Backgrounder

Canada accedes to the Optional Protocol to the UN Women's Convention (CEDAW)

The Government of Canada has chosen Persons Day, October 18, 2002, as the date for accession to the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) for its significance in Canada for the rights of women. Canada's accession to the Optional Protocol will further demonstrate our commitment to the promotion of gender equality and women's human rights both domestically and internationally.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

Canada has been a party to CEDAW since 1981. State parties to CEDAW are required to take appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women and ensure the development and advancement of women in all aspects of society. This ensures that women enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with men, in civil, cultural, economic, political and social areas.

CEDAW requires States to undertake measures to enable women to achieve equal enjoyment of their human rights in private, political and public life. For example, women must be allowed to participate equally in the development and implementation of government policy.

CEDAW also creates a committee to monitor progress made in the implementation of the Convention.

The Optional Protocol to CEDAW

The Optional Protocol to CEDAW is a human rights treaty that creates two new procedures to enhance the CEDAW Committee's ability to oversee compliance with the Convention.

The first procedure allows individuals or groups to file a petition (also known as a complaint or a communication) to the CEDAW Committee about alleged violations of the Convention by their country. The second procedure allows the CEDAW Committee to make an inquiry into grave or systematic violations of CEDAW that are occurring in a country that is a party to the Optional Protocol.

Petitions

A petition to the Optional Protocol must meet the following requirements:

• The country against which the petition is made must be a party to both CEDAW and the Optional Protocol;
• The petition can only be submitted by:

1. an individual or group under the jurisdiction of a State party;
2. a representative designated by the individual or group; or
3. others, such as a non-governmental organization, acting on behalf of an individual or group.
   

• The procedure cannot be anonymous. The individual or group must be identified in the petition;
• The petition must be made in writing;
• The petition must be sufficiently substantiated, to ensure that the Committee has enough detail supporting the petition in order to proceed to examine it;
• Those submitting the petition must have explored all other options for redress within their own country before submitting their petition (exceptions may be made in cases in which the domestic redress mechanisms are unreasonably long or are unlikely to help). In Canada, this means that the individual or group alleging a violation of CEDAW under the Optional Protocol must have pursued remedies through Canadian mechanisms first, such as filing a human rights complaint with a human rights commission or bringing a court action alleging a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. All possible Canadian appeals must be exhausted before a petition can be filed under the Optional Protocol;
• The same matter cannot have been previously considered by the CEDAW Committee or have been simultaneously examined under another international procedure. For example, a petition will not be considered if the same matter is being or has already been considered under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and
• The facts relevant to the alleged violation must have occurred after the country became a party to the Optional Protocol.

In addition to the petition procedure, the Optional Protocol also creates an inquiry procedure. When the Committee receives reliable information indicating grave or systematic violations of CEDAW by a country, it may initiate an inquiry. The inquiries are confidential and the cooperation of the country involved is requested at all stages of the proceeding.

Views and recommendations

After examining a petition or conducting an inquiry, the CEDAW Committee will issue its views, and sometimes recommendations. The views and recommendations issued by the Committee under the Optional Protocol are not legally binding in Canada's domestic courts or tribunals. However, Canada takes its international obligations seriously, making these UN Committee decisions morally persuasive.

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