Global Leaders Push for Gender-Responsive Justice Systems at UN’s CSW70

“Gender equality is not just an objective itself – it is a clear accelerator of all dimensions of development,” Muschett concluded.

Senior policymakers, international officials and gender equality advocates gathered at the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) to accelerate efforts to improve women’s access to justice—particularly in fragile and conflict-affected regions.

The high-level event, “Advancing Women’s Access to Justice: Building Justice Systems that Deliver for All Including in Fragile Contexts,” was organized by UNDP and UN Women, in partnership with the governments of Brazil, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Ukraine. The gathering focused on identifying practical solutions to bridge the global justice gap and strengthen gender-responsive legal systems.

Central to the discussion was the UNDP-UN Women Gender Justice Platform, a global initiative aimed at expanding justice services and legal protections for women and girls.

Putting Women and Girls at the Centre of Justice Reform

Opening the discussion, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous emphasized that justice reforms must prioritize the needs and experiences of women and girls.

“Justice reforms must begin with women and girls – and with their needs and priorities,” Bahous said.

She highlighted practical measures needed to ensure justice systems work for women, including restoring identity documentation, protecting land rights, safeguarding children and creating safe spaces where women can report violations and enforce their rights.

Bahous also introduced UN Women’s new report, “Advancing Gender Equality through Legislative Reform in Transitional Justice Contexts,” which examines how legal reforms can translate into real protection for women.

“Legal change only delivers when women’s movements, political will and sustained financing come together to turn reforms into real protection,” she said. “Women are not only demanding justice – they are designing it.”

The Global Justice Gap

The event highlighted stark data illustrating the scale of the challenge.

According to UN agencies:

• More than 60 percent of women globally report unmet legal needs• Over 676 million women live within 50 kilometres of active conflict, the highest number ever recorded• Women in fragile states face significantly fewer legal protections and weaker enforcement mechanisms

These figures underscore the urgent need to strengthen justice systems capable of protecting women’s rights during crises and conflict.

UNDP-UN Women Platform Expands Justice Access

Through the Gender Justice Platform, UNDP and UN Women are working together to close the justice gap.

In 2024 alone, the initiative supported 79,477 women and girls in accessing justice services through both formal and community-based mechanisms.

Among them:

• 76,423 women received legal information and rights awareness• Services were delivered through mobile courts, legal aid clinics and other innovative outreach programmes

The platform now supports justice and security sector reforms in more than 40 countries.

“Justice Cannot Wait”

UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo stressed that justice must be prioritized even during crises.

“Justice cannot wait,” De Croo said.

He warned that justice for women is often postponed until after conflict stabilization or reconstruction efforts.

“Too often, justice for women is treated as something that comes later – after security, after stabilization, after recovery. But delaying justice does not create stability. It entrenches inequity and fuels impunity.”

International Cooperation Driving Reform

Government representatives at the event shared experiences of strengthening justice systems to better protect women.

Peter Derrek Hof, Ambassador for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality of the Netherlands, emphasized the need for justice systems that deliver real results.

“We must ensure justice systems deliver services that address women’s needs and demands in a direct, tangible and visible way,” he said.

He reaffirmed the Netherlands’ commitment to supporting partners that place women’s justice needs at the centre of reform efforts.

Brazil’s Minister of Women, Márcia Lopes, highlighted the importance of listening to survivors and grassroots movements when designing justice reforms.

“Justice needs to be built with women – listening to survivors, feminist organizations and the community,” she said.

Ukraine’s Experience in Justice Reform

Ukraine’s Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy, Kateryna Levchenko, shared how her country has strengthened its justice framework following the 2022 full-scale invasion.

Key measures include:

• Ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court• Ratifying the Istanbul Convention on preventing violence against women• Signing a cooperation framework with the United Nations on conflict-related sexual violence

Levchenko said these steps help strengthen social cohesion and democratic legitimacy, alongside delivering justice.

Structural Barriers to Women’s Legal Rights

Experts also highlighted the structural inequalities embedded in many legal systems.

Tea Trumbic, manager of the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law programme, pointed to global disparities in legal rights.

“Women enjoy less than two-thirds of the legal rights of men globally,” she said.

Even where laws guarantee equality, implementation remains weak.

“Only about half the policies needed to support those laws are actually in place,” Trumbic noted, adding that gaps are even wider in fragile and conflict-affected countries.

Feminist Peacebuilding and Grassroots Leadership

Amrita Kapur, Secretary-General of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), stressed the importance of supporting feminist movements.

“Women are at the frontline,” she said.

“This is where the transformative potential is most urgent, and yet it is where there is the least support.”

Justice as a Catalyst for Development

Closing the event, Michelle Muschett, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, described the gender justice gap as a systemic global challenge.

“The gender justice gap is a systemic crisis,” Muschett said.

“It affects women in a disproportionate manner, but it affects the whole world – all of society.”

She stressed that expanding women’s access to justice can accelerate progress across all areas of development.

“Gender equality is not just an objective itself – it is a clear accelerator of all dimensions of development,” Muschett concluded.

A Clear Message from CSW70

Participants agreed that the path forward requires stronger institutions, sustained funding, and women’s leadership in shaping justice systems.

As one key message from the event made clear: women are not waiting to be given justice—they are actively building it.

The challenge now is ensuring that political will, institutional reform and global cooperation match their determination.