The sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 10 to 21 March 2025.
The main focus of the session will be the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly.
Salvation Army representatives from around the world will attend virtual and in-person meetings on social and moral issues relating to the central theme.
Parallel events
The Salvation Army is participating in three parallel events, open to everyone:
Modern slavery and human trafficking as a form of violence against women
Wednesday 12 March, 8.30am EST
In partnership with Free the Slaves, Walk Free and Footprint for Freedom, hear from global practitioners as we delve into the driving forces behind modern slavery and human trafficking.
Everyone is welcome to join this online event.
The Salvation Army's multicultural response to domestic violence around the world
Wednesday 12 March, 2.30pm EST
Considerations for supporting survivors, including children and undocumented persons, and intersections with human trafficking and climate change.
Join The Salvation Army for this open event in New York.
At the International Social Justice Commission's auditorium, 221 E 52n St, New York City, NY 10022.
But I'm just a girl
Thursday 13 March, 10.30am EST
A global perspective on gender roles, hosted by the International Social Justice Girl Advocates. Everyone is welcome to join this online event.
Beijing platform for action
At the time of the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995, only the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW 1979) and the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (DEVAW, 1993) provided a global legal gender framework that was used for and is reflected in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. At the regional level, the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women had been adopted in 1994.
Only two UN and one regional independent expert monitoring mechanisms on women’s human rights were in place in 1994:
- the UN CEDAW Committee was established to monitor the implementation of the CEDAW Convention
- the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences (SRVAW) had just been created as the first expert mechanism at the UN level to specifically recommend measures on the elimination of violence against women, its causes and consequences
- the first regional expert mechanism was created, as the Inter-American Commission established the mandate of the Rapporteurship on the Rights of Women (IA-RWHR).
The adoption of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action in 1995 was an important step in developing a comprehensive international policy framework on women's human rights. The Beijing Platform for Action included 12 critical areas of concern including women’s human rights and violence against women.
2025 celebrates the 30th Anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action and will evaluate progress made to date.