CHAPTER IV

HUMAN RIGHTS8bOptional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against WomenNew York, 6 October 1999Entry into force22 December 2000, in accordance with article 16(1) (see paragraph 16 of Resolution A/RES/54/4).Registration22 December 2000, No. 20378StatusSignatories80Parties115TextUnited Nations, <i>Treaty Series </i>, vol. 2131, p. 83.The Protocol was adopted by resolution <a href="/doc/source/docs/A_RES_54_4-Eng.pdf" target="_blank">A/RES/54/4</a> 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.

ParticipantSignatureRatification, Accession(a), Succession(d)Albania23 Jun 2003 aAndorra 9 Jul 2001 14 Oct 2002 Angola 1 Nov 2007 aAntigua and Barbuda 5 Jun 2006 aArgentina<superscript>1</superscript>28 Feb 2000 20 Mar 2007 Armenia14 Sep 2006 aAustralia 4 Dec 2008 aAustria10 Dec 1999 6 Sep 2000 Azerbaijan 6 Jun 2000 1 Jun 2001 Bangladesh 6 Sep 2000 6 Sep 2000 Belarus29 Apr 2002 3 Feb 2004 Belgium10 Dec 1999 17 Jun 2004 Belize 9 Dec 2002 aBenin25 May 2000 27 Sep 2019 Bolivia (Plurinational State of)10 Dec 1999 27 Sep 2000 Bosnia and Herzegovina 7 Sep 2000 4 Sep 2002 Botswana21 Feb 2007 aBrazil13 Mar 2001 28 Jun 2002 Bulgaria 6 Jun 2000 20 Sep 2006 Burkina Faso16 Nov 2001 10 Oct 2005 Burundi13 Nov 2001 Cabo Verde10 Oct 2011 aCambodia11 Nov 2001 13 Oct 2010 Cameroon 7 Jan 2005 aCanada18 Oct 2002 aCentral African Republic11 Oct 2016 aChad26 Sep 2012 Chile10 Dec 1999 12 Mar 2020 Colombia10 Dec 1999 23 Jan 2007 Congo29 Sep 2008 Cook Islands27 Nov 2007 aCosta Rica10 Dec 1999 20 Sep 2001 Côte d'Ivoire20 Jan 2012 aCroatia 5 Jun 2000 7 Mar 2001 Cuba17 Mar 2000 Cyprus 8 Feb 2001 26 Apr 2002 Czech Republic10 Dec 1999 26 Feb 2001 Denmark10 Dec 1999 31 May 2000 Dominican Republic14 Mar 2000 10 Aug 2001 Ecuador10 Dec 1999 5 Feb 2002 El Salvador 4 Apr 2001 Equatorial Guinea16 Oct 2009 aFinland10 Dec 1999 29 Dec 2000 France10 Dec 1999 9 Jun 2000 Gabon 5 Nov 2004 aGeorgia 1 Aug 2002 aGermany10 Dec 1999 15 Jan 2002 Ghana24 Feb 2000 3 Feb 2011 Greece10 Dec 1999 24 Jan 2002 Guatemala 7 Sep 2000 9 May 2002 Guinea-Bissau12 Sep 2000 5 Aug 2009 Hungary22 Dec 2000 aIceland10 Dec 1999 6 Mar 2001 Indonesia28 Feb 2000 Ireland 7 Sep 2000 7 Sep 2000 Italy10 Dec 1999 22 Sep 2000 Kazakhstan 6 Sep 2000 24 Aug 2001 Kyrgyzstan22 Jul 2002 aLesotho 6 Sep 2000 24 Sep 2004 Liberia22 Sep 2004 Libya18 Jun 2004 aLiechtenstein10 Dec 1999 24 Oct 2001 Lithuania 8 Sep 2000 5 Aug 2004 Luxembourg10 Dec 1999 1 Jul 2003 Madagascar 7 Sep 2000 Malawi 7 Sep 2000 Maldives13 Mar 2006 aMali 5 Dec 2000 aMalta14 Mar 2019 aMarshall Islands29 Jan 2019 aMauritius11 Nov 2001 31 Oct 2008 Mexico10 Dec 1999 15 Mar 2002 Monaco 3 May 2016 aMongolia 7 Sep 2000 28 Mar 2002 Montenegro<superscript>2</superscript>23 Oct 2006 dMorocco22 Apr 2022 aMozambique 4 Nov 2008 aNamibia19 May 2000 26 May 2000 Nepal18 Dec 2001 15 Jun 2007 Netherlands (Kingdom of the)<superscript>3</superscript>10 Dec 1999 22 May 2002 New Zealand<superscript>4</superscript> 7 Sep 2000 7 Sep 2000 Niger30 Sep 2004 aNigeria 8 Sep 2000 22 Nov 2004 North Macedonia 3 Apr 2000 17 Oct 2003 Norway10 Dec 1999 5 Mar 2002 Panama 9 Jun 2000 9 May 2001 Paraguay28 Dec 1999 14 May 2001 Peru22 Dec 2000 9 Apr 2001 Philippines21 Mar 2000 12 Nov 2003 Poland22 Dec 2003 aPortugal16 Feb 2000 26 Apr 2002 Republic of Korea18 Oct 2006 aRepublic of Moldova28 Feb 2006 aRomania 6 Sep 2000 25 Aug 2003 Russian Federation 8 May 2001 28 Jul 2004 Rwanda15 Dec 2008 aSan Marino15 Sep 2005 aSao Tome and Principe 6 Sep 2000 23 Mar 2017 Senegal10 Dec 1999 26 May 2000 Serbia31 Jul 2003 aSeychelles22 Jul 2002 1 Mar 2011 Sierra Leone 8 Sep 2000 Slovakia 5 Jun 2000 17 Nov 2000 Slovenia10 Dec 1999 23 Sep 2004 Solomon Islands 6 May 2002 aSouth Africa18 Oct 2005 aSouth Sudan30 Apr 2015 aSpain14 Mar 2000 6 Jul 2001 Sri Lanka15 Oct 2002 aSt. Kitts and Nevis20 Jan 2006 aState of Palestine10 Apr 2019 aSweden10 Dec 1999 24 Apr 2003 Switzerland15 Feb 2007 29 Sep 2008 Tajikistan 7 Sep 2000 22 Jul 2014 Thailand14 Jun 2000 14 Jun 2000 Timor-Leste16 Apr 2003 aTunisia23 Sep 2008 aTürkiye 8 Sep 2000 29 Oct 2002 Turkmenistan20 May 2009 aUkraine 7 Sep 2000 26 Sep 2003 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland<superscript>5</superscript>17 Dec 2004 aUnited Republic of Tanzania12 Jan 2006 aUruguay 9 May 2000 26 Jul 2001 Vanuatu17 May 2007 aVenezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)17 Mar 2000 13 May 2002 Zambia29 Sep 2008 BangladeshDeclaration:“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.”BelgiumUpon signatureDeclaration:The Flemish, French and German-speaking Communities of Belgium are equally bound by this signature.BelizeDeclaration:"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 ProtocolNOW 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."ChileInterpretative 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<superscript>6</superscript>CubaUpon 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.TajikistanDeclaration:“… 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.”1With 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 2006.2See note 1 under "Montenegro" in the "Historical Information" section in the front matter of this volume.3For 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.4With 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.”5With 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).6On 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.