(Communicated by the Foreign Ministry Spokesman)

On Friday, June 23, Dr. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, head of the Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women at Bar-Ilan Univeristy, was elected by 96 states at the United Nations center in New York to one of the prestigious UN bodies dealing with women's rights - the UN Comittee for Elimination of Discrimination against Woman.

The election of an Israeli expert to this committee was made possible through the joint efforts of the Foreign Ministry's Division for International Organizations and the United Nations, the Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN, and Israeli embassies throughout the world. It reflects the high esteem accorded to Israeli experts in the field of international humanitarian law and helps contribute to the positive image of the State of Israel on the international arena.

This is the third time that an Israeli legal expert has been elected as a member of CEDAW, which deals with important issues of civil rights in general and women's rights in particular. The committee comprises experts from 23 different states.

Dr. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari has served as chairperson of the Advisory Committee to the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women in the Prime Minister's Office. She was responsible for preparing Israel's first two reports to CEDAW and is the author of Women in Israel: A State of Their Own (2004).