Sessions

The Working Group meets in sessions three times a year, twice in Geneva and once in New York, usually in May, October and January respectively. When feasible, the Working Group holds one of the three annual sessions elsewhere, as in October 2019 when it held a session for the first time in the African region in Addis Ababa.

Currently, the sessions planned for 2025 are as follows:
13-17 January 2025 (Geneva)
27-30 May 2025 (New York)
6-10 October 2025 (TBC Geneva)

The sessions provide an important opportunity for the experts of the Working Group to come together in person for internal planning and strategizing on the implement of the mandate. The holding of the sessions also presents a useful convening capacity for the Working Group to reach out to a range of stakeholders including Member States, women human rights defenders, other special procedures mandates, human rights treaty bodies, OHCHR staff, UN agencies and programmes, regional human rights mechanisms, other international organizations, and women’s rights experts.

The Working Group consults with these actors on its thematic priorities and seeks cooperation and synergy.

The Working Group reports on the sessions held in its annual reports to the Human Rights Council along with other activities undertaken during the reporting period.