UN Committee to review Switzerland’s record on women’s rights

GENEVA (27 October 2016)  – Switzerland’s record on women’s rights will be examined by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 2 November. Switzerland has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and so is reviewed regularly by the Committee on how it is implementing the Convention. 

Among the possible issues for discussion between CEDAW and a delegation from the Swiss Government are: 
·    Elimination of  gender stereotyping  in all settings;
·    Implementation of laws to address forced marriage and other harmful practices;
·    Steps undertaken to protect women and girls from  sexual exploitation and trafficking;
·    Persistence of violence against women, including domestic violence;
·    Inequality between women and men in both the public and private sectors and the persistent gender wage gap;
·    Under-representation of women at the federal and cantonal level;
·    Impact of laws and policies to address discrimination against women from ethnic and minority communities, as well as migrant women.

The review will take place in Room XVI at Palais des Nations in Geneva from 10:00 – 13:00 and 15:00 - 17:00 and will be webcast at http://webtv.un.org/.

The Committee will also hear from NGO representatives. More information about the review, including Switzerland’s written report, here:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1027&Lang=en

The Committee’s findings, officially known as concluding observations, on Switzerland and the other countries being reviewed – Canada, Burundi, Bhutan, Belarus, Argentina, Honduras, Armenia, Bangladesh, Estonia, Netherlands, and Antigua and Barbuda– will be published on 21 November here:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1027&Lang=en

ENDS

More information: Jakob Schneider - + 41 (0) 22 917 9301 /  jschneider@ohchr.org
Media requests: Liz Throssell +41 (0) 22 917 9466/ +41 79 752 0488 ethrossell@ohchr.org
Media accreditation for the Palais des Nations:   http://unog.ch/80256EDD006B9C2E/(httpPages)/70991F6887C73B2280256EE700379C58?OpenDocument

Read the media advisory online: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20711&LangID=E

Background

CEDAW is composed of 23 independent human rights experts drawn from around the world. They 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. More information:
http://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cedaw/pages/cedawindex.aspx

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