CEDAW - General recommendations

Gender focused NGO's can find significant advocacy opportunities in the processes of the UN CEDAW Committee - Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. The Committee also makes recommendations on any issue affecting women to which it believes the States parties should devote more attention. For example, at the 1989 session, the Committee discussed the high incidence of violence against women, requesting information on this problem from all countries.

In 1992, the Committee adopted on general recommendation 19, which requires national reports to the Committee to include statistical data on the incidence of violence against women, information on the provision of services for victims, and legislative and other measures taken to protect women against violence in their everyday lives C such as harassment at the workplace, abuse in the family and sexual violence.

As of January 2008, the Committee has made 25 general recommendations. The following general recommendations have been adopted by the Committee:

General recommendation No. 1 -- fifth session, 1986 reporting guidelines
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 2 -- sixth session, 1987 reporting guidelines
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 3 -- sixth session, 1987 education and public information programmes
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 4 -- sixth session, 1987 reservations
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 5 -- seventh session, 1988 temporary special measures
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 6 -- seventh session, 1988 effective national machinery and publicity
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 7 -- seventh session, 1988 resources
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 8 -- seventh session, 1988 article 8
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 9 -- eighth session, 1989 statistical data
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 10 -- eighth session, 1989 tenth anniversary of the adoption of CEDAW
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 11 -- eighth session, 1989 technical advisory services for reporting
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 12 -- eighth session, 1989 violence against women
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 13 -- eighth session, 1989 equal remuneration for work of equal value
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 14 -- ninth session, 1990 female circumcision
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 15 -- ninth session, 1990 women and AIDS
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 16 -- tenth session, 1991 unpaid women workers in rural and urban family enterprises
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 17 -- tenth session, 1991 measurement and quantification of the unremunerated domestic activities of women and their recognition in the GNP
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 18 -- tenth session, 1991 disabled women
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 19 -- eleventh session, 1992 violence against women
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 20 -- eleventh session, 1992 reservations
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 21 -- thirteenth session, 1994 equality in marriage and family relations
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 22 -- fourteenth session, 1995 article 20 of the Convention
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 23 -- sixteenth session, 1997 women in political and public life
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 24 -- twentieth session, 1999 article 12 - women and health
Available in languages: English, French and Spanish

General recommendation No. 25 -- thirtieth session, 2004 article 4 paragraph 1 - Temporary special measures
Available in languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish

General Recommendation No. 26 -- forty-second session, 2008, Women Migrant Workers
Available in languague: Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish

The General recommendations 1 - 25 are available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish in document HRI/GEN/1/Rev.9 (Vol.II)