International Legal Instruments:
A Tool for Legislators

This handbook has examined hindrances to women's representation in parliament and suggested means by which women might overcome obstacles to enhance their potential for entering parliament and impacting via parliamentary processes. International legislation and policy documents provide yet another source
of tools that parliamentarians can use to legitimize their demands, emphasize the international obligations undertaken by their respective countries, and ultimately contribute to the improvement of their national legislation.

Notwithstanding the complications of enforcing international human rights law (see the following section), the strengths of international legislation and processes lie in the fact that they provide formal and, in principle, enforceable rules that can supplement the means used by female parliamentarians to legitimize their demands and bring about changes in domestic legislation. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) or Women's Convention has received special attention. It was selected because it brings together, in a single comprehensive human rights treaty, the provisions of previous United Nations instruments concerning discrimination on the basis of sex and extends them further to create a tool dedicated to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.

It is vital that parliamentarians have a comprehensive understanding of these legally and non-legally binding instruments. They offer additional arguments to MPs raising issues regarding women's situation and concerns. They also raise the issue of the obligations undertaken by states that have ratified relevant conventions or that have otherwise made commitments in international meetings and fora. The role of NGOs in this area should not be underestimated. The importance of the links of MPs with women's grass-roots groups has already been emphasized in the handbook. National NGOs could inform female MPs about specific problems that women face in their countries, update them about the progress of international legislation, help them to lobby, inform other colleagues in parliament, and initiate relevant amendments in national legislation.

Many MPs around the world do not have a legal background and may lack the time to access and fully understand the implications of international legislation whose texts are often lengthy and complicated.

Interesting results might be yielded if more specialized agencies dealing with issues related to the parliaments, could include in their surveys the question of significance of international legislation dealing with the human rights of women and its impact in the course of the legislative function of the parliaments. Surveys of this nature could be used by parliamentarians world-wide as a source of examples from other countries that have used international legislation to address women's issues.

Implementation of International Human Rights Legislation

The Vienna Convention on the Laws of Treaties lays down the binding nature of a treaty in force (Article 26). A party may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform a treaty (Article 27). Therefore, states parties to human rights treaties have a positive duty to adopt domestic legislation to conform with their international obligations. Simultaneously they have a negative duty not to use domestic laws to justify failures to perform obligations arising out of international treaties to which they are signatories.

There are two general theories about the relationship between domestic law and international law: adoption theory and transformation theory. The adoption theory posits that international law is automatically part of domestic law; that is, without an act of incorporation. Transformation theory states that international law is only part of domestic law once it has been incorporated into domestic law. Which of the above two theories has been adopted by a state must be determined on a country-by-country basis.

The adoption of legislation at the domestic level to conform to international human rights standards and norms is, however, not a guarantee for the effective enjoyment by individuals of their human rights. States parties to human rights treaties should also adopt non-legislative measures. Administrative, judicial, economic, social and educational measures, consistent with the nature of the rights, are necessary in order to guarantee the effective implementation of human rights treaties ("other measures" or "all appropriate measures" as expressly stated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women). In this context, the Human Rights Committee clearly emphasized in its general comment No. 3 that "the implementation does not depend solely on constitutional or legislative enactment, which themselves are often not per se sufficient".

For the effective implementation of international human rights legislation non-legal factors must be taken into account. Presently, the implementation and enforcement of international human rights law depends on voluntary compliance, moral pressure and other forms of influence. The obligations undertaken by states parties ratifying international conventions depends on those states' goodwill and conscience rather than on any formal mechanisms for enforcing their obligations.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, legislators can play a significant role to enforce international legislation and to ensure that their countries' policies and laws give effect to constitutional and international commitments which advance gender equality.

MPs should monitor progress made in the signature of international treaties, particularly those related to the protection of women's rights. In most countries, the ratification of an international convention has to be approved by the parliament. Legislators can lobby for the ratification of significant international conventions concerning the improvement of the status of women and guarantee that as few reservations as possible are made to curtail in any way the scope and objectives of the conventions (e.g. CEDAW. See below).

They can also make use of their parliamentary right to introduce legislation to address discrepancies between international conventions ratified by their governments to protect the human rights of women and contrary national legislation.

