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Initiatives

Initiatives

Lithuanian candidate elected to CEDAW

Lithuanian candidate prof. Dalia Leinartė was elected member of the Committee United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 26 June at United Nations Headquarters in New York. Prof.Leinartė received 97 votes in a highly contested election, where representatives of 26 states competed for 11 Committee seats.

Dalia Leinarte is Professor of History and currently is a Director of Gender Studies Centre at Vilnius University, Lithuania. She is a senior researcher on gender and family and a recognized expert on gender equality. Since 2011 professor Dalia Leinarte has been a member of the Working Group for the Lithuanian Government’s Action Plan for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. She has been a consultant of the Inter-Ministerial Commission on Equal Opportunities of Women and Men (Lithuania) since 2000.

Professor Dalia Leinarte’s acclaimed academic activity in the field of women’s rights has been recognized both nationally and internationally. For her research on trafficking in women conducted in 2002–2003 she was awarded the prestigious Fulbright scholarship (The State University of New York, USA). In 2005–2006 she was granted an American Association of University Women (AAUW) international fellowship for her studines on the history of women. In 2005–2008 she was a visiting professor of the Gender Studies Program at Idaho State University, USA. In 2011 she was a visiting researcher on family demography at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany. She has published numerous articles on the issues relevant to the activities of CEDAW and is an author and editor of six books.

CEDAW is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The Committee is made up of 23 independent experts whom are nominated by those governments which have ratified CEDAW and are then elected by a secret ballot. Their term lasts four years, with only half of the Committee members replaced each time.

States who have become party to the treaty are obliged to submit regular reports to the CEDAW on how the rights set out in the Convention are implemented. During its sessions, the Committee considers national reports and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of concluding observations. The Committee also formulates general recommendations and suggestions. General recommendations are directed to States and concern articles or themes in the Convention.