Combined Fifth and Sixth Periodic Report of Costa Rica (CEDAW/C/CRI/5-6)

Costa Rica is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). It ratified the Convention by Act Nº 6968 of 2 October 1984, which was published in the Diario Oficial on 11 January 1985. The instrument was deposited with the United Nations Secretariat on 4 April 1986.

In ratifying the Convention, the Costa Rican State undertook to submit reports on its compliance. Accordingly, it is now submitting its combined fifth and sixth reports, which cover the four-year period from March 2003 to April 2007. The combined initial, second and third reports and the fourth report were submitted in March 2003.

The purpose of the reporting system is to provide a description of measures taken by the country concerned to comply with the Convention, pursuant to article 18 thereof, which stipulates that States parties undertake to submit to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for consideration by the Committee, a report on the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures which they have adopted to give effect to the provisions of the Convention and on the progress made in that respect.

The legislative, judicial, administrative and other measures on which Costa Rica must report are determined by the text of the Convention, which is the objective source of the obligations undertaken by the country. These obligations are specifically set forth in articles 1 to 16, although those articles are not necessarily interrelated. Some of the articles are quite simple, while others are more complex, as they cover a number of different obligations on which more details must be provided. In each case, some background information on aspects covered in previous reports is needed for purposes of comparison with the current situation. Reference is also made to the areas of concern mentioned by the Committee and its general and specific recommendations regarding previous reports, so as to enable the Committee to judge whether its concerns and recommendations have been heeded.