UNTC

STATUS AS AT : 04-05-2024 09:15:33 EDT

CHAPTER IV

HUMAN RIGHTS

8 .b Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

New York, 6 October 1999

Entry into force

22 December 2000, in accordance with article 16(1) (see paragraph 16 of Resolution A/RES/54/4).

Registration

22 December 2000, No. 20378

Status

Signatories : 80. Parties : 115

Text

United Nations, Treaty Series , vol. 2131, p. 83.

Note

The Protocol was adopted by resolution A/RES/54/4 of 6 October 1999 at the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. In accordance with its article 15 (1), the Protocol will be open for signature by any State that has signed, ratified or acceded to the Convention at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 10 December 1999.

Participant	Signature	Ratification, Accession(a), Succession(d)
Albania		23 Jun 2003 a
Andorra	9 Jul 2001	14 Oct 2002
Angola		1 Nov 2007 a
Antigua and Barbuda		5 Jun 2006 a
Argentina ¹	28 Feb 2000	20 Mar 2007
Armenia		14 Sep 2006 a
Australia		4 Dec 2008 a
Austria	10 Dec 1999	6 Sep 2000
Azerbaijan	6 Jun 2000	1 Jun 2001
Bangladesh	6 Sep 2000	6 Sep 2000
Belarus	29 Apr 2002	3 Feb 2004
Belgium	10 Dec 1999	17 Jun 2004
Belize		9 Dec 2002 a
Benin	25 May 2000	27 Sep 2019
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)	10 Dec 1999	27 Sep 2000
Bosnia and Herzegovina	7 Sep 2000	4 Sep 2002
Botswana		21 Feb 2007 a
Brazil	13 Mar 2001	28 Jun 2002
Bulgaria	6 Jun 2000	20 Sep 2006
Burkina Faso	16 Nov 2001	10 Oct 2005
Burundi	13 Nov 2001
Cabo Verde		10 Oct 2011 a
Cambodia	11 Nov 2001	13 Oct 2010
Cameroon		7 Jan 2005 a
Canada		18 Oct 2002 a
Central African Republic		11 Oct 2016 a
Chad	26 Sep 2012
Chile	10 Dec 1999	12 Mar 2020
Colombia	10 Dec 1999	23 Jan 2007
Congo	29 Sep 2008
Cook Islands		27 Nov 2007 a
Costa Rica	10 Dec 1999	20 Sep 2001
Côte d'Ivoire		20 Jan 2012 a
Croatia	5 Jun 2000	7 Mar 2001
Cuba	17 Mar 2000
Cyprus	8 Feb 2001	26 Apr 2002
Czech Republic	10 Dec 1999	26 Feb 2001
Denmark	10 Dec 1999	31 May 2000
Dominican Republic	14 Mar 2000	10 Aug 2001
Ecuador	10 Dec 1999	5 Feb 2002
El Salvador	4 Apr 2001
Equatorial Guinea		16 Oct 2009 a
Finland	10 Dec 1999	29 Dec 2000
France	10 Dec 1999	9 Jun 2000
Gabon		5 Nov 2004 a
Georgia		1 Aug 2002 a
Germany	10 Dec 1999	15 Jan 2002
Ghana	24 Feb 2000	3 Feb 2011
Greece	10 Dec 1999	24 Jan 2002
Guatemala	7 Sep 2000	9 May 2002
Guinea-Bissau	12 Sep 2000	5 Aug 2009
Hungary		22 Dec 2000 a
Iceland	10 Dec 1999	6 Mar 2001
Indonesia	28 Feb 2000
Ireland	7 Sep 2000	7 Sep 2000
Italy	10 Dec 1999	22 Sep 2000
Kazakhstan	6 Sep 2000	24 Aug 2001
Kyrgyzstan		22 Jul 2002 a
Lesotho	6 Sep 2000	24 Sep 2004
Liberia	22 Sep 2004
Libya		18 Jun 2004 a
Liechtenstein	10 Dec 1999	24 Oct 2001
Lithuania	8 Sep 2000	5 Aug 2004
Luxembourg	10 Dec 1999	1 Jul 2003
Madagascar	7 Sep 2000
Malawi	7 Sep 2000
Maldives		13 Mar 2006 a
Mali		5 Dec 2000 a
Malta		14 Mar 2019 a
Marshall Islands		29 Jan 2019 a
Mauritius	11 Nov 2001	31 Oct 2008
Mexico	10 Dec 1999	15 Mar 2002
Monaco		3 May 2016 a
Mongolia	7 Sep 2000	28 Mar 2002
Montenegro ²		23 Oct 2006 d
Morocco		22 Apr 2022 a
Mozambique		4 Nov 2008 a
Namibia	19 May 2000	26 May 2000
Nepal	18 Dec 2001	15 Jun 2007
Netherlands (Kingdom of the) ³	10 Dec 1999	22 May 2002
New Zealand ⁴	7 Sep 2000	7 Sep 2000
Niger		30 Sep 2004 a
Nigeria	8 Sep 2000	22 Nov 2004
North Macedonia	3 Apr 2000	17 Oct 2003
Norway	10 Dec 1999	5 Mar 2002
Panama	9 Jun 2000	9 May 2001
Paraguay	28 Dec 1999	14 May 2001
Peru	22 Dec 2000	9 Apr 2001
Philippines	21 Mar 2000	12 Nov 2003
Poland		22 Dec 2003 a
Portugal	16 Feb 2000	26 Apr 2002
Republic of Korea		18 Oct 2006 a
Republic of Moldova		28 Feb 2006 a
Romania	6 Sep 2000	25 Aug 2003
Russian Federation	8 May 2001	28 Jul 2004
Rwanda		15 Dec 2008 a
San Marino		15 Sep 2005 a
Sao Tome and Principe	6 Sep 2000	23 Mar 2017
Senegal	10 Dec 1999	26 May 2000
Serbia		31 Jul 2003 a
Seychelles	22 Jul 2002	1 Mar 2011
Sierra Leone	8 Sep 2000
Slovakia	5 Jun 2000	17 Nov 2000
Slovenia	10 Dec 1999	23 Sep 2004
Solomon Islands		6 May 2002 a
South Africa		18 Oct 2005 a
South Sudan		30 Apr 2015 a
Spain	14 Mar 2000	6 Jul 2001
Sri Lanka		15 Oct 2002 a
St. Kitts and Nevis		20 Jan 2006 a
State of Palestine		10 Apr 2019 a
Sweden	10 Dec 1999	24 Apr 2003
Switzerland	15 Feb 2007	29 Sep 2008
Tajikistan	7 Sep 2000	22 Jul 2014
Thailand	14 Jun 2000	14 Jun 2000
Timor-Leste		16 Apr 2003 a
Tunisia		23 Sep 2008 a
Türkiye	8 Sep 2000	29 Oct 2002
Turkmenistan		20 May 2009 a
Ukraine	7 Sep 2000	26 Sep 2003
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ⁵		17 Dec 2004 a
United Republic of Tanzania		12 Jan 2006 a
Uruguay	9 May 2000	26 Jul 2001
Vanuatu		17 May 2007 a
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)	17 Mar 2000	13 May 2002
Zambia	29 Sep 2008

