Commissioner appears before CEDAW Committee at the UN

Tuesday, 20 July 2010

The Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick, has appeared before the United Nations Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in New York this week.

Enshrined within the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women are the key principles of equality and an agenda for national action to end discrimination against women. It is based on the belief that basic human rights include the true equality of men and women.

As a signatory to the Convention, Australia regularly reports to the Committee on both the measures the Government has taken to comply with its obligations under the Convention and on ongoing challenges. The Australian Government will appear before the Committee today.

Since 2008, the Committee has also specifically welcomed the input of national human rights institutions to the review process. Today marks the first time the Australian Human Rights Commission has submitted an independent report to the Committee and the first time the Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner has appeared before the Committee as an independent representative.

The Commission’s report details the significant developments in the protection of the human rights of women since Australia last appeared before the Committee in 2006. The Commission believes the Australian Government should be congratulated for these positive developments, including acceding to the Convention’s Optional Protocol, delivering Australia’s first Paid Parental Leave Scheme, introducing specific provisions into Australia’s industrial relations legislation requiring equal pay for work of equal or comparable value and supporting the first equal pay test case under that legislation.

The report also identifies a number of areas that could be strengthened in Australia’s implementation of the Convention. In particular, the Commissioner has highlighted the need for the Australian Government to implement temporary special measures to increase the number of women in leadership and decision-making positions, strengthen national responses to violence against women and improve Australia’s gender equality legislation.

The Committee also encourages non government organisations (NGOs) to provide reports so it can gather alternative views to those provided by governments. The Australian NGO Shadow Report and the parallel Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Shadow Report have been presented to the Committee this week. These reports were developed through widespread consultation, providing an excellent companion to the Government’s report.

The Committee is due to release its Concluding Observations and recommendations for the Australian Government in mid August 2010. The Commission looks forward to receiving these Observations and working with the Australian Government and NGOs to implement the Committee’s recommendations. The Commission’s report can be found at www.humanrights.gov.au/sex_discrimination/international/cedaw/index.html