The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today closed its eighty-fourth session after adopting concluding observations on the reports of Bahrain, Costa Rica, Georgia, Hungary, Mauritania, Norway, Slovenia, and Tunisia, which were considered during the session.

The concluding observations adopted by the Committee on the countries under review will soon be available on the session’s webpage

In concluding remarks, Committee Chairperson Ana Peláez Narváez said it had been her first session as Chair of the Committee. The eighty-fourth session had marked the opening of a new mandate for seven experts who had joined the Committee. During the eighty-fourth session, the Committee had considered the reports of eight States parties and adopted concluding observations on each. Informal meetings had been held with non-governmental organisations and national human rights institutions, and the Committee was very satisfied with the level of participation from civil society.

Progress had been made on working methods, especially when it came to the definition of hybrid sessions. The Committee held a half-day of general discussion on the equal and inclusive representation of women in the decision-making system, as part of the first phase in the development of the general recommendation.

The Working Group on Individual Communications had prepared five final decisions on individual communications which were adopted during the session. The Working Group on Enquiries had carried out significant work regarding procedures, for confidential enquiries which were currently being considered by the Committee.

During the session, the Committee had maintained significant discussions with other stakeholders, including a meeting with the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and a meeting with the Chief of Section of the Universal Periodic Review. The High Commissioner had also met with the Committee and offered his support.

The start of the session had been a sad moment for the Committee, due to the devastating impact of the earthquake on 6 February in Türkiye and Syria, where many people lost their lives. Yesterday was also the first anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine. Despite this, the Committee needed to keep moving forward in the name of peace.

In closing, Ms. Peláez Narváez thanked all Committee Experts for their hard work during the session, and the members of the Secretariat who had supported the Committee.

At the beginning of the meeting, Committee Rapporteur Marion Bethel presented the draft report of the session, which contained the draft report of the Working Group of the Whole and the provisional agenda for the Committee’s eighty-fifth session. The Committee adopted the report.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women will hold its eighty-fifth session from 8 to 26 May 2023, during which it is scheduled to review the reports of China, including the two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong (China) and Macao (China), Germany, Iceland, Malawi, Nicaragua, Sao Tome and Principe, Slovakia, Spain, Timor-Leste, and Venezuela.

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CEDAW23.013E