‘Inaction, Outdated Policies Threatening Backsliding on Hard-won Gains’ on Women’s Rights, Warns General Assembly President, as Commission Opens Session
The Commission on the Status of Women opened its sixty-ninth session today in the General Assembly, marking 30 years since the landmark 1995 Beijing Conference on Women, which pledged to achieve gender equality and uphold women’s rights. Speakers emphasized the critical work still needed to advance these goals “in the face of immense obstacles”.
“Women’s rights are under siege,” said Secretary-General António Guterres, adding that “the poison of patriarchy is back and back with a vengeance”. The antidote is action, he emphasized. It is time to stand up and speak out. In the past 30 years, the world has made a lot of progress, but age-old gaps persist. Globally, almost one in three women has been subject to violence, and in too many countries women and girls are still denied the most basic rights.
“Inaction and outdated policies are threatening backsliding on hard-won gains,” warned Philémon Yang (Cameroon), President of the General Assembly. At the current pace of progress, 137 years will be needed to lift all women and girls out of extreme poverty and a further 68 years will be needed to put an end to child marriage. “We should all be alarmed,” he stressed, calling on Member States to be resolute in delivering on the “promise of Beijing” to end poverty and enhance economic development. “We are at a defining moment,” he added.
Françoise Moudou, Chief Executive Officer of the African Women’s Development Fund, warned against recent cuts to women’s rights organizations, which is recently estimated to be around $730 million, emphasizing that “every funding cut translated into real harm”. The gains “we have fought so hard” to secure are under attack, “not by accident but by design”, she added. The decision by several Governments and philanthropic actors to cut funding to gender equality is a calculated blow to women’s healthcare, economic independence, political participation and bodily autonomy, she emphasized.
Bob Rae (Canada), President of the Economic and Social Council, said that the world is running the risk of not just stagnation but backsliding as “we’re facing growing pushback against gender equality”. The Commission on the Status of Women has helped ensure that the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action remain a touchstone for progress. “We have an obligation here every day to push back against regression and stand united against injustice and chart a course that is bold,” he said.
The Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), Sima Sami Bahous, focusing on women, peace and security, said that females must have an equal voice in peacekeeping. “Yet women are excluded, making up less than 10 per cent of peace negotiators worldwide,” she said, adding: “How can we repeatedly profess our commitment to peace, while excluding women from its pursuit?” It is vital to fund national action plans for women, peace and security and fully backed women led organizations on the front lines of crisis. “Climate change is the defining crisis of our time, and it is not gender blind,” she continued, adding that, without bold action on climate, 256 million more women and girls could be pushed into food insecurity by 2050. Climate justice and gender justice are inseparable,” she went on to say. It is time to champion them both together.
Several civil society speakers representing various regions also took to the podium highlighting the struggles and opportunities of women and girls in the age of climate change and technological innovation. They spotlighted structural barriers and stressed that women must participate in sustainable development and building a future. Indigenous women’s rights must be protected from Siberia to Patagonia and Pacific Islands to the Gaza Strip, said Küyenray Rupayan, a youth representative. “We are the next generation — the voices of change,” she added.
In the afternoon, the Commission held a high-level interactive dialogue with regional commissions to assess progress and to identify remaining gaps and priority areas for action. Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), moderating the discussion, said that much work and effort and dedication has gone into the diligent reviews. While progress has been made to secure women’s rights, “if no urgent action is taken, an estimated 1 billion women and girls will reside in slums or informal settlements or will experience inadequate housing by 2050,” she warned. Women aged 15 to 49 are overrepresented in urban slums where they endure inadequate living conditions such as overcrowding, lack of safety and insufficient access to clean water and sanitation.
Representatives from regional commissions also spoke, offering perspectives unique to their geographical zones. The Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) focused on the need for gender-responsive budgeting, financial inclusion and addressing the gender pay gap. The impact of gender violence, particularly in conflict zones and the effects of the war in Ukraine, was highlighted as well. A representative of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) said that that it is working with local and regional partnerships to leverage technology and innovation to help women meet their goals and strengthen women’s political leadership. A representative of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said that maternity standards have been improved across the region, but more progress still needs to be made. Barriers remain to women’s full participation and violence against women is a “severe and persistent problem”, she reported.
A representative of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said that the gender digital divide persists on the continent with women at a disadvantage, limiting their access to education and economic opportunity. African Governments must demonstrate strong political will, but they also need debt relief and sufficient funding to push ahead with gender equality. A representative of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) said to dismantle structural barriers it is important to expand gender responsive social protections. “While women’s parliamentarian representation has risen to 21 per cent in the Asia Pacific region it remains below the global average,” she said. Targeted interventions have proved effective including in Mongolia.
The Commission’s session is being held at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 10 to 21 March 2025.