By Bunmi Yekini
The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) opened its annual session in New York on Monday amid tensions over attempts by the United States to remove several references from a draft outcome document aimed at strengthening women’s rights globally.
The 10-day meeting, the world’s largest global gathering focused on gender equality, is being held under the theme “ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls.”
Delegates are expected to negotiate a final declaration intended to guide global efforts to eliminate discriminatory laws, policies and structural barriers that limit women’s access to justice.
However, negotiations have been complicated by a shift in the U.S. position during the drafting process. According to reports from development policy outlet Devex, the United States, which had initially abstained from negotiations, recently urged the removal of what it described as “controversial social issues” from the document.
Among the changes sought by the United States are the removal of references to climate change, gender-responsive justice systems and a proposed reparations fund for survivors of violence.
The move echoes last year’s stance when Washington declined to endorse the CSW’s final declaration, rejecting references to the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). At the time, it also dismissed gender quotas, climate policies and the Sustainable Development Goals as examples of what it called “globalist overreach.”
The outcome document expected at the end of the session is intended to outline concrete steps for governments to strengthen legal protections for women and girls.
A report released last week by the U.N. Secretary-General highlighted persistent global inequalities in legal rights between men and women.
According to the report, women worldwide enjoy only 64% of the legal rights afforded to men.
“Globally, 54% of countries lack consent-based legal definitions of rape, while 72% allow child marriage in all or some circumstances,” the report said.
It also noted that more than 45 countries retain at least one nationality law that discriminates based on gender, while 44% of countries lack legislation mandating equal pay for work of equal value.
The report warned that women’s rights are deteriorating in many parts of the world, particularly in conflict-affected regions.
About 676 million women and girls were living near conflict zones in 2024, where risks of violence and exploitation are significantly higher.
“The number of conflict-related sexual violence violations documented by the United Nations has increased by 87% in just two years,” the report said.
Addressing the opening session, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai highlighted the plight of women and children in conflict-affected areas including Iran, Gaza and Afghanistan.
“Never have I seen so many children suffering from war and violence, injured and dying at the hands of unaccountable leaders,” she told delegates.
She said families in Iran, Gaza and Afghanistan were enduring profound hardship, citing cases of children killed in conflict and girls denied education.
“True justice does not defend the humanity of children in one place and ignore it in another,” Yousafzai said.
“Under international law, killing children in their classrooms is a war crime,” she added.
Yousafzai said the situation in Afghanistan illustrated a growing global backlash against women’s rights.
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Afghan authorities have imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls, banning them from secondary and higher education, limiting employment opportunities and restricting movement without a male guardian.
Afghan singer Sunbul Reha also addressed the session, urging U.N. delegates to protect women’s freedoms.
She appealed to governments to defend girls’ right to education and ensure women can speak freely without fear of retaliation.
The CSW session may also discuss a proposed restructuring of U.N. agencies responsible for women’s rights and reproductive health.
The plan, part of a broader reform initiative known as UN80, would potentially merge UN Women with the United Nations Population Fund.
The United States has withdrawn funding from both agencies, contributing to financial pressures across U.N. programmes focused on gender equality.
Some advocacy groups oppose the proposed merger, arguing that the agencies serve distinct roles.
Global feminist organisation Fòs Feminista said UN Women was established to ensure gender equality is treated as a binding obligation across the entire U.N. system.
It noted that the United Nations Population Fund plays a different role, focusing on sexual and reproductive health services, population data, gender-based violence coordination and humanitarian reproductive health supply chains.
Advocates say both institutions are critical to protecting women’s rights globally, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
Negotiations on the CSW outcome document are expected to continue throughout the session, with delegates aiming to adopt a final declaration by the end of the meeting.