The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee) has tentatively agreed to a request to hold its extraordinary ninety-first session in Suva, marking the first time this event will occur in the Pacific region.
The CEDAW Committee, comprised of 23 independent experts on women’s rights, oversees the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, ratified by 12 Pacific Island Countries.
Usually, the CEDAW Committee conducts its work in Geneva and as such moving the meeting to Suva will allow hundreds of women, children, and civil society organizations from across the Pacific to engage directly with the Committee, the SPC said in a statement issued today.
Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka welcomed the decision and looks forward to hosting the regional CEDAW session in Fiji.
“The Government of Fiji will be honoured to host this historic event, which will facilitate a meaningful dialogue between the Committee experts and our region and will also be a platform for peer-to-peer learning and collaboration among Pacific nations,” Rabuka said.
The initiative was proposed by Fiji and unanimously endorsed at the Pacific Islands Forum Women Leaders Meeting in August 2023.
Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Baron Waqa, emphasised the significance of the Committee’s positive response to the request made through the Pacific Islands Forum Women Leaders Meeting. “An Extraordinary CEDAW session hosted in the Pacific is a historic milestone of UN partnership with the region, demonstrating a strong commitment to Pacific gender equality, social inclusion and respect for our Leaders and Heads of State.”
“Hosting of the Extraordinary 91st CEDAW session in Fiji presents a timely focus after the endorsement of the revitalised Pacific Leaders’ Gender Equality Declaration and the launch of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, in which gender equality and social inclusion is our regional priority,” said SG Waqa.
The session is scheduled for April 2025 and is supported by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the Pacific Community.
SPC’s Mereseini Rakuita, Principal Strategic Lead for Women and Girls in the Pacific, highlighted the need for action, saying, “The Pacific has some of the highest rates of violence against women and girls and the lowest rates of women in Parliaments.”
She added, “The Extraordinary 91st CEDAW session will enable the Committee to hear directly from women and girls, driving effective strategies for equality.”
