WO=MEN in New York

On 12 March 2026, Lawyers for Lawyers, in collaboration with its partners, hosted “Voices from the frontline: women lawyers advancing access to justice,” as side event during the 70th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70). The CSW priority theme this year focused on ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls.   The event, co-sponsored by the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), the American Bar Association (ABA), and the Governments of Mexico, the Netherlands, and Canada, brought together speakers from different regions to reflect on the critical role of women lawyers in advancing justice. The discussion highlighted the systemic barriers, specific risks, and discrimination they face, while amplifying their voices and fostering collaboration to strengthen accountability and promote gender equality within the legal profession. The event opened with remarks by Patricia Carranza Rodríguez, Director General of Intelligence, Innovat...

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...

Afgelopen week begon de officiële jaarlijkse VN-vergadering over vrouwenrechten; de Commission on the Status of Women  (CSW). Sinds 1947 is dit hét moment en dé plek waar voor vrouwenrechtenorganisaties, vrouwelijke mensenrechtenverdedigers en feministische activisten uit de hele wereld elkaar ontmoeten, kennis uitwisselen, strategie bepalen en plannen smeden. Ze geven input aan hun overheidsdelegaties voor de onderhandelingen, vragen aandacht voor specifieke rechtenschendingen wereldwijd en zetten nieuwe thema’s op de kaart, zoals de impact van klimaatverandering of discriminerende AI en online haat. Maar naast de vraag wie er aanwezig is, dringt dit jaar ook een andere vraag zich op, namelijk: “wie is er niet?”   Gevolgen van de visum-ban De Verenigde Staten worden namelijk een steeds minder toegankelijke plek voor wereldwijde onderhandelingen. Voor maar liefst 75 landen wereldwijd gelden er reisrestricties of visumbeperkingen. Dit zijn vooral landen in het mondiale Zuiden, ...

Staatssecretaris Judith Tielen bij de CSW70 briefing met Nederlandse ngo's De net geïnstalleerde staatssecretaris Judith Tielen heeft Onderwijs en Emancipatie in haar portefeuille. Nog geen twee weken in haar nieuwe functie, reist ze af naar de Commission on the Status of Women , oftewel de jaarlijkse VN-top voor vrouwenrechten. Een keuze die laat zien dat emancipatie en vrouwenrechten hoog op haar prioriteitenlijstje staan.  Traditiegetrouw heeft de aanwezige Nederlandse bewindspersoon tijdens de CSW een bijeenkomst op de Permanente Vertegenwoordiging met het Nederlandse maatschappelijk middenveld dat in New York is tijdens de conferentie. Deze bijeenkomst wordt georganiseerd door de delegatie in samenwerking met WO=MEN en Atria, een teken van de nauwe en constructieve samenwerking tussen overheid en maatschappelijk middenveld in dit proces. Naast staatssecretaris Judith Tielen waren ook verschillende leden van de Nederlandse overheidsdelegatie aanwezig.  Normaliter wordt er ...

  The voting results on the CSW70 Agreed Conclusions The Women’s Rights Caucus (WRC)—a global intersectional feminist coalition of more than 800 organizations, networks, and individuals convened by Fòs Feminista, Outright International, African Women’s Development and Communications Network (FEMNET), Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), and Young Feminist Caucus, that advocates for gender equality at the United Nations—welcomes the adoption of the CSW70 Agreed Conclusions under the priority theme: “Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices, and addressing structural barriers.” WO=MEN and several of its members are actively engaged in the WRC.  The close of the seventieth session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women marked an unprecedented procedural departure. For the first time in the Commissi...

(photo from CSW69 closing session) **The letter below is a request on behalf of a diverse, international feminist coalition to support the adoption of the United Nations CSW Agreed Conclusions, planned to take place today at 3 pm.    Distinguished delegates, The Global Trade Union’s Caucus, the Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Caucus, the Women’s Rights Caucus and the Young Feminist Caucus are sending this message of support to the Chair and the CSW70 Bureau.  We represent voices from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Southwest Asia and North Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and North America. We thank you, Ambassador Chan Valverde, the co-facilitators and the Bureau for fighting for our rights inside and outside of the negotiation room. We are saddened that what we once called consensus, the rights we have fought for and acquired, are now the subject of last minute amendments and heavy opposition.  This moment is bigger than a negotiation. Across the wo...

Foto: Remke Verdegem (in roze) presenteert haar pitch Tijdens de NGO briefing voor de 70ste VN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) presenteerden diverse experts hun pitches met aanbevelingen aan de delegatie. De bijeenkomst vond plaats op het ministerie van OCW (onderwijs, cultuur en wetenschap) op 28 januari 2026. Alle 4 de pitches staan hier (in het Nederlands of Engels) op deze CSW blogpagina. De vierde pitch werd gegeven door Remke Verdegem, voorzitter van Transgender Netwerk . Het thema van de komende CSW is 'access to justice' en dit is een onderwerp waar trans mensen in en buiten Nederland nog veel problemen mee ervaren. En hoe kan je dat aankaarten als je eigenlijk het land waar de CSW plaats vindt, de Verenigde Staten (VS), al niet meer in kan reizen als trans persoon? Samen voor álle vrouwen en transgender mensen  In de afgelopen paar jaar zijn compleet normale onderwerpen plots controversieel geworden. Wie herinnert zich niet de rel rondom de Lentekriebels campag...

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 ...

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...