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

GENEVA (12 July 2016)  – Mali’s record on women’s rights will be examined by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 15 July. Mali  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 Malian Government are: 
·    Measures to mitigate impact of conflict on women;
·    Rehabilitation for victims of violence during the conflict;
·    Measures to tackle widespread impunity for conflict-related sexual violence;
·    Participation of women in making decisions regarding peacebuilding efforts;
·    Measures to increase enrolment and retention rate of girls in education;
·    Steps to eliminate harmful practices, including excision, forced and early marriage;
·    Discriminatory provisions in the Family Code, including recognition of polygamy and requirement for women to obey their husbands;
·    Lack of protection for children conceived as result of rape, who face extreme risk of mistreatment, abandonment and death.

The review will take place in Room XVIII at Palais des Nations in Geneva from 10:00 – 13:00 (08:00 – 11:00 in Mali) and 15:00 - 17:00 (13:00-15:00) and be webcast live at www.treatybodywebcast.org

More information about the review, including Mali’s written report, here:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1019&Lang=en

The Committee’s findings, officially known as concluding observations, on Mali and the other countries being reviewed – the Philippines, Myanmar, France, Albania, Turkey, Uruguay, and Trinidad and Tobago – will be published on 25 July here:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1019&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. 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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