CEDAW Shadow/Alternative Report – Guidelines

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IWRAW AP CEDAW KNOWLEDGE RESOURCE

Guidelines on
Writing a CEDAW Shadow/Alternative Report

General
Guidelines

What is the
difference between a shadow report and an alternative report?

First it is
important to note the difference between a shadow report and an alternative
report. When an NGO writes its report, with access to the government report
submitted to the CEDAW Committee, this is called a shadow report. When an NGO
writes its report where no government report is available (e.g. either because
their government has not written one or it writes it too late), this is called
an alternative report.

What is
the purpose of the shadow/alternative report?

The purpose
of the shadow/alternative report is to provide the CEDAW Committee with
information on the substantive rights outlined in the CEDAW Convention. So for
example since Article 10 of the CEDAW Convention is on the right to education,
the report would include information on the right to education. And since Article
9 is on the right to nationality, the report would include information on the
right to nationality. And so on and so forth. In relation to each of these
rights, the report explains what the status of this right in your country is
and what can be done to improve it.

With a
shadow report, you have an added element to the report. It not only includes
that status of that right in your country (as explained above) but it also
compares the status of that right as compared to the information provided by
the government. So for example for the right to education, the shadow report
would discuss the status of that right in your country plus compare it with the
information on the right to education provided by the government in its report.
It is a critique of the government’s report.

How
should I organize my report?

The best way
to organize your report is by Article. So, for example, each subheading in your
report will be an article of the CEDAW Convention. Subheading one would be on
Article 1 of the CEDAW convention (the definition of Discrimination in your
country), subheading two would be on Article 2 of the CEDAW Convention (policy
measures that have been undertaken to eliminate discrimination in your
country), etc.

The broad
structure of the CEDAW Convention is as follows:

• 
  Articles
  1 – 5 provides the general substantive framework of the Convention.

• 
  Articles
  6 – 16 provides specific substantive areas of the Convention.

• 
  Articles
  17 – 23 outlines the role of the CEDAW Committee and the procedures
  pertaining to the Convention and finally,

• 
  Articles
  23 – 30 outlines the administration and interpretation of the Convention.

Note, the
shadow/alternative report need only provide information on the substantive
articles of the CEDAW convention, i.e. Articles 1 – 16. Note also, Articles 1 –
5 of the CEDAW Convention should be written differently than Articles 6 – 16
since they cover broader issues as opposed to the specific ones enumerated in
Articles 6 – 16. (See specific guidelines for these articles in Part II).

What
language should my shadow/alternative report be in?

Whilst the
shadow report can be prepared in English, Spanish or French, you are strongly
advised to provide an Executive Summary of the report in English. The Executive
Summary would include :

• 
  A
  summary of the main critical points of the shadow/alternative report;

• 
  A
  summary of the recommendations to the critical points above and to the
  challenges encountered in the implementation of the CEDAW Convention.

Guidelines
for Writing Shadow/Alternative Report, Articles 1-5

Articles 1 –
5 are general in nature and set out the underlying principles of the CEDAW
Convention: Equality, Non-Discrimination and State Obligation.

Below we
have set out a series of questions for each article. Note these are not meant
to be an exhaustive list. Note also that you are not meant to answer each
question specifically, but rather use them as a way to prompt information.

Article 1:
Definition of discrimination

• Has
  the definition of discrimination as given in Article 1 of the CEDAW
  Convention been incorporated into the Constitution and laws of your
  country?

• Do the
  laws of the land also address both direct and indirect discrimination?

Article 2:
Policy measures to be undertaken to eliminate discrimination

• Has
  the government legally provided for the principles of substantive equality
  and non-discrimination of the CEDAW Convention to be incorporated into
  domestic laws at the national level?

• Is the
  CEDAW Convention applicable in the courts?

• Has
  any of the provisions of the CEDAW Convention been directly invoked in
  domestic courts to gain equal rights for women? Is there case law?

• Are
  lawyers and advocates able to directly cite the CEDAW Convention in court?

• Are
  there national laws that conflict with the CEDAW Convention?

