Committee of Ministers

Comité des Ministres

STEERING COMMITTEE FOR EQUALITY

BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN

(CDEG)

_______

18^th meeting

(Strasbourg, 21-23 April 1999)

________

LIST OF ITEMS DISCUSSED AND DECISIONS TAKEN

1. The Steering Committee for Equality between Women and Men (CDEG) held its 18^th meeting from 21-23 April 1999 in the Human Rights Building (PDH), Strasbourg. The meeting was chaired by Ms Caroline MECHIN (France). The list of participants appears in Appendix I. The Agenda, as adopted, is set out in Appendix II.

2. The Committee discussed the follow-up to be given to the Information Forum on national policies in the field of equality between women and men, held in Bucharest on 26-28 November 1998 on the theme "Ending domestic violence: action and measures". It decided to forward the conclusions of the Forum (see Addendum) to the Committee of Ministers for subsequent transmission to the Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH), the European Committee for Social Cohesion (CDCS), the European Committee on Migration (CDMG) and the European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ). It adopted the proposal set out in Appendix III, for consideration by the Committee of Ministers.

3. The CDEG held an in-depth discussion on the situation regarding Kosovo and South East Europe and adopted an appeal to the Committee of Ministers (Appendix IV).

4. The Committee continued the preparations for the conference "Gender Mainstreaming: a step into the 21st century", to be held in Athens on 16-18 September 1999, at the invitation of the Greek authorities, and agreed upon the draft programme as it appears in Appendix V. The Committee emphasised the importance of high-level political participation at the Conference, including from the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly and Committee of Ministers.

5. The CDEG examined and amended the draft programme of the Seminar on men and violence against women, to be held in Strasbourg on 7-8 October 1999. It made proposals concerning the substantive preparation and the organisational aspects of this event. The Committee of Ministers is invited to take note of these proposals (Appendix VI).

6. The CDEG held an exchange of views on the draft Intergovernmental Programme of activities for 2000 and made suggestions, in order of priority, as to activities which should be selected and entrusted its Bureau with the further preparation of the Programme.

7. The Committee examined the Final report of the Multisectoral Group on trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation (EG-S-TS), discussed and amended the draft recommendation proposed by the Group. This text, as well as its explanatory memorandum, will be submitted again to the CDEG for examination and adoption at its 19th meeting (3-5 November 1999).

8. The Committee discussed and decided upon, subject to the approval of the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europe's contribution to the United Nations High level plenary review in June 2000 on the progress made since the Conferences of Nairobi and Beijing (Appendix VII).

9. Acting upon the request of the Committee of Ministers, the CDEG adopted an opinion on the Parliamentary Assembly's Recommendations 1362 (1998) and 1271 (1995) on discrimination between women and men in the choice of a surname and the passing on of parents' surnames to children (Appendix VIII).

10. The Committee took note of the report of the 2nd meeting of the Group of Specialists on positive action in the field of equality between women and men (EG-S-PA) and of the Group of Specialists for the protection of women and young girls against violence (EG-S-FV).

11. The Committee took note of recent developments on equality which were of interest to it, determined the items to be placed on the agenda of its 19^th meeting and fixed the dates of its forthcoming meetings.

APPENDIX I

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

ALBANIA/ALBANIE

ANDORRA/ANDORRE

AUSTRIA/AUTRICHE

BELGIUM/BELGIQUE

BULGARIA/BULGARIE

CROATIA/CROATIE

CYPRUS/CHYPRE

CZECH REPUBLIC/REPUBLIQUE TCHEQUE

DENMARK/DANEMARK

ESTONIA/ESTONIE

FINLAND/FINLANDE

FRANCE

GERMANY/ALLEMAGNE

GREECE/GRECE

HUNGARY/HONGRIE

ICELAND/ISLANDE

IRELAND/IRLANDE

ITALY/ITALIE

LATVIA/LETTONIE

LIECHTENSTEIN

LITHUANIA/LITUANIE

LUXEMBOURG

MALTA/MALTE

MOLDOVA

NETHERLANDS/PAYS-BAS

NORWAY/NORVEGE

POLAND/POLOGNE

PORTUGAL

ROMANIA/ROUMANIE

RUSSIAN FEDERATION/FEDERATION DE RUSSIE

SAN MARINO/SAINT MARIN

SLOVAKIA/SLOVAQUIE

SLOVENIA/SLOVENIE

SPAIN/ESPAGNE

SWEDEN/SUEDE

SWITZERLAND/SUISSE

"THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA"

