CEDAW/C/GC/28 responsibility of the State party’s national or federal Government to fulfil its obligations to all women within its jurisdiction. In all circumstances, the State party that ratified or acceded to the Convention remains responsible for ensuring full implementation throughout the territories under its jurisdiction. In any process of devolution, States parties have to make sure that the devolved authorities have the necessary financial, human and other resources to effectively and fully implement the obligations of the State party under the Convention. The Governments of States parties must retain powers to require such full compliance with the Convention and must establish permanent coordination and monitoring mechanisms to ensure that the Convention is respected and applied to all women within their jurisdiction without discrimination. Furthermore, there must be safeguards to ensure that decentralization or devolution does not lead to discrimination with regard to the enjoyment of rights by women in different regions. 40. Effective implementation of the Convention requires that a State party be accountable to its citizens and other members of its community at both the national and international levels. In order for this accountability function to work effectively, appropriate mechanisms and institutions must be put in place. C. Reservations 41. The Committee considers article 2 to be the very essence of the obligations of States parties under the Convention. The Committee therefore considers reservations to article 2 or to subparagraphs of article 2 to be, in principle, incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention and thus impermissible under article 28, paragraph 2. States parties that have entered reservations to article 2 or to subparagraphs of article 2 should explain the practical effect of those reservations on the implementation of the Convention and should indicate the steps taken to keep the reservations under review, with the goal of withdrawing them as soon as possible. 42. The fact that a State party has entered a reservation to article 2 or to subparagraphs of article 2 does not remove the need for that State party to comply with its other obligations under international law, including its obligations under other human rights treaties that the State party has ratified or to which it has acceded and under customary international human rights law relating to the elimination of discrimination against women. Where there is a discrepancy between reservations to provisions of the Convention and similar obligations under other international human rights treaties ratified by a State party or to which it has acceded, it should review its reservations to the Convention with a view to withdrawing them. 10

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