The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this afternoon adjourned its online seventy-ninth session, during which, virtually, it held a day of general discussion on the rights of Indigenous women and girls.
The Committee adopted ad referendum the report of its seventy-ninth session, as well as the agenda for its eightieth session.
In her concluding remarks, Gladys Acosta Vargas, Committee Chairperson, said the two thematic segments of the Day of General Discussion - on intersecting forms of discrimination against Indigenous women and girls, and participation rights of Indigenous women and girls - had benefited from rich contributions by experts, interventions by 14 Member States, 21 civil society organizations and other stakeholders, as well as the more than 70 written submissions.
The Chairperson said that in view of the exceptional situation created by the pandemic, the Committee had not been able to review the reports of eight States parties initially scheduled for the seventy-eighth session. These State Party reviews had been postponed to the eightieth session, which was scheduled to take place in October and November this year.
She noted that the Committee had adopted two statements during the session. One concerned Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, and the other was a joint statement on “Prevention, protection of and assistance to children born of conflict-related rape and their mothers,” which was to be endorsed by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Furthermore, the Committee had drafted and adopted guidelines to address allegations of reprisals and acts of intimidation against individuals and organizations cooperating with it. The Committee had also updated its rules of procedure to reflect new working methods and practices, as well as adopted revised rules of procedure.
The eightieth session of the Committee will be held from 18 October to 12 November 2021.