Implementation of the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)¹ or Women's Convention is an international bill of rights for women. It develops the legal norms on non-discrimination from a women's perspective. This convention moves from a sex-neutral norm that requires equal treatment of men and women, usually measured by how men are treated, to recognize the fact that the particular nature of discrimination against women is worthy of a legal response. The Women's Convention progresses beyond the earlier human rights conventions by addressing the pervasive and systemic nature of discrimination against women, and identifies the need to confront the social causes of women's inequality by addressing "all forms" of discrimination that women suffer.

All of the rights recognized in CEDAW were also recognized in the 1967 Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women. However, CEDAW goes a step further by urging the states parties that all principles in the convention entail the pursuit of policies and programmes at the national level to ensure the effective implementation of such legislation.

In the field of the political rights of women, CEDAW expands the concept as laid down in the International Covenant on Political Rights of Women (UN, 1952). CEDAW added the right of women to vote in public referenda, women's participation in the formulation and implementation of government policy as well as their representation at the international level. The Women's Convention thus advances the International Covenant on the Political Rights of Women.

Like other international human rights treaties, the gap between the formal guarantees laid down in CEDAW and the extent to which the rights are actually enjoyed in practice is frequently a wide one. Once again, for the effective implementation of CEDAW strong political will is needed on the part of states that are parties to the convention.

In the following pages some of the obligations undertaken by the states parties following their ratification of the Convention will be highlighted. Some of these obligations constitute the legal basis for the recommended mechanisms in Chapters 3 and 4 for enhancing women's representation in parliament. Furthermore, the function of the monitoring body of the convention, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and its potential for guaranteeing the effective implementation of the Convention will be briefly examined. As was pointed out before, strong political will by the states parties will be needed for the enforcement of CEDAW. So far, the number and the extent of the reservations entered to the convention, is a testimony to the fact that many states are not ready yet to abandon their state sovereignty, or religious and cultural customs and traditions which conflict with their international obligations that derive from the Convention.

States Parties Obligations under CEDAW

CEDAW requires states parties to eliminate discrimination against women in the enjoyment of all civil, political, economic and cultural rights. It also establishes programmatic measures for states to pursue in achieving equal enjoyment by women and men of their human rights. In pursuing CEDAW's goals, states parties are encouraged to introduce measures of affirmative action designed to promote gender equality.

Several hindrances were identified earlier in this handbook for women's representation in parliament and a range of mechanisms were suggested to address problems. One of the hindrances identified was the deep-rooted attitudes and perceptions of women's and men's roles within the family and in society. CEDAW has addressed this issue, through a provision that aims at changing social and cultural traditons. States parties are, according to Article 5 of the CEDAW, required to take all appropriate measures:

1. To modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or stereotyped roles for men and women.

2. To ensure that the family education includes ... the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children.

Presumably each state party must decide for itself the extent of sex-role stereotyping in its cultural and social practices and then attempt to change these patterns.

Article 5 is complemented by additional provisions in the substantive part of the Convention. Article 10 concerning education provides that states parties shall ensure "the elimination of any stereotyped concept of the roles of men and women at all levels and in all forms of education by encouraging co-education and other types which will help to achieve this aim and, in particular, by the revision of textbooks and school programmes and the adaptation of teaching methods". Moreover, Article 11(2)(c) concerning employment, provides that measures shall be taken "to encourage the provision of the necessary supporting social services to enable parents to combine family obligations with work responsibilities and participation in public life".

Furthermore, Article 4 (1) of CEDAW, is an exception to the concept of discrimination as defined in the convention and provides that:

Adoption by States Parties of temporary special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall not be considered discrimination as defined in the present Convention, but shall in no way entail as a consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate standards; these measures shall be discontinued when the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have been achieved.

In support of this provision and the adoption of special temporary measures, in a general recommendation the CEDAW Committee recommends that: states parties make more use of temporary special measures such as positive action, preferential treatment or quota systems to advance women's integration into education, the economy, politics and employment.

In Article 9 the statehood of women is guaranteed, irrespective of their marital status.² Articles 10, 11 and 13, respectively, affirm women's rights to non-discrimination in education, employment and economic and social activities. These demands are given special emphasis with regard to the situation of rural women, whose particular struggles and vital economic contributions, as noted in Article 14, warrant more attention in policy-planning. Article 15 asserts the full equality of women in civil and business matters, demanding that all instruments directed at restricting women's legal capacity "shall be deemed null and void". In Article 16, the Convention returns to the issue of marriage and family relations, asserting the equal rights of women and men with regard to choice of spouse, parenthood, personal rights and command over property.

The reproductive rights of women are given special attention in the Convention. The preamble sets the tone by stating that "the role of women in procreation should not be a basis for discrimination". The link between discrimination and women's reproductive role is a matter of recurrent concern in the Convention. For example, it advocates, in Article 5, "a proper understanding of maternity as a social function", demanding fully shared responsibility for child-rearing by both sexes. Accordingly, provisions for maternity protection and childcare are proclaimed as essential rights and are incorporated into all areas of the Convention, whether dealing with employment, family law, health or education. Society's obligation extends to offering social services, especially childcare facilities, which allow individuals to combine family responsibilities with work and participation in public life. Special measures for maternity protection are recommended and "shall not be considered discriminatory" (Article 4). Furthermore it is the only human rights treaty to mention family planning. States parties are obliged to introduce advice on family planning in the education process (Article 10 h) and to develop family codes that guarantee women's rights "to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children ..."(Article 16 e).

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

CEDAW establishes through Article 17 the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, whose task is to continously monitor states parties' behaviour and performance. The primary responsibility of the Committee is to examine reports submitted to it by states parties on the steps they have taken to implement the Convention. The considerations of these reports provide significant opportunities to address practices that constitute discrimination against women and to identify what states parties have done to eliminate such practices.

The role and the function of this monitoring body is very important for the effective implementation of the Convention as it provides general guidelines for the drafting of the states parties reports, and also issues significant general recommendations for the interpretation of the Convention. This role could prove significant for MPs since it could provide them with criteria to assess national laws and to introduce the necessary changes in order to comply with the spirit and the letter of the Convention. Therefore, its effective functioning could benefit the role of MPs related to the effective implementation of CEDAW at the national level.

The Committee, through Article 21, has the power to formulate suggestions and general recommendations, and reports annually to the United Nations General Assembly, through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), on these recommendations and its overall activities. As mentioned earlier, the Committee's power to adopt general recommendations is potentially a powerful tool for the implementation of the Convention. For government officials charged with the implementation of the Convention or for non-governmental organizations that wish to use it as a standard for assessing laws and government policies, general recommendations which give detailed guidance as to the content of particular articles of CEDAW and the type of steps which should be taken to give effect to those obligations can be particularly valuable.

CEDAW assigns the Committee an annual meeting period of two weeks. Every other human rights treaty body meets for a greater length of time than the CEDAW Committee, specifically from three to nine weeks per year. This limited length of time definitely reduces its ability to monitor implementation of the Convention.

Reservations to the Convention

A significant number of reservations or declarations of understanding were made by states upon ratification or accession of CEDAW. More reservations with the potential to modify or exclude most, if not all, of the terms of the treaty have been entered to CEDAW than to any other international convention.³

These reservations have a negative effect on women's political participation overall, even when not directly referred to, since they maintain the sex-stereotyping role of women in the respective societies ­ one of the main hindrances of women's representation in parliaments (See Chapter 2).

The reservations entered to CEDAW imply that the international community was prepared to acknowledge the considerable problems of inequality faced by women but only if individual states are not required as a result to alter patriarchal practices that subordinate women. The reservations indicate that state parties are not yet ready in their domestic legislatures and courts to recognize or create equality for women.

Such reservations are governed by the general rules of treaty law, as contained in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 1969. They are permitted, unless prohibited under the terms of the treaty or are incompatible with the object and purpose of the treaty.

CEDAW permits ratification subject to reservations unless they are "incompatible with the object and the purpose of the present Convention". However, the Convention does not provide any further criteria for the determination of reservations' incompatibility, and moreover the CEDAW Committee does not have jurisdiction to determine the compatibility of expressed reservations. The permissibility of reservations under CEDAW is in stark contrast to those under other human rights treaties. For example, the race discrimination convention includes a provision allowing a vote by two-thirds of the parties to declare a state's reservation unacceptable on the grounds of incompatibility with the object of the convention. The disparity suggests once again, that the international community takes the need to prevent racial discrimination much more seriously than the need to prevent sex discrimination.

