United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women sixty-first session

ROUNDUP

24 July 2015

Adopts Concluding Observations on Reports of Senegal, Spain, the Gambia, Viet Nam, Bolivia, Croatia, Namibia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Also Adopts General Comment on Women’s Access to Justice

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today concluded its sixty-first session after adopting its concluding observations and recommendations on the implementation of the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by Senegal, Spain, the Gambia, Viet Nam, Bolivia, Croatia, Namibia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Committee’s concluding observations and recommendations on the eight reports will be available on 27 July in the afternoon here. Press releases on the consideration of the eight country reviews can be found here. Documentation relating to the session can be found here.

In closing remarks, Yoko Hayashi, Chair of the Committee, said that the Committee had considered the reports of eight States parties, and held informal meetings with non-governmental organizations and received information from United Nations entities and other inter-governmental bodies on the eight countries. She was satisfied with the progress the Committee had achieved in implementing General Assembly resolution 68/268 on treaty body strengthening, especially the decisions on the San Jose guidelines on reprisals. One of the highlights of the session was the adoption of General Recommendation 33 on women’s access to justice (not yet available online). The Committee had also had its first reading of draft General Recommendation 34 on rural women, and had made progress on updating General Recommendation 19 on violence against women. Four decisions were also adopted on individual communications, as well as eight follow-up assessments.

The Committee’s sixty-second session will be held from 26 October to 20 November when it will review the reports of Russia, Portugal, Liberia, Slovenia, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, Malawi, Madagascar, Timor Léste and Slovakia.

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For use of the information media; not an official record