Minority Women and Effective Participation in Economic, Social and Cultural Life: Perspectives from the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Heisoo SHIN, Member Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) Madame Chairperson, distinguished members of the Forum on Minority Issues, ladies and gentlemen, good morning, Thank you very much for inviting me to this panel. It is my great honor and pleasure to participate in the discussions on the rights of minority women and their effective participation in economic, social and cultural life. My views on this issue would be primarily as a member of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, monitoring the State party‟s implementation of International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The Covenant, adopted by the UN back in 1966, is a core human rights treaty. Currently, there are 160 States parties to the Covenant. All States parties to the Covenant have obligations to submit regular reports to the Committee on how they progressively realize the rights of the people within their territory using the maximum available resources. The States parties must report initially within two years of accepting the Covenant and thereafter every five years. The Committee examines the government report and addresses its concerns and adopts recommendations to the State party in its “concluding observations”. In this process, any NGOs representing minority women—whether local, national, regional or international NGOs--can attend and present their opinions. Likewise, the national human rights institutions, established in accordance with the Paris Principles, are also welcome.