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

GENEVA (11 July 2016)  – Uruguay’s record on women’s rights will be examined by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 14 July. Uruguay 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 Uruguayan Government are: 

·    Measures to combat violence against women and girls and criminalize femicide;
·    Underrepresentation of women in public life including in parliament, ministerial positions, the judiciary;
·    Teenage pregnancies and girls’ drop-out rate from education system;
·    Conscientious objection among medical practitioners as an obstacle to ensure access to abortion.
·    Need to ensure inclusion of refugee women and strategies to prevent violence against refugee women.

The review will take place in Room XVIII at Palais des Nations in Geneva from 10:00 – 13:00 (05:00 – 08:00 in Montevideo) and 15:00 - 17:00 (10:00 – 12:00) and be webcast live at www.treatybodywebcast.org

The Committee will also hear from NGO representatives. More information about the review, including Uruguay’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 Uruguay and the other countries being reviewed – the Philippines, Myanmar, France, Albania, Turkey, Mali, 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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