GENEVA (14 February 2019) — The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is meeting in Geneva from February 18 to March 8 to review women’s rights in the following countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Botswana, Colombia, Ethiopia, Serbia, and the United Kingdom.

On Friday, February 22 from 15:00-18:00, the Committee will also review a report submitted on an exceptional basis by Myanmar on the situation of Rohingya women and girls in Northern Rakhine State. More information is available on-line.

All the countries under review are party to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and so are reviewed regularly on how they are implementing it. The Committee will also hold dialogues with delegations from the respective governments and be briefed by NGOs and national human rights institutions.

The Committee’s open meetings will take place in Room XVI at the Palais des Nations. A schedule of the dialogues is available on-line.

The recommended hashtag for the meetings will be #CEDAW72 and the meetings will be webcast live at http://webtv.un.org/

CEDAW’s recommendations, officially termed concluding observations, are scheduled to be published on Monday, 11 March, and the Committee will also hold a press conference (to be confirmed).

ENDS

Background ¨

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women monitors States parties’ adherence to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which to date has 189 States parties. The Committee is made up of 23 members who are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Committee’s concluding observations are an independent assessment of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations under the treaty.

For media requests, please contact Julia Grønnevet at [email protected] / (+41) 22 917 9310