10th plenary meeting - Commission on the Status of Women, Seventieth session (CSW70) - Voluntary presentations by Member States on the review theme

I call to order the 10th meeting of the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

I now invite the Commission to resume its consideration of sub item A, II of the agenda item 3, in order to hear voluntary presentations by Member States on the Review Theme, women's full and effective participation and decision making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Ministers, Excellencies, distinguished participants. The Commission adopted the agreed conclusion of its 65th session in 2021 and in accordance with its multi year program of work, decided to evaluate progress in the implementation of the Review team at its 70th session. Before we begin, allow me to outline how we will proceed with the interactive dialogue on the Review Team. We will hear voluntary presentations by 12 member states on how they have worked to advance implementation of the agreed conclusions from 2021.

Six member states will present this morning and the other six will present in the afternoon. Each of the presentations will be followed by comments and questions by partners of the presenting countries, after which the presenters will wrap up with responses. A maximum of 25 minutes is allocated to each presentation, including the responses. I request that comments and questions from partners and other delegations, time permitting, be brief and not exceed three minutes. The microphones will be automatically muted when the allotted speaker speaking time has elapsed.

We will first hear the introduction of the Secretary General's report on the Review Team, which is contained in document E CN6 2026 4. This will be followed by the presentations of Kyrgyzstan, Namibia, Albania, Nigeria, the Dominican Republic and Poland. Without further delay, I invite the Ms. Niaradjay Gumbozwanda, Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director for Normative Support, United Nations System Coordination and Program Results of UN Women to introduce the report of the Secretary General on the Review Team. Madam Deputy Executive Director, you have the floor. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Chair, and good morning to the Members and to the Commission on the Status of Women. It's my pleasure to present the Secretary General's report on the review theme of the 65th session that you adopted by consensus. Excellencies, distinguished Delegates, again congratulations on your adoption of the CSW 70th agreed conclusions which also echo the decisions that you made during the 65th session this year. CSW is convened during a period of significant global tension.

Conflicts are on the rise, inequality is widening and democratic space is shrinking. I am pleased, therefore, to present the Secretary General's report on the 17th session review theme, which delivers an uncomfortable truth Progress on women's full and equal participation in public life is too slow and too uneven, especially when we are focusing on the targets that were set for the SDGs for 2030. Globally, fewer than 30 countries are led by women. Women make up only 27% of members of Parliament. Women account for less than a quarter of cabinet appointments, with most serving in portfolios primarily related to human rights, gender equality and social affairs, and much fewer in areas like finance, trade and defense.

Although these fields are critical, the fields of human rights, gender and social affairs, key areas such as budget, finance and foreign affairs continue to be predominantly in the hands of men. At this moment in history, when women's contributions arguably matter most, they are left out of the key decision spaces, executive deliberations, in situation rooms, distinguished delegates. This is a crisis. This is not a question of whether women are competent to lead. This is a matter of human rights, a matter of political will and the scale of action required to match the agency of the moment.

Fortunately, by now we know what delivers change for women and girls, and the reports submitted by Member States provides valuable insights on where progress is made and we really want to appreciate the Secretary General appreciates all the Member States who contributed quarters work when targets are bold and enforcement is taken seriously. Quotas help dismantle structural barriers and open doors long kept shut. Fast tracking gender equality requires implementing strong special measures in decision making role we must address violence against women, from harassment in Parliament to relentless abuse. Online violence is being used deliberately to silence women facing many to deplatform or withdraw from public office. Legal enforcement, accountability and responsibility, particularly from digital platforms, still lag behind to end violence.

We must adopt and enforce comprehensive laws on violence against women in politics and in public lives, including technology, facilitated violence and hold digital platforms to account. We must break the barriers for all women and girls, the Secretary General's report emphasizes. Young women, indigenous women, women with disabilities, rural and marginalized women still face layered and persistent barriers to participation. Our efforts to uplift every woman and girl must be intersectional and intentional. This means removing the barriers that continue to hold back young women, indigenous women and women with disabilities like me and others underrepresented groups through deliberate intersectional action.

Excellencies, strong laws, effective institutions and reliable data systems are the foundations of gender equality. Gender equality cannot survive on rhetoric alone. It requires laws that are implemented and institutions that are protected, resourced and empowered. Real progress also depends on measuring what we commit to through robust, transparent data systems and track progress, expose gaps and drive accountability to meet standards. Research Distinguished Delegates Gender equality cannot be conditional or treated as optional.

Equality in leadership is not an aspiration for the future, but a shared right and responsibility we must fulfill now. Excellencies, I look forward to hearing your presentations on the implementation of CSW 65 agreed conclusions. Your insights, innovations, concrete actions are essential to making women's political participation a reality. And I deeply value your commitment and hard work to continue to invest in meaningful progress as the United nations will continue to work with you as our Member States to deliver the commitments you made in the agreed conclusions of CSW 65 and will continue to work with the women's organizations and women's networks, conscious indeed on the issues around funding and resourcing the efforts for women's political participation. On my own behalf, I also want to really congratulate all candidates who are running for Parliament or for any other office this year and to wish you all the support to all of them.

Thank you. Again.

I thank the Deputy Executive Director for Normative support, United Nations System Coordination and Program Results of UN Women. We will now hear a presentation by Her Excellency Lydia Indombo, Executive Director of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare of Namibia.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Your Excellency, distinguished delegates, a very good morning to you. I am going to do a presentation co presenting with my colleagues, Mr. Benson Matali and Ms. Benosinge Shirilifa. They will take over where I am going to stop. I would want to indicate that Namibia is very delighted to have been given the opportunity to voluntarily present the progress made by the country in terms of the agreed conclusion for the 65 session of CSW.

In terms of our presentation layout, we shall be speaking about Namibia. Briefly I will present about Namibia and then the overall achievements that Namibia has made thus far. And then we go to the key policy areas that we we are going to present to you today. Number one being the strengthen normative legal and regulatory framework, including measures to achieve gender balance in decision making. Number two, we shall also be speaking to you on another key policy area.

Prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in public life, including in digital context. The other one will be the addressing of root causes of gender inequality and eliminate barriers to women's full and equal participation, including those in education, technology access and engaging men and boys in terms of. After that then we shall be having an engagement with the permission of the Chairperson. In terms of Namibia, I would want to share with you that the Republic of Namibia is situated in the Southern Africa, bordering the Republic of Angola, Republic of Zambia, Republic of Botswana, Republic of South Africa and the Atlantic Ocean. The Namibia covers the area of about 825,000 square kilometers with a population of 3.1 million people.

Taking it from the population census of 2023, it is a vast and arid country with a dynamic landscape which includes the oldest or one of the oldest Namib Desert. And it is where in Namibia you will observe and see the ocean meeting the desert dunes. Please visit Namibia. You will be able to appreciate what nature can offer in terms of overall achievement. We are saying in Namibia, as of 2025, we have the first female president.

We have the first vice president who is also a female. We have a speaker of the national assembly is also a female. In terms of cabinet portfolio, in Namibia, women hold 57% of cabinet position. It's occupied by women. And they are not just occupying positions, but key ministries like International Relations and Trade, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health, Minister of Education, Minister of Home affairs and Immigration, Safety and Security and also the Ministry of Agriculture and our own Ministry and Gender Equality and Child Welfare.

In terms of the composition in the National Assembly, 38.5% are women. In our National Parliament of the National Assembly. Also, as you may be aware, according to the Global Gender gap index of 2025, Namibia scored 0.811 and is ranked number eight globally and faced in the African continent. In terms of the. These are the three honorable high excellencies that I have spoken about.

Our President Dr. Netumbo Nandi Daito, and then our Vice President Madam Lucia Vedboy and our speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Dr. Sara Kuwongerwa Amadella. In terms of the key policy areas, the strengthened normative legal and regulatory framework, including measure to achieve gender balance in decision making. What we are saying on this one, the legal framework that we have adopted or enacted, it is first and foremost the National Constitution of Namibia, the supreme law. And in terms of that we have Article 10 that is speaking to equality and freedom from discrimination.

We have Article 17 speaking to political activities and freedom of association. Then we have Article 23 that is speaking to apartheid and affirmative action. Article 95 speaking to promotion of the welfare of the people of Namibia.

Out of those articles in our National Constitution, we have enacted the following act of Parliament, the Marriage Persons Equality act that provides for equal rights and the responsibility of spouses, property rights and inheritance. In terms of affirmative action Employment act this one is to ensure that person from designated group are equally equally represented at all levels of Employment and we have job, we have designated group. One should be a rationally person, disadvantaged person. One must be a black person. Because we are coming from the colonial era where black people were not really treated the way the other colleagues are treated.

And being a woman, you may also be disadvantaged. But because before independence in 1990, a woman cannot sign for a document, cannot have a right to inherit from their deceased husband and so forth. And then person with disability. So if I go in an interview with a male candidate, because I belong to three designated group, I will be given a position even if I come third in that interview. And in terms of the labor act, it prohibits discrimination and sexual harassment in employment.

And in addition to that, Namibia has also ratified The International Labor Convention 190 and its recommendation on violence and harassment in the world of work. And Namibia was number one country in Africa to ratify that and other supporting framework is the Beijing Declaration and platform of Action for this. I must indicate to you that our current president, who is a female president, was the rapporteur when this declaration was adopted way back in 1995. We also comply and align to our protocol on Gender and Development that is from the Southern Africa Development Community that obliged us to actually have 5050 representation at all levels. To operationalize those ones, we have developed national policies on gender.

Currently we are implementing the third policy on gender equity equality and then the yes, those ones. In terms of the best practices that you can learn from our presentation today, we are saying that we really have a strong, strong political will that is ensuring that gender balance is observed in all the structures and fully observed. We are also having a fully fledged ministry dedicated to the implementation of women's equality and empowerment Program, the Ministry of Gender Equality and the Welfare of the children. We have coaching and mentoring program on women in politics and decision making, focusing on parliamentarian and regional and local authority leadership. In terms of political parties themselves, they have in their constitution they made provision for quotas 50, 50.

And this is on a voluntary basis by political parties themselves. And we really appreciate that and we are proud to share it with you. In terms of the lesson learned during implementation of this act of Parliament and then the agreed conclusion, we have learned that we have to strengthen implementation of affirmative action to allow us to achieve the gender parity in employment across all sectors. There is also a need for legislative quotas to maintain our achievement.

To maintain our achievement. And we have also realized that there possibly be a reverse form of inequality, especially for the boy child in the area of education. In terms of the way forward to Support and achieve accelerated implementation. In creating a more inclusive and equitable legal and regulatory framework. We are saying we will continue to strengthen capacity of women in political parties structures.

We will advocate for amendment of the electoral law to make provision for gender parity. And we shall also provide sufficient support for the development of boy child program in education. In terms of the second key policy areas that speaks to prevention and elimination. The legal framework that we have adopted as a country.

We have the Combating of Rape act as amended in 2022. We have the Combating of domestic Violence as it was also amended in 2022. We have a Child Care Protection and Child Care and Protection Act. We also have another act of Parliament called Combating of Trafficking Person Act. The best practices that we can draw from this we have established a gender based violence special courts and 17 gender based violence investigation units across the country.

We have also implemented the National Plan of Action on Gender based violence. We have also established a 24 hour gender based violence Violence against children helpline. We have also established a coordination mechanism structure for the implementation of the national interventions of on gender based violence and violence against children. And this structure, the top one is chaired by our right honorable Prime Minister. In terms of the lesson length, we are saying that we have observed that there is a need to address gap in understanding gender based violence and violence against children.

We need to involve our traditional and religious leader in key because they are key in addressing negative social norms and and harmful practices. We have learned that followers do listen first to their traditional leaders and their religious leaders. And we need to continue strengthen their capacity so that they help us in that area. We also need to strengthen men and boy engagement program so that we do not see the reverse one addressing mental issues. When dealing with social issues of gender based violence, violence against children trafficking person, the issue of mental comes in number and we have to take care of our social workers because sometimes they burn out and we need quite often to engage them, to gather them, to motivate them so that they continue helping us.

We also need to strengthen women economic empowerment program as a preventative strategy. What we are saying is some of the women will hold on to stay in a relationship that is very toxic, that is very abusive just because of the dependency that is there. But if we empower them, they will be able to be on their own and make an informed decision in terms of way forward. What we are saying is that we need to strengthen implementation of gender based violence related laws especially that speaks to the court and access to GBV services including the shelter we have also to enact a cybercrime law to address technologically facilitated violence. I must indicate that consultations are currently going on to enact this law.

And once that is finalized, we may report in the year to come to indicate where we are. We have to continue capacitating the traditional leaders, the social workers, the health worker, the media practitioner and all the frontliners including the life school teachers. The life school teachers so that we also then strengthen and create more awareness at workplace and in our communities. In terms of the last one that is dealing with the root causes, the legal framework that we have acted. I have already spoken to Article 10 and then the Article 20.

Then we are saying that education in Namibia is very compulsory up to the age of 16. Everyone has the right to attend school up to the age of 16 primary education. And in terms of the best practices that I would share with you today is that Namibia has implemented the free universal primary education that was way back in 2013and the universal secondary education in 2016 in all public schools. As we are speaking in 2026. Namibia has introduced 100% government subsidized tuition and registration fee for undergraduate studies at public tertiary institution.

We also have a national Information and Communication Technology policy outlines the importance of ICT in education, the need for physical infrastructure and human capital to support the integration of education. We have enacted the Basic Education act that provides for technologies for learners with disability and special needs. We have also implemented MEN and boy engagement program for social norm change including hosting annually MEN conferences and also established the BOY clubs in schools. In terms of the lesson learned, we are saying we should continue monitor the progress on gender equality in education to prevent the reverse form of inequality. If we pay more attention to the girls.

We should also then as I indicated last that we are doing a lot also on the boy child, the willingness of traditional leaders, religious leader. We really applaud that and we are going to work on that and continue to create more awareness in terms of the way forward. We are saying we are going to continue promoting career guidance in schools so that we advise the school learners as to which courses are available in the labor market or are needed in the labor market. We are going to encourage and we have started already the doing some consultation and engagement so that they take up steam field of study, the studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We shall continue to engage the leaders.

As I rightly indicated. The public listen mostly to their leaders and they follow willingly the other one. I think if you can please go. That is our presentation for now. Madam Chairperson, we have a video that you may guide as to when can we play that, but my team can then thank you.

I submit,

I thank the executive Director of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare of Namibia. I now invite the partners of the presenting country to provide comments or pose questions. I will now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Romania.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And I would like to express my delegation. Thanks for Namibia for taking up this challenge to present the voluntary national plan. We are interested very much to find out and it's interesting to see the

examples of Namibia, how women are taking good steps into the public office. Let me just say that I saw from your presentation that Namibia closed its gender gap in many areas, including education.

And it's ranked number one in Africa and number eight globally. And you briefly touched upon the measures, but maybe you can enlarge a bit what measures contributed to the achievement of gender parity in education, which I saw was your key policy number three. With that I thank you and I was short. Madam Chair,

I thank the distinguished representative of Romania. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Angola.

Thank you, Madam Chair, for the floor. Thank you very much. First, we thank Namibia for presenting its voluntary national review which highlights significant progress the country has made to ensure women's full and effective participation, decision making, public life. Angola also welcomes Namibia's significant achievements in the area of gender equality and employment of all women and girls and all efforts the country has made to eliminate domestic violence. We also appreciate NAMIBA for sharing its enlightening best practices, including the.

Including the collaborations with civil society, religious institutions. It's very helpful to learn that as well. And one area that I would like to ask you, if you could elaborate a bit further, is to share your experience on what measures has Namibia taken to address violence against women and girls in the country. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Angola. And now I invite the Executive Director of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare of Namibia to respond to the comments made and the questions posed.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I will give my colleague, Mr. Benson Matali to respond to the question on Education and Ms. Shililifa will respond to the question on gender based violence. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Moderator we welcome the question that was provided, apart from the legal instruments that we have in the country, other measures that Namibia has put in place. One of them is that of introduction of free provision of sanitary paids. That is one of the interventions that the country has put in place with the aim of ensuring that the girl child remains in school during their menstrual cycle.

And also last year in 2025, the Right Honorable Prime Minister launched a program that is aimed at ensuring that girls are being provided with sanitary products in schools in all 14 regions. And over 41,000 packs of sanitary pads were procured for distribution in all the regions. Apart from that, Namibia also introduced zero tax on Santar Peds in 2023. And as a father of a girl child, I have gone to the shops to buy sanitary products for my girls.

And I can attest that there is indeed zero tax being implemented on sanitary products for the girls. And apart from sanitary products, we also have introduced the feeding program that covers over 400 learners from primary to secondary to ensure that girls are being provided with feeding while they are at children are being provided with feeding while they are at school. And this has resulted in good retention and also in progression, especially with the girl child.

And as we speak now, Namibia has achieved gender parity in the area of education. I will now allow Madam Shiraldifa to touch on the other questions. Thank you.

Yeah, thank you. And thank you to the representative of Angola for the questions and for us to share the initiatives or interventions that we have in the area of gbv. I think it was already indicated during the presentation we are implementing the National Plan of Action on Gender Based Violence. And this plan of action is being implemented by government stakeholders and the civil society through the implementation of the GBV Plan of Action. We are emphasizing or we are rolling out the campaign on NGBvNAMIBIA and we also work with the traditional leader, religious leader and life skills teachers.

And perhaps I would also like to share that we offer services to the GBV survivor through the 17GBV unit that was presented already in this unit. They are across the country and they offer services on 24 hour services. It's a comprehensive services offered to the GBV survivors and their families. And these services include investigation by the Namibian police force, psychosocial support offered by the social workers and the medical care offered by the Ministry of Health and Social Services and also legal advice. The unit is also attached to the shelters.

The shelters is needed in case the women who are abused are in need of safety. And these are the services that is available and we offer it in collaboration with other stakeholders. Thank you.

I thank the executive director, ministry of gender equality and child welfare of namibia.

The the video is in the on the screen already. The video from Namibia.

Sam.

We will now hear a presentation of Her Excellency Evis Salah, Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Albania.

Madam Chair, Excellencies, distinguished Ministers, representatives of Member States of the United Nations, Ladies and gentlemen, at the time when in many parts of the world women's rights are being questioned, when violence in public digital spaces seeks to silence women's voices, and when representation often remains formal rather than substantive, advancing gender equality is a true test of the strength of our democracies. The agreed conclusions of CSW 65 adopted in 2021 identified the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in decision making and the elimination of all forms of violence against women as essential to functional democracies, resilient institutions and inclusive development. Without safety, there can be no real and equal participation. Without real and equal participation, there can be no functioning democracy. Over the past five years, Albania has entered a phase of institutional consolidation and accelerated reform.

In line with our commitments under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Beijing Platform for Action, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and our European Integration Process, the National Strategy for gender equality 20212030 serves as an overarching framework for systemically integrating a gender perspective into public policies and steering reforms towards measurable outcomes. This voluntary view is prepared through broad dialogue and consultations with national institutions, independent bodies and civil society partners. Their practical insights have enriched both the assessment of progress achieved and the identification of the priorities that lie ahead of us. In the last years, our work has progressed across several parallel streams and please allow me to briefly highlight some of the main areas of action. First, strengthening the legal and policy framework.

In 2025, Albania adopted a new law of gender equality, promoting balanced gender representation through a 30% minimum threshold and establishing the objective of achieving a full parity by 2035 in elected and appointed bodies, public administration and private sector as well as media. The law introduces several transformative provisions, including strengthened guarantees for equality in employment, the recognition and valuation of unpaid care work, and the expanded use of gender impact assessment and gender responsive budgeting. As we move forward with its implementation, we are working to strengthen public awareness and support for equal opportunities and to address persistent patterns of gender based discriminations. Second, increase women political participation and leadership. In the last year national elections, women won 35% of seats in the Parliament and they represent more than 40% of the government and over 40% of local councillors.

At the local level, all 61 municipalities have established women's counselor alliances and 37 municipalities have adopted local Gender Equality Action Plan. A gender equality barometer has also been introduced to monitor compliance with legal obligations at the municipal level, strengthening accountability and evidence based budgeting for gender equality initiatives. These figures reflect important progress. However, women's participation is not only about numbers, it is about voice, influence and the power to shape the decisions. At the same time, women political participation continues to face structural barriers, including violence against women in politics, online harassment and financial inequalities within party structures.

Civil society monitoring and cross party cooperation have played an important role in documenting cases and strengthening the institutional responses. Third, gender responsive public financing integrated into Albania's public finance system According to the latest consolidating data, in 2024, approximately 10% of the national budget was classified as gender responsive budgeting, representing around 3% of the gross domestic product. This process continues within the medium term budgeted framework, linking gender equality initiatives and objectives with performance monitoring and public expenditure tracking. In addition, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare has established an inter institutional Working Group to analyze the economic and social dimensions of the unpaid care work with the aim of informing policies that address the disproportional burden of care placed on women. Fourth, on inclusion and intersectionality, in line with the principle of leaving no one behind, our policies are designed to address intersecting inequalities.

Particular attention is given to women and girls in situational vulnerability, including women with disabilities, Roma and Egyptian women, women in rural areas and those at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Our approach seeks not only to ensure protection but also to guarantee equal access to justice services and public participation. Fifth, Prevention and response to violence against women Women's participation in public life cannot be sustainable if women continue to face violence and intimidation. Earlier this year, Albania adopted a new law on prevention of and the protection from violence against women and domestic violence, strengthening so the victim centered approach, integrating risk assessment mechanism and explicitly addressing technology, facilitative violence and violence against women in public life.

When it comes to these statistics of domestic violence, 18 cases of extreme violence against women were reviewed at national level, three of which were classified as femicide in accordance with the United nations statistical framework. Although this represents a decrease compared to previous years, the data requires careful interpretation and sustained preventive vigilance. Importantly, in 72% of cases, victims had previously experienced ongoing abuse. This clearly demonstrates that femicide is rarely a sudden act, but rather a culmination of of a chain of preventive failures. These findings have reinforced our focus on early intervention and risk assessment.

With the support of UN women, Albania has established a femicide observatory within the Office of People's Advocate, serving as a dedicated mechanