Governments adopt UN agreement on women’s access to justice, following ‘contentious’ vote
Governments meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York last week adopted a set of conclusions aimed at strengthening access to justice for women and girls and advancing gender equality worldwide.
The theme of the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women was ensuring access to justice for all women and girls. The Agreed Conclusions aim to provide “a roadmap to build more inclusive governance, support peace and social cohesion, and prevent future violations”. They represent negotiated priorities and recommendations for governments and other stakeholders.
The Agreed Conclusions are traditionally adopted by consensus but this year’s were adopted by a “contentious recorded vote”, the UN said, with 37 countries voting in favour. Only the United States voted against the adoption and six countries abstained.
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Calls for ‘responsible innovation’
The Conclusions call on governments to review and amend discriminatory laws, including those related to child marriage, family law, and property rights. They also urge stronger measures to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls, including online violence, ensuring accountability for perpetrators and timely access to justice and support services for survivors.
They call for expanded access to legal aid, stronger coordination across justice institutions, the responsible use of technology and digital innovation, and increased efforts to prevent violence against women.
Among the notable provisions of the text are the formal recognition of community justice workers and paralegals within national legal frameworks and new language on digital justice and AI governance.
Governments are urged to develop and enforce human-rights-based frameworks for digital justice, including data protection, transparency and algorithmic accountability. The Conclusions also encourage collaboration between governments, technology providers and civil society to promote “responsible innovation in the justice field and intentional design that enhances fairness and inclusion and that includes diverse teams to develop justice-related artificial intelligence tools”.
Break from consensus
Sima Bahous, under-secretary-general and executive director of UN Women, said: “I applaud the delegations that have worked tirelessly to reach these Agreed Conclusions. They represent an important commitment to advancing access to justice for women and girls, ending impunity, and building justice systems that work for everyone, equally.
“By coming together, governments are once again demonstrating to the world what this Commission can achieve – and what our multilateral system can deliver for women and girls.”
According to the UN’s coverage of the meeting, prior to the Conclusions’ adoption, the US proposed that their consideration be deferred, then that the text be withdrawn, and then proposed eight amendments to the text, opposing language on gender identity, reproductive health and AI regulation.
Commission chair Maritza Chan Valverde, permanent representative of Costa Rica, said that “every effort has been made to listen to delegations and to reflect the diversity of views expressed”.
“We are convinced that the text represents the most balanced outcome achievable at this stage,” she said, ahead of announcing that the text would be put to vote.
The agreement comes following a recent report of the UN secretary-general, presented by UN Women, which found that no country has yet achieved full legal equality between women and men.
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About Sarah Wray
Sarah has over 15 years’ experience as a journalist with a specialism in the public sector and topics such as digitalisation and climate action. Sarah was formerly the editor of Cities Today and Smart Cities World, as well as a specialist video-based publication in the aerospace sector. She has also written for publications including Smart Cities Dive, Mobile Europe, Mobile World Live and Computer Weekly.
