Ecuador: UN rights expert to assess violence against women

GENEVA/QUITO (27 November 2019) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Dubravka Šimonović, will visit Ecuador from 29 November to 9 December 2019.

"During my visit I will consider the implementation of international commitments on the protection of women's human rights and I will evaluate national laws, policies and integrated services on preventing and combating gender-based violence against women and girls,"  Šimonović said.

"I will also consider the challenges faced by those who encounter multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence, such as indigenous women, Afro-Ecuadorian women, migrant and refugee women, women with disabilities, and women from remote or rural communities," added the expert.

During the Special Rapporteur's 11-day visit she will meet with senior Government officials, representatives from the UN system, international agencies, civil society, the National Human Rights Commission and survivors of violence.  She will visit Quito, Cuenca, Machala and the province of Carchi. She will also visit women's shelters in the provinces.

The Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference to share the preliminary findings of her visit at 10:30 local time on Monday, 9 December in Quito (venue to be advised). Access will be strictly limited to journalists.

Šimonović will present her final report to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2020.

ENDS

Ms. Dubravka Šimonović (Croatia) was appointed as Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2015, to recommend measures, ways and means, at the national, regional and international levels, to eliminate violence against women and its causes, and to remedy its consequences. Ms. Šimonović has been member of the CEDAW Committee from 2002 to 2014. She headed the Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Croatia and was the Minister Plenipotentiary at the Permanent Mission of Croatia to the UN in New York. She was also Ambassador to the OSCE and UN in Vienna. She co-chaired the Ad hoc Committee (CAHVIO) of the Council of Europe that elaborated the Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention).She has a PhD in Family Law and published books and articles on human rights and women's rights.

The Special Rapporteurs 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: Ecuador

For more information and media requests, please contact Ms. Orlagh McCann (+41 22 917 9902 / omccann@ohchr.org)

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact: 
Mr. Jeremy Laurence, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org)