§ Baroness Serota asked Her Majesty's GovernmentWhether the fourth report on the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has been completed. [HL1032]
§ Baroness Jay of PaddingtonI am pleased to announce that the report has now been published and forwarded to the United Nations. It is largely a retrospective record of action taken since publication of the last report in 1995 both to eliminate discrimination and to improve the position of women. It covers the whole of the United Kingdom, although, where appropriate, the position in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is dealt with separately. It addresses in detail the Articles of the Convention and therefore covers a wide range of topics—for example, women in employment, women in education, women's health and women in public life. Preparation of this comprehensive report was co-ordinated by the Women's Unit with the support and collaboration of all relevant government departments and non-governmental organisations. It will be considered by the UN CEDAW Committee and the UK Government will be examined formally on its contents in June 1999.
Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of the House.