Women's rights committee details challenges to equality

Nicole Ameline, CEDAW

Countries have made progress in promoting and protecting women's rights but important challenges remain in achieving equality, according to a member of a UN expert body that monitors discrimination against women.

Nicole Ameline, vice chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, says access to education is one area for improvement.

She spoke to journalists in New York on Monday following her address to the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly.

"Women make up two-thirds of the 774 million adult illiterates in the world. Turning to health, at present every minute a woman dies from pregnancy and childbirth complications. Violence against women: an issue of ongoing particular concern for the committee, in particular sexual violence, female genital mutilation. Further, every year, an estimated 10 million girls are married before they reach 18." (38 secs)

The Third Committee is where UN member states discuss social, humanitarian and cultural issues.

It is one of five such bodies under the General Assembly, the main deliberative organ of the United Nations.