Townhall Meeting with the United Nations Secretary-General and Civil Society in the margins of the sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69 Side Event)

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 “Inaction and outdated policies are threatening backsliding on hard-won gains,” warned Philémon Yang (Cameroon), President of the General Assembly.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.