Promoting and Protecting the Human Rights of Women and Girls A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions Specific strategies to promote ratification might include: • Advocacy and awareness raising initiatives involving Government ministers, parliamentarians and key officials of relevant ministries and departments • Using formal mechanisms, such as NHRI reports or submissions to government or other inquiries, to explain the importance of ratification and to address any potential obstacles • Using training and outreach activities to share information with the community, NGOs and other civil society stakeholders about the importance of ratifying a particular human rights treaty • Identifying opportunities to promote ratification through the engagement with the international human rights system; for example, submitting information to the universal periodic review process. The advocacy work of NHRIs to promote ratification can be further strengthened if the public and organized groups within the community also exercise pressure in the same direction. Accordingly, NHRIs may consider implementing targeted community awareness activities with a broad range of NGOs and other civil society groups. States will occasionally attach “reservations”, “statements” or “declarations” to their ratification or accession to a particular human rights treaty. The intention behind them and their legal effect can differ. Statements and declarations often seek to clarify the State’s understanding of a particular obligation. However, reservations generally seek to exclude or modify the legal effect of a certain provision, or provisions, of the treaty. The rules around reservations are very clear. They must be permitted under the treaty and they must not operate to defeat the object and purpose of the treaty. However, States rarely challenge each other on this point, with the result that even the most egregious reservations may go formally unchallenged. RESERVATIONS TO CEDAW Human rights treaties are subject to more reservations than any other type of treaty and CEDAW is one of the most heavily reserved of the human rights treaties. Some States parties have made a general reservation to CEDAW. These general reservations purport to exempt the State party from any obligation that is not in accordance with what it sets out as a higher authority, such as the national constitution, the code of family law or the principles of Shariah law. General reservations to CEDAW clearly undermine its object and purpose to eliminate discrimination against women and promote genuine equality between men and women. NHRIs are often very well placed to understand the reasons behind a particular reservation and to work with their Government to consider whether it is possible to withdraw a reservation that cannot be reasonably justified. In addition to promoting the adoption of international standards and the removal of reservations, NHRIs should also work to ensure that those treaties that have been ratified or acceded to are implemented in practice. This task cuts across all areas of work done by NHRIs and is addressed at appropriate points in each of the following chapters. 42