Convention on the Elimination
In 1979, after four years of preparatory work by the Commission on the Status of Women, the General Assembly adopted the historic Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. An international bill of rights for women, this landmark treaty went into force in 1981 and has now been ratified by 165 countries.
Implementation of the Convention is monitored by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Composed of 23 experts, the Committee reviews reports by States parties and makes recommendations to promote compliance with the treaty's provisions.
On 6 October 1999, the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly adopted an optional protocol to the Convention, which provides, among other things, for the right of individual petition.
On Monday, 7 June, in commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention , the Committee held a special commemorative ceremony at the UN Headquarters.