A/HRC/44/52 and the mandate on combating violence against women 5 and provided an update on the activities of the Platform of United Nations and regional independent expert mechanisms on ending discrimination and violence against women. 6 8. On 25 November 2019, to mark International Day on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Special Rapporteur and members of the aforementioned Platform issued a joint statement in which they called upon all States and relevant stakeholders worldwide to act against rape as a form of gender-based violence and a human rights violation, and to ensure that the definition of rape is based on the absence of consent, in line with international standards.7 9. From 25 to 27 November 2019, the Special Rapporteur participated in the Beijing+25 civil society forum and intergovernmental meeting in Bangkok, during which she delivered a keynote address at the opening session. She also participated in a variety of meetings and events coordinated by the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the AsiaPacific Beijing+25 Civil Society Steering Committee. 10. On 16 January and 27 February 2020, the Special Rapporteur was invited to contribute to and participate in two meetings of the Executive Committee established by the Secretary-General, both of which were held in New York. At the first meeting, the focus was on violence against women in politics and during elections and at the second meeting the issue of femicide was considered. The Special Rapporteur regards both as significant meetings that demonstrate the importance of cooperation between United Nations agencies and the mandate on topics that require a system-wide approach to addressing violence against women. 11. The Special Rapporteur has continued to lead the Platform of United Nations and regional independent expert mechanisms on ending discrimination and violence against women. In that regard, on 2 and 3 February 2020, she participated in the third regional meeting of the Platform, which she organized jointly with the Special Rapporteur on Rights of Women in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and in collaboration with the secretariat of the Gender Is My Agenda Campaign and the Regional Office for East Africa of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Following the meeting, the expert mechanisms issued a joint statement: “Elimination of discrimination and violence against women and girls, including its root causes, must be integrated in all efforts to silence the guns before, during and after conflict”.8 12. Owing to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak and the measures adopted to contain it, the sixty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women did not proceed as planned, but rather a decision was taken to hold the session for one day only in New York on 9 March 2020. Given the circumstances, the Special Rapporteur was unable to participate in person, however her statement was circulated in writing to all delegations. In her statement, she recalled some of the specific recommendations to the Commission highlighted in her 2019 report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/41/42), including a recommendation to establish violence against women as a standing item on the agenda of the Commission on the Status of Women and introduce a constructive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur, in addition to the oral presentation on the work of the mandate. 9 13. The Special Rapporteur had planned to host a high-level panel in the margins of the Commission on the Status of Women, to take stock of the work of the Platform of United Nations and regional independent expert mechanisms on ending discrimination and violence against women and to seek additional support for the initiative. 5 6 7 8 9 4 See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/SR/SRVAW_CEDAW_ FrameworkCooperation.pdf. See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/SRWomen/Pages/Cooperation GlobalRegionalMechanisms.aspx. See www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID= 25340&LangID=E. See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/SR/Statement_conflict_ prevention_EDVAW_platform.pdf. The statement is available from www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/CSW/CSW64.pdf.