CSW 70: Access to Justice at the Heart of Global Challenges

CSW 70: Access to Justice at the Heart of Global Challenges
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The 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) will take place from March 9 to 19 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Each year, this gathering brings together representatives of Member States, international organizations, and civil society to advance gender equality worldwide.

A Timely and Urgent Priority Theme

The central theme of CSW70 aligns with International Women’s Day:

Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including through the promotion of inclusive legal systems, the elimination of discriminatory laws, and the removal of structural barriers.

International data confirm the urgency of action:

  • In 70% of countries studied, women face greater obstacles than men in accessing justice (World Justice Project).
  • According to UN Women (2025), women enjoy on average only 64% of the legal rights granted to men.
  • At least 45 countries maintain discriminatory nationality laws.
  • 44% of countries lack legislation mandating equal pay for work of equal value.
  • 54% of countries do not legally define rape based on the absence of freely given consent.
  • 72% of countries allow child marriage in some or all circumstances.

Despite certain legislative advances, enforcement remains uneven, and social norms evolve slowly. Access to justice therefore remains a major challenge for millions of women and girls around the world.

 

CATHII – University at the UN: Training an Engaged New Generation

Alongside CSW70, numerous parallel events address issues related to women’s rights, justice, and the fight against human trafficking.

Since 2020, the CATHII—University at the UN program has enabled a group of university students each year—coming from diverse fields such as law, medicine, geography, journalism, and social work—to experience the work of the United Nations firsthand.

Before traveling to New York, participants attend several training sessions on various forms of human trafficking, UN mechanisms, and contemporary legal issues. They are then accompanied on site by a facilitator who has previously taken part in the program.

This initiative helps shape a new generation that is informed and committed, capable of understanding the social, political, and legal dimensions of inequality and human trafficking.