Some of the reservations are motivated by the conflict between some interpretations of Islam and the notion of sexual equality; others from national religions or customary laws that restrict women's inheritance and property rights; nationality laws that claim that women do not have the same rights as men; domestic laws limiting women's economic opportunities, their freedom of movement and their choice of residence.

Concerning women's political participation, Kuwait entered a reservation that does not allow Kuwaiti women to vote. According to prominent Kuwaiti academics and supporters of women's rights, Kuwaiti women were denied the equality guaranteed by both the Qur'an and Kuwait's Constitution. A conference in Kuwait of women from Arab countries called for recognition of the political rights of Kuwaiti women and for the Kuwaiti Government to review its reservations to CEDAW. Moreover, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain also expressed reservations to Article 7 (women's political participation) as regards royal succession and privileges in their respective countries.

Sweden was one of the few states that objected to many of the reservations entered. Sweden responded to the reservation based on cultural and religious justifications with the argument that the treaty itself is the only guiding principle with which to judge the compatibility of the reservations. Even though a reservation might be "quite reasonable" it is incompatible if it is in conflict with the import and content of the treaty. If the reservations in question, put into practice, would inevitably result in discrimination against women on the basis of sex, this would be contrary to everything the Convention stands for.

The reaction of the CEDAW Committee to the reservations was expressed through a general recommendation suggesting that states parties should consider withdrawing the reservations entered, and questioning their validity and legal effect. So far, very few states parties have withdrawn or even narrowed their reservations.

As mentioned above, since in most countries the ratification of an international convention and the possible reservations entered have to be approved by the parliament, MPs should guarantee that CEDAW is ratified without reservations and in case that it is already ratified, that the reservations are withdrawn or narrowed.⁴

Case Study: Implementation of
CEDAW in Sweden ⁵

Here are some of the laws passed in the Swedish Parliament in order to implement CEDAW in the field of working life, protection of maternity, education and the provision of necessary supporting social services to enable parents to combine family oligations with work responsibilities and participation in public life.

The legal response by Sweden to Article 2 was the Act on Equality Between Men and Women at Work.⁶ This Act is generally known as the Equal Opportunities Act (EqA). A new and stronger Act was adopted in 1991 and entered into force on 1 January 1992.⁷ The main purpose of this Act is to promote equal rights for men and women with respect to employment, working conditions and opportunities for personal development at work (See also Art. 11 of CEDAW). The Act aims to improve conditions for women in working life. It has two main parts: rules prohibiting an employer from discriminating against a person because of gender and rules requiring an employer to take active steps to promote equality at workplace. Employers are obliged to make efforts to prevent employees from being subjected to sexual harassment and to make it easier for both male and female employees to combine work and parenthood.⁸ Employees are also obliged to prevent differences in pay and other employment terms between men and women who perform the same job or work of equal value.⁹

As a response to Article 4(2) in order to protect maternity¹⁰ the Swedish Childcare Leave Act and the National Insurance Act for the Parental Benefit were adopted. The parental insurance schemes (as amended, previously such benefits had only been payable to the mother) pay benefits to parents in connection with child-bearing and childcare. From 1 January 1995 leave of absence with parental benefit in connection with childbirth is provided for a total of 450 days, half the time for the mother and half for the father.¹¹ The compensation level is 75 per cent of gross income for 350 days. In addition to that, all fathers are entitled to a 10 day leave of absence with parental benefit when a child is born.

Moreover, in Sweden a basic requirement in a society where both parents are gainfully employed is access to good childcare amenities. Around 60 per cent of all pre-school children are cared for in daycare centres or in family daycare. Daycare centres may be either municipally owned, run on a co-operative basis by parents or employees, or private.¹²

In the field of education,¹³ the Swedish Parliament sets up clear goals and the responsibility for organizing and implementing school and university activities rests with the municipalities and each university respectively. In 1995, Parliament decided on a Government Bill on equality between women and men within the educational area. Amendments to the School Act were made to require employees in the school to assume specific responsibility for promoting equality between women and men. Equality within the university and higher educational institutions has been a legal requirement since 1992. The Higher Education Act and the Ordinance for Higher Education state very clearly that every university and higher educational institution within the public system must promote equal opportunities between men and women, in education as well as in the administration.