Declarations and Reservations

(Unless otherwise indicated, the declarations and reservations were made
upon ratification, accession or succession.)

Bangladesh

Declaration:

“The Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh declares in accordance with Article 10 (1) thereof, that it would not undertake the obligations arising out of Articles 8 and 9 of the said Optional Protocol.”

Belgium

Upon signature

Declaration:

The Flemish, French and German-speaking Communities of Belgium are equally bound by this signature.

Belize

Declaration:

"WHEREAS, Article 10 of the Optional Protocol declares that at the time of acceding to the Optional Protocol, a State Party may declare that it does not recognize the competence of the Committee provided for in Articles 8 and 9 of the Optional Protocol
NOW THEREFORE, BELIZE, after having carefully considered Articles 8 and 9 of the Optional Protocol, hereby declares that it does not recognize the competence of the Committee provided for in Articles 8 and 9."

Chile

Interpretative declarations:

       (1) The Republic of Chile, in ratifying this Optional Protocol, reaffirms its ongoing commitment to the promotion and protection of women’s human rights and gender equality, which are objectives that are provided for in the legal system of the Republic of Chile.
       (2) The Republic of Chile interprets article 5 of the Optional Protocol as meaning that any request for interim measures as referred to therein, and made with respect to the economic, social and cultural rights enshrined in the Convention, will be examined and applied, in keeping with the progressive nature of these rights.
       (3) The Republic of Chile ratifies the present Optional Protocol on the understanding that the special procedure provided for in articles 8 and 9 thereof may not be used to address situations that, given their particular nature, could be the subject of an individual communication. Accordingly, this special procedure cannot be used to circumvent the requirements of article 4 for the submission of individual communications, such as the exhaustion of domestic remedies or the need for the facts giving rise to the case to fall within the temporal scope of the Optional Protocol.
       (4) The Republic of Chile declares that recognition of the competence of the Committee as established under articles 8 and 9 of the Optional Protocol shall in no way infringe upon the right to life of the unborn child.

