UN CSW70 in New York

March 17, 2026 - The 70th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) is taking place at the UN Headquarters with the theme “Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and addressing structural barriers” (9 – 19 March).

Mindful of the discussions around the UN80 Initiative on UN reform, many Member States and civil society organisations focused on the proposed merger of UN Women and UN Population Fund (UNFPA). This briefing captures some of the dynamics in the nexus of the UN80 Initiative and CSW70 in the conversations at the UN.

One vote short of consensus at 70th CSW

The 70th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) adopted its Agreed Conclusions (E/CN.6/2026/L.2) by a recorded vote of 37 in favour to 1 against, with 6 abstentions – a document typically adopted by consensus.

At the opening, UN Secretary-General set the scene for the current state of the world for women:

“We still live in a male-dominated world and a male-dominated culture. Gender equality is — and always has been — a question of power…. This year’s theme cuts to the heart of the struggle for equality: access to justice. Here we are, well into the twenty-first century, yet justice remains a distant dream for millions upon millions of women and girls….

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….

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….

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….

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….

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.”(SG's full statement)

UNSG Town Hall Meeting with Civil Society (10 March)

At the Town Hall with the UN Secretary-General during CSW70, many CSOs expressed concern at the proposed UNFPA & UN Women merger. The Secretary-General replied:

“First of all, UN Women was not born out of nothing. It was born out of the merger of three organizations. One of the points that for me, is essential is to have powerful organizations in a context in which we have a very large dispersion of our efforts….

One of the conditions that we put for this merger is that the mandates are not changed, which means the merger is not a merger of mandates. It’s a merger of organizations integrally maintaining the mandates of the two organizations. The central question is not how things are organized, [but] that the mandates are maintained….

When you have two organizations, you have two back offices, you have the administrative sectors that are common, that are separate, and a number of other things that have nothing to do with the action of the organizations, but that correspond to duplication….

We are going to put in common a number of other functions to liberate resources for the exercise of the mandates of the organizations. This is one of the objectives we have with this merger, a more powerful organization, and at the same time, being able to transfer resources from administrative functions [for] the effective exercise of the maintenance on the ground.”

We are proud of Carolyn Savage, our Executive Secretary of BPW International in representing us in New York