Other International Legislation
and Policy Documents

Apart from CEDAW, which is one of the most important international treaties for the protection of women's rights, there are several other international legal instruments and policy documents addressing special issues related to women. MPs should also be familiar with them in order to initiate national legislation to conform with these international standards and commitments undertaken.

International Legislation

A number of international treaties have attempted to address specific problems that women have faced world-wide:

The Convention Concerning Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value (1951).¹⁴ States parties to this convention shall ensure the application to all workers of the principle of equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value. This principle may be applied by means of national laws or regulations and by legally established or recognized machinery for wage determination and collective agreements between employers and workers.

The Convention on Political Rights of Women (1952).¹⁵ Women are entitled to vote in all elections on equal terms with men, without discrimination. They are also eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies. Moreover, they are entitled to hold public office and exercise all public functions without any discrimination.

The Convention Concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation (1958).¹⁶ States parties to this convention have to undertake and pursue a national policy designed to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of employment and occupation, with a view to eliminating any discrimination. Discrimination according to the convention is any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation.

The UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960).¹⁷ In order to eliminate and prevent discrimination in the field of education, the states parties to this convention have to abrogate any national legislation and administrative instructions, which involve discrimination in education and ensure that there is no discrimination in the admission of pupils to educational institutions. Furthermore, the states parties to this convention have to formulate a national policy which will tend to promote equality of opportunity and of treatment in the matter of education.

The Convention on the Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriage (1962).¹⁸ The convention attempted to address the problem of child marriages, a widespread practice in many countries around the world. Full and free consent of both persons to enter into marriage is required and states are urged to take legislative action to specify a minimum age for marriage.

The Convention on the Suppression of the Traffic and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (1950). It outlaws prostitution and obliges governments to eliminate it.¹⁹

Policy Documents

Mexico Declaration (UN, 1975),

Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights (Islamic Council, 1980),

Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies (UN, 1985),

Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (Islamic Conference, 1990),

Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (UN, 1993),

Jakarta Declaration (ESCAP, 1994),

Programme of Action of the ICPD (UN, 1994),

Copenhagen Declaration (UN, 1995).

The Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies (FLS) ²⁰ was unanimously adopted at the UN Nairobi World Conference on Women (1985). Under the themes ­ Equality, Development and Peace ­ the FLS looked at the obstacles facing women, presented basic strategies to overcome these obstacles and identified measures for implementation.

At the World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in June 1993, and the subsequent Programme of Action, women developed a comprehensive strategy for integrating women's rights into the UN Human Rights mechanisms. Among other things, the Vienna Programme of Action affirmed that the human rights of women and of the girl child are an "inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights". The appointment of a Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women for the UN Human Rights Committee was also proposed.²¹

Implementation in South Africa

The South African Parliament used many different international legal instruments in the course of passing legislation to address serious problems concerning South African women.²²

Despite the fact that South Africa had not ratified CEDAW ²³ at the time of drafting the new constitution, many of the constitutional provisions were inspired by and reflect principles enshrined in CEDAW, such as the principle of equality. The Beijing Platform for Action as well as the Cairo Declaration were also used as sources of inspiration for including clauses to protect reproductive rights.

South African women's groups participated actively in the formulation of The Declaration of Violence Against Women in Vienna. A special report on the issue was handed to various special committees in the South African Parliament.²⁴ This report initiated a special debate in the parliament which might lead to important amendments to the current legislation addressing the very serious problem of violence against women in South Africa.

The Bill on Termination of Pregnancy (1995) provides for abortion on request by the women, up to 12 weeks of gestational age. This law attempted to address the serious problem of illegal abortions in South Africa, without medical support which subsequently resulted in serious health complications or death. The preamble of the Cairo Declaration urging the governments to take steps to protect the right of choice and to protect reproductive health, was used to set forth the objectives and directions of the bill.