• Where
  there is a conflict between national laws and the CEDAW Convention, which
  one supersedes?

3. What
measures, if any, has the government undertaken to ensure the practical
realization of these principles of equality and non-discrimination?

• Are
  there provisions to ensure that non-State actors, such as individuals,
  also comply with these rights and principles?

6. Are there
competent and sensitised tribunals to hear such cases? Have all relevant
government officers in all sectors as well as the judiciary and relevant legal
personnel been trained to carry out their obligations under the CEDAW
Convention?

7. Are there
specific sanctions for discrimination on the basis of gender included in the
domestic legislation?

• Has
  any other appropriate legislation been enacted to make discriminatory acts
  in the public and private sectors actionable? Such legislation could take
  the form of an Equal Opportunities Act or an Anti-Sex Discrimination Act.

• What
  sanctions are in place for discrimination against women by the private
  sector or public sector?

• What
  steps have been taken by the government to ensure that women are informed
  about their rights?

• What
  legal remedies are available to women who have been discriminated against
  or have their rights violated?

• Are
  the remedies also available to women whose perpetrators are from the
  private sector or public sector?

• Are
  there specific institutions and procedures laid out in order for women to
  have access to the remedies such as Office of the Ombudsman or special
  tribunals?

• If
  these institutions and procedures are in place, how effective are they in
  addressing the violations and providing the remedies?

9. Has an
inter-sectoral monitoring mechanism been established to gather data on
compliance with the obligations under the CEDAW Convention?

• Are
  there assessments carried out to measure the effectiveness of laws and
  policies that are meant to promote women’s equality?

Article 3:
Guarantees basic human rights and fundamental freedoms, on an equal basis with
men

• Has
  the government created national machineries which address the development
  of women, create equal opportunities for women and ensure women’s equal
  access and results to those opportunities?

• If so,
  what kinds of machineries have been created?

• What
  are the competence and mandate of these machineries?

• What
  is the level of coordination with other institutional machineries?

• What
  level of progress has been achieved in addressing the development and
  advancement of women in your country in all spheres i.e. political,
  economic, social and cultural?

• Can
  these machineries be more effective?

• Have
  the national development plans in your country addressed women’s development
  and advancement on a scale that is representative of the women’s
  population in your country?

• In the
  national development plans, has the government incorporated macro-economic
  and social policies that will ensure women’s access and enjoyment to
  overall economic and social development?

• What
  percentage of the budget in the national development plans is geared
  towards the goals for the development and advancement of women?

• Did
  the development of these national plans utilize the definition as provided
  for in Article 1 of the CEDAW Convention in ensuring that the plans do not
  discriminate against women, either directly or indirectly?

• Do the
  national development plans include specific provisions for specific groups
  of women in your country including rural women, indigenous women, disabled
  women, migrant women, minority women and marginalised women in your
  country?

• Are
  there any monitoring systems in place to evaluate the implementation of
  the national development plans in relation to women’s development?

• Are
  there mechanisms in place to address the shortfall of the national
  development plans implementation especially in relation to women’s
  development?

• How
  are the women in your country affected by the World Trade Organisation’s
  (WTO) agreements?

• Has
  there been any assessments made on the impact of these agreements on the
  rights of women in your country?

• Is
  there adequate data to assess progress made in the implementation of the
  CEDAW Convention such as data disaggregated by sex, by ethnicity and other
  relevant variables.

• Aside
  from that is there data collected to identify obstacles to the achievement
  of de facto rights for women and to assess the effects of laws and
  policies on women?

• Is
  there a plan for implementation of the CEDAW Convention that sets out
  benchmarks for progress?

• Are
  there plans for special programmes to enable women to access rights given
  in the law, or plans that delineate responsibility, identify
  inter-sectoral cooperation, allocate budgets and integrate capacity
  building measures for the implementers?

• Are
  these integrated into the mainstream national development plans?

• Has
  the government involved NGOs in planning any of the above?

• Does
  the government/state party report mention specific commitments and
  institutional arrangements for implementation of the Beijing Platform for
  Action that includes accountability to NGOs?

