COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN CONCLUDES FIFTY-SIXTH SESSION

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today concluded its fifty-sixth session and adopted its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of the Republic of Moldova, Colombia, Benin, Andorra, Cambodia, Tajikistan and Seychelles on how these countries implement the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The Committee's concluding observations and recommendations on the seven reports will be available next week on the Committee's websiteOpens in new window.

Nicole Ameline, Committee Chairperson, in closing remarks, said that the Committee adopted General Recommendation No. 30 on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations. The General Recommendation will be available next week hereOpens in new window. She said the Committee also discussed the draft General Recommendation on gender related dimensions of refugee status, asylum and statelessness, and made great progress on the draft General Recommendation/Comment with the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Committee also held a half-day general discussion on rural womenOpens in new window, which would form a solid basis for embarking on the preparation of a draft General Recommendation on the topic.

Ms. Ameline said that in addition to considering the reports of States parties and adopting concluding observations thereon, the Committee reviewed information received from States parties on priority recommendations as part of its follow-up procedure. It also continued to discharge its mandate on individual communications and inquiries and considered and adopted inadmissibility decisions on two individual communications. Furthermore, the Committee analyzed and discussed information under article 8 of the Optional Protocol in relation in inquiries.

Ibrahim Salama, Director of the Human Rights Treaties Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, praised the Committee for its work in the balance between its horizontal and vertical performance: horizontal with its adoption of concluding observations and recommendations on seven country reports, decisions on two individual communications, the general comment on conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations, the general discussion on rural women, among others, and vertical with its work with the rest of the treaty bodies system. The second balance that the Committee established was between its basic functions in considering country situations, and the progressive development of human rights law. He congratulated the Committee on its landmark General Recommendation on women in conflict, news of which the High Commissioner for Human Rights announced in New York today, which was significant in terms of the potential of the treaty bodies system.

The 23 expert members of the Committee, serving in their personal capacities, monitor States parties' compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against WomenOpens in new window, often described as an international bill of rights for women. Adopted by the General Assembly in 1979, the treaty consists of a preamble and 30 articles, and prescribes national action to end discrimination against women.

The fifty-seventh sessionOpens in new window of the Committee on the Elimination of DiscriminatioOpens in new windown against Women will be held from 10 to 28 February 2014, in Geneva, when the Committee will consider the reports of Bahrain, Cameroon, Finland, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Qatar and Sierra Leone.


The Committee’s concluding observations will be made available at http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=812&Lang=enOpens in new window on Monday 21 October.

To learn more about the Committee on the Elimination of the Discrimination against Women, visit: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/Opens in new window

To arrange an interview with a Committee member, please contact Jakob Schneider (+41 22 917 9301 / jschneider@ohchr.orgOpens in new window)

For more information and other media requests, please contact Liz Throssell (+41 (0) 22 917 9434/ +41 (0) 79 752 0488) ethrossell@ohchr.orgOpens in new window

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For use of the information media; not an official record

CEDAW13/040E