February 23, 2015 (Geneva) – Eritrea’s record on women’s rights will be examined by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on Thursday 26 February in meetings that will be webcast live.

Eritrea is one of the 188 States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and so is required to submit regular reports to the Committee of 23 independent experts on how it is implementing the Convention. The Committee will engage in a dialogue with the delegation from the Eritrean Government on questions

relating to the promotion and protection of women’s rights in the country.

The session will take place in Conference Room XVI at Palais des Nations in Geneva from 10:00 -17:00 (12:00 – 19:00in Eritrea).  The live webcast can be viewed at http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/. Among the issues likely to be discussed are: measures to tackle gender stereotypes and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation; legislation criminalising violence against women, including marital rape;  women’s rights in context of compulsory military service; measures taken to ensure women can vote and stand in elections; strategy to improve women’s access to and retention in education system; adequate access to sexual and reproductive health services; awareness-raising among women of laws relating to family and marital property.

Written by ENDS

Wednesday, 11 March 2015 15:33