The Beijing Platform for Action

The Beijing Platform for Action was adopted at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women, held in China in 1995.

The Platform, divided into six chapters, identifies 12 "critical areas of concern" considered to represent the main obstacles to women's advancement. It defines strategic objectives and spells out actions to be taken by the year 2000 by governments, the international community, non-governmental organizations and the private sector for the removal of the existing obstacles. The Platform was further reinforced in the Beijing Declaration.²⁵

The critical areas of concern, which formed the basis for the Platform for Action and strategies to achieve gender equality were: poverty, inequality in access to education and health, women in armed conflicts, violence, participation in political and economic life, sharing of power and decision-making, gender stereotypes, the rights of the girl, and the distribution of resources.

Despite the fact that this is a non-legally binding document, strong moral and political commitments were made by the governments which participated in the Fourth UN World Conference on Women to implement it.²⁶

A number of initiatives were taken in order to implement the Beijing Platform for Action. Below we will take a look at some laws passed as a result of the commitments undertaken, which addressed some serious problems that women face in those countries. The role of female MPs and women's groups in the process of adoption of special legislation in order to implement the Platform for Action could prove significant. Below, the role of some parliamentarians in this process will be highlighted.

COLOMBIA It was considered a significant victory when a bill to eradicate violence in the family became law on 16 July 1996 after a long battle. Its definition of violence included physical, sexual and psychological violence.

JAPAN Women parliamentarians constituted a part of the Beijing Japan Accountability Caucus (Beijing JAC) whose responsibility is to work to follow-up on the agreements in the Platform for Action.²⁷ Members of the Beijing JAC, together with women Members of the

Parliament representing four political parties, submitted requests to the then Prime Minister, among other requests, for the establishment of a ministry for women's issues and the enactment of legislation to prevent and eliminate violence against women.²⁸ As a follow-up of these activities the Beijing JAC will start working on draft legislation on related issues such as those against sexual violence.

PERU For the first time since independence, a commission that deals exclusively with women's issues has been created in Congress, demonstrating determination to implement the platform. Headed by a congresswoman, it plans to modify laws affecting women such as those on family violence. The commission is interested in monitoring the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, as well as agreements relating to women from previous UN conferences.

PHILIPPINES In the Lower House of Representatives, the Congress Committee on Women initiated a consultative dialogue with NGOs on the legislative follow-up to the conference. This is an example of collaboration between MPs and women's groups in order to have legislation which really reflects the needs and concerns of wider groups of women in the society. The Lower House Committee on Women has begun studying all pending bills relating to women. It also has an oversight committee to review all policies and legislation relating to women.

POLAND On 9 July 1996, four parliamentary commissions adopted a draft liberalization on the anti-abortion law. The draft stipulates that abortion would be legal until the 12th week of pregnancy for women in difficult economic or personal circumstances. The draft proposes obligatory consultations for a woman, sexeducation in schools and some state subsidies for the pill.²⁹

TURKEY A bill on the amendment of the civil code ³⁰ was submitted to Parliament by women parliamentarians who occupy only 13 seats out of 550 seats. Women parliamentarians have also formulated new strategies towards the goal of equality between women and men. They declared their intention to work collaboratively on women's issues in a non-partisan way.

Conclusions

It has been proven so far that the effective implementation of international human rights legislation in general, and implementation of human rights standards as far as women are concerned in particular, very much depends on the good will of the individual states rather than on enforceability.

In the case of CEDAW, the first step for its effective implementation in many countries should be the withdrawal of the reservations entered. The fact that so many states parties entered such wide reservations, indicates that states are not ready yet to abandon the domestic laws, traditions and customs which discriminate against women in their countries.

Moreover, already existing international monitoring bodies for the effective implementation of international legislation must be reinforced. In the case of the CEDAW Committee, in order to have a real impact of the consideration of states parties reports, the Committee must meet more often. It should also have the support of other specialized UN agencies with regard to information on women's situation in several countries, and the significant input from national NGOs as additional information to the states parties' reports.

Their effective implementation, in most of the cases, might prove to be a long process and will depend on many factors. The role of non-governmental organizations and members of parliament in this process could prove very critical to the actual enjoyment of human rights by women around the world.