Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

Parties with reservations, declarations and objections

Party	Reservations / Declarations	Objections
Bangladesh	Yes	No
Belgium	Yes	No
Belize	Yes	No
Chile	Yes	No
Cuba	Yes	No
New Zealand	Yes	No
Tajikistan	Yes	No
United Kingdom	Yes	Yes

Bangladesh

06-09-2000

The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh declares in accordance with Article 10 (1) thereof, that it would not undertake the obligations arising out of Articles 8 and 9 of the said Optional Protocol.

Belgium

10-12-1999

The Flemish, French and German-speaking Communities of Belgium are equally bound by this signature.

Belize

09-12-2002

Whereas, Article 10 of the Optional Protocol declares that at the time of acceding to the Optional Protocol, a State Party may declare that it does not recognize the competence of the Committee provided for in Articles 8 and 9 of the Optional Protocol
Now therefore, Belize, after having carefully considered Articles 8 and 9 of the Optional Protocol, hereby declares that it does not recognize the competence of the Committee provided for in Articles 8 and 9.

Chile

12-03-2020

(1) The Republic of Chile, in ratifying this Optional Protocol, reaffirms its ongoing commitment to the promotion and protection of women’s human rights and gender equality, which are objectives that are provided for in the legal system of the Republic of Chile.
(2) The Republic of Chile interprets article 5 of the Optional Protocol as meaning that any request for interim measures as referred to therein, and made with respect to the economic, social and cultural rights enshrined in the Convention, will be examined and applied, in keeping with the progressive nature of these rights.
(3) The Republic of Chile ratifies the present Optional Protocol on the understanding that the special procedure provided for in articles 8 and 9 thereof may not be used to address situations that, given their particular nature, could be the subject of an individual communication. Accordingly, this special procedure cannot be used to circumvent the requirements of article 4 for the submission of individual communications, such as the exhaustion of domestic remedies or the need for the facts giving rise to the case to fall within the temporal scope of the Optional Protocol.
(4) The Republic of Chile declares that recognition of the competence of the Committee as established under articles 8 and 9 of the Optional Protocol shall in no way infringe upon the right to life of the unborn child.

Cuba

17-03-2000

The Government of the Republic of Cuba declares that it does not recognize the competence of the committee established by virtue of articles 8 and 9 of the Protocol.

New Zealand

07-09-2000

Consistent with the constitutional status of Tokelau and taking into account its commitment to the development of self-government through an act of self-determination under the Charter of the United Nations, this ratification shall not extend to Tokelau unless and until a Declaration to this effect is lodged by the Government of New Zealand with the depositary on the basis of appropriate consultation with that territory.

Tajikistan

22-07-2014

[...] the Majlisi Oli (Parliament) of the Republic of Tajikistan ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women from 6 October 1999, without recognizing the competence of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, provided in Articles 8 and 9 of the Protocol.

United Kingdom

17-12-2004

With a territorial application to the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and the Isle of Man.

Objection Argentina, 18-01-2005

The Argentine Republic wishes to reiterate the content of its note of 3 April 1989, by which it rejected the extension of the territorial application of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, notified by the Government of the United Kingdom upon its ratification of that instrument on 7 April 1986.
The Argentine Republic similarly rejects the declaration of territorial application made by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland upon its accession to the 1999 Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, with respect to the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands. The Government of Argentina wishes to reiterate that the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and surrounding maritime areas are an integral part of the territory of the Argentine Republic and are illegally occupied by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, being the subject of a sovereignty dispute.
Because of the illegal occupation by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolutions 2065 (XX), 3160 (XXVIII), 31/49, 37/9, 38/12, 39/6, 40/21, 41/40, 42/19 and 43/25, in which a sovereignty dispute regarding the "Question of the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands" is recognized and the Governments of the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are urged to resume negotiations in order to find as soon as possible a peaceful and lasting solution to the dispute.
The United Nations Special Political and Decolonization Committee has repeatedly affirmed this view, most recently in its resolution of 18 June 2004 (A/59/23).

Objection Argentina, 20-03-2007

The Argentine Republic wishes to reiterate the content of its notes of 3 April 1989 and 18 January 2005, by which it rejected the extension of the territorial application of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and of the Optional Protocol thereto, respectively, to the Malvinas Islands, notified by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Argentine Republic recalls that the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and surrounding maritime areas are an integral part of the territory of the Argentine Republic and are illegally occupied by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, being the subject of a sovereignty dispute.

Because of the illegal occupation by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolutions 2065 (XX), 316[0] (XXVIII), 31/49, 37/9, 38/12, 39/6, 40/21, 41/40, 42/19 and 43/25, in which a sovereignty dispute regarding the "Question of the Malvinas Islands" is recognized and the Governments of the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are urged to resume negotiations in order to find as soon as possible a peaceful and lasting solution to the dispute.
The United Nations Special Political and Decolonization Committee has repeatedly affirmed this view, most recently in its resolution of 15 June 2006.