Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Fifty-seventh session
Summary record (partia l )* of the 1214th meeting**
Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on Friday, 28 February 2014, at 3 p.m.
Chairperson:Ms. Ameline
Contents
Adoption of the report of the Committee on its fifty-seventh session
Statement by the Chairperson
Closure of the session
The discussion covered in the summary record began at 4.20 p.m.
Adoption of the report of the Committee on its fifty-seventh session (CEDAW/C/BHR/CO/3; CEDAW/C/CMR/CO/4-5; CEDAW/C/FIN/CO/7; CEDAW/C/IRQ/CO/4-6; CEDAW/C/KAZ/CO/3-4; CEDAW/C/QAT/CO/1 and CEDAW/C/SLE/CO/6; CEDAW/C/2014/I/CRP.1)
Ms. Patten introduced the Committee’s draft report, which was contained in document CEDAW/C/2014/I/CRP.1. She drew attention to chapter IV of the draft report concerning the draft concluding observations on the seven reports by States parties that the Committee had considered during its fifty-seventh session, which were contained in documents CEDAW/C/BHR/CO/3; CEDAW/C/CMR/CO/4-5; CEDAW/C/FIN/CO/7; CEDAW/C/IRQ/CO/4-6; CEDAW/C/KAZ/CO/3-4; CEDAW/C/QAT/CO/1 and CEDAW/C/SLE/CO/6.
The Chairperson said that she took it that the Committee wished to adopt the documents containing the draft concluding observations.
It was so decided.
Ms. Patten introduced the draft report of the Working Group of the Whole, contained in chapters VI and VII of the draft report.
She introduced the provisional agenda for the fifty-eighth session, contained in the draft report.
The provisional agenda for the fifty-eighth session was adopted.
The draft report of the Committee on its fifty-seventh session was adopted as a whole, subject to finalization by the Rapporteur.
Statement by the Chairperson
The Chairperson said that the Committee had held informal meetings with NGOs and national human rights institutions and had attended several lunchtime briefings organized by NGOs. She encouraged United Nations entities, NGOs and national human rights institutions to continue to provide country-specific information to the Committee and promote the implementation of its recommendations.
The treaty body strengthening process had resulted in additional meeting time and resources, and she hoped that the Committee would use the extra time and resources, on an equal footing with other treaty bodies, to clear its backlog of State party reports and carry out its other mandated activities.
The Committee had adopted a statement on the post-2015 development agenda and the elimination of discrimination against women and must now work to ensure that the goal of gender equality was included in the agenda.
The World Health Organization had briefed the Committee on the revised technical and policy guidance on safe abortion; the Committee had adopted a statement on the matter based on the briefing and on a joint meeting with the Human Rights Committee on sexual and reproductive rights in October 2013.
The Committee had considered the reports of seven States parties, adopted the corresponding concluding observations, reviewed information received from States parties under the follow-up procedure and continued its work under articles 2 and 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention concerning communications and inquiries. It had adopted one decision that a communication was inadmissible under the Optional Protocol and two Views in which violations of the Convention were found, one concerning a rape case and the other a discriminatory provision of the law on maternity leave. Furthermore, it had reviewed the draft findings of Inquiry No. 2011/1 and formulated recommendations, in accordance with article 8 of the Optional Protocol.
The Committee had continued to discuss its draft general recommendation on gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum and statelessness and had made progress on other draft general recommendations. A concept note on the right to education had also been introduced, which would serve as a basis for the general discussion on that subject to be held on 7 July 2014.
The efforts of the working group on working methods had enabled the Committee to make progress on a review of its rules of procedure. She would present the Committee’s report to the Commission on the Status of Women on 10 March 2014. She expressed her sincere thanks to all involved in the fifty-seventh session.
Closure of the session
Following an exchange of courtesies, the Chairperson declared the fifty-seventh session closed.
The meeting rose at 4.35 p.m.