TURKEY/TURQUIE

UKRAINE

UNITED KINGDOM/ROYAUME-UNI

* * *

EUROPEAN COMMISSION/COMMISSION EUROPEENNE

PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE/

ASSEMBLEE PARLEMENTAIRE DU CONSEIL DE L'EUROPE

CONGRESS OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL AUTHORITIES OF EUROPE/CONGRES DES POUVOIRS LOCAUX ET REGIONAUX DE L'EUROPE - CLRAE/CPLRE

OBSERVERS/OBSERVATEURS

BELARUS

CANADA

HOLY SEE/SAINT-SIEGE

JAPAN/JAPON

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA/ETATS UNIS

* * *

ODIHR-OSCE

OECD/OCDE

UNESCO

* * *

STANDING COMMITTEE OF WOMEN ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL AUTHORITIES OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN MUNICIPALITIES (CEMR)/COMMISSION PERMANENTE DES FEMMES ELUES LOCALES ET REGIONALES DU CONSEIL DES COMMUNES ET REGIONS D'EUROPE (CCRE)

REGROUPING "EQUALITY PARITY-WOMEN-MEN"/REGROUPEMENT "EGALITE PARITE-FEMMES-HOMMES

SECRETARIAT

Mr Hanno HARTIG, Head of Division II, Directorate of Human Rights/Chef de la Division II, Direction des Droits de l'Homme; Mme Ólöf ÓLAFSDÓTTIR, Head of the Section Equality between women and men, Secretary to the CDEG/Chef de la Section égalité entre les femmes et les hommes, Secrétaire du CDEG; Mme Sophie PIQUET, Administrator, Section Equality between women and men/Administratrice, Section égalité entre les femmes et les hommes; Ms Karen PALISSER, Principal Administrative Assistant, Human Rights Directorate/Assistante administrative principale, Direction des Droits de l'Homme; Ms Amanda RAIF, Administrative Assistant, Human Rights Directorate/Assistante Administrative, Direction des Droits de l'Homme; Mme Béatrice ANDLAUER, Administrative Assistant, Human Rights Directorate/Assistante Administrative, Direction des Droits de l'Homme; Ms Ulrike KOFLER, Trainee, Human Rights Directorate/Stagiaire, Direction des Droits de l'Homme; Ms Sofia MAZZOLENI, Study Visitor, Human Rights Directorate/Visiteuse d'études, Direction des Droits de l'Homme

* * *

Mr Jeroen SCHOKKENBROEK, Head of Human Rights Section/Chef de la Section Droits de l'Homme

Mme Agnès NOLLINGER, Secretariat of the Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly on equal opportunities for women and men, Office of the Clerk of the Parliamentary Assembly/Secrétariat de la Commission de l'Assemblée Parlementaire sur l'égalité des chances pour les femmes et les hommes, Greffe de l'Assemblée parlementaire

Mme Anne-Marie FARADJI, European Youth Centre/Centre européen de la Jeunesse

APPENDIX II

AGENDA

1. Opening of the meeting

I. ITEMS FOR DECISION

2. Adoption of the Agenda

3. Report on and follow-up to be given to the 1998 Information Forum on national policies in the field of equality between women and men (Bucharest, 26-28 November 1998)

4. Draft Intergovernmental Programme of Activities for 2000 and future priorities

5. Preparation of the Conference on Mainstreaming (Athens, 16-18 September 1999)

6. Preparation of the seminar for researchers and practitioners on men and violence against women (7-8 October 1999)

7. Draft Recommendation on the right to free choice in matters of sexuality and reproduction

8. Report of the 2nd meeting of the Group of Specialists on positive actions in the field of equality between women and men (EG-S-PA) (Strasbourg, 5-6 November 1998)

9. Report of the 3^rd meeting of the Multisectoral Group on trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation (EG-S-TS) and examination of its Final report of activities and of the draft Recommendation

