From March 10th until March 21st, 2025, the 69th session of the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) gathers thousands of participants from 45 nations at the UN headquarters in New York. The commission began after a call to action by Eleanor Roosevelt at the 1946 General Assembly’s inaugural meeting, forming a sub-division under the UN’s Economic and Social Affairs Commission (ECOSOC). UNCSW was formed to assess problems relating to the status of women and report back to what would become the UN Human Rights Council. In 1948, the commission opposed implementing “men” as a synonym for the human race in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. More recently, CSW adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995, a pivotal piece of policy that remains integral to gender equality.
In recent years, the annual CSW has addressed the 1995 Beijing Declaration and aimed to find the gaps and issues with its implementation. They update the ECOSOC with their conclusions and plans for action. Important for this year are the 30-year declaration on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the 5-year plan for the themes that will be the focus of the next four CSWs.
On the 11th of March, the governments of member states adopted by consensus a reaffirmation of the Beijing Declaration, recommitting themselves to the need to
“uphold all human rights and fundamental freedoms for every woman and girl, without exception”
as well as the elimination of all forms of violence against female-identifying people. Recent years have highlighted a need to acknowledge new forms of violence, those that are facilitated on the internet, such as cyberbullying and online harassment.
This year, youth delegates from around the globe proposed solutions focusing on emphasizing equality for all to a myriad of issues facing women today. The Commission convenes an annual CSW Youth Forum, this year paired with an interactive dialogue on the role of youth delegates in the revitalization of the Beijing Declaration. Ahdithya Viseweswaran, coordinator of the Young Diplomats of Canada, emphasized the participation of men and boys in promoting women’s rights. Through the dialogue session, young delegates pointed out their role in the future of change. Emma Meçaj, Albania’s youth steering committee member, asked the CSW to
“Support us [youth delegates] and include us in intergovernmental processes.”
Eva Chiom Chukwenele of Nigeria highlighted the lack of data on women with disabilities:
“Gender justice is incomplete when women with disabilities are not included … if there is no data, how can you be counted?”
Sima Bahous, the head of UN Women, closed the dialogue by encouraging the young feminists,
“We cannot build a just future without those who will inherit it.”
This year marks a vital point in the assessment of the Beijing Declaration, which has highlighted the key role of youth delegates in creating strategies for women’s realization of rights and ultimate liberation.
Edited by Olivia Moore
