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

GENEVA (19 February 2016) - Vanuatu’s record on women’s rights will be examined by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 24 February. Vanuatu 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 Vanuatu Government are: Discriminatory stereotypes; violence against women, sexual violence, sexual harassment as specific criminal offences; low representation of women in political and public life; Vanuatu bottom of world rankings on implementation and enforcement of legislation on equal pay for equal work; effects of natural disasters, climate change on women; access to justice; equality in marriage.

The review will take place in Room XVI at Palais des Nations in Geneva from 10:00 -17:00 (20:00 – 03:00 in Vanuatu) and be webcast live at http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/. 

More information, including Vanuatu’s 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 Vanuatu and the other States being reviewed – Japan, Sweden, Mongolia, Czech Republic, Iceland, Haiti 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/treaty-bodies/cedaw

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