By: Susan O’Malley
IFBPWC UN Representative (Editor)

His Excellency Ivan Simonovic, Ambassador of Croatia to the UN, Calls for an Optional Protocol

On November 25, 2024, during the UN High-level meeting to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Croatia called for examining the need for a new Optional Protocol to CEDAW.

His Excellency Ivan Šimonović, Ambassador of Croatia to the United Nations in New  York, opened his remarks by commenting on the need to evaluate the strength of the current framework on violence against women and girls. He offered an overview of progress, from the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, and CEDAW general recommendations on violence against women and girls.

“Now,” he said, “we need to examine the need for the optional protocol to CEDAW on Violence against Women, as called for by the past and current UN special rapporteurs on violence against women, in their joint statement.

The ambassador also called for upgrading and accelerating the Beijing Platform for Action and revitalizing the UN Commission on the Status of Women with a comprehensive mandate that works in partnership with civil society.