therefore that the State obligation in CEDAW applies to all State organs. By extension, a State is liable for judicial decisions which violate the provisions of the Convention.

In CEDAW General Recommendation 19 on Violence Against Women it is stated at paragraph 9 that:

"…Under general international law and specific human rights covenants, States may also be responsible for private acts if they fail to act with due diligence to prevent violations of rights or to investigate and punish acts of violence, and for providing compensation."

The State is required to fulfill both positive and negative obligations. It is required to ensure non-interference in the exercise of the rights in the CEDAW Convention (negative obligation); at the same time, it is mandated to adopt measures designed to achieved de facto equality as well as the full development and advancement of women (positive obligation, Article 3).

The CEDAW Convention holds the State accountable for the actions of individuals and non-State actors by requiring the State to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women by any person, organisation or enterprise (Article 2(e)). In this regard, appropriate measures include: (a) to prevent and deter private acts of discrimination; (b) to investigate and negate their consequences; and (c) to provide remedies, redress, compensation or sanctions for the performance of such acts. Furthermore, a State may be held liable when the violation by private actors is of a pervasive or persistent character showing complicity or tolerance of such breach of the CEDAW Convention. Thus, private action can lead to State accountability, not due to the act itself, but because of the lack of due diligence to prevent the violation or to respond to it as required by the CEDAW Convention.

Art. 2(f) (and Art. 5(a)) of the CEDAW Convention obligate the State to take appropriate measures to modify or abolish not only existing laws and regulations, but also customs and practices that constitute discrimination against women. It recognises that many forms of discrimination against women are linked to cultural, religious and family conditions and this linkage has intensified women's marginalisation and oppression.

The CEDAW Committee emphasises the importance of Article 2(f) and Article 5(a) in its General Recommendation 21 by stating that while most countries report that their national constitutions and laws comply with the CEDAW Convention, its customs, traditions and lack of implementation violate the Convention. Furthermore, General Recommendation 21 highlighted that the CEDAW Convention over other treaties and declarations "goes further by recognizing the importance of culture and tradition in shaping the thinking and behavior of men and women and the significant part they play in restricting the exercise of basic rights of women."

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