Training on the Optional Protocol to CEDAW Training on the Optional Protocol to CEDAW took place on 15-18 September 2009, in Warsaw, Poland. The training was organized by KARAT Coalition and IWRAW Asia Pacific.

The topic of the training was Realizing the Potentials for using the OP CEDAW as a Tool for the protection of Women’s Human rights under CEDAW. The Optional Protocol to CEDAW Convention was adopted in 1999 and entered into force on December 22, 2000. It established two procedures that contributed to the domestic implementation of the CEDAW Convention and the protection and promotion of women’s human rights: communications procedure and inquiry procedure.

It is already 9 years that the Optional Protocol came into force and already 97 countries had ratified the Optional Protocol. The Committee had decided only eleven communications and conducted only one inquiry. This envisaged that women’s groups were not using the Optional Protocol to its full potential.

The training was organized for women’s groups from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, to build capacity towards the effective use of the OP CEDAW as a tool to protect and promote women’s human rights under CEDAW. There were approximately 15 representatives participating at the training.

Of the countries participating in this training, Armenia and Azerbaijan have ratified the OP CEDAW. Therefore, the training was also focused on strategies for ratification the OP CEDAW for participants from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The training was opened by welcome and introductory speeches of facilitators Kinga Lohmannn and Barbara Limanovska.
The training included several sessions. One of them was on “Using CEDAW and its principles in context of national women’s human rights advocacy”. The session allowed the facilitators to gather an understanding of on ground experience of participants using CEDAW and its principles in their national contexts. Some participants presented country-based case studies prepared by Karat Coalition that covered the following questions:
• What were the most difficult experiences of inequalities in their countries;
• How NGOs had addressed these through their responses or strategies using CEDAW as a tool to forward women’s rights?

The session was directed to strengthen and build on understanding of the participants on rights and principles contained in the CEDAW, particularly when the violations of rights under CEDAW are the basis for claims under the OP CEDAW.

Another session was aimed at examining the status equality and non-discrimination in the law and in practice in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and case studies of cases taken to the court at national and international levels on the grounds of equality and non-discrimination by highlighting obstacles and best practices to the claiming of these rights. The participants were women’s rights activists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan making 20 minutes presentation on the topic. After the presentations a flow of discussion started. The participants brought examples from their practices.

The session on “OP-CEDAW: Its Benefits and Potentials” provided basic introduction and comprised the topics on OP-CEDAW and procedures under the OP-CEDAW. The further thoughts were on the importance, benefits and potentials of the OP-CEDAW. The next step presented Main Stages of communication and inquiry procedures.

The Session on “Communication Procedures: the technical requirements of filing a case under OP-CEDAW”. The facilitator Donna Sallivan stated on jurisprudence of the CEDAW Committee to highlight how the Committee had applied those requirements to date. Then she presented the Inquiry Procedure, technical requirements of Requesting an Inquiry under the OP-CEDAW and Ciudad Juarez Inquiry. She stated that the reason for the organization of an inquiry should be the grave or a systematic violation of women’s human rights and in case that the information was reliable.

On the evening of the same day, Brenda Campbell with the participants examined potential strategies that organizations could influence their national governments in ratifying OP-CEDAW and drawing on the advocacy experiments of women’s groups.

The last session was devoted to “Strengths and Weaknesses - Comparative Advantages” included the need to consider which mechanism and strategy could best meet the goals of the litigation – ‘forum shopping’. The discussion assisted in identifying strengths and weaknesses of OP-CEDAW and other alternative mechanisms.

In the closing session, the moderator summarized and highlighted some of the key lessons and obstacles over the last few days and then facilitated discussion on next steps on both national and regional level, with regard to the filing of cases on equality and non-discrimination. The Facilitator Donna Salivan closed the training.