DONATE

Sightsavers calls for more women on UN disability committee

March 2020
Four women standing together smiling, in front of a backdrop that says #EqualUN.

Sightsavers’ Equal World campaign is calling for better representation of women, as well as people with learning disabilities and people from developing countries, on the United Nations disability committee.

The committee, which monitors how countries are meeting the requirements of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), is currently made up of six women and 12 men. Elections for nine positions on the committee will be held in June 2020 at the 13th Conference of States Parties to the CRPD at UN headquarters in New York.

Tessa Murphy, Sightsavers’ campaign manager, says: “Sightsavers previously called for better representation of women with disabilities in 2018. At that time there was only one woman on the committee, who was due to step down, but following global support on the issue, six women were elected.

“While this was a great improvement, there’s still a way to go to achieve gender equality on the committee. In this year’s election, our Equal World campaign is calling for diversity of representation on the committee, so that it can adequately represent people with disabilities, including women, people with varying disabilities and people from developing countries.”

Nominations for the committee are open until April, and there are currently six women on the list of nominees.

A group of girls laughing

Join our Equal World campaign

We have been working to fight for the rights of people with disabilities across the world.

About the campaign

Read all our latest news stories

News from Sightsavers
Two young girls talk to each other in a playground. One of the girls has a physical disability and is using a wheelchair.

Global Disability Summit 2025: Sightsavers calls for stronger commitment to inclusion

Sightsavers will host two events and two exhibition spaces at the event in Berlin on 2-3 April, calling on attendees to join us in targeting inequality.

March 2025
Minahil, who wears spectacles, smiles broadly as she sits at her classroom desk.

Sightsavers at the CIES education conference 2025

We’re attending the conference in Chicago on 22-26 March to share Sightsavers’ expertise, engage with the education community and explore how we can help to transform inclusive education.

March 2025
Sightsavers’ programme officer Salome Njeri Mbugua-Mutua receives the award on stage alongside two academy instructors.

Sightsavers’ IT Bridge Academy wins top-performing academy award

The IT Bridge Academy, which supports young people with disabilities to train for a career in IT, received the accolade from technology company Cisco.

February 2025

Learn about our work to save sight