How is CEDAW Monitored?
CEDAW is overseen by a treaty body called the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. This is a group of 23 gender equality experts, elected by States parties to CEDAW, although once elected they serve in an independent capacity and not as representatives of their countries. The Committee membership is regionally representative. Their terms last four years, with only half of the Committee members replaced each time elections take place. The Committee is responsible for reviewing each State party’s progress, as well as the challenges they are experiencing in implementing the Convention. The Committee is also responsible for developing jurisprudence, a body of legal interpretation, through the issuing of General Recommendations and decisions under CEDAW’s Optional Protocol. This jurisprudence helps clarify how the Convention applies to specific situations and emerging issues. Prior to 2008, the CEDAW Committee met in New York, with the UN Division for the Advancemen
