A/HRC/22/24 21. This example provides an illustration of the need for consistency and mutual reinforcement between applicable international instruments and their respective treaty bodies. While the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides a definition of the right to health as a universal right, making clear the applicability of the prohibition of discrimination thereto, more detailed and specific guidance about the scope of the associated obligations can be obtained from the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. III. Activities of treaty bodies 22. The present section maps recent developments on the economic, social and cultural rights of women in the work of United Nations treaty bodies. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights6 A. 23. On 25 May 2009, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted its general comment No. 20 (2009) on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights. This General Comment elaborates on article 2, paragraph 2, of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and discusses its application to the substantive rights enshrined in the Covenant, offering further guidance on the scope of the prohibition of discrimination and on “sex” as a forbidden ground of discrimination. The general comment also clarifies, in paragraph 20, that: The notion of the prohibited ground “sex” has evolved considerably to cover not only physiological characteristics but also the social construction of gender stereotypes, prejudices and expected roles, which have created obstacles to the equal fulfilment of economic, social and cultural rights. Thus the refusal to hire a woman, on the ground that she might become pregnant, or the allocation of low-level or part time jobs to women based on the stereotypical assumption that, for example, they are unwilling to commit as much time to their work as men, constitutes discrimination. 24. The Committee devoted one day of its forty-fifth session to a general discussion on sexual and reproductive health. The Committee has identified sexual and reproductive health as an integral component of article 12 of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the right to health and considers that its general comment No. 14 and its doctrine provide guidance on the implementation of the right to sexual and reproductive health. However, the Committee considered that the importance of the issue for women, its complexity and the apparent extent of implementation gaps, as observed worldwide, would warrant a specific general comment. A wide range of expert panelists offered evidencebased information and substantive contributions on the links between several human rights and sexual and reproductive health, highlighting the importance of sexual and reproductive health in the full enjoyment of the right to health by women. 6 Prior to 2008, the Committee dealt with women’s rights in its general comments on specific rights: in general comment No. 12 (1999) on the right to adequate food, the Committee, in paragraph 26, requires States to establish: “guarantees of full and equal access to economic resources, particularly for women”; see also the Committee in general comment No. 14 (2000) on the right to the highest attainable standard of health, paragraphs 20–21 on gender. 7