The Kazakh diplomat was elected to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

Kazakh diplomat Madina Jarbusinova was elected to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) for 2025-2028 during the 23rd meeting of participating states at the UN headquarters in New York, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan reported in June . 7.

Previously, none of the Central Asian countries had been represented in CEDAW.

"Among the countries of Central Asia, Kazakhstan is a leader in achieving gender equality. "Kazakhstan improved its position and rose 18 positions to 62nd place in the Global Gender Gap Index 2023, which was designed to assess gender equality among 146 countries," the report said.

Together with Kazakhstan, representatives of 20 countries applied for 11 seats in CEDAW – Andorra, Australia, Barbados, Burundi, Cameroon, Chile, China, Georgia, Guatemala, Great Britain, Lebanon, Mozambique, Nepal, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Oman, Switzerland, Togo , Uruguay and Zimbabwe.

Born in 1954 in Almaty, Zharbusynova graduated from Ablai Khan Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages with a degree in pedagogy. She previously held various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2014, she assumed the position of special representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on issues of combating human trafficking.

CEDAW is a body of independent experts that monitors the fulfillment of its obligations by States Parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted in 1979. The committee consists of 23 experts on women's rights from around the world. Countries that have become parties to the treaty are obliged to submit reports on the implementation of their respective rights to the committee once every four years. During its sessions, the committee examines the reports of each state party and submits its views and recommendations in the form of concluding observations. Kazakhstan joined this international document in 1998.