Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the Opening Of The 70th Session of The Commission On The Status Of Women: 
I am so pleased to be in a room full of leaders who refuse to accept inequality as inevitable.

For 70 years, the Commission on the Status of Women has been a meeting ground of frontline defenders.

A wellspring of conviction, passion, and energy.

And a global platform for truth-telling.

So let me begin with an often unspoken, but age-old, truth:

We still live in a male-dominated world and a male-dominated culture.

Gender equality is – and always has been – a question of power.

Not a single step forward for women’s rights has ever been given.

It has been won.

Won by generations of women and girls, advocates and activists, community leaders and justice seekers.

Won by you.

So before anything else, I want to say: thank you.

Thank you for being the conscience and catalyst for a better world – for women, for girls, and for all of humanity.

Excellencies, dear friends,

This year’s theme cuts to the heart of the struggle for equality: access to justice.

Here we are, well into the 21st century, yet justice remains a distant dream for millions upon millions of women and girls.

Discriminatory laws persist.

Patriarchal norms endure.  

Around the globe, women hold only 64 per cent of the legal rights enjoyed by men.

This gap is structural, not accidental, and it limits opportunity across societies.

We are a world strained by conflict, climate chaos, widening inequalities and technological upheaval.

And in this turbulent world, the pushback on women’s rights is in overdrive.

Let’s be clear:  backlash is what entrenched power does when it feels its grip loosening.

And the evidence is all around us.

Hard-won legal protections are being eroded.

Women human rights defenders are under attack.

Sexual and reproductive health and rights are being undermined.

At the same time, at a moment when the Middle East and other parts of the world are engulfed in conflict, we know that women and children are bearing the brunt of violence and displacement.

The number of women and girls living within 50 kilometres of a deadly conflict is at its highest in decades.

Conflict-related sexual violence has surged by 87 per cent in just two years.

And yet – despite the troubling trends and pressures – women’s movements are persisting.

Driving reforms. Defending communities. Shaping societies.

More than 40 countries have amended constitutions to advance women’s rights.

Ninety per cent have strengthened laws against violence.

The world is changing because women are changing it.

But we have barriers to overcome and gaps to fill – opportunity gaps, implementation gaps and justice gaps.

And that brings me to my core message:

Justice for women and girls must be a cornerstone of the world we seek to build.

Equality is the bedrock of progress – as affirmed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights … the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women … and the Beijing+30 Plan of Action.

Let me highlight four frontlines for justice.

First, justice is the engine for sustainable development.

When women and girls can claim their rights – to inherit property, to fair work, to legal identity, to land – entire societies move forward.

But when justice systems fail women, inequality hardens into poverty – and development stalls before it can begin.

This is a global challenge. 

Yet the situation in Afghanistan stands out. Women are being systematically erased from public life – and now even prevented from entering UN compounds.

This is injustice in practice – undermining development today and closing off the future for all Afghans. 

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals means achieving equal access to justice for everyone, everywhere. 

Second, justice is the foundation of peace and security.

When women participate meaningfully in peace processes and transitional justice, agreements last longer and societies heal more deeply.

But the world continues to fall short.Inclusion is proclaimed, yet women are absent from negotiating tables.Protection is pledged, yet sexual violence persists with impunity.
Leadership is invoked, yet women peacebuilders are underfunded, under threat, and under-recognized.

In conflict zones, the absence of justice becomes another form of violence.

Impunity fuels brutality. Survivors remain unheard. Communities fracture.

And cycles of abuse deepen. 

Ensuring access to justice – even in the midst of crisis – is essential to breaking those cycles.

Third, justice is the guardian of human rights and human dignity.

When a woman’s testimony is dismissed – when a girl is denied her day in court – when laws discriminate, or police fail to act – human rights erode for everyone.

And justice also means confronting the epidemic of violence against women and girls in all its forms: domestic abuse, trafficking, sexual violence in conflict, and the harassment that limits women’s freedom every single day.

These crimes permeate every level of society.

And as we sadly see, the exploitation of women and girls can reach the highest halls of influence – sustained by a toxic convergence of money, patriarchy and impunity.

