TWN Info Service on UN Sustainable Development (Feb26/03)
20 February 2026
Third World Network

Rights: UN marks 45 years of CEDAW, renews push for women’s equality
Published in SUNS #10384 dated 20 February 2026

Penang, 19 Feb (Kanaga Raja) — The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is hosting an informal commemoration in Geneva on 19 February to celebrate the forty-fifth anniversary of the  Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

The commemoration is aimed at celebrating the Convention’s transformative role in advancing women’s rights and equality between women and men, and to renew the collective commitment of States and other stakeholders to strengthen its implementation.

The event is expected to bring together representatives of Permanent Missions to the UN in Geneva, civil society organisations, women leaders and human rights advocates, and members of the press.

According to the UN, for four and a half decades, women’s rights advocates and institutions worldwide have relied on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women as a powerful legal framework to help combat gender-based discrimination and advance substantive equality of women and men.

Now in its forty-fifth year in force, the Convention remains a core international treaty to drive changes in laws, policies, and practices.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, comprising 23 independent experts, monitors States parties’ compliance with the CEDAW, which to date has 189 States parties.

“At a time of mounting global pressures and political uncertainty, continued commitment to CEDAW is essential to safeguard progress on women’s rights and accelerate equality,” said Nahla Haidar, Chair of the Committee.

UN’S LIQUIDITY CRISIS

In a statement on the 45th anniversary of CEDAW, issued on 17 February, the Committee drew attention to the financial and liquidity crisis currently facing the UN.

“Women’s and girls’ rights are human rights – this has and always will be non-negotiable,” said the Committee.

“This year, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (the Convention) celebrates its 45th anniversary, with near universal ratification,” it noted.

Its 189 States parties have undertaken legally binding obligations to guarantee equal rights to women and girls – half of the world’s population – as to the rest of humanity.

“Alarmingly, the unprecedented financial and liquidity crisis runs counter to these obligations,” the Committee warned.

“The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (the Committee) – the body mandated under Article 17 of the CEDAW Convention to monitor how States parties implement the Convention, expresses its grave concern that the financial and liquidity crisis directly hampers its ability to effectively implement its mandate.”

The Committee said that this crisis results from Member States’ failure to pay in full and in time their assessed contributions to the UN adopted budget for the year, resulting in a widening financial gap and serious setback in the international protection of human rights, including the rights of women and girls enshrined in the CEDAW Convention.

The Committee, like other treaty bodies, was forced to cancel one of its three annual sessions in 2025 and it might again have to cancel at least one of its sessions in 2026 because of the financial crisis, the statement said.

The Committee stressed that cancellations have the direct effect of significantly reducing the number of States parties reviewed under the Convention and individual communications and inquiry requests considered under the Optional Protocol to the Convention, thereby hampering the Committee’s ability to conduct timely and effective monitoring of the Convention.

“This results in continued violations and limits access to justice for women and girls,” it pointed out.

The Committee said that States parties to the CEDAW Convention failing to pay assessed contributions therefore severely undermine their obligations to respect and ensure the rights of women and girls as well as to respect the mandate of the Committee.

“In addition, Member States who do not pay their dues fail to comply with article 17 (2) of the Charter of the United Nations, stipulating that the expenses of the Organization shall be borne by the Members as apportioned by the General Assembly.”

As the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Volker Turk, warned – during the launch of a USD 400 million funding appeal for 2026 to address global human rights needs – “with mounting crises, the world cannot afford a human rights system in crisis,” the statement noted.

The financial crisis comes at a particularly perilous moment when according to UN Women, one out of every four countries is experiencing backlash against women’s and girls’ rights to equality, said the Committee.

“Across the globe, women and girls are increasingly excluded from decisions that shape their own lives, their societies, and our shared future.”

They are facing mounting gender-based violence, offline and online, in peace as well as in conflict, it said.

At the same time, hard-won gains in relation to sexual and reproductive health and rights, political participation and civic freedoms are being rolled back, undermining women’s and girls’ rights and dignity.

The full implementation of women’s and girls’ rights is first and foremost a matter of rights and justice, said the Committee.

But it is also decisive for the well-being of humanity as a whole. In a world ridden by conflict, injustice, immense power imbalances and nearing climate collapse, the preamble to CEDAW reminds us that “the full and complete development of a country, the welfare of the world and the cause of peace require the maximum participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields.”

Women, as research demonstrates, are crucial drivers of peace, with peace agreements signed by women being more likely to be implemented and lasting, said the statement.

Yet, it said that women remain largely under-represented in or even excluded from conflict prevention and peace building.

The Committee said that women are essential in building a more sustainable and resilient future, and gender equality is an important driver for inclusive economic growth, as underscored in the World Bank’s Gender Equality Strategy 2024-2030.

“Yet, women are often at the margins of decision-making in this regard. Women’s political leadership has been linked to greater stability and peace, stronger responsiveness to people’s needs and enhanced cooperation, and yet women’s political participation and activism are under attack.”

The international community cannot claim to prioritize gender equality as a key driver of sustainable peace and development when it allows the primary international mechanism for monitoring women’s and girls’ rights to collapse, the Committee emphasized.

“We echo the UN Secretary-General’s  call addressed to Member States, to honour their financial commitments or reform financial regulations that require the United Nations to return funds it has never received.”

The Committee called on all States parties to explore emergency measures to fill the financial gap and ensure that the Committee can fully and effectively deliver on its crucial mandate.

Furthermore, it called on governments, civil society organizations, women’s and girls’ rights advocates, and concerned citizens – to do everything within their power to ensure that the CEDAW Committee can continue its essential work – for the implementation of women’s and girls’ rights and for the benefit of humanity as a whole.

The Committee pointed out that as recently mentioned by the Secretary General, “we cannot – and will not – give in to the disturbing pushback on the rights of women and girls – half of humanity – and the hard-won gains in equality, participation, and protection.”

“The women and girls of the world are counting on us. We must not fail them. The world needs a functioning and strong CEDAW Committee,” the Committee concluded.