At IWRAW Asia Pacific, one focus of our 2005 activities will be monitoring the development of the 2004 guidelines of the Expanded Core Document, as presented at the 3rd Inter-Committee Meeting and the 16th Annual Meeting of Chairpersons of Treaty Bodies. These guidelines propose significant changes to the current United Nations states party reporting system. (see: Guidelines on an expanded core document and treaty-specific targeted reports and harmonized guidelines on reporting under the international human rights treaties, HRI/MC/2004/3 at http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/a.htm)
The Current System
Under the current UN states party reporting structure, state party reports being submitted to the UN Secretary General under the obligations of one or more of the international human rights treaties, should include a general core document containing background information about the country concerned. This information typically refers to: land and people, political structure, the general framework within which human rights are protected and information and publicity. To complete the state party report, information is also provided outlining the state’s compliance with the substantive provisions of the particular treaty – in the case of CEDAW, this would come under Articles 1 to 16.
The New Proposal
In an attempt to reduce the delay in reporting by states parties, the preparation of an Expanded Core Document has been proposed. (Certain texts and papers may refer to the 'Expanded Core Document' as the 'Common Core Document'. For the purposes of these discussions, we will refer to the Expanded Core Document.) The Expanded Core Document proposes the inclusion of more information in the existing core document. It is suggested that the Expanded Core Document comprises approximately 60% of the final report, with the remaining 40% focusing on the provisions of the treaty being considered. Increased focus is to be placed on:
- Factual and statistical information contained in a statistical annex
- Full information concerning the general framework and protection of human rights
- The inclusion of congruent provisions, i.e. substantive human rights provisions common to all or several human rights treaties.
Under the heading of "congruent provisions" in the Expanded Core Document, states parties will address a) Equality and Non Discrimination b) Effective Remedies c) Procedural Guarantees and d) Participation in Public Life. Clearly therefore the content of the Expanded Core Document goes beyond the provision of general background information on the reporting state. Attached to the Expanded Core Document will be an additional treaty specific report which will focus on treaty specific information, information and details of steps taken to implement previous treaty body concluding comments/information. Additionally, each time a state party reports to a particular treaty body, as well as compiling the treaty-specific report, the Expanded Core Document must be updated.
The Need for Analysis
Whilst certain benefits can be envisaged by the proposed Expanded Core Document, such as the provision of a consistent and holistic report on the implementation of interdependent and indivisible human rights, the proposal is not received without some concern. Apart from the resistance of certain states parties to human rights or the notion of women’s rights, there is a lack of clarity around the concepts of equality and non-discrimination. Both these give rise to the need for further consideration of the guidelines.
Key concerns to those who work in the domain of women's rights and the CEDAW Convention will be to ensure that any proposal for reform reflects the most progressive standard for women's human rights, ensures better reporting, better monitoring and better participation by government bodies (and particularly women's ministries) and NGOs. Of particular concern for women is to ensure that intrinsic women's rights are not hidden in the shadows of the Expanded Core Document, particularly within the 'congruent provisions'. The potential for marginalisation of certain rights, for example, the rights of women, children, and migrant workers risks being increased.
The Way Forward
At the forthcoming Inter-Committee Meeting and the 17th Annual Meeting of Chairpersons of Treaty Bodies in June 2005, reactions from the respective UN human rights treaty bodies to the Expanded Core Document will be firmly on the agenda. In this meeting, the treaty bodies are also expected to present the specific guidelines relevant to their respective treaties. We therefore consider it imperative that women and women’s human rights advocates monitor this development and understand its impact on their work at the local level. At the same time, we must endeavour to ensure that whatever reform is put in place, it amounts to a strengthening and not a sidelining of women's human rights.
It is the aim of cedaw4change to provide a forum in which these proposed changes to the treaty reporting process can be analysed from several perspectives. To begin, we have uploaded in the FileSharing section of cedaw4change a more detailed paper by IWRAW Asia Pacific on the Expanded Core Document. To access this paper, go to cedaw4change at http://list.iwraw-ap.org/lists/info/cedaw4change and click on Filesharing in the menu on the left hand side. The paper is entitled "expanded_core_doc_(IWRAW)" - if you have any trouble accessing it document, please let us know.) Further, to encourage consideration of the potential effects of the Expanded Core Document on women’s human rights and the CEDAW reporting process we have invited five papers representing perspectives in international law, states parties, and NGOs on this subject. These will be posted over the next two weeks. As usual, a summary will be provided at the conclusion of discussions, along with a list of relevant resources.
Once again your experiences, whether they are practical or theoretical, from a government, NGO or academic or legal perspective, are welcome to guide us in our reflections of the impact of the Expanded Core Document. Please do not hesitate to contact us during the course of these discussions, with your thoughts or queries.
With best regards to all,
IWRAW Asia Pacific.
