An Amnesty International delegation, led by Secretary General Agnès Callamard, will participate in the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) in New York from March 9 to 19, calling for stronger measures to protect and advance the rights of women and girls. Amid a global backlash against gender justice and in the context of the Epstein Files scandal, the delegation aims to engage with UN member states, officials, and civil society partners to ensure access to justice for survivors of gender-based violence, accountability for perpetrators, protection of sexual and reproductive rights, and safeguards for women human rights defenders.
Agnès Callamard emphasized the urgency of the moment, highlighting how anti-rights movements, supported or emboldened by powerful states, are working to roll back decades of progress. She condemned the weaponization of gender by governments to justify repressive laws and noted the role of corporate and non-state actors in spreading disinformation and fear, which undermines women’s bodily autonomy and shrinks civic space. The Epstein Files, she added, exposed systemic impunity among global elites who have engaged in sexual exploitation and abuse, further illustrating the persistent structural barriers to justice for survivors.
CSW70 provides a crucial platform for women human rights defenders, gender activists, and member states to collectively resist attacks on gender justice. Callamard stressed the importance of naming the actors behind these attacks, organizing collective action, and ensuring accountability mechanisms operate fairly and effectively, without fear or favour.
Amnesty International’s new briefing highlights the growing global resistance against attacks on gender rights and the suppression of dissent. Despite governments failing to uphold their responsibilities, communities worldwide are defending, advancing, and exposing abuses. The briefing documents acts of courage and solidarity, from advocating for abortion access for rape survivors in Malawi to opposing censorship in Afghanistan and China, promoting sexual and reproductive rights in Latin America, and ensuring LGBTI people can exercise their rights in Hungary.
The briefing, titled “Humanity Must Win: and it does when we stand together for gender justice”, details numerous initiatives that continue despite systematic backlash. In Afghanistan, women journalists resist the Taliban’s restrictions, amplifying the voices of those silenced. Burkina Faso implemented reforms raising the minimum marriage age to 18 and enforcing consent. In China, feminist activists continue to face censorship and repression. In Gaza, human rights organizations exposed gender-based violence and systemic abuses. In Hungary, 300,000 participants defied the ban on the Budapest Pride march. Malawi’s High Court affirmed a rape survivor’s right to a safe abortion, setting a landmark precedent. Across Latin America, activists continue to defend and expand sexual and reproductive rights.
These examples demonstrate that even in challenging times, collective action, solidarity, and courage are driving progress toward gender justice worldwide.
