UN expert group on discrimination against women launches first official visit to Chad

French

GENEVA (1 December 2017) – The UN Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice will carry out its first official visit to Chad from 4 to 14 December to assess the country’s progress on gender equality and the protection and promotion of women’s human rights, as well as its remaining challenges.

“Our expert group is particularly interested in legislative reforms and policies that have been implemented by the Government of Chad to promote women’s rights and gender equality,” said Alda Facio, who currently heads the expert group.

“We will pay particular attention to aspects of law and practice which affect women’s participation in the family and in cultural, public and political life, as well as their access to justice, education, labour and social services, looking at existing gaps and good practices to eliminate discrimination against women in these areas,” she added.

During its nine-day visit, Ms. Facio and her fellow delegation member Meskerem Geset Techane will meet national and local government officials, civil society and UN representatives, experts and academics.

The experts will visit N’Djamena as well as the region of Moundou to gather first-hand information on issues related to discrimination against women in various contexts, including those who experience multiple forms of discrimination.

A press conference to share the delegation’s preliminary findings will be held on Thursday 14 December at 2 p.m. local time, in UNICEF conference room, route de l’Aéroport, N’Djamena. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.

The Working Group will present a report containing its conclusions and recommendations to the Geneva UN Human Rights Council in June 2018.

ENDS

The UN Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice was created by the Human Rights Council in 2011 to identify, promote and exchange views, in consultation with States and other actors, on good practices related to the elimination of laws that discriminate against women. The Group is also tasked with developing a dialogue with States and other actors on laws that have a discriminatory impact where women are concerned. The Working Group is composed of five independent experts: current chair Alda Facio (Costa Rica), Meskerem Geset Techane (Ethiopia), Melissa Upreti (Nepal), Ivana Radacic (Croatia), and Elizabeth Broderick (Australia). 

The independent experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights country page – Chad

For inquiries and media requests, please contact:
In N’Djamena: Toussaint Mbaïtoubam (+235 66 27 50 33, toussaint.mbaitoubam@undp.org) ou Jean Damascène Hakuzimana (+ 235 65 96 81 56 , jean.hakuzimana@undp.org)
In Geneva: Bernadette Arditi (+41 22 917 9159 / mobile: +41 79 444 4078  barditi@ohchr.org) and Jean-Claude Misenga (+41 22 917 9059, jmisenga@ohchr.org)

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact:
Bryan Wilson – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9826 / mediaconsultant2@ohchr.org) 

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