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General Guidelines

regarding the form and content of reports received from States parties under article 18 of the Convention

(Adopted by the Committee at its 24th meeting on 11 August 1983 [CEDAW/C/7]).

1. Under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, each state party has undertaken to submit a report on the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures which it has adopted to give effect to the provisions of the Convention and on the progress made in this respect within one year after the entry into force of the Convention for the reporting State and thereafter at least every four years and further whenever the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women established under the Convention so requests.

2. In order to assist the States parties in fulfilling their obligations under article 18 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the States parties should follow general guidelines as to the form, contents and dates of reports. The guidelines are to help ensure that the reports are presented in a uniform manner so that the Committee and the States parties can obtain a complete picture of the implementation of the Convention and the progress made therein.

3. The report should be in two parts. Part I should describe:

• (a) As concisely as possible, the actual, general, social, economic, political and legal framework within which a State party approaches the elimination of discrimination against women in all its forms, as defined in the Convention;
• (b) Any legal and other measures adopted to implement the Convention or their absence as well as any effects which ratification of the Convention has had on the State party's actual, general, social, economic, political and legal framework since the entry into force of the Convention for the reporting State;
• (c) Whether there are any institutions or authorities which have as their task to ensure that the principle of equality between men and women is complied with in practice, and what remedies are available to women who have suffered discrimination;
• (d) The means used to promote and ensure the full development and advancement of women for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental fremome in all fields on a basis of equality with men;
• (e) Whether the provisions of the Convention can be invoked before, and directly enforced by, the courts, other tribunals or administrative authorities or whether the provisions of the Convention have to be implemented by way of internal laws or administrative regulations in order to be enforced by the authorities concerned.

4 . Part II of the report should provide the following specific information in relation to each provision of the Convention:

• (a) The constitutional, legislative and administrative provisions or other measures in force;
• (b) The developments that have taken place and the programmes and institutions that have been established since the entry into force of the Convention;
• (c) Any restrictions or limitations, even of a temporary nature, imposed by law or practice or in any other manner on the enjoyment of each right;
• (d) Any other factors or difficulties affecting the exercise and enjoyment of each right;
• (c) Any other Information on progress made in the fulfilment of each right.

5. It is recommended that the reports should not be confined to mere lists of legal instruments adopted in the country concerned in recent years, but should also include information indicating how these legal instruments are reflected in the actual, economic, political and social realities and the general conditions existing in their countries. Data concerning these realities and conditions should also be supplied with a breakdown of the statistics on the category of sex.

6. States Parties are invited to submit copies of the principal legislative, judicial, administrative and other texts referred to in the report so that these can be made available to the Committee. It is desirable therefore that, when a text in not actually quoted in or annexed to the report itself, the report should contain sufficient information to be understood without the actual reference.

7. The reports should reveal obstacles to the participation of women on an equal basis with men in the political, social, economic and cultural life of their countries, and give information on types and frequencies of cases of non-compliance with the principle of equal rights.

8. The reports should also pay due attention to the role of women and their full participation in the solution of problems and issues which are referred to in the preamble and which are not covered by the articles of the Convention.

9. The reports and the supplementary documentation should be submitted in one of the working languages of the Committee (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian or Spanish) in as concise a form an possible.

Guidelines for the preparation of second and subsequent periodic reports

Recalling the guidelines it adopted at its 24th meeting on 11 August 1983 regarding the form and content of reports received from States parties under article 18 of the Convention, the Committee decided on the following guidelines to be submitted to Governments for the preparation of second and subsequent periodic reports:

1. In preparing second periodic reports, States parties should follow the general guidelines and include matters that were not covered in the initial report.

2. As a general rule, States parties in their second periodic reports should focus on the period between the consideration of their latest report up to the date of preparation of their last one.

3. In their periodic reports, States parties should have regard to the previous report and to the proceedings of the Committee concerning that report, and should include, inter alia, the following:

• (a) Legal and other measures adopted since the previous report to implement the Convention;
• (b) Actual progress made to promote and ensure the elimination of discrimination against women;
• (c) Any significant changes in the status and equality of women since the previous report;
• (d) Any remaining obstacle to the participation of women on an equal basis with men in the political, social, economic and cultural life of their country;
• (e) Matters raised by the Committee and which could not be dealt with at the time when the previous report was considered.