Coalition for CEDAW

Coalition for CEDAW includes following entities:

• Federation for Women and Family Planning

• Autonomy Foundation

• Feminoteka Foundation

• Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka Foundation

• MaMa Foundation

• La Strada Foundation

• Foundation for Equity and Emancipation STER

• Rodzić po Ludzku Foundation

• Trans-Fusion Foundation

• Institute of Public Affairs

• Polish Network of Policewomen

• Polish Association for Anti-Discriminatory Law

• Social Educational Monitor

• Association of Women’s Initiatives

• Association for Legal Prevention

• Association KARAT Coalition

• Association Lambda Warsaw

• Association for Women “Victoria”

Association KARAT Coalition has been a coordinator of the Coalition of CEDAW’s activities.

Coalition for CEDAW was established in 2011 to include non-governmental organizations into a reporting process related to implementing by Poland the convention of eliminating all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW). Under the process, the Coalition has developed and sent to the CEDAW Committee (that monitors how the convention is being implemented) an alternative report by NGOs; took part in a meeting of the committee’s working group with NGOs (March 2014) and in 59. Session of the CEDAW Committee when the report submitted by Poland’s government was discussed. At the moment, the main goal of the Coalition for CEDAW is to monitor and to support all activities aimed at implementing the Recommendations included into Final Remarks of the CEDAW Committee and addressed at Poland on Nov. 7, 2014, following the discussion of the government’s report.

All activities of the Coalition for CEDAW have been possible thanks to the project “CEDAW as a tool to prevent discrimination” carried out under the program “Citizens for Democracy” and financed by EOG Funds.

Agenda of the Coalition includes, among others:

1. Three “round-table” meetings under auspices of the Government’s Plenipotentiary for Equal Status and in cooperation with the Ombudsman’s Office.

Following entities will be invited to attend the meetings: the Plenipotentiary for Equal Status, the Ombudsman, coordinators of equal status issues in individual ministries and central authorities supervising the implementation of Recommendations by the CEDAW Committee as well as decision-making persons from the aforementioned institutions, representatives of the organizations-members of the Coalition for CEDAW as well as other stakeholders interested in the issue.

Each meeting will be focused on implementing the Recommendations of the CEDAW Committee related to one of the three areas:

– Women’s health,

– Combating discrimination against women,

– Employment and economic situation of women.

2. Letters to ministries and central authorities with information on the Coalition for CEDAW’s plan to monitor how the Recommendations by the CEDAW Committee are being implemented, with questions regarding specific plans to implement the recommendations. The ministries and the central authorities, responsible for implementing individual Recommendations will also receive detailed questionnaires.

The letters by the Coalition, together with the answers provided by the ministries and other institutions are available on KARAT Coalition website, under the bookmark of the project “CEDAW as a tool to fight discrimination”

3. Report on monitoring of how the Recommendations are being implemented. The report will be used to develop an alternative information for the CEDAW Committee in November 2016 as well as an alternative report due to new reporting period (2018).

4. Seminar summarizing the project, focused on evaluating the CEDAW implementation. The Coalition will invite the Government’s Plenipotentiary for Equal Status and other central government officials, especially coordinators of equal status issues in individual ministries and central offices, the Ombudsman as well as a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be invited to participate in the seminar. Organizations-members of the Coalition as well as other social actors, including politicians and media, will also take part in the seminar.

The KARAT Coalition and organizations-members of the Coalition for CEDAW hope that the project will help to improve the implementation of the Convention on Eliminating All Forms of Discrimination against Women as well as to enhance general awareness on the government and the central authorities’ commitments resulting from ratifying the CEDAW Convention by Poland.

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