Chapter 2 • The Major Universal Human Rights Instruments and the Mechanisms for Their Implementation v the right to work, to the same employment opportunities, to free choice of profession and employment, to equal remuneration,67 to social security and to protection of health – art. 11; v the right to family benefits, to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial credit and to participate in recreational facilities, sports and all aspects of cultural life – art. 13; v the right of rural women to participate in the elaboration and implementation of development plans, to have access to adequate health care facilities, to benefit directly from social security programmes, to obtain all types of training and education, to organize self-help groups, to participate in all community activities, to have access to agricultural credit and loans, and to enjoy adequate living conditions – art. 14. Lastly, the Convention specifically imposes a duty on the States parties to “accord to women equality with men before the law” as well as identical legal capacity in civil matters (art. 15(1) and (2)); and also obliges States parties to ensure them, on a basis of equality of men and women, a number of rights relating to marriage and the family (art. 16). The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women thus covers all major fields of active life in society and can also serve as a useful tool for judges, prosecutors and lawyers in examining questions of equality between men and women under national legislation. 2.7.3 The implementation mechanisms The monitoring mechanisms established under the Convention and its 1999 Protocol can briefly be described as follows: v the reporting procedure: the Convention per se has an implementation mechanism that is less developed than those created by the treaties dealt with above in that it is limited to a reporting procedure, with the States parties undertaking to send a report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, indicating the factors and difficulties they encounter in fulfilling their obligations under the Convention, within one year after the entry into force of the Convention, and thereafter every four years, or when the Committee so requests (art. 18). The Committee has adopted guidelines for the submission of periodic reports with the object of assisting the States parties in complying with their treaty obligations, and, as of June 1999, it had also adopted 24 General Recommendations under article 21 of the Convention;68 the recommendations can concern either specific provisions of the Convention or what are called “cross-cutting” themes.69 The work of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has been rendered more difficult by the fact that the Convention limits its meeting time to a 67 General Recommendation No. 13 (Equal remuneration for work of equal value), ibid., p. 210. 68 For more information as to the reporting procedure under this Convention, see Zagorka Ilic, “The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women”, in Manual on Human Rights Reporting, pp. 265-308. For the guidelines, see UN doc. CEDAW/C/7/Rev.3, Guidelines for Preparation of Reports by States Parties. 69 For a list of the General Recommendations adopted by the Committee, see the UN web site: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/recommendations.htm. 60 Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: A Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers