CoNGO, Soroptimist International, and over one hundred NGOs join in a statement on International Women’s Day 2025
NEW YORK CITY | 7 March 2025 | CoNGO News – More than 100 NGOs joined the Conference on Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO) and Soroptimist International in issuing a statement ahead of International Women’s Day 2025.
Over eighty percent of the statement signatories have consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The statement will be formally transmitted to United Nations officials, member states, and civil society leaders.
The statement noted that “while some improvements have been made” since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, “the stark reality persists three decades later.”
“Violence against women and girls remains a global emergency, with one in three women worldwide experiencing some form of physical, psychological, emotional, economic, or sexual violence in their lifetime. Tackling this epidemic requires confronting systemic violence and dismantling harmful, entrenched gender norms in both public and private life, online and offline.”
The statement was issued the weekend before the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women’s sixty-ninth annual session (CSW69), which begins March 10 and runs through March 21. CSW69 will review and appraise the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action on its thirtieth anniversary.
The statement addressed using and misusing artificial intelligence and information communication technologies in an increasingly technological and digital world. It warned that these technologies could “exacerbate the dangers that all women and girls face,” including violence.
In a letter to supporters, Siew Yong Gnanalingam (President of Soroptimist International) and Liberato C. Bautista (President of CoNGO) said that the “statement is a call to action to governments worldwide to ensure the safety of all women and girls online and offline…Today, the human rights of women and girls around the world continue to be repressed and violated. To achieve positive and lasting change, we must, therefore, stand more united than ever.”
“I am delighted that Soroptimist International took the initiative to draft this statement. Its overwhelming support exemplifies the strength of a united voice and collaborative action in advocating for gender justice and women’s empowerment. This collaboration is crucial today, given the rising assaults on international law that underpin the multilateral system, including protections for the human rights of women and girls,” Bautista added.
In the meantime, you may follow NGO and civil society events during CSW69 at the NGO CSW Forum.
To read the complete statement and see the signatories, visit IWD2025_Statement_Soroptimist_CONGO. To add your endorsement, click https://forms.gle/9uJYHzPEnKRtS2Ga9.