Colombia ⁶

Cuba

Upon signature:

Declaration:

The Government of the Republic of Cuba declares that it does not recognize the competence of the committee established by virtue of articles 8 and 9 of the Protocol.

Tajikistan

Declaration:

“… the Majlisi Oli (Parliament) of the Republic of Tajikistan ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women from 6 October 1999, without recognizing the competence of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, provided in Articles 8 and 9 of the Protocol.”

End Note

1.With the following :

The Argentine Republic wishes to reiterate the content of its notes of 3 April 1989 and 18 January 2005, by which it rejected the extension of the territorial application of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and of the Optional Protocol thereto, respectively, to the Malvinas Islands, notified by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Argentine Republic recalls that the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and surrounding maritime areas are an integral part of the territory of the Argentine Republic and are illegally occupied by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, being the subject of a sovereignty dispute.

Because of the illegal occupation by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolutions 2065 (XX), 316[0] (XXVIII), 31/49, 37/9, 38/12, 39/6, 40/21, 41/40, 42/19 and 43/25, in which a sovereignty dispute regarding the "Question of the Malvinas Islands" is recognized and the Governments of the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are urged to resume negotiations in order to find as soon as possible a peaceful and lasting solution to the dispute.

The United Nations Special Political and Decolonization Committee has repeatedly affirmed this view, most recently in its resolution of 15 June 2006.

2.See note 1 under "Montenegro" in the "Historical Information" section in the front matter of this volume.

3.For the Kingdom in Europe and the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. See also note 2 under “Netherlands” regarding Netherlands Antilles in the “Historical Information” section in the front matter of this volume.

4.With a declaration to the effect that “consistent with the constitutional status of Tokelau and taking into account its commitment to the development of self-government through an act of self-determination under the Charter of the United Nations, this ratification shall not extend to Tokelau unless and until a Declaration to this effect is lodged by the Government of New Zealand with the depositary on the basis of appropriate consultation with that territory.”

5.With a territorial application to the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and the Isle of Man.

On 18 January 2005, the Secretary-General received, from the Government of Argentina, the following communication:

The Argentine Republic wishes to reiterate the content of its note of 3 April 1989, by which it rejected the extension of the territorial application of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, notified by the Government of the United Kingdom upon its ratification of that instrument on 7 April 1986.

The Argentine Republic similarly rejects the declaration of territorial application made by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland upon its accession to the 1999 Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, with respect to the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands. The Government of Argentina wishes to reiterate that the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and surrounding maritime areas are an integral part of the territory of the Argentine Republic and are illegally occupied by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, being the subject of a sovereignty dispute.

Because of the illegal occupation by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolutions 2065 (XX), 3160 (XXVIII), 31/49, 37/9, 38/12, 39/6, 40/21, 41/40, 42/19 and 43/25, in which a sovereignty dispute regarding the "Question of the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands" is recognized and the Governments of the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are urged to resume negotiations in order to find as soon as possible a peaceful and lasting solution to the dispute.

The United Nations Special Political and Decolonization Committee has repeatedly affirmed this view, most recently inits resolution of 18 June 2004 (A/59/23).

6.On 22 November 2022, the Government of Colombia notified the Secretary-General of its decision to partially withdraw the following declarations it made upon ratification (refer to depositary notification C.N.81.2007.TREATIES-IV.8.b of 31 January 2007 (Ratification: Colombia)). The text of the declarations being withdrawn reads as follows:

The Government of Colombia, exercising the discretion provided for in article 10 of the Optional Protocol, and subject to the conditions set out therein, declares that it does not recognize the competence of the Committee provided for in articles 8 and 9 of the Protocol.

The Government of Colombia declares that no provision of the Optional Protocol and no recommendation of the Committee may be interpreted as requiring Colombia to decriminalize offences against life or personal integrity.

On 8 February 2023, the Government of Colombia notified the Secretary-General of its decision to withdraw the remaining declaration it made upon ratification, which text reads as follows:

The Government of Colombia understands article 5 of the Protocol to mean that interim measures not only preclude “a determination on admissibility or on the merits of the communication”, as established in article 5, paragraph 2, but that any measures involving the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights shall be applied in keeping with the progressive nature of these rights.