On July 9th the government of Slovak Republic approved the 5th and 6th periodic report to CEDAW (Committee for Elimination of Discrimination of Women) which has been subsequently sent to the UN. The report contains information on legislative, judicial, administrative and other measures that have been adopted for the purpose of implementing the convention in practice, and also the progress that has been made in this direction from consideration of the previous report in June 2009, up to 2013. The report focuses primarily on the implementation of the recommendations made in the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women adopted on 14 July 2008 after consideration of the Second, Third and Fourth Periodic Report of the Slovak Republic.
The submitted material was prepared by the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic in cooperation with the competent authorities in relevant areas and by the Committee for Gender Equality of the Government Council for Human Rights, National Minorities and Gender Equality (hereinafter the “Committee for Gender Equality”) in accordance with the UN Guidelines on the form and content of reports to be submitted by States Parties on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (HRI/GEN/2/Rev.1/Add.2) and the general recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (hereinafter the “Committee”). The report has been reviewed by the Committee for Gender Equality and has been the subject of an interdepartmental review procedure.
The Report cites legislative and other measures that document the progress that has been made in eliminating discrimination against women, changes in the level of equality between women and men in political, social, economic and cultural life and the problems that persist in this area whose overcoming will be the subject-matter of subsequent plans, aims and policies. Information on the fulfilment of specific recommendations in the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women after consideration of the Second, Third and Fourth Periodic Report of the Slovak Republic on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women[1] have been incorporated into the commentary on individual articles. An overview table of specific implementation activities is given in the conclusion of the Report.
[1] Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Forty-first Session, 30 June to 18 July 2008
