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The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) issued today (June 14) a draft outline of its third report under the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to seek views from members of the public.
CEDAW was extended to Hong Kong in October 1996 and has remained in force since then. The Convention concerns elimination of discrimination against women, and development and advancement of women in all fields.
In accordance with Article 18 of the Convention, each state party undertakes to submit a report on measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the Convention and on the progress made in this respect for consideration by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (the CEDAW Committee).
As part of China's combined fifth and sixth periodic reports, the HKSAR Government submitted its second report on the implementation of CEDAW to the United Nations in 2004, which was considered by the CEDAW Committee in August 2006.
A spokesman for the Labour and Welfare Bureau said, "We will provide an update on the administrative, legal and other measures taken to implement the Convention; progress made in promoting women's well-being; changes in the status of women and equality of the sexes as well as obstacles to the full achievement of the Convention since the previous report. We will also address in the report the various concerns and recommendations made by the CEDAW Committee at the last hearing held in 2006."
The consultation period, beginning today, will last for seven weeks until July 31. The Women's Commission will convene a public consultation session at Leighton Hill Community Hall on June 30 for interested parties to express their views.
"We will incorporate the comments received and our response to them in the report as far as possible," the spokesman said.
The report will be submitted to the Central People's Government for incorporation into China's seventh and eighth periodic reports.
The draft outline of the third CEDAW report can be downloaded from the websites of the Labour and Welfare Bureau (www.lwb.gov.hk) and the Women's Commission (www.women.gov.hk), or obtained from the Public Enquiry Service Centres of District Offices.
For enquiries, please contact the Labour and Welfare Bureau by calling 2136 2738, faxing 2501 0478 or emailing cedaw_consultation@lwb.gov.hk .
Ends/Monday, June 14, 2010
Issued at HKT 11:01
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