WIMN delegates joined thousands of women’s rights advocates from around the world for the 69th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) in New York City March 10-21. The occasion also marked the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), approved at the 4th World Conference on Women in 1995.
Some 13,000 people participated in the civil society NGO Forum, in person or virtually, with 8,000 – 10,000 gathering in New York. WIMN delegates came from Afghanistan, Argentina, Bahrain, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan and the U.S., working with delegates from WIMN member organizations, including International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF; the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC; Public Services International (PSI); Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC); and ACT Alliance.
WIMN prepared a major brief assessing the progress of the rights of women in migration since the BPfA: Thirty Years Since Beijing: Women in Migration Still Seek Inclusion in the Gender Equity and Equality Agenda. A summary of the report was widely distributed and it was spotlighted in a parallel event, Voices from the Ground: Taking Stock of Migrant Women’s Rights in 30 Years of the BPfA, which included presentations from grassroots leaders, labor activists, and advocates.
WIMN also led the organizing of a march and rally, No Backlash to Women’s Rights!, co-sponsored by 41 diverse organizations. The event highlighted the importance of feminist solidarity across sectors and issues in pushing back against setbacks, promoting organizing to claim rights and build a feminist future. Hundreds joined the event from feminist, migrant rights, faith based, labor rights, sexual and reproductive rights, climate justice groups and more. Rally speakers addressed abortion rights, rights of Haitian women and Haitian refugees, migrant rights, labor rights, Palestinian rights and climate justice.
WIMN is proud to have stood with others in front of the UN to send a united message!
As the call for the march and rally stated, “We gather to say, We Won’t Go Back! We Stand up for Women’s Rights, Workers’ Rights, Trans Rights, the Rights of Occupied Peoples, Migrant Rights! We denounce the rise of racism and sexism and roll back of efforts to address inequality of opportunity due to historic, systemic exclusion. We insist on sexual and reproductive healthcare for all women and gender-diverse people. We insist that the climate crisis, the existential crisis of our era, must urgently be addressed. We insist on ALL Rights for ALL Women!”
Photos and selected media coverage of the march and rally. (Feel free to post and share with credit.)
- Press Release for Rally
- Video, No Backlash to Women’s Rights (created by UUSC)
- Additional coverage can be found on WIMN, UUSC, the Trade Union delegation and Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees, ITUC, WEDO, Instagram (among others).
- Rally Photos: Please credit Simon Chambers, ACT Alliance, photographer
- Speaker list for rally, Co-sponsors and Endorsers
- Here is the concept note on Eventbrite
WIMN also co-sponsored a side event, Advancing the rights protections of migrant women and girls over the next 30 years along with UN Women, IOM, ILO, and the governments of Colombia and Germany. Roula Seghaier, author of WIMN’s BPfA report, moderated the event, shown speaking in this brief video. See this post by Trade Union delegation
What happened at the UN Commission on the Status of Women?
At a time when multilateral democracy at global level is under attack, the Political Declaration of the CSW was a milestone in reinforcing the multilateral system as a framework for advancing gender equality. However, the Declaration did not specifically address issues related to migration. While it underscores the importance of eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls and acknowledges emerging challenges such as digital violence, it does not explicitly mention migrant women or the unique challenges they face. Moreover, a number of governments sought to water-down the text. A reference to “sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights” was deleted in the final version of the Declaration, despite it being a key element of gender equality.
The Commission also adopted a “Multi-year programme of work of the Commission on the Status of Women”, deciding the multi-year programme of work of the Commission on the Status of Women CSW for the next four sessions (CSW70-CSW73).
This year’s session had also centered a conversation on the CSW Revitalization process, aiming for a multilateral discussion on how to make CSW more effective. WIMN recommended centering migration as a critical emerging priority for the achievement of gender equity and equality as well as a cross-cutting element of all 12 Critical Areas of Concern of the BPfA.
A commentary by Roula Seghaier, author of WIMN’s brief for BPfA, was published by Migrant Women Press, March 26, 2025: Beyond Protection: Why Migration Justice for Women is a Fundamental Human Right
Read and download WIMN’s Report: Thirty Years Since Beijing: Women in Migration Still Seek Inclusion in the Gender Equity and Equality Agenda (AR, EN, FR, SP)