GENEVA, 5 October 2026 — The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women opened its 93rd session in Geneva with a warning that financial constraints and a widening backlash against gender equality are placing international human-rights oversight under pressure.
Andrea Ori, representing the UN Secretary-General, said the organization’s liquidity crisis had limited CEDAW to two sessions in 2026 instead of the three normally scheduled. The current session had originally been planned for June but was postponed until October.
The Committee will meet from 5 to 30 October and review the records of Angola, Cabo Verde, the Cook Islands, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Paraguay, the Republic of Moldova and Togo under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
The opening statement highlighted attacks on women human-rights defenders, shrinking civic space, rising online and offline gender-based violence, and erosion of sexual and reproductive health rights across regions.
The Committee’s work allows independent experts to question governments about laws, policies and practices affecting women and girls, before issuing concluding observations and recommendations for reform.
The funding constraints carry practical consequences: fewer sessions can delay country reviews, individual complaints and follow-up work at a time when women’s rights organizations report growing demand for protection and accountability.
The official UN meeting summary and the OHCHR treaty-body session record confirm the dates, country-review programme and opening proceedings. An independent women’s-rights monitoring network also lists the same session schedule and participating States.
References
- United Nations Office at Geneva — CEDAW opens its 93rd session, 5 October 2026
- OHCHR Treaty Body Database — CEDAW 93rd session record
- IWRAW Asia Pacific — 93rd CEDAW session overview
Featured photo: Siavosh Hosseini/Unsplash.