This must end.  

We cannot – and must not – look away.

Fourth, justice is essential to a safe and inclusive digital future.

If gender equality is a question of power, then we must look at one of the most powerful industries on Earth – technology, and, increasingly artificial intelligence.

Patriarchy still casts a long shadow in the Silicon Valleys of the world – embedding the hierarchies of the past into the infrastructure of the future.

Just one in four tech workers is a woman.

When women are absent from the design of digital systems, male chauvinism fills the gap. 

Algorithms that hardwire discrimination.

Online platforms that are megaphones for misogyny.

And artificial intelligence that reinforces inequality instead of correcting it.

Technology companies must take responsibility.

And all of us must work to close the digital gender divide.

As an engineer, I want to emphasize this must include expanding opportunities for girls and women in science and technology.

Fifth, justice is essential for climate action.

Women and girls – especially in rural and marginalized communities – bear the brunt of climate devastation. 

When laws deny women equal rights to land, water, resources, and environmental decision-making, climate resilience collapses.

But when women lead – when they help design adaptation strategies, safeguard ecosystems, and shape climate policy – responses become more just, and more effective.

Climate justice and gender justice go hand-in-hand.

Chers amis,

Aucune lutte pour la justice ne peut aboutir sans le leadership des femmes.

Depuis mon premier jour en fonctions, j’ai fait de la parité une priorité.

Pour la première fois dans l’histoire de l’Organisation des Nations Unies, les femmes constituent désormais la moitié des effectifs dans les catégories professionnelles et supérieures.

Et pour la première fois, nous avons atteint la parité aux plus hautes fonctions de direction.

Nous y sommes parvenus deux ans avant l’échéance prévue – même si je sais que cela arrive quatre-vingts ans trop tard.

Comment y sommes-nous enfin parvenus ?

Non pas en abaissant les exigences, mais en élargissant la recherche de talents.

Non pas en sacrifiant le mérite, mais en le reconnaissant partout où il se trouve.

Notre Plan d’accélération pour l’égalité des genres poursuit cet effort en coordonnant l’action de dizaines d’entités pour apporter des changements concrets dans la vie des femmes et des filles.

Nous avons proposé une structure plus forte et plus unifiée pour agir en faveur des femmes, des filles et des jeunes partout dans le monde – en réunissant les forces du Fonds des Nations Unies pour la population et d’ONU Femmes afin d’accroître notre impact, d’élargir notre portée et de ne laisser personne de côté.

Nous tirons également profit des efforts visant à revitaliser cette Commission – comme le prévoit le Pacte pour l’avenir.

Les démarches ont été simplifiées.

Les résultats guident nos décisions.

Des dizaines de partenaires y prennent part, malgré les obstacles que nous avons l’habitude d’affronter.

Nous devons poursuivre ces efforts – à l’intérieur comme à l’extérieur de cette enceinte.

Nous avons besoin de toutes les voix, de toutes les idées – et de tout le leadership des femmes et des filles du monde entier.

Et les hommes et les garçons doivent également prendre toute leur part, en faisant preuve de solidarité pour faire avancer l’égalité.

Excellencies, dear friends,

Allow me one final point of personal privilege.

After nearly a decade as Secretary-General, this is my final time addressing the opening of the Commission on the Status of Women.

Let me be clear: this is not a farewell.

I look forward to working with you through the entire year and far beyond, wherever I’ll be.

But I want you to know what I have seen.

I have seen women around the world standing strong in the rubble of earthquakes and in the ashes of war. 

In refugee camps and rural villages.

In parliaments and in protests.

I have heard you demand accountability in the face of impunity.

I have seen you in action, lifting countless lives.

I have watched you build movements that have reshaped the world.

I am profoundly honoured to be your ally in the struggle.

You can keep counting on me every step of the way.

For equality.

For dignity.

For justice.

For every woman and girl.

Thank you.

