Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Ninetieth session
Summary record of the 2147th meeting*
Held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on Friday, 21 February 2025, at 5 p.m.
Chair:Ms. Haidar
Contents
Adoption of the report of the Committee on its ninetieth session
Provisional agenda for the ninety-first session of the Committee
Statement by the Chair
Closure of the session
The meeting was called to order at 5.35. p.m.
Adoption of the report of the Committee on its ninetieth session
Provisional agenda for the ninety-first session of the Committee
Ms. Akia (Rapporteur) said that she had the honour of introducing the Committee’s draft report on its ninetieth session, which was contained in documentCEDAW/C/2025/I/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. Akia (Rapporteur) said that she also wished to draw attention to chapter VIIIof the Committee’s draft report, which contained the provisional agenda for the ninety‑firstsession. 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 ofthe 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 on theninetieth session in its entirety, including the provisional agenda for the ninety-first session.
It was so decided.
The draft report of the Committee on its ninetieth 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, including a report submitted by the Democratic Republic of the Congo under the exceptional reporting procedure, and had adopted concluding observations on those reports.
The Committee had 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. While the Committee found it regrettable that the decision taken by the United Nations Office at Geneva to discontinue online meetings limited the access of NGOs and other stakeholders to the Committee’s work, the Committee was pleased to have been able to engage with local NGOs from most of the States parties reviewed during the session and four NHRIs.
Thanks were due to the United Nations entities and other intergovernmental bodiesthat had provided the Committee with detailed information, including the inter-agency groupon reporting to the Committee, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner forRefugees and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. A number of United Nations country teams had engaged with the inter-agency group in preparing their reports and three country teams had briefed the Committee via pre-recorded statements.
On 17 February 2025, the Committee had held a half-day of general discussion on gender stereotypes in which 46 States parties and 17 NGOs had participated. The discussion had highlighted the fact that gender stereotypes fuelled violence against women and hindered their access to political life, education and employment. It had also marked a crucial stage in the development of the Committee’s draft general recommendation on gender stereotypes.
She welcomed the progress made in rationalizing the Committee’s working methods and harmonizing them with those of the other treaty bodies. She wished to thank the Chair of the Working Group on Working Methods, Ms. Dettmeijer-Vermeulen, and the Vice-Chair of the Group, Ms. Akizuki, for their excellent work in reviewing the Committee’s decisions on the rationalization of the working groups and on the standard paragraph of the Committee’s concluding observations relating to the preparation of States parties’ subsequent periodic reports. The Working Group had also drafted decisions on increasing the number of lists of issues prior to reporting to be adopted over the next two years and on routinely raising the issue of male succession to the throne in dialogues with States parties where that issue was relevant.
The Working Group on Gender-based Violence against Women, which was co‑chaired by Ms. Tisheva and Ms. Toledo Vásquez, had made good progress in developing a draft working paper on online and technology-facilitated gender-based violence against women. Thanks were due to the Committee’s focal point on business and human rights, Ms.Eghobamien-Mshelia, for having convened a group of experts and private sector representatives to discuss best practice models in digital innovation and the mitigation of gender gaps during the Committee’s public meeting with the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises.
The Committee’s working group on women and peace and security, which was co‑chaired by Ms. de Silva de Alwis and Ms. Rana, had made significant progress in preparing the Committee’s review of the fourth periodic report of Afghanistan, which would take place during the Committee’s forthcoming session in June 2025. The working group had also held remote meetings with women lawyers from Ukraine.
She wished to thank Ms. Stott Despoja and Ms. Akia for their work on follow-up, which had enabled the Committee to adopt five follow-up assessments. Thanks were dueto the Working Group on Communications, whose efforts had enabled the Committee to adopt a number of final decisions on individual communications. Gratitude was also due to the Working Group on Inquiries, particularly its outgoing Chair, Ms. Reddock, for her important work in enabling the Committee to adopt a report on the large-scale abduction of women and girls by insurgents and other armed groups. The State party concerned had been given a six‑month period in which to submit observations on the report, after which it would be published. During the session, the Committee had held informal meetings with the Special Rapporteuronthe promotion and protection of human rights in the context ofclimatechange, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the World Health Organization.
Closure of the session
Following the customary exchange of courtesies, the Chair declared the ninetiethsession closed.
The meeting rose at 5.50 p.m.