10. Report of the 2nd meeting of the Group of Specialists for the protection of women and young girls against violence (EG-S-FV) (Strasbourg, 8-9 December 1998)

11. Activities for the development and consolidation of democratic stability (ADACS), (formerly known as co-operation and assistance programmes with the new member States)

12. Preparation of the 5th European Ministerial Conference on Equality between Women and Men

13. Follow-up to the United Nations World Conference on Women and preparation of the high level plenary review in 2000 on the progress made since the Conferences of Nairobi and Beijing

14. Opinion of the CDEG on the Parliamentary Assembly Recommendations 1271 (1995) and 1362 (1998) on discrimination between women and men in the choice of a surname and in the passing on of parents' surnames to children

15. Items to be placed on the Agenda of the 19th meeting of the CDEG

16. Dates and places of forthcoming meetings

 

II. ITEMS FOR INFORMATION

17. Information on Council of Europe activities

17.1 Decisions of the Committee of Ministers of concern to the CDEG

17.2 Information on the work of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men of the Parliamentary Assembly

17.3 Information on the work of the new European Committee for Social Cohesion

17.4 Other recent developments concerning equality of interest to the CDEG

18. Information on the activities of the European Commission and observers to the CDEG

 

III. OTHER BUSINESS

19. Other business

 

IV. ADOPTION OF THE LIST OF ITEMS DISCUSSED AND DECISIONS TAKEN

 

APPENDIX III

Proposal to be forwarded to the Committee of Ministers together with

the conclusions of the Information Forum on National Policies in the Field of

Equality between Women and Men

Following on from the declarations by the Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the Council of Europe at their second summit ^{footnote 1} , the Steering Committee for Equality between Women and Men (CDEG) wishes to stress the importance of ongoing Council of Europe action to combat violence against women.

Given the seriousness of these issues and the fact that they concern all member States, the Committee of Ministers is invited to consider adding the protection of women and girls from violence, including trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, to the criteria for monitoring compliance with the obligations entered into by Council of Europe member States.

APPENDIX IV

APPEAL FROM THE STEERING COMMITTEE FOR EQUALITY BETWEEN

WOMEN AND MEN (CDEG) TO THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

On the occasion of its 18^th meeting, the CDEG, alarmed at the humanitarian crisis in Kosovo and the surrounding region, calls the attention of the Committee of Ministers to the urgent need to take into consideration the violence – whether it be physical, sexual or psychological – inflicted upon refugee or displaced women.

In particular, it requests that practical measures be envisaged and undertaken to:

-    provide victims of violence with immediate relief assistance, by setting up specialised structures to receive, guide and help them;

-    ensure that the victims are heard as soon as possible by specialised personnel;

-    raise the awareness of, inform and, if possible, train the persons confronted with the specific requests of women; this awareness-raising must comprise listening skills, the registration of complaints and the identification of women’s needs;

-    establish mixed teams at all levels of intervention, so that decisions taken on the ground take into account and respect the specific needs of women;

-    organise a detailed and methodological collection of information relating to the various forms of violence inflicted upon women and children;

-    draw the attention of all the intervening persons, as well as the refugee or displaced women and girls, to the risks of sexual exploitation, and in particular to the dangers related to trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation;

-    support actions to assist victims that are carried out by non-governmental organisations working to defend women’s rights.

 

APPENDIX V

Conference

"Gender mainstreaming: a step into the 21^st century"

Athens, 16-18 September 1999

DRAFT PROGRAMME

Thursday 16 September 1999

0830–0930 Arrival of participants and registration

 

0930–1030 OPENING SESSION

Opening address by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe or his/her representative

Addresses by the host authorities

 

1030–1300 PLENARY SESSION

Interaction between gender mainstreaming and "traditional" equality policies

The methodology of, and the prerequisites/facilitating conditions for, gender mainstreaming

Keynote speeches by:

- Ms Maria-Niki KOUTSILEOU

Secretary General for Equality (Greece)

- Ms Margareta WINBERG

Minister for Gender Equality (Sweden)

- Ms Galina KARELOVA

Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Development (Russian Federation)

