Haiti’s record on women’s rights to face scrutiny by UN Committee

GENEVA (22 February 2016)  – Haiti’s record on women’s rights will be examined by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 25 February.  Haiti has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and so is required to be 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 Haitian Government are: Widespread violence against women, including in camps for internally displaced persons and at the border with Dominican Republic; measures to improve  women’s access to justice, particularly for victims of gender- based violence; steps to increase  women’s representation in national legislative bodies and local administration; measures to reduce the maternal mortality rate and provide  access to sexual and reproductive health services;  women held for lengthy periods in pre-trial detention.

The review will take place in Room XVI at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 10:00 – 13:00 and 15:00 - 17:00 (04:00 – 07:00 and 11:00 – 14:00  in Port-au-Prince) and be webcast at http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/.  The Committee will also be briefed by NGO representatives.

More information, including Haiti’s submitted written report, at:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1007&Lang=en

The Committee will hold a news conference to discuss its findings on Haiti and the other States being reviewed – Japan, Iceland, Sweden, Mongolia, Czech Republic, Vanuatu, and Tanzania – on 7 March. This will be at 13:30 in Press Room 1, Palais des Nations.
CEDAW’s findings will be published on 7 March here: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1007&Lang=en

ENDS

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

Background:

CEDAW is composed of 23 independent human rights experts drawn from around the world. Members 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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