IV. GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED BY
THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
Sixth session (1987)**
General recommendation No. 2: Reporting by States parties
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,
Bearing in mind that the Committee had been faced with difficulties in its work because
some initial reports of States parties under article 18 of the Convention did not reflect adequately
the information available in the State party concerned in accordance with the guidelines,
Recommends:
(a) That the States parties, in preparing reports under article 18 of the Convention,
should follow the general guidelines adopted in August 1983 (CEDAW/C/7) as to the form,
content and date of reports;
(b) That the States parties should follow the general recommendation adopted in 1986 in
these terms:
“Initial reports submitted under article 18 of the Convention should cover the
situation up to the date of submission. Thereafter, reports should be submitted at least
every four years after the first report was due and should include obstacles encountered in
implementing the Convention fully and the measures adopted to overcome such
obstacles.”
(c) That additional information supplementing the report of a State party should be sent
to the Secretariat at least three months before the session at which the report is due to be
considered.
**
Contained in document A/42/38.