U.S. Council of Organizations

On International Women’s Day, March 8, 2025 , the US Council of Organizations and the world recognize thirty years of progress and achievement since the landmark United Nations conference in Beijing. This transformed the rights of women – and reaffirmed those rights as human rights. Since then, women and girls have shattered barriers, defied stereotypes, and demanded their rightful place. This year’s theme, “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment, “calls for action that can unlock equal rights, power and opportunities for all and a future where no one is left behind. Today is a rallying cry to take action in three key areas: Advance women’s and girls’ rights, Promote gender equality, and Foster empowerment. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 in Beijing, China, by 189 governments, remains the most progressive and widely endorsed blueprint for women’s and girls’ rights worldwide. The Platform guides policies, programmes and investment that impact critical areas of our lives, such as: education, health, peace, media, political participation, economic empowerment, and the elimination of violence against women and girls. Addressing these issues, along with emerging priorities around climate justice and the power of digital technologies, is urgent, with just five years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The underlying theme is “Accelerate.” This is critical given in 2025, the global landscape for gender equality is shaped by complex and intersecting challenges: escalating climate crises, rising conflicts, the digital gender divide, and the rapid emergence of transformative technologies. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted that , although progress has been made in some areas, women’s rights are being “abused, threatened and violated” around the world and gender equality won’t be achieved for 300 years on the current track. This progression must be accelerated. Today, there are 112 countries with National Action Plans on women, peace and security– a significant increase from only 19 in 2010. When the doors of equal opportunity are open for women and girls, everyone wins. Equal societies are more prosperous and peaceful – and the foundation of sustainable development. UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said: “Full democracy needs the equal participation of women in all its processes. Women’s collective action is key to the achievement of substantive equality. It is most effective when women’s rights advocates in grassroots and civil society organizations, think tanks and university departments can build strategic alliances with” governmental and non-governmental organizations and institutions. The US Council of Organizations, along with its supporters and partners, support The United Nations Pact for the Future, and the Global Digital Compact that offer blueprints to guide these actions. The US Council of Organizations calls on our organizations to strengthen protections of women and girls against genderbased violence. We urge them to recognize and support the vital work of all women human rights defenders and to implement concrete measures to protect and empower them. All of our participation is key to what must continue in every arena in our societies and across borders and continents as we work toward the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals and The Pact For The Future. In spite of current challenges, we together have great expectations and great determination to change the paradigm from inequality to equality, from suppression to progression, and from trials to triumphs. We must remember that “what affects one directly affects all indirectly. We are inextricably bound.” The clarion call 30 years ago still resonates today: “If there is one message that echoes forth from this day, it is that human rights are women’s rights. And women’s rights are human rights.” Thus, the US Council of Organizations is committed to the work that must be done and the protection of human rights globally.