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

GENEVA (2 November 2016)  – Armenia’s record on women’s rights will be examined by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 4 November. Armenia 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 Armenian Government are: 
·    Persistent stereotypes against women and girls, including against those who are lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or intersex;
·    Eradication of all forms of violence against women;
·    Provision of sufficient shelters for abused women, and adequate facilities for asylum seekers;
·    High unemployment rates of women; predominance of women in low-paying sectors;
·    Low percentage of women who use modern contraceptive methods;
·    High rate of abortion and the practice of sex-selective abortions;
·    Prevalence of HIV/AIDS and continued stigmatisation of pregnant women with HIV/AIDS;
·    Low education rates and early marriages among women in ethnic minorities.

The review will take place in Room XVI at Palais des Nations in Geneva from 10:00 – 13:00 (13:00 – 16:00 in Yerevan) and 15:00 - 17:00 (18:00 – 20:00) and will be webcast at http://webtv.un.org/.

The Committee will also hear from NGO representatives. More information about the review, including Armenia’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 Armenia and the other countries being reviewed – Canada, Burundi, Bhutan, Belarus, Argentina, Switzerland, Honduras, Bangladesh, Estonia and Netherlands,– will be published on 21 November here:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1027&Lang=en

ENDS

For more information please contact Jakob Schneider at  jschneider@ohchr.org 
Media requests: Liz Throssell +41 (0) 22 917 9466 ethrossell@ohchr.org

Media accreditation for the Palais des Nations:   http://unog.ch/80256EDD006B9C2E/(httpPages)/70991F6887C73B2280256EE700379C58?OpenDocument

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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