26 May 1988

15th plenary meeting

Elimination of discrimination against women in accordance with the aims of the Convention on the Elinination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling General Assembly resolutions 42/60 of 30 November 1987 and 42/105 of 7 December 1987 and Economic and Social Council resolution 1987/18 of 26 May 1987,

Noting the decisions of the fourth meeting of States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,

Noting resolution 32/1 of 16 March 1988 adopted by the Commission on the Status of Women in response to the request contained in Economic and Social Council decision 1987/112 of 6 February 1987,

Recalling the emphasis placed by the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, on the ratification of or accession to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,

1. Welcomes the ratification of or accession to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by an increasing number of Member States;

2. Urges all States that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Convention to do so as soon as possible;

3. Urges States parties to the Convention to make all possible efforts to submit their initial reports in accordance with article 18 of the Convention and the guidelines of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women;

4. Takes note of the articles of the Convention that provide the mandate of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women;

5. Welcomes the continuing efforts made by the Committee to rationalize its procedures and expedite the consideration of periodic reports submitted in accordance with article 18 of the Convention;

6. Recalls the role of the Committee pursuant to article 21, paragraph 1, of the Convention;

7. Notes with considerable concern the problems encountered by the Committee as a result of the shortage of resources, including resources for technical and substantive support;

8. Reaffirms that resources of the Branch for the Advancement of Women of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat should be reinforced through various means, including redeployment, in order to enable it to keep pace with its increased work-load and to guarantee proper servicing of all bodies concerned with the advancement of the status of women that are assisted by the Branch;

9. Recognizes the special relevance of the periodic reports of States parties to the Convention to the efforts of the Commission on the Status of Women to review and appraise the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women in those countries;

10. Recognizes also that all States Members of the United Nations should take into account all relevant documents when developing strategies to monitor and evaluate progress in the advancement of women and when formulating policies and programmes concerning women at the national, regional and international levels;

11. Requests the Secretary-General to disseminate information on the Convention and its implementation with a view to promoting further ratifications of or accessions to the Convention;

12. Recommends that the Chairman of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Chairman of the Commission on the Status of Women attend meetings of the other body;

13. Recommends that the meetings of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women be scheduled, whenever possible, to allow for the timely transmission of the results of its work for information to the Commission on the Status of Women during the same year as the Committee's session.