Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Eighty-ninth session

Summary record of the 2117th meeting*

Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on Friday, 25 October 2024, at 5 p.m.

Chair:Ms. Peláez Narváez

Contents

Adoption of the report of the Committee on its eighty-ninth session

Provisional agenda for the ninetieth session of the Committee

Statement by the Chair

Closure of the session

The meeting was called to order at 5.45. p.m.

Adoption of the report of the Committee on its eighty-ninth session

Provisional agenda for the ninetieth session of the Committee

Ms. Bethel (Rapporteur) said that she had the honour of introducing the Committee’s draft report on its eighty-ninth session, which was contained in document CEDAW/C/2024/III/L.1. She wished to draw attention to chapters II and III.

The Chair said she took it that the Committee wished to adopt those chapters.

It was so decided.

Ms. Bethel (Rapporteur) said that she also wished to draw attention to chapter VIII of the Committee’s draft report, which contained the provisional agenda for the ninetieth session. Chapters VI and VII contained the draft report of the Working Group of the Whole, which described the action taken by the Committee for the implementation of article 21 of the Convention and ways and means of expediting the work of the Committee.

The Chair said she took it that the Committee wished to adopt the report of the eighty‑ninth session in its entirety, including the provisional agenda for the ninetieth session.

It was so decided.

The draft report of the Committee on its eighty-ninth session, as a whole, was adopted.

Statement by the Chair

The Chair said that, during the session, the Committee had considered eight State party reports and adopted concluding observations on those reports. It had also held informal meetings with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and national human rights institutions (NHRIs), and attended lunchtime briefings coordinated by International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific.

Thanks were due to the United Nations entities and other intergovernmental bodies that had provided the Committee with detailed information, including the inter-agency group on reporting to the Committee, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN-Women.

The highlights of the session had included the adoption of general recommendation No. 40 (2024) on equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems, the transformation of the taskforce on gender stereotypes into a working group tasked with developing the Committee’s forthcoming general recommendation No. 41 on that subject, the adoption of the decision to devote general recommendation No. 42 to the subject of women and girls with disabilities, the adoption of a joint statement on the defence of women’s and girls’ rights in Iraq, and the establishment of a working group on women and peace and security, in conjunction with the Committee on the Rights of the Child and other specialized mechanisms. The Committee had also adopted the decision to hold a technical cooperation event in Fiji in April 2025.

She wished to thank the task force on sex/gender self-identification, whose Chair, Ms. Hacker, had presented an important position paper on the issue. She welcomed the progress made in strengthening the Committee’s working methods and wished to thank the Chair of the Working Group on Working Methods, Ms. Ameline, and the Vice-Chair of the Group, Ms. Akizuki, for their excellent work. The Committee had continued to address the problem of violence against women in its role as co-Chair of the Platform of Independent Expert Mechanisms on the Elimination of Discrimination and Violence against Women.

Thanks were due to the Working Group on Communications, which had adopted three final decisions on individual communications, and the Working Group on Inquiries, which had made progress in carrying out follow-up assessments, organizing visits and preparing the initial reading of an inquiry report, which had taken place during the session. She also wished to thank Ms. Stott Despoja and Ms. Akia for their work on follow-up, which had enabled the Committee to adopt six follow-up reports.

During the session, the Committee had had fruitful exchanges with the Deputy Executive Director of UN-Women, Ms. Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, and the Chief of the Women’s Human Rights and Gender Section of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Hannah Wu. It had also participated in an event organized by the Government of France to commemorate the adoption of the Committee’s general recommendation No. 40 (2024). During the event, members of the Committee had discussed the implementation of the general recommendation with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France.

The Committee had attended a reception hosted by the Permanent Mission of the Bahamas in honour of Ms. Bethel, who would be leaving the Committee at the end of the year, and a reception hosted by the Permanent Mission of China in honour of Ms. Xia and in commemoration of the 30-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

During the session, Ms. de Silva de Alwis had represented the Committee at an expert workshop on the human rights dimension of care and support, organized by the Human Rights Council, and Ms. Eghobamien-Mshelia had contributed to the work of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. She wished to thank the Committee members, the secretariat and all the many people who had supported her during her two-year tenure as Chair of the Committee.

Closure of the session

Following the customary exchange of courtesies, the Chair declared the eighty-ninth session closed.

The meeting rose at 6 p.m.