For the protection and promotion of women human rights and for the effective remedy on women rights violation through international mechanisms, and also for the effective implementation of the Convention on the all Forms of Discrimination against Women, Member of Parliament is planning to table a commitment proposal requesting the ratification of the Optional Protocol to CEDAW by Nepal Government, which is a very positive move for the recognition and protection of women human rights.

Earlier the House of Representatives on 30 May 2006 had unanimously approved a proposal allowing children to acquire citizenship through their mothers. In a proposal filed by one of the UML legislators Bidhya Devi Bhandari, mothers will now have rights to give citizenship to their children. The decision of the house is a landmark move for the protection and advancement of women rights in Nepal.

The Optional Protocol to CEDAW was accepted by the UN General Assembly on 6 October 1999 and opened for signing and ratification by national governments that were parties to CEDAW. Its provisions became operational on 22 December 2000. The Optional Protocol to CEDAW is the first gender specific international complaints procedure. As well as putting CEDAW on a par with human rights treaties, which have complaint procedures, it enhances existing mechanisms by specifically incorporating practices and procedures that have been developed under other complaints procedures.

The Optional Protocol to CEDAW allows women to bring a complaint about a breach of the rights under CEDAW to the CEDAW Committee. To bring a complaint, it must first be shown that all remedies available through the law in that country have been exhausted. It is important to note that the Optional Protocol does not create new rights, but provides a new enforcement mechanism for existing rights that have been in force since a national government became a party to CEDAW. The following reasons, the Optional Protocol remains important for all nations, particularly the nations like Nepal that still have some way to go with respect to implementing the rights of CEDAW domestically.

• The Optional Protocol provides a 'backup' for domestic laws and policies to ensure that they are adequate and effective.
• Domestic laws and policies sometimes have gaps so that some women are not able to exercise or protect their rights - the Optional Protocol ensures that an enforcement mechanism is available.
• The Optional Protocol provides a mechanism for the ongoing protection of women's rights.
• It is important for nations with good domestic protection for women to become a party to the Optional Protocol to demonstrate leadership for other women from nations with less effective mechanisms.

It seeks to eliminate discrimination against women in the exercise of their economic, social and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights, in public and private or family life and by both government officials and nongovernmental individuals, groups or enterprises. The Optional Protocol can help in:

• Catalyzing changes in national law and practices by motivating government ensure that the Convention is implemented at the national level and national remedies are effective in order to avoid being called to account at the international level;
• Providing redress for individual victims of women's human rights violations. Individuals, groups of individuals and NGOs may have standing to submit communications.
• Conducting inquiry which allows Committee to receive reliable information indicating grave or systematic violations by state party of the rights set forth in the Convention.
• Improving the understanding of the rights and obligations in the Convention, by creating an avenue for CEDAW to interpret the Convention in greater detail.
• Developing progressive interpretations of discrimination standards that can inform national courts and lawmakers, in addition to other international human rights bodies.
• Providing detailed guidance to governments that are seeking to meet their obligations under the Convention.
• Creating public awareness of human rights standards prohibiting discrimination against women.
• Building awareness among women of their rights as claimants.

By ratifying Convention on Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 22nd April, 1991, the Government has already recognized the rights of women and is committed to eliminate all forms of discrimination against them. By ratifying this Protocol, government can express its commitment in international level, in the protection and promotion of human rights of women. It neither creates new obligation nor imposes any burden. It helps to achieve the faith of the people towards the attitude of the government on the protection of the human rights of its citizen. It also helps to sustain democracy in the country.

Hence to show its full faith in Words and Deeds, it is necessary to ratify the Optional Protocol to CEDAW. Nepal has already acceded the first Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that allows individuals to claim their rights under ICCPR. State parties to the ICCPR undertake to ensure that women and men enjoy all the civil and political rights in the Covenant on a basis of equality. ICCPR is, therefore, can also be used to challenge the discriminatory laws even in the absence of Optional Protocol to CEDAW. Hence, to show its commitment on gender equality and to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women as specified in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 2047, the Ninth Plan, the National Plan of Action for gender equality and empowerment and to implement Beijing Platform for action in the domestic level, it is very important to ratify optional protocol to CEDAW by Government of Nepal.