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.
