United Nations Secretary-General António Guterresis indicated recently that the UN could end 2025 with a deficit of more than US$450 million, even after reducing the spending by nearly US$600 million. The United Nations is facing a liquidity issue as Member States are delaying or not paying their assessed contributions on time, particularly since 2024. This funding shortage impacts the UN's ability to operate effectively, as its budget relies on member contributions to cover expenses. These funding cuts threaten women's rights around the world -- not just by threatening access to women's humanitarian organisations but also choking off women's voices in humanitarian planning and policy decisions.

Since 1981 the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has provided reporting procedures that clarify the activities of signatory nations relating to women's rights. New Zealand became a signatory in accepting CEDAW in 1985, committing to the principles laid out. In 2000 New Zealand also ratified the CEDAW Optional Protocols which allow individuals and groups to complain to the Committee about violations of the CEDAW and allows the Committee to investigate those abuses of women's rights. The Manatū Wāhine NZ Ministry for Women is responsible for administering the nation's official CEDAW reports and its Optional Protocol.

The liquidity situation has caused some CEDAW sessions to be cancelled, postponed, or changed to being online. For example, the Cook Islands were listed to report to the 93rd session from 22 Jun 2026 to 10 Jul 2026, but their slot is uncertain and is yet “to be confirmed”. The 94th session 27 Oct 2025 to 31 Oct 2025 where the Pre-Sessional Working Group (PSWG) was to develop the List of Issues Prior to Reporting was replaced by online informal meetings. Vaine Wichman, the President of the Cook Islands National Council of Women, presented their UN shadow report online (see their Facebook video here).

Kia Orana!

The Cook Islands National Council of Women (CINCW) held their biennial meeting in Rarotonga on 3-5 March 2025: Uikaraurau: Konitara Vainetini o Te Kuki Airani, with funding support from the New Zealand High Commission in the Cook Islands.

Following on from the Pacific National Councils of Women Forum (see Youtube recording) jointly organised by NCW Australia and New Zealand in 2024, there has been contact between NCWNZ and CINCW resulting in an invitation for NCWNZ representatives to attend the biennial meeting and support the preparation of a CEDAW NGO report. See the Cook Islands News (16 April 2025) article. Suzanne Manning, NCWNZ President, and Beryl Anderson, NCWNZ Life Member and CEDAW Committee convenor, accepted the invite to travel to the beautiful – and warm – Cook Islands.

Cook Islands National Council of Women (CINCW) group photo, March 2025.Bottom row: Beryl Anderson (2nd left) and Suzanne Manning (4th left), and Vaine Wichman, CINCW president (centre).

In an historic first for the region, nineteen of the twenty-three members of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) held the first Technical Cooperation Session in Fiji, on 7 – 11 April 2025. Fourteen countries in the region have ratified CEDAW, with Tonga, Niue, and Palau yet to do so.

The three countries that were examined by the CEDAW Committee were Fiji, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. The meeting also held open Talanoa – or thematic discussions – that brought together civil society, youth, government representatives and community leaders. These included Talanoa on gender through the lens of culture and religion, children and youth, gender stereotypes, women’s political participation, women with disabilities, gender-based violence, and climate change. Representatives from fifteen countries, including the Cook Islands, attended the meeting which provided an important platform for Pacific countries to reflect on progress, challenges, and priorities in eliminating discrimination against women and girls in the region.

It was an honour to attend Aotearoa’s CEDAW review in Geneva on behalf of NCWNZ. 

It was a long stretch between reviews with COVID and a lack of funds making the UN reflect on how it does things.  But the CEDAW Committee of elected experts in gender matters was alive and fiery and brought impressive understanding of New Zealand to their questions.

In the first week I attended the International Women's Rights Action Watch (IWRAW) Global to Local training alongside P.A.C.I.F.IC.A. President Repeka Lelaulu, Caroline Herewini of Women’s Homelessness Coalition and Dr Rogena Sterling representing Pacific Women’s Watch (PWW). This training gave us a good overview of CEDAW and how the process works. However, the real benefit was getting to know fellow attendees from Aotearoa and figuring out our rhythm for the week ahead.

(left to right): Repeka Lelaulu (P.A.C.I.F.IC.A.), Dr Rogena Sterling (PWW), Ana Peláez Narváez (Chair, CEDAW Committee), Dellwyn Stuart (YWCA), Caroline Herewini (Women’s Homelessness Coalition)

This is the first of a series of articles focusing on the NCWNZ Past Presidents Oral History Project with interviews by Carol Dawber in 2016. See the introductory article in The Circular at "NCWNZ Past Presidents oral history interviews from 2016" (August 2024).

Janet Hesketh at Celebrating Women reception, Government House, Wellington, on 26 November 2013. From Wikimedia Commons.

Janet May Hesketh née MacKenzie QSM, CNZM, was the President of the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) from 1994 to 1998. Her work as president included advocating for the 1995 UN Beijing Platform for Action and hosting the executive committee of the International Council of Women (ICW) in 1996. 

NCWNZ led the creation of a collaborative report from sixteen Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to the United Nations (UN) and submitted in September 2024. This report presented an alternate set of data to the Government’s response on New Zealand’s implementation of our requirements for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). 

CEDAW, adopted by the UN in 1979, requires countries who sign this UN human rights treaty to eliminate discrimination against women and girls in all areas. New Zealand ratified this treaty in 1985. 

"CEDAW Demystified: State Obligation," 3-minute video by 
International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific

A response from NGOs around New Zealand to the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has found that, despite our international commitments to achieve equality for women and girls in all areas, New Zealand is falling short – and in some cases going backwards. 

From 1.00 – 3.00 am (not a misprint) on Tuesday 5 July, NCWNZ Parliamentary Watch Committee Convenor Beryl Anderson and President Suzanne Manning attended the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 84 Pre-Sessional Working Group hosted in Geneva, via Zoom. The meeting was chaired by Franceline Toé-Bouda, the committee member from Burkina Faso, who spoke in French. Translation was available (although it took both Suzanne and Beryl a while to find out how to access the translation).

The non-government organisations (NGOs) from countries who will be reporting to CEDAW in 2023 were attending to give an oral presentation in support of their written submissions on their List of Issues Prior to Reporting (LoIPR). These issues guide the CEDAW Monitoring Committee in their questioning of each country’s government during the reporting sessions. The LoIPR for Aotearoa New Zealand was formed collaboratively by NCWNZ with our organizational members and other women's organisations.