General recommendations

The convention is interpreted by the Committee on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee) in the official statements - general recommendations - which are issued in order to provide a deeper understanding of the rights and responsibilities contained in the Convention and its application as well as provide the states with guidance on how to implement the Convention. General recommendations reflect the development of women’s human rights standards and progressive interpretation of those rights by the CEDAW Committee.

More detailed information on how the specific rights protected by the Convention shall be understood is available in the following general recommendations:

·      Violence against women - general recommendation No. 19, 1992

·      Equality in marriage and family relations - general recommendation No. 21, 1994

·      Women in political and public life - general recommendation No. 23, 1997

·      Women and health - general recommendation No. 24, 1999

·      Women migrant workers - general recommendation No. 26, 2008

·      Older women and protection of their human rights - general recommendation No. 27, 2010

Another noteworthy recommendations:

- general recommendation No. 25 – provides important information on ‘temporary special measures’ that shall be taken by States Parties to accelerate the de facto equality between men and women.

- general recommendation No. 28 – provides information on the core obligations of the States Parties under art. 2 of the CEDAW Convention, 2010.

To date there are 28 general recommendations. All general recommendations are available at the UN website: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/comments.htm