On 9th June 2026, Ms. Mataafa Faatino Utumapu of Samoa was successfully elected as a member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD Committee is made of 18 independent experts that monitor the implementation of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by its States Parties. This achievement marks a historical first in Samoa’s representation on this important UN body.
The election took place during the 19th Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at UN Headquarters in New York. Ms. Utumapu secured 138 votes, receiving the second-highest number of affirmative ballots and earning one of nine available seats in a highly contested election. Samoa’s delegation to the 19th CRPD Conference was led by the Minister of Women, Community & Social Development, Hon. Moefa’auouo Julius Ah Kui Tafunai.
The successful outcome was the result of a three-month campaign of concerted outreach at the bilateral, regional, and multilateral level. Campaign efforts were led by the Government of Samoa particularly through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade in close collaboration with its Overseas Missions and spearheaded by the Permanent Mission of Samoa to the United Nations in New York.
Ms. Mataafa Faatino Utumapu brings to the Committee two decades of experience advocating for the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities within the Pacific and internationally. She currently serves as General Manager of Samoa’s national Disability advocacy organisation, Nuanua O le Alofa. At the international and regional levels, she serves as the Secretary of the International Disability Alliance and Co-Chair of the International Disability Forum.
This election also holds particular significance for the Pacific as she is joined on the Committee by Ms. Villaney Remegesau of Palau, the first Palauan candidate to be elected to a UN Treaty Body. For the first time, two Pacific experts will serve together on the Committee, bringing the Pacific voice to the centre of international Disability Rights advocacy and strengthening Pacific leadership in this space.
Ms. Utumapu will serve on the Committee for a four-year term from 2027 to 2030, commencing on 1 January 2027.
