Committee closes eighty-first session after adopting concluding observations on reports of Gabon, Panama, Senegal, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Peru, Lebanon and Dominican Republic GENEVA (25 February 2022) -The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this morning closed its eighty-first session after adopting concluding observations on the reports of Gabon, Panama, Senegal, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Peru, Lebanon and the Dominican Republic, which were reviewed during the session. Gladys Acosta Vargas, Chairperson of the Committee, said the Committee was deeply concerned by the hostilities taking place on the territory of Ukraine, one of the 189 States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The Committee was particularly concerned about the grave situation of women and girls in Ukraine, whose lives and security were at risk right now. The Committee urged the parties to the armed conflict to halt the hostilities, return to the negotiating table and ensure the equal participation of women in peace processes, in line with United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security, and the Committee’s general recommendation No. 30 (2013) on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations. Ms. Acosta Vargas expressed her satisfaction that the Committee was once again able to meet in Geneva, which allowed it to continue addressing the backlog of State party reports that had grown during the time when the pandemic prevented it from holding constructive dialogues with States parties. The Committee had considered the reports of eight States parties and adopted concluding observations on these States. During the session, the Committee had decided on the topics of the Committee’s next general recommendations: Women’s equal participation in political and public decision-making, and Gender stereotypes. Important progress on rationalising and harmonising working methods had also been made. The Committee’s Task Force on Afghanistan had been instrumental in ensuring that the Committee was moving ahead with their request for an exceptional report on the current situation of women and girls in the country. The Committee had also adopted six follow-up assessments and six final decisions on individual communications. Aruna Devi Narain, Committee Rapporteur, presented the report of the Committee, which was adopted. The dates of the eighty-second session of the Committee will be announced at a later date.