UN Women’s Rights Committee to review Denmark online

GENEVA (17 February 2021) — The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) will review the situation of women’s rights and gender equality in Denmark, including the self-governing territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, from 22 February to 24 February.

In a public dialogue held online and webcast over the three days, CEDAW, which has received a country report from Denmark as well as submissions from non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders, will discuss a range of issues with the State delegation.

Among possible issues, the Committee will review the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s rights and gender equality in Denmark and will evaluate the State party’s COVID recovery strategies as a catalyst for sustainable change and gender equality.

The Danish Parliament passed a law in December 2020 to redefine rape, previously defined based on use of force, as sex without consent. CEDAW will discuss the new definition, in effect since 1 January 2021, which makes Denmark the 12th country in Europe to criminalize rape without requiring proof of violence or threat.

The Committee is also expected to raise the high rates of suicide and of gender-based violence against women in Greenland, and limited access to sexual and reproductive health services in the Faroe Islands. The Committee is also likely to discuss the disproportionate impact of climate change on indigenous women in Greenland.

More information about the online country review of Denmark, including reports submitted by the State party, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders, is now available online.

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For more information and media requests in Geneva, please contact:
Vivian Kwok at +41 (0) 22 917 9362 / vkwok@ohchr.org or UN Human Rights Office Media Section at +41 (0) 22 928 9855 / media@ohchr.org 

Background 
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women monitors States parties’ compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which to date has 189 States parties. The Committee is made up of 23 members who are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties.

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