UN women’s rights committee to discuss rights of indigenous women and girls

GENEVA (21 June 2021) – The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) will hold a day of general discussion online on 24 June to discuss the rights of indigenous women and girls.

Indigenous women and girls experience multiple forms of discrimination, including lack of access to education, health care and ancestral lands. They also face disproportionately high rates of poverty and are likely to be victims of gender-based violence and sexual abuse.

During their day of discussion, Committee members will engage with State parties, other UN entities, international and regional intergovernmental organizations, national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders, as part of CEDAW’s efforts to assist States parties to protect the rights of indigenous women and girls.

The Day of General Discussion will be held online and livecast through UN Web TV on 24 June 2021. There will be two sessions to accommodate participants from different time zones. Details of the two thematic sessions are as follows:

12:30 to 14:30 Geneva time- Equality and non-discrimination with a focus on indigenous women and girls and intersecting forms of discrimination

16:00 to 18:00 Geneva time- Effective participation, consultation and consent of indigenous women and girls in political and public life

CEDAW periodically organises Days of General Discussion to stimulate debate on a particular aspect of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Previous topics and documents are available online.

ENDS

For media inquiries, please contact Vivian Kwok at +41 (0) 22 917 9362 / vkwok@ohchr.org or the 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’ adherence to 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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