[END]

All the unlawful attacks in the Middle East and beyond are causing tremendous suffering and harm to civilians throughout the region – and pose a grave a risk to the global economy, particularly to the most vulnerable people.The situation could spiral beyond anyone’s control.It is time to stop the fighting and get to serious diplomatic negotiations. The stakes could not be higher.[END]

Your Excellency Ambassador Harish, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations,Excellencies,Colleagues,And friendsI extend my sincere gratitude to the Permanent Mission of India for organizing this important event. And for inviting me to deliver this address in honour of I must say, a true icon, not only for India, but for women all around the world, Dr Hansa Mehta.Her legacy lives on in the foundational principles she helped etch into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:“That all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”That achievement alone secures her place in history.Not least because those principles still guide the work of multilateralism seventy-seven years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and eighty years after the adoption of the United Nations Charter.Yet her significance extends beyond this single celebrated intervention.The example she set offers broader lessons about what can be achieved:Through steadfast commitment to principle.Through resolve and persistence in the pursuit of justice and equality. And through recognition of the profound impact one can have when given opportunity; and conversely, the cost of denying opportunity to half of humanity.These are the three lessons I wish to draw from her life today in my keynote speech.The first lesson is the importance of holding firm to principle – which in these, I would say, is more important than ever.In 1947, a newly independent India sent Dr. Hansa Mehta to serve on the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, where she helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At an early stage, the opening article reflected what was then conventional phrasing on who was entitled to universal rights, referring simply to ‘men’. Many regarded the wording as unremarkable, as a shorthand for humanity.They were frankly dismissive to Dr. Mehta’s objections that in societies where texts are read literally, masculine phrasing could narrow rights. Yet Dr. Mehta held her ground, understanding that language is not neutral.It shapes interpretation. It influences law, policy, and social expectation. She persisted - and we all know how women who persist on something are treated these days - so that was not easy for her at all. She persisted until she secured a formulation that was unambiguous in who is entitled to dignity: Not just men. But all human beings are born free and equal and dignity. A small change on the page but one with monumental consequences. Today, we understand far more clearly the importance of gender inclusive language, a principle that Member States have repeatedly reaffirmed in the work of this Organization.But we know in some texts it took us more than 70 years and there are still texts where we haven’t succeeded.But language shapes expectation. It signals who is imagined in positions of authority.When titles such as Chairman are used instead of Chair, or when offices such as Secretary General or President of the General Assembly are spoken of as though they naturally belong to men, the message travels quietly but powerfully: leadership is assumed to be male.And I was once in a talk show where I discussed that intensively, because in the German language there is a clear difference if you use the male, or female, or the neutral definition. And a high-ranking male politician was arguing that this is nitty gritty and not the most important thing. And I told him: but what would have been the case if you had been asked by a TV news agency to come to an event where female leaders were being invited? Would he even answer this request?And he said, well, obviously not, because I am not female.And you still see these days that this idea, in Germany you say mitgemeint, that we also mean you if we take the so called male version or the neutral version, that this obviously does not belong to the other part of society, which always wants to be addressed as what they are.Because if they are men, they want to be addressed as male politicians.So each time institutional language is reviewed, and each time gendered assumptions are corrected before a text is adopted, we see the continuing influence of her intervention… …building on the foundational premise that universal rights apply universally.And today whenever conversations regarding standing up for equality and women’s rights are dismissed as so called ‘woke’, we should remind ourselves of Hansa Mehta, that she did not change that text 8 years ago but almost 80 years ago. Women’s rights are nothing new. They have been embedded in the DNA of our United Nations from the very beginning.Yet Dr. Mehta did not regard this intervention as the culmination of the struggle for gender equality alone, or for social justice more broadly. She understood it as part of an ongoing process, which brings me to my second point: That the pursuit of equality is continuous for the whole society, and not only for half of it.Throughout her life she remained a powerful voice for women’s empowerment, especially in the sphere of education. As one example, in1962, as Chair of India’s National Council for Women’s Education, she rejected the notion of a supposed “female aptitude” that would merit a narrower school curriculum for girls. She