• What
  is your analysis of the efficiency or effectiveness of state machinery or
  national institutions meant to promote human rights in general and women’s
  rights in particular?

• What
  are your recommendations for government action under each of the issues or
  problems you have identified?

Article 4:
Temporary special measures to achieve equality

• Has
  the government taken any temporary special measures to improve specific
  situation of women in your country that would bring them closer to
  experiencing equality with men, i.e. the implementation of affirmative
  action policies in education, decision-making participation?

• Are
  the temporary special measures limited to the public sector or are they
  also extended to be applicable in the private sector as well?

• Are
  there specific temporary special measures that address specific groups of
  women such as rural women, indigenous women, disabled women, migrant
  women, minority women and marginalised women in your country?

• Are
  there mechanisms in place to monitor the implementation of temporary
  special measures and to measure their progress in accelerating de facto
  equality for women in your country?

Article 5:
Sex roles and stereotyping

• What
  did the government do to overcome negative perceptions of women and
  stereotyping of their roles within the family and the society?

• What
  are they implementing to change prevailing mindsets among the population?

• How
  have gender equality campaigns address the issue of stereotyping of women
  and men and the roles that they play within the family and the society?

• Is
  there political will by the government and other related institutions and
  organisations in overcoming cultural and religious obstacles to women’s
  equality? If so, how is this shown?

• What
  concrete actions are taken by the government to eliminate harmful
  traditional practices?

• Initiatives
  to raise awareness on harmful traditional practices are critical but not
  sufficient to change harmful cultural and religious practices. Has the
  government taken steps to put in place relevant laws and legislations to
  eliminate these harmful practices?

Guidelines
for Writing Shadow/Alternative Report, Articles 6-16

Articles 6 –
16 are very specific in nature, as seen below:

• 
  Article
  6: Trafficking and Prostitution

• 
  Article
  7: Political and Public Life

• 
  Article
  8: Participation at the International Level

• 
  Article
  9: Nationality

• 
  Article
  10: Equality in Education

• 
  Article
  11: Employment

• 
  Article
  12: Healthcare and Family Planning

• 
  Article
  13: Economic and Social Benefits

• 
  Article
  14: Rural Women

• 
  Article
  15: Equality before the Law

• 
  Article
  16: Marriage and Family Law

Once again
we have set out a series of questions that can be asked for each article. The
same set of questions can be asked for each article. Note once again that you
are not meant to answer each of these questions specifically, but rather they
are meant to prompt information.

Questions for
Articles 6 – 16

1. What
issues and rights are raised in the CEDAW Convention article?

• What
  is the government obligated to do to ensure that right?

• What
  is the status of that right in your country?

• Has
  the government acknowledged these issues/problems in their report to
  CEDAW? If so, how has it presented these issues/problems and are you in
  agreement in relation to?

• Prevalence
  and magnitude of the problem

• Contributing
  factors – immediate, historical, systemic, etc.

• Effects
  on women

• What
  does the government say should be done to address the problems and what
  does it say it is already doing? What is your analysis of this with regard
  to:

• Appropriateness
  of what the government says should be done?

• Effectiveness
  of what the government is doing. Are there statistics or evidence of the
  scale or the effectiveness of government action? Does the government
  monitor its own actions?

• If in
  your opinion the government’s actions are not effective, what are the
  contributory factors?

• Is
  there evidence in the report that the government is taking steps to
  implement what it says should be done?

• Have
  the relevant actors been identified?

• Is
  there an allocation of adequate resources?

• Are
  there laws or policies to mandate the action?

• Are
  there institutional arrangements to facilitate the action?

• Are
  relevant personnel being trained?

• Is
  there a public awareness programme?

• Is
  there a plan for support services if needed?

• For
  countries presenting periodic reports, what action has the government
  taken to follow-up on the Concluding Comments made by the CEDAW Committee
  in relation to this right at the previous state party report review?

• 
  What
  are your recommendations for government action under each of the issue(s)
  or problems(s) that have been identified?