- Ms Annelies VERSTAND-BOGAERT

State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment (The Netherlands)

followed by a debate

1100–1115 Coffee break

1300–1500 Lunch break

1500–1800 WORKING GROUPS

"Gender mainstreaming in practice"

Presentation of concrete examples of mainstreaming ^{footnote 2} , followed by a discussion

 

1615–1630 Coffee break

Evening Reception offered by the host authorities

 

Friday 17 September 1999

0930–1230 WORKING GROUPS

"Gender mainstreaming in practice"

1030–1045  Coffee break

1230–1430  Lunch break

1430–1730 PLENARY SESSION

Awareness-raising and training of actors

Sex-segregated statistics

Tools to be used for the implementation of mainstreaming

Keynote speeches by:

- Professor Teresa REES

University of Bristol (United Kingdom)

- Dr Linda Laura SABBADINI (to be confirmed)

Italian Central Statistical Office (Italy)

- Mr Walter VAN DONGEN

Population and Family Study Centre (Belgium)

followed by a debate

 

Saturday 18 September 1999

1030–1300 PLENARY SESSION

CLOSING SESSION

Presentation of the conclusions of the Working Groups by the Rapporteurs

Presentation of the conclusions of the Conference by the General Rapporteur

Closing addresses by a representative of the Parliamentary Assembly and of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (to be confirmed)

 

APPENDIX VI

Council of Europe Seminar on

men and violence against women

Palais de l’Europe, Strasbourg, 7-8 October 1999

Background and aims

For some years now, when it comes to analysing and combating violence against women, the focus has been increasingly placed on the abuser, the violent man. As a result of this, centres providing treatment or therapy for violent men have been set up in some countries. This policy has, in turn, led to a reflection on the causes and mechanisms of male violence – what leads some men to exercise violence, whereas others never use violence in their relations with women.

However, research on male violence is still in its early stages, and those who work on this issue have few opportunities to exchange views in a European setting. It is, however, extremely important, in order to develop appropriate policy and intervention responses, that the results of any such research are made known to practitioners and that researchers can compare experiences and build networks. The direct and indirect consequences of male violence both in terms of health problems and in terms of cost to society have been ignored for too long. Just as violence against women and children has gradually ceased to be a taboo and become part of a public discussion, the searchlight should now be turned on male violence as a social and cultural problem, and not an issue of a special and deviant group of men.

The Steering Committee for Equality between Women and Men (CDEG) has already initiated reflection on the question of male violence during the Seminar "Promoting Equality: a common issue for men and women" (Strasbourg, 17-18 June 1997). At the 4^th European Ministerial Conference on Equality between Women and Men (Istanbul, 13-14 November 1997), the Ministers adopted a Declaration on equality between women and men as a fundamental criterion of democracy. In the strategies appended to the Declaration, the Ministers invite Governments to "promote research on relationships between men and on the ways in which they perceive their masculine identity" and "reduce and aim to eliminate men’s violence against women by initiating education ensuring respect of the other person and as concerns violent men, by supporting practical and therapeutic initiatives."

The Seminar on men's violence against women should therefore be seen as a further step towards the implementation of the Istanbul Declaration and a further attempt at combating violence against women which is one of the main obstacles to the achievement of equality between women and men.

In view of recent events in Europe, the Seminar should also look into the question of men's violence against women and children in situations of armed conflict.

DRAFT PROGRAMME

1^st day (7 October 1999)

Morning

9h30

Opening address by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe or his/her representative

Introduction by the Chair of the CDEG

10h00 – 13h00 Working Session I

This session would introduce the subject of the Seminar and could deal with methodological and ethical issues focusing on questions such as (there could be others) :

-    What are the implicit assumptions or goals of research on men and violence?

-    How do these implicit assumptions guide our choice of the level of observation and analysis (whether we focus on individuals, organisations, groups or families, cultural norms, media, public discourse, etc) and the definition of the issue? In short, what do we identify as the problem?

-    How can the often fragmentary data available be integrated and turned into a theory? Is it possible to generalise from specific findings? There is a pressure in this direction from those who are looking for reasons to take decisions regarding policy and intervention (eg we often hear that batterers were victims of abuse as boys, which is not necessarily true).

-    How can ethically acceptable methods of studying men's violence in broader society be developed and maintained?

