From January 14 to February 1, 2019, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC Committee) held its 80th Session in Geneva.
The CRC Committee reviewed the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 6 countries: Bahrain, Belgium, Guinea, Italy, Japan, Syrian Arab Republic. IBFAN submitted 3 alternative reports on the situation of infant and young child feeding in Bahrain, Belgium and Italy. Furthermore, direct advocacy during the session allowed the Committee members to address relevant questions on the status of IYCF policies to the other countries under review.
In its Concluding Observations, the CRC Committee referred specifically to breastfeeding for five out of six countries under review. Breastfeeding was mentioned in the concluding observations to all countries with the exception of the Syrian Arab Republic. As a general recommendation on IYCF rates, the CRC Committee recommended Belgium, Italy and Japan to invest in measures to improve the exclusive breastfeeding rates at six months.
Read the full post-session report here