10:15 am - 1:00 pm

Opening of the Commemoration

Statement by the Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Ms. Aida Gonzalez Martinez

Statement by the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ms. Louise Fréchette

Message by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, read by Mr. Bacre Waly Ndiaye, Director, New York Office

Statement by the first Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,

Ms. Luvsandanzangyn Ider

Statement by the Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Nitin Desai

Statement by the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, Ms. Angela E.V. King

Statement by the Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women, Ms. Yakin Ertürk (to include presentation of former members of the Committee)

3:00 pm - 6:00 pm

The impact of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women at the domestic level: Interactive roundtable

Chairperson/Moderator: Ms. Aida Gonzalez Martinez

Speakers will include:

Former CEDAW members

Current CEDAW members

Representatives of United Nations agencies

Representatives of non-governmental organizations

Special guests

(N.B.: Former and current CEDAW members are invited to give their own brief assessments of the impact the Convention has had at the domestic level (3 to 5 minutes). Representatives of United Nations agencies and of non-governmental organizations who have taken a particularly active role in the implementation of the Convention will also have an opportunity to make interventions. A small number of special guests will also be invited to speak.)

Preliminary list of speakers:

Former members of CEDAW:

Ms. Ryoko Akamatsu (Japan)

Ms. Ana Maria Alfonsin de Fasan (Argentina)

Ms. Miriam Estrada (Ecuador)

Ms. Elizabeth Evatt (Australia)

Ms. Grete Fenger-Moller (Denmark)

Ms. Liliana Gurdulich de Correa (Argentina)

Ms. Vinitha Jayasinghe (Sri Lanka)

Ms. Pirrko Anneli Makinen (Finland)

Ms. Alma Montenegro de Fletcher (Panama)

Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Dung (Socialist Republic of Viet Nam)

Ms. Rakel Surlien (Norway)

Ms. Mervat Tallawy (Egypt)

Present members of CEDAW:

Ms. Feride Acar

Ms. Emna Aouij

Ms. Silvia Cartwright

Ms. Ivanka Corti

Ms. Feng Cui

Ms. Yung-Chung Kim

Ms. Rosario Manalo

Ms. Zelmira Regazzoli

Special guests:

Ms. Cecilia Medina-Quiroga, Chairperson, Human Rights Committee

United Nations entities:

UNICEF, UNIFEM, UNDP, UNFPA, WHO, FAO, UNESCO

Representatives of non-governmental organizations

Ms. Shanti Dairiam, Director, IWRAW Asia-Pacific

Ms. Arvonne Fraser, Founder of IWRAW (International Women's Rights Action Watch)