PORT OF SPAIN: 8TH JUNE, 2018
The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has been successful in its campaign to secure widespread support to ensure the election of its candidate, Professor Rhoda Reddock, as a Member of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) for the period 2019-2022.
This is the first time since becoming a party to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1990 that Trinidad and Tobago has presented a candidate to CEDAW. Professor Reddock was one (1) of sixteen (16) candidates competing for the twelve (12) vacancies on the Committee, at elections held on June 7, 2018 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Professor Reddock secured 158 out of 185 votes - the highest number of votes received among the candidates.
As a member of the Committee, Professor Reddock will join twenty-two (22) other independent experts in monitoring the progress made by States Parties in the implementation of the Convention. The Committee represents one of the foremost mechanisms worldwide for the promotion of human rights and fair treatment of women as it assists States Parties in improving their human rights record and providing women and girls with equal access to opportunities for growth and development.
Professor Reddock is an eminent scholar and activist who, over several decades, has made significant contributions to the advancement of gender issues at a national, regional and international level. As an advocate for women’s rights and empowerment, she was actively involved in the process leading up to the institutionalisation of gender studies at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago, and served as Head of the Centre (now Institute) for Gender and Development Studies, St. Augustine Campus from 1994-2008. Professor Reddock served as Deputy Principal of the campus from 2008 -2017. She was also a Founding Member and first Chair of the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA).
Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs
Click to download official media release- Professor Rhoda Reddock appointed to CEDAW.pdf
