Revitalization of the Commission on the Status of Women

Scene from the closing of the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, held at United Nations Headquarters on 21 March 2025. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown.
Scene from the closing of the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, held at United Nations Headquarters on 21 March 2025. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown.

Revitalization of the Commission on the Status of Women

The revitalization of the Commission on the Status of Women is a Member State–led process aimed at strengthening the Commission to ensure that it is fit-for-purpose in advancing gender equality and the rights and empowerment of all women and girls. Accordingly, the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), H.E. Ambassador Bob Rae, appointed on 11 December 2024 H.E. Gladys Mokhawa, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Botswana to the United Nations, and H.E. Fergal Mythen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations, to co-facilitate this intergovernmental process. Following the departure of H.E. Gladys Mokhawa from New York, the President of ECOSOC appointed H.E. Mutryce Williams, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Saint Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations, as the new co-facilitator on 25 April 2025, together with H.E. Ambassador Fergal Mythen.

Mandate

The mandate for the revitalization of the Commission on the Status of Women derives from Action 43(d) of the Pact for the Future (A/RES/79/1), adopted in September 2024, in which Member States requested the ECOSOC to explore options, through an inclusive intergovernmental process with participation from all Member States, to revitalize the Commission on the Status of Women, while reaffirming the Commission’s mandate. In the same article, Member States requested that the process be undertaken in the context of the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, with a view to promoting the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, protecting and promoting their human rights, and ensuring that the Commission is fit-for-purpose.

Related documents

Timeline

  • 5 May 2025 – Publication of the “Elements paper on the revitalization of the Commission on the Status of Women”
  • 13 May 2025 – Consultations on the “Elements paper”, 3–6pm EDT, Conference Room 2
  • 14 May 2025 – Consultations on the “Elements paper”, 10am–1pm EDT, Conference Room 4
  • 15 May 2025 – Consultations on the “Elements paper”, 10am–1pm and 3–6pm EDT, Conference Room 4 (if required)
  • 20 May 2025 – Circulation of the “Zero draft of the ECOSOC resolution on the revitalization of the Commission on the Status of Women”
  • 22 May 2025 – Presentation of the “Zero draft”, 10–11.30am EDT, Trusteeship Council Chamber