Speech: It is our task, our responsibility, to make real the commitments and promises we have made to all women and girls

We meet at a time of multiple global crises, peace eludes us, and the world is extremely and increasingly fragmented. And gender inequality is compounded by the evils of war and conflict, from Afghanistan to Haiti, to Iran, Myanmar, Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, and beyond. I echo all the pleas for a return to diplomacy, to dialogue, for an end to the killing across the Middle East, Africa, and beyond.

For those observing, I wish for this holy month of Ramadan to bring relief and peace.

The dividends of women’s leadership, their role in global, national, and local economies, their contributions to their societies, to science, to culture, to politics, are immeasurable. But they cannot be realized when justice systems are unjust.

Today, in 2026, no country in the world has achieved full legal equality.

This year’s priority theme, “Access to justice for women and girls”, could not be more timely or critical.

The theme, at its heart, is the woman who continues to live with her abusive partner, having despaired of help from the justice system. It is the girl who is killed or raped or injured in war because the perpetrators are unrestrained in their impunity. It is the woman whose very potential is diminished because laws on work deny her rights and the chance for equal pay. It is the girl denied nationality under discriminatory laws.

The Secretary-General’s report invites us to imagine two roads. One represents the needs of women and girls, the other the justice system. One the reality of half of humanity, and the other the remedies available to them.

When those roads intersect, they can drive profound change. For example, since 1970, more than 600 million women have gained access to economic opportunities because of reforms of family laws.

When these roads diverge, so much is lost. Globally, women have only 64 per cent of the legal rights of men. No country, not one, has achieved, as I mentioned, full legal equality.

In fact, it may take us 286 years to eliminate and close legal protection gaps for women and girls.

In nearly 70 per cent of surveyed countries, women face greater barriers to justice than men, barriers often rooted in their everyday realities: cost, distance, mistrust in justice institutions.

In 54 per cent of countries, rape is still not defined on the basis of consent.

In 75 per cent of countries, a girl can still be forced to marry.

And in 44 per cent of countries, the law does not mandate equal remuneration for work of equal value.

As always, this is far too often compounded by intersecting forms of discrimination.

[Traditional] justice systems can be invaluable, offering proximity, familiarity, and affordability. But they are no less prone to discriminatory norms and practices that violate human rights. Like the formal justice system, they too can serve as either pathways or fences to justice.

When women and girls are denied justice, the damage goes far beyond any single case: it impacts the very fabric of our societies and good governance. Public trust erodes, institutions lose legitimacy, and the rule of law itself is weakened. A justice system that fails half the population cannot claim to uphold justice at all.

The justice women and girls deserve, that is theirs by right, cannot wait. We must collectively pursue it, here at the United Nations, in our national laws and policies, in your court rooms and traditional justice mechanisms. In doing so, we must engage all of society, including men and boys and young people, to contribute to our collective effort for equality.

That is why, at this CSW, UN Women calls for five concrete, clear, undeniable deliverables that we believe offer a way forward, based on the Secretary General’s report.

First, justice systems that are fair, functional, funded, and coherent, which both live up to and underpin a culture of human rights, in line with international human rights standards.

Second, justice services that are gender-responsive, survivor-centred, and designed to meet the needs of women and girls, that are well funded and accessible, and that work.

Third, justice for all through legal aid that is available for free, always, everywhere, and for everyone. Justice that depends on one’s ability to pay is no justice at all.

Fourth, funding and support for those women’s organizations who buttress justice and rights every day. Their essential work to make justice a lived reality every day deserves more recognition and is crucial to achieving equality for women and girls.

And fifth, leveraging technology and data. We must let innovation accelerate the delivery of justice for women and girls, while avoiding its pitfalls. And we must afford ourselves the evidence base our efforts need, so that we invest our precious resources where they have the most impact.

CSW is about solutions. But more than that, it is about the political will for these solutions to be implemented.

The Secretary-General’s report, as always, makes clear what needs to be done. It lies with you to decide how to seize the opportunity they represent.

I applaud the delegations who have been working tirelessly to reach agreed conclusions at the CSW, conclusions that are focused, that seek to advance access to justice for women and girls, that seek to end impunity, that seek to create justice systems that work for everyone, equally.

And I remain hopeful that the outcomes of your discussions will result in agreed conclusions adopted. In doing so, showing the world, yet again, what this Commission can achieve with our multilateral system, and how and what our multilateral system can deliver for women and girls.

Member States and partners assembled here represent the most powerful of constituencies. That power is more than sufficient to make a difference, more than sufficient to transform lives, and to do so [in] and through partnerships.

The commitments of CEDAW [Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women], the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the ICPD [International Conference on Population and Development], and the 2030 Agenda are unambiguous, clear in the promises they make and by which we are bound.

It is our task, our responsibility, to make them real. The women and girls of the world look to us to keep those promises. That is their right, and that is our duty.

In conclusion, there is nothing more foundational for the equality towards which we strive than justice. Nothing more essential for rights and freedoms for all women and girls. Nothing more crucial for development and prosperity.

UN Women remains your unwavering ally in achieving justice for all women and girls.

And, Excellencies, if I may, soon, this year, you, Member States, will be electing a new Secretary-General, a new leadership. And I know that myself and my team at UN Women, and, hopefully, also many of you here would be proud to serve and work with a Madam Secretary-General.

Thank you.