Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women concludes sixty-fourth session

Adopts Concluding Observations on the Reports of the Philippines, Myanmar, France, Albania, Turkey, Uruguay, Mali and Trinidad and Tobago

GENEVA (22 July 2016) - The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women concluded its sixty-fourth session this afternoon, 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 the Philippines, Myanmar, France, Albania, Turkey, Uruguay, Mali and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Committee’s concluding observations and recommendations on the eight reports will be available on the webpage of the session on Monday, 25 July in the afternoon.  Press releases on the public meetings in which the reports were considered can be found here.

During the sixty-fourth session, in addition to considering the reports of the eight States parties, the Committee held public informal meetings with non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions to discuss the situation in the countries whose reports were considered.  It also looked at individual complaints, as well as inquiries under the Optional Protocol to the Convention, in closed meetings.  The Committee, furthermore, discussed matters relating to general recommendations and its methods of work.

At the beginning of the closing meeting, Patricia Schulz, Committee Rapporteur, introduced a draft report enclosing the concluding observations and recommendations on the eight States parties considered.  The report was then adopted.  The provisional agenda for the sixty-fifth session, as well as the provisional report of its sixty-fourth session were also adopted.

In closing remarks, Yoko Hayashi, Chairperson of the Committee, expressed satisfaction with the  Committee’s discussions on the academic initiative regarding the 2020 treaty body review process and on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 68/268 on treaty body strengthening.  The Committee had also been able to review a draft joint statement on gender in large-scale mixed migration flows, propose parameters for its future cooperation with UN Women on the follow-up and review of the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 5.1.1, and decide on the agenda for its informal meeting with States parties to be held during the sixty-fifth session in October/November 2016.  Ms. Hayashi noted that good progress had also been made by the Working Group on gender-based violence against women in refining the first draft of the update of General Recommendation 19 to be posted on the CEDAW website for stakeholders’ comments. 

Ms. Hayashi further acknowledged the progress made by adopting three decisions on individual communications, based on the quality drafts from the Working Group on communications.   The Committee had been able to make progress in revising its standard operating procedures on inquiries as well as on a number of pending inquiry proceedings.

The Committee proceeded to adopt the provisional agenda for the sixty-fifth session, which will take place in Geneva from 24 October until 18 November 2016.  During the sixty-fifth session, the Committee will consider reports of the following States parties: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Burundi, Canada, Estonia, Honduras, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.

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For use of the information media; not an official record