Translated with AI
Progress has been made, but many challenges remain – this was the leitmotif of the speeches delivered by participants at the high-level meeting dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration on Women's Rights. Gender equality is the focus of the delegates who arrived in New York to participate in the general debates of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, the UN press service reported.
The General Assembly President stated that profound inequalities remain unresolved. "The expression 'she runs like a girl' is used as an insult," Annalena Baerbock noted. "Highly qualified female leaders are called 'symbols of diversity,' while a female world leader is criticized on social media not for a speech she gave, but for wearing inappropriate high heels. When all this happens, we realize how much further we still have to go."
"There's not a single country in the world where women are fully equal to men. And there are still too many places where even talking about women's rights can cost lives," she added.
Baerbock cited alarming statistics on violence and reproductive rights. "One in three women worldwide will experience sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. One in three," she said. "Fulfilling the Beijing commitments, this revolutionary decision, also means that no male politician, judge, or religious leader should dare tell our girls what to do with their bodies, because they are people, not property. It's our body. Our choice."
She emphasized that achieving economic equality could take more than a century. "At the current rate, it would take 123 years," Baerbock said. "Closing the gender gap would increase global GDP by seven trillion dollars."
The UN Secretary-General called for accelerated progress.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the Beijing Declaration "the most ambitious global political commitment to women's rights ever." He said it contributed to progress in education, maternal health, and legal protection: "However, this progress has been slow and uneven. And no country has achieved full equality for women and girls. Sustainable Development Goal 5—gender equality—is significantly off track."
"Let's be clear: equal rights and opportunities are not a partisan issue," he emphasized. "They are a global necessity and the foundation of peace, prosperity, and progress."
Guterres recalled that this year, governments reaffirmed their commitment to the Beijing Platform. "The Commission on the Status of Women adopted a new Political Declaration, committing to accelerated and full implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action," he said. "Now all countries must fulfill these commitments. We need clear and unambiguous support at the highest level—and concrete plans backed by real investments."
Present your plans
The Secretary-General noted that eighty years ago the UN Charter enshrined the equal rights of men and women, and thirty years ago the Beijing Declaration enshrined women's rights as human rights.
"Today in this room, we must hear how you intend to turn these ambitions into reality: declare your commitments. Present your plans. Together, let us achieve equality for women and girls – the equality our world so desperately needs," António Guterres concluded.
Mechanisms for protecting women's rights are being destroyed
UN Women Executive Director Sima Bacchus warned that the systems created to protect women's rights are being weakened. "The very mechanisms that were supposed to promote and fund gender equality are being eroded—quietly but deliberately," she said. "This isn't just a setback. It's a retreat. But the future isn't predetermined. Another path is possible."
The 1995 Beijing Conference brought together representatives of 189 governments and thousands of participants, who adopted a Declaration and Platform for Action, outlining strategic objectives in 12 key areas – from education and health to combating violence against women and girls. Thirty years later, UN leaders emphasized that the primary challenge remains turning these commitments into reality.