understood that when a society prescribes smaller horizons for girls, it diminishes its own society’s future. Consider that even as we look ahead to the seventieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, and thirty years after the Beijing Platform for Action set out a global commitment to gender equality, the distance still to travel is unfortunately far. In some places, progress has stalled or even reversed. This is perhaps most stark in Afghanistan today, where girls are barred from secondary education, and women are excluded from higher education altogether, and indeed from total public life at a scale. Some, I would say, rightly describe it as gender apartheid.Elsewhere, progress once thought secure is under strain. Women still enjoy only about two thirds of the legal rights available to men worldwide, and no country has yet achieved full legal equality. Even where laws exist, implementation often lags behind promise.Political and economic leadership remains overwhelmingly male. Only twenty-nine countries today are led by women serving as Heads of State or Government.And we all know that our own organization after 80 years still lags behind in that the position of Secretary General has yet to be held by a woman - despite generations of capable candidates.Meanwhile, new frontiers bring new risks.Advances in digital technology and artificial intelligence promise transformation, yet women remain less likely to have equal access to digital tools. These same technologies are increasingly used in ways that target women precisely. Studies indicate that approximately ninety-six percent of non-consensual deepfake pornography depicts women - so this is no coincidence. This is structural and it is on purpose, to degrade women if needed. These realities differ across geography and context, yet they point to a shared truth.The struggle that animated Hansa Mehta’s work continues In that spirit, I welcome India’s hosting of the second AI Impact Summit, which reflects a commitment to harnessing these technologies for inclusive and equitable development, And to advancing responsible artificial intelligence that protects rights, promotes safety, and ensures that innovation empowers women. And we should be reminded every day when we are working on these new AI regulations to hold our stand firmly, as Hansa Mehta once did. This brings me to the third lesson.If just a single person can make such an immense difference, imagine how profoundly a society can transform when that opportunity is extended to all humanity.Back in time, Hansa Mehta had to fight quite in isolation, not only here at the United Nations, but also in her own country, India, But she had the rare opportunity to be educated by her family, back when female literacy in India was extraordinarily low, only one to two percent.So this was also a key driver of why she was fighting, not only for girls’ and women’s rights in theory, but for education for all, knowing that when this is denied, societies restrict their own progress.So having this connection already back in time, that empowering women also makes societies and economies stronger, should be a clear reminder to ourselves again, when we speak in these times of CSW about deleting women’s rights because we should focus more, as some call it, on the “hard topics” in these times.Women’s rights are among the hardest topics we can imagine.And as the Ambassador mentioned, breaking barriers is never easy at all.Because especially as a woman, if you want to propose something new, or you are really holding your ground, we all know how we are being called: sometimes naïve, sometimes difficult, sometimes even crazy.But as we know, in all parts of society, not only in politics, not only in the economy, but especially also in sports, if I may quote another female hero, Serena Williams: “You call me crazy, I show you what crazy can do.”And Hansa Mehta was probably called crazy as well.And yet what she achieved was astonishing.And this should lead our upcoming discussions also here CSW, because we can be proud as women not only of the work of Hansa Mehta, but of what we are achieving every day.And leading like a woman means leading for all humanity.I thank you. ***

This year’s International Women’s Day focuses on rights, action and justice for all women and girls.  

Worldwide, women hold just 64 per cent of the legal rights enjoyed by men.Legal discrimination can shape every aspect of a woman’s life. She may be prevented from owning property, seeking a divorce, or taking a job without her husband’s permission. In more than 40 countries, marital rape is not recognized as a crime. Other laws restrict women’s access to education, their ability to pass on citizenship to their children, or even their freedom of movement outside the home.Where legal protections do exist, discrimination and weak enforcement mean women still struggle to access courts and legal support.Many of these unjust laws have been on the books for centuries. But today, we are also witnessing a dangerous new trend. Amid rising authoritarianism, growing political instability, and a renewed push to entrench patriarchy, hard-won advances are being rolled back — from fairer work protections to sexual and reproductive rights.We must unite to deliver on the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Beijing+30 Action Agenda. By fighting discriminatory laws and practices — and defending the progress already achieved — we can ensure the dignity, opportunity and freedom all women deserve.When we are not equal under the law, we are not equal. It is time to make justice a reality for women and girls, everywhere.***