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.
