The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this morning opened its eighty-ninth session, hearing a statement from the Representative of the Secretary-General, and adopting its agenda for the session, during which it will review the reports of Benin, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Japan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia.
Opening the session, Mahamane Cissé-Gouro, Director of the Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Representative of the Secretary-General, extended his congratulations to the Committee members who had been re-elected to serve on the Committee for another term from January 2025.
Mr. Cissé-Gouro said that at the Summit of the Future, the Heads of State and Government adopted an action-oriented Pact for the Future, including a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations, which noted that none of the goals could be achieved without the full participation and representation of all women in political and economic life. These principles were reflected in the Committee's draft general recommendation no. 40 on the equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems, which would be adopted and made public at the end of the session. Mr. Cissé-Gouro wished the Committee a successful and productive session.
Ana Peláez Narváez, Chairperson of the Committee, said that since the last session, the number of States parties that had ratified the Convention had remained at 189. The number of States parties that had accepted the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1 of the Convention concerning the meeting time of the Committee remained at 81. Kazakhstan, Paraguay, Republic of Moldova and Syria had submitted their periodic reports and San Marino had submitted its combined initial to fifth periodic report to the Committee.
The Committee adopted the agenda and programme of work of the session, and the Chair and Committee Experts then discussed the inter-sessional activities they had undertaken since the last session.
Leticia Bonifaz Alfonzo, Committee Rapporteur, introduced the report of the pre-sessional working group for the eighty-ninth session, and Natasha Stott Despoja, Committee Rapporteur on follow-up to concluding observations, briefed the Committee on the status of the follow-up reports received in response to the Committee's concluding observations.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women's eighty-ninth session is being held from 7 October to 25 October. All documents relating to the Committee's work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session's webpage. Meeting summary releases can be found here. The webcast of the Committee's public meetings can be accessed via the UN Web TV webpage.
The Committee will next meet at 3 p.m. this afternoon, Monday, 7 October, with representatives of national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations who will brief about the situation of women in Lao People's Democratic Republic, Saudi Arabia and New Zealand, whose reports will be reviewed this week.
Opening Statement by the Representative of the Secretary-General
MAHAMANE CISSÉ-GOURO, Director, Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Representative of the Secretary-General, said he was encouraged by the fact that all the annual sessions of the treaty bodies could take place despite the current liquidity situation facing the United Nations. He then extended congratulations to Committee members who had been re-elected to serve on the Committee for another term from January 2025, namely Corinne Dettmeijer-Vermeulen, Nahla Haidar, Bandana Rana and Natasha Stott Despoja. The multiple challenges of today's world, in particular conflicts and pushback against women's rights, highlighted the importance of having a strong, productive and independent Committee.
The Summit of the Future, the major event of the year at the United Nations, took place on 22 and 23 September at the United Nations headquarters in New York. At the Summit, the Heads of State and Government adopted an action-oriented Pact for the Future, including a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations, which noted that none of the goals could be achieved without the full participation and representation of all women in political and economic life. These principles were reflected in the Committee's draft general recommendation no. 40 on the equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems, which would be adopted and made public at the end of the session.
Mr. Cissé-Gouro congratulated the Committee on this innovative roadmap. He was encouraged that the Committee took the opportunity to present the future general recommendation no. 40 and promote its synergies with the Pact for the Future at the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly's Women Leaders Platform, in New York.
On 25 September, to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the International Year of the Family, the Human Rights Council held a panel discussion on the implementation of States' obligations under relevant provisions of international human rights law on the role of the family in supporting the protection and promotion of human rights of its members. This year's annual discussion on the integration of a gender perspective throughout the work of the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms, held on 30 September, focused on the theme of enhancing gender integration in human rights investigations: a victim-centred perspective. The outcome of the panel discussion could also inform the important work of the Committee on inquiries. The Council would also adopt resolutions on the thirtieth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, and on domestic violence.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights continued to actively support efforts to strengthen the treaty body system, which was the key topic at the thirty-sixth annual meeting of the treaty body Chairpersons in New York in June 2024. The Chairs reiterated the call for resources in their recent statement welcoming the adoption of the Pact for the Future.
In that regard, the upcoming General Assembly resolution on the human rights treaty body system would be an important opportunity for Member States to reiterate their commitment to strengthening the treaty bodies by addressing the remaining challenges, including those related to resources. Mr. Cissé-Gouro said this was the last session for seven Committee members, whose terms would come to an end at the end of the year, namely Nicole Ameline, Marion Bethel, Leticia Bonifaz Alfonzo, Hilary Gbedemah, Dalia Leinarte, Rosario Manalo and Jie Xia. He thanked them for their dedicated service, and concluded by wishing the Committee a successful and productive session.
Statements by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert thanked Mr. Cissé-Gouro for his speech, congratulating the new members and those who were finishing their terms. Technology, innovation and a gender equality strategy were vital and many organizations were already doing this. As an international organization, the United Nations needed to adopt an internal general equality strategy.
The Committee then adopted its agenda and programme of work for the session.
ANA PELÁEZ NARVÁEZ, Committee Chairperson, paid homage to three experts who were absent due to health reasons and new responsibilities. She congratulated the new experts and wished them every success. Since the last session, the number of States parties that had ratified the Convention remained at 189. The number of States parties that had accepted the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1 of the Convention concerning the meeting time of the Committee, remained at 81. Since the last session, Kazakhstan, Paraguay, Republic of Moldova and Syria had submitted their periodic reports and San Marino submitted its combined initial to fifth periodic report to the Committee. Since making the simplified reporting procedure the default procedure for States parties' reporting to the Committee, the number of States parties that had indicated they wished to opt out and maintain the traditional procedure remained at 13.
Ms. Peláez Narváez and Committee Experts then discussed inter-sessional activities they had undertaken since the last session, which included attending the award of the Legion of Honour Medal to Committee Member Nicole Ameline, by President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris.
LETICIA BONIFAZ ALFONZO, Committee Rapporteur, introduced the report of the pre-sessional working group for the eighty-ninth session, which met from 19 to 23 February 2024 in Geneva. The working group prepared lists of issues and questions in relation to the reports of Belize, Chad, Republic of Congo, Nepal and Viet Nam, in addition to lists of issues and questions prior to the submission of the reports of Cyprus and Saint Lucia under the simplified reporting procedure.
ANA PELÁEZ NARVÁEZ, Committee Chairperson, said that, in light of the backlog of State party reports pending consideration by the Committee accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee had decided to postpone the consideration of the States parties referred to in the report of the pre-sessional working group to future sessions.
NATASHA STOTT DESPOJA, Committee Rapporteur on follow-up to concluding observations, briefed the Committee on the status of the follow-up reports received in response to the Committee's concluding observations. She said that at the end of the eighty-eighth session, follow-up letters outlining the outcome of assessments of follow-up reports were sent to the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan. Reminder letters were sent to the Dominican Republic, Gabon, Lebanon, Panama, Peru, Senegal and Uganda. A shortened version of the follow-up report of Sweden was received in mid-August 2024, with more than an eight-month delay. The Committee had received follow-up reports from Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Morocco and Türkiye, all received on time; from Peru, with more than five months' delay; and from South Africa, with an eight-month delay. Reminders regarding follow-up reports should be sent to Mongolia, Namibia, Portugal and the United Arab Emirates.
