Justice for Women and Girls: An Assessment of the 70th UN Commission on the Status of Women

(Emma Ulvin, Noël James – Council on Foreign Relations) This year, at the UN’s largest annual gathering on women’s rights, the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), world leaders, academics, and policymakers convened to address 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.” The meetings drew on the UN secretary-general’s report which revealed that no country has yet realized full legal equality between women and men. During the session, delegates negotiated how to address persistent issues facing women and girls: discriminatory legal frameworks and practices, systemic inequalities, and socioeconomic barriers to accessing justice. The final outcomes document, the Agreed Conclusions, which is traditionally adopted by consensus, was instead adopted by the Commission and by the Member States by a recorded vote of thirty-seven to one. – Justice for Women and Girls: An Assessment of the 70th UN Commission on the Status of Women | Council on Foreign Relations