-    Can ethics and moral philosophy be developed, extended, refined or revised to address men's violence against women?

-    What are the costs of men's violence to society? Is it possible to study this?

 

11h15 – 11h30     Coffee break

Two or three contributions are planned for this first working session, followed by a discussion among participants.

13h30 – 14h30     Lunch

Afternoon

14h30 – 18h00 Working Session II

It is proposed that this session will deal with the theme "Violence in the formation of gendered and male identities", and address childhood and adolescence, through families, schools, peer groups and networks. It would focus on questions such as:

-    What is the impact on children of experiencing abuse and of witnessing abuse (e.g. of the mother) in the home? How do boys, in particular, interpret, cope with and react to such experiences in developing their gender identity, their perceptions of gender relations and of women. How do they use or avoid violence?

-    What situations, spaces and frameworks, especially within school, encourage, reinforce, condone or sanction behaviour such as physical aggression, bullying or sexist and sexualised treatment of girls? In this context, we could study the school culture and schools as organisations as well as concrete teacher responses.

-    What are the networks, settings and cultural interpretations which normalise the practice of violence as a part of adolescent male identity within some groups of youth? In particular, what do we know, for example, about the role of sports, other organised activities such as youth centres and informal peer groups? How do some adolescent boys negotiate and maintain non-sexist, non-violent orientations and self-concepts?

16h00-16h15 Coffee break

Four to five contributions are foreseen for this working session, followed by a discussion among participants.

2^nd day (8 October 1999)

Morning

09h30 – 13h00 Working Session III

The third session might address the theme "Transitions in adulthood and men's violence" and focus on important life transitions in their potential for changing or reinforcing men's use of or rejection of violence as well as on the attitudes and behaviour patterns which provide latent support for violence. Some of the questions studied might be:

-    Marriage and cohabitation

: How do the gendered expectations within a couple relationship develop into patterns of male violence over time? What can be said about the expressive, sexualised and instrumental aspect of this violence?

-    Social networks and violence

: How do changes in social networks (e.g. as a consequence of geographical mobility, migration, or separation from the family of origin) affect men’s use of violence? When does violence prove an advantageous mode of conflict resolution for the man, and when do social networks have a protective function?

-    Transition to parenthood

: Why is there a disproportionately high level of men resorting to or escalating their use of violence when a woman is pregnant? Is this true cross-culturally or can pregnancy also inhibit men from becoming violent?

-     Ageing

: Does men’s retirement and/or physical ageing affect the balance of power and the use of violence within the couple? Do men become less aggressive or less violent, or do they continue patterns of domination by more subtle means, or do they themselves become victims of violence in the home?

11h15-11h30 Coffee break

Presentation of four or five contributions, followed by a discussion among participants.

13h00-14h30 Lunch break

Afternoon

14h30-16h00 Working Session IV

This fourth session might study the question of military service and violence against women and children in situations of armed conflict.

-    Military service

: In an institution made up predominantly of men, training for the use of disciplined, legitimate violent intervention, what emotional bonds are formed, how are (absent) women sexualised, and what are the effects on men’s potential for resorting to or accepting violence against women?

-    another intervention could explore more specifically men's violence against women and children in situations of armed conflict.

Presentation of two or three contributions followed by a discussion among participants.

16h15-16h30 Coffee break

16h30-17h30 Closing session

- Conclusions of the seminar presented by a General Rapporteur

- Closing address by the Secretary General or his/her representative

* * *

Participants

The Seminar is principally aimed at researchers, who will present and discuss their work. However, practitioners, that is for example those who work with boys and men every day within the institutions discussed (schools, the military), or those who work with violent men, will be invited to follow the debates and dialogue with the researchers. Each member of the CDEG will provide, as soon as possible, the names of two or three practitioners to whom invitations should be sent.

As the Council of Europe cannot bear the expenses of the practitioners, voluntary contributions from the member States would be most welcome.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Steering Committee for the Development of Human Rights (CDDH) will be invited to send representatives to the Seminar.

Two representatives of the Group of Specialists on the protection of women and young girls against violence (EG-S-FV) will be invited to participate in the Seminar, subject to the availability of financial resources. The Committee of Ministers is invited to authorise this arrangement.

