A/HRC/20/28 I. Introduction 1. The Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice was established by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 15/23, in which the Council acknowledged that women everywhere are still subject to significant disadvantage as the result of discriminatory laws and practices, and that de jure and de facto equality has not been achieved in any country in the world. Accordingly, the Council mandated the Working Group: (a) To develop a dialogue with States, the relevant United Nations entities, national human rights institutions, experts on different legal systems, and civil society organizations to identify, promote and exchange views on best practices related to the elimination of laws that discriminate against women or are discriminatory to women in terms of implementation or impact and, in that regard, to prepare a compendium of best practices; (b) To undertake a study, in cooperation with and reflecting the views of States and relevant United Nations entities, national human rights institutions and civil society organizations, on the ways and means in which the Working Group can cooperate with States to fulfil their commitments to eliminate discrimination against women in law and in practice; (c) To make recommendations on the improvement of legislation and the implementation of the law, to contribute to the realization of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular goal 3 on the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. 2. In carrying out its mandate, the Working Group is requested to work in close coordination with other special procedures and subsidiary organs of the Human Rights Council, relevant United Nations entities, including the Commission on the Status of Women and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and, in particular, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and other treaty bodies, with a view to avoiding unnecessary duplication; to take into account the views of other stakeholders, including relevant regional human rights mechanisms, national human rights institutions and civil society organizations; and to submit an annual report to the Council, starting at its twentieth session, on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice, and on good practices in eliminating such discrimination, drawing upon the findings of the United Nations human rights machinery and the broader United Nations system. 3. Five independent experts from different geographical regions were appointed as members of the Working Group for a period of three years by the Human Right Council in March 2011. They assumed their functions on 1 May 2011 and have held three sessions in Geneva: from 6 to 10 June 2011, 24 to 28 October 2011, and 27 February to 2 March 2012. They are Emna Aouij, Mercedes Barquet, Kamala Chandrakirana, Frances Raday and Eleonora Zielińska. During its first session, the Working Group elected Ms. Chandrakirana as Chairperson-Rapporteur. The members wish to gratefully acknowledge the trust that has been placed in them by the Human Rights Council. 4. In this first report to the Council, the Working Group provides preliminary views on how the members intend to carry out their mandate. The report contains seven sections, the first of which is the present introduction. Section II contains a brief historical overview relating to the creation of the mandate of the Working Group. Section III spells out a conceptual framework that the Working Group has elaborated to guide its analyses of issues relating to equality and non-discrimination on the grounds of sex and to inform its dialogue 3