WO=MEN in New York

Defending Gender Equality in the Multilateral Space   We, the undersigned organisations, strongly aplaud the decisive demonstration by Member States, civil society and feminist movements defending multilateralism and negotiated norms and standards to advance gender equality that took place during the close of the 70th session of the Commission  on the Status of Women (CSW70). On the last day of the CSW70, the room witnessed two unprecedented actions by the United States. In a first for the normally-uncontroversial resolution on women, the girl child and HIV/AIDS, they called for a vote. Afterwards the United States presented a standalone resolution intending to define “gender” under a narrow, binary understanding of  “men and women”. Both initiatives were rejected by a majority of Member States. After failing to secure agreement during the Agreed Conclusion negotiations, and following the defeat of their amendment during their adoption, the United States introduced a stan...

View of the UN flag in New York The tall glass skyscrapers of Manhattan turn gold in the light of dawn. It is 7 a.m. as I make my way to the UN Headquarters, while the sun rises behind Long Island on the other side of the East River. The nearly 200 flags in front of the main UN building hang still; no wind blows on this cold Monday morning. It is March 9th, and the 70th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) is about to begin in the General Assembly Hall. Delegates from member states around the world, along with civil society organizations, activists, and scholars, have flown into New York to take part in this yearly global gathering on gender equality and women’s rights. The buzz is palpable... Excitement fills the hall as attendees turn the aisles into an impromptu runway of photos and selfies. Finally, the lights dim, the music rises, and the moderator theatrically introduces the keynote speakers and high-level guests kicking off this year’s CSW: UN Goodwill Ambassador Anne Hatha...

  The Women’s Rights Caucus, representing over 900 feminist advocates from around the world, urges you to oppose the proposed US draft resolution entitled  “Protection of women and girls through appropriate terminology.” Despite the title, we do not feel protected nor represented by this initiative. Download this statement as pdf.   Download this statement in Spanish.   On the heels of the first-ever recorded vote on the agreed conclusions of the annual meetings of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and in complete disregard of the significant opposition their proposal got in the negotiation room, the United States has circulated a new resolution proposal which attempts to falsely state that the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action agreed that  “gender” was defined as “men and women”. It attributes to annex IV of the Report of the Fourth World Conference of Women a meaning that was never agreed by Member States, effectively rewriting th...

Ngo-vertegenwoordiger Joyce Brummelman met Benjamin Nolan van de PV in de VN Deze week was het eindelijk zover: mijn reis naar de Verenigde Naties om van dichtbij te volgen hoe de afspraken en onderhandelingen rondom de Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) steeds meer vorm krijgen. Access to justice – toegang tot het recht – klinkt misschien als één thema, maar in werkelijkheid bestaat het uit talloze dimensies. Elk land heeft een andere juridische werkelijkheid, andere barrières, andere verhalen. Als NGO vertegenwoordiger mocht ik deze discussies mede volgen en luisteren naar wat landen, experts en activisten hierover te zeggen hebben.   Ondanks de sneeuwstorm landde ik dinsdagmiddag in New York en ging ik direct door naar de Nederlandse Vertegenwoordiging van de Verenigde Naties. Daar hoorde ik hoe Nederland werkt aan een zo sterk mogelijke uitkomst van de CSW: ambitieus, principieel en met oog voor de realiteit van vrouwen en meisjes wereldwijd. De aftrap: landen in gesprek o...

  Quote on a wall inside the UN in New York For decades, the United Nations has been the place where feminists from around the world have come together to advance global norms and galvanize political commitment on gender equality and the human rights of women and girls in all their diversity, including sexual and reproductive rights. This has never been easy. Women’s human rights have always been deeply contested.  But we have been able to work hand in hand with governments on agreements like the ICPD Programme of Action, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the Sustainable Development Goals, catalyzing meaningful changes in the lives of women and girls globally. And we have built important UN institutions, like UN Women and the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, to support countries to deliver on those commitments. This work is far from done. UN80 Initiative Amid unprecedented attacks on multilateralism, geopolitical upheaval, and a related funding cr...

Artwork "Who can I trust with my story?" from ArtVism in Uganda During the 69th CSW, the Our Voices Our Futures (OVOF) consortium organised a creative ARTivism for Change space where bold protest sign-making, intimate film screenings, and thought-provoking feminist dialogues blended together. Over two days, March 12 and 13, 2025, artists, activists, and allies transformed the space into dynamic real-life canvases of empowerment, solidarity, and cultural and political resistance.   In the main space of the Blue Gallery participants engaged with various stations, including Button Making , Journaling with Art , Drawing , and Protest Sign Making . Participants moved between activities, creating powerful messages of resistance and hope. The creativity extended beyond the activities themselves. Access Denied The ACCESS DENIED campaign , initiated by WO=MEN, was set up to be a photo installation. It highlights the deep gap between the inclusive vision set forth at the 1995 Beijing ...

In 1995, feminist activists gathered in Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on Women, creating transformative frameworks that led to significant global changes. However, feminist movements now face coordinated attacks by anti-rights forces. On March 10th at CSW69, the Alliance for Feminist Movements, Count Me In! Consortium, and Women Deliver co-hosted an event to discuss the evolution and future of feminist funding. In 1995, feminist activists and allies gathered in Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on Women, leaving with multidimensional political and narrative frameworks, language, and strategies that would not only support transformative change – for example, the institutionalisation of the term gender, the liberalisation of abortion laws in over 60 countries , and the international recognition of rape as a war crime – but also build a dynamic feminist funding ecosystem. Due in large part to the substantial strength and progress of feminist movements, we are in the midst ...

The 69th meeting of the UN's Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) marked the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women which took place in 1995 in Beijing, China. It was Jennifer Bushee’s first time attending the CSW in New York. The following are some of her key insights from the plenitude of sessions addressing topics as diverse as pushback on rights and gender; gender justice; climate justice; economic justice; and Big Tech   Equity and Economic Sense     Unpaid labour continues to be a major concern. UNRISD ’s session , “Addressing structural barriers for progress on the BPfA [Beijing Platform for Action] : Financing Care systems as a development strategy” on 19 March addressed the problems of not remunerating childcare, eldercare, support for individuals with disabilities, and domestic labor. The work is essential for functioning societies , but remains undervalued, invisible, and unevenly distributed — disproportionately impacting women a...