The budget for the Seminar will cover participation expenses for four members of the Bureau in the Seminar (the representatives of France, Greece, Slovakia and Slovenia).

APPENDIX VII

Extract of the Report of the 18^th meeting of the CDEG

Item 13: Follow-up to the United Nations World Conference on Women and preparation of the high level plenary review in 2000 on the progress made since the Conferences of Nairobi and Beijing

The CDEG discussed the opportunity to organise jointly with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) a regional forum in Geneva in preparation for the special session of the United Nations General Assembly to be organised in June 2000. However, the very limited financial and staffing resources currently available in the Council of Europe made this project very difficult to implement.

The CDEG underlined that it was essential to prepare a contribution to the special session of the General Assembly, in order to make sure that the specific expertise of the Council of Europe would be taken into account in the United Nations High Level Review Process. This expertise was highly complementary to the work of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, which was dealing with economic issues. In order to achieve this goal, the CDEG decided to :

-    Update the study on « National Institutional Machineries in the Council of Europe Member States to promote Equality between Women and Men» ;

-    Prepare a document on Council of Europe achievements in the areas covered by the Beijing Platform for Action ; this document should also include a number of recommendations for future actions to be undertaken by the Council of Europe after the year 2000  (these two documents should be forwarded to the Conference to be organised by the UNECE);

-    Appoint a general rapporteur who would represent the Council of Europe and the CDEG at the Conference to be organised by the UNECE ;

-    Prepare, at its next meeting, a draft message which the Committee of Ministers might consider adopting for transmission to the Conference.

Furthermore, the CDEG decided to hold a preparatory session in order to exchange views on the substantive preparation of the General Assembly Special Session, (with an extra meeting day) at its spring meeting in 2000, subject to the approval of the Committee of Ministers.

APPENDIX VIII

Opinion of the CDEG on Recommendations 1362 (1998) and 1271 (1995) of the

Parliamentary Assembly on discrimination between women and men in the

choice of a surname and the passing on of parents' surnames to children

1. The CDEG has taken note of the Parliamentary Assembly Recommendations 1271 (1995) and 1362 (1998) on discrimination between women and men in the choice of a surname and the passing on of parents’ surnames to children.

2. The Committee noted that the Committee of Ministers has requested the European Committee on legal co-operation (CDCJ) and the Steering Committee for equality between women and men (CDEG) to examine the situation in detail and suggest action to be taken within a reasonable time scale.

3. The CDEG wishes to recall that it has already adopted an opinion on Recommendation 1271 (1995) at the request of the Committee of Ministers, in 1995, in which it underlines that the choice of a name is a matter of considerable importance for everyone and that the loss of a name can lead to feelings of loss of identity.

4. The CDEG has examined the information provided by member States, contained in document CDCJ (99) 37, bearing in mind the above mentioned Recommendations, as well as the Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation N°R (85) 2 and Resolution (78) 37 on equality of spouses in civil law. The Committee regrets that not all member States have submitted information on this question.

5. The Committee agrees with Recommendation 1362 (1998), especially its paragraph 6. It notes that a certain number of States have recently modified or are in the process of modifying their domestic laws in this field in order to comply with the principle of equality between women and men. However, the Committee notes that some states still have discriminatory provisions as regards the choice of a family name and the passing on of a surname to children, often justified by customs and traditions.

6. The CDEG wishes to recall, as it did in its previous opinion on Recommendation 1271 (1995), that discrimination of women in the choice of a surname in the event of marriage and in the passing of their names to their children, is clearly a difference of treatment on the ground of sex. This discrimination is based on stereotypes and on the fact that women were traditionally regarded as being inferior to men. This is totally incompatible with the provisions contained in the international legal instruments of the Council of Europe and in the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

7. Consequently, the CDEG suggests that the Committee of Ministers requests that the member States concerned take, as soon as possible, the necessary steps to eliminate all such discriminatory provisions from their domestic law.

1    In the Final Declaration of the summit, they refer to their "determination to combat violence against women and all forms of sexual exploitation of women".

2    Examples from several member States concerning gender mainstreaming at local, regional and national levels in such areas as labour market policy, youth policy, economic development, health policy, education.