The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and International Women’s Rights Action Watch — Asia Pacific (IWRAW-AP) are currently coordinating a thematic briefing with the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, to discuss ‘Land and Property Rights of Rural Women.’ The thematic briefing will be held during the 54th session of the Committee which takes place in Geneva, Switzerland, in February 2013.
This thematic briefing is aimed to provide information and data to the Committee in light of their work to draft a General Recommendation on the Rights of Rural Women. This General Recommendation presents an important opportunity for raising and addressing women’s land and property rights, and developing a framework that expands the interpretation of State Obligation that ensures the elimination of discrimination and promotes substantive equality of rural women, particularly in the context of rights to land and property.
In particular, the thematic briefing will be an opportunity to:
i) Discuss the priority issues and challenges for rural women in the context of women’s land and property rights;
ii)Propose a framework that expounds on the scope of state obligation within the purview of the text of the CEDAW Convention which recognizes the diversity in identity and experiences of discrimination and inequality of rural women, particularly in the context of land and property rights; and
iii)Brainstorm on areas requiring further research and information gathering.
In order to ensure the widest possible consultation in this process, we would like to invite your organization to submit a written submission for the Committee on these issues. Written submissions will be presented to the Committee, and used as the basis of a summary document (i.e. factsheet) which will also be prepared and presented to the Committee during the briefing.
International Land Coalition Secretariat (ILC)has invited its members and partners to participate in this consultationto take some time to read the attached document and answer one or more of the questions, as individuals and/or as organisations. The ILC Secretariat will synthesise your responses, submit an ILC network’ synthesis paper, and include all the submissions received in an addendum. Alternatively, or in addition, you can submit a full paper in English (2,500 – 5,000 words, instructions attached in .PDF), directly to GI-ESCR and IWRAW-AP.
The ILC member who provides the most comprehensive response will participate, together with the ILC Secretariat, in the thematic briefing with the CEDAW Committee to be held in Geneva the third week of February 2013. Please, send your responses tol.miggiano@landcoalition.orgbyFriday 10thDecember.
