[women-rights] CEDAW 28th Session: UN officials stress gender equity as women's anti-discrimination panel opens session

UN OFFICIALS STRESS GENDER EQUITY AS WOMEN'S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION PANEL 
OPENS SESSION
New York, Jan 13 2003  4:00PM

A United Nations committee dealing with discrimination against women opened 
the first part of its 2003 session today with UN officials stressing the 
importance of promoting gender equity as part of government policy.

In her welcome to the 23 independent experts charged with monitoring 
implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of 
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Angela E.V. King, Special Adviser to 
the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, said that 
ratifications to the Convention and its Optional Protocol had been 
continuing at a steady pace.

"There were now a total of 170 States parties to the Convention and 49 
States who had ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol," she told the 
opening of the twenty-eight session of the Committee on the Elimination of 
Discrimination against Women in New York.

Carolyn Hannan, Director for the UN Division of the Advancement of Women, 
added that since the Committee's inception and throughout the 1990s, there 
had been a steady evolution in its relationship with the intergovernmental 
process toward the promotion of gender equality. And today, when the 
international community and national governments are focused on the 
Millennium Development Goals, the organic link between the legal framework 
for the protection and promotion of women's rights and the policy process 
is even more crucial, she said.

"It is important to ensure that gender equality remains a critical priority 
and is pursued not only as a goal in its own right, but also as a means to 
achieve poverty eradication and sustainable development goals," Ms. Hannan 
said. The interaction between the Committee, the Commission on the Status 
of Women and the UN General Assembly had become more important then ever.

The 23 experts of the Committee, who serve in their personal capacities, 
have met twice annually since 1997. For their opening meeting this year - 
set to run through 31 January - they are scheduled to review the compliance 
reports of Albania, Switzerland, Canada, Republic of Congo, El Salvador, 
Kenya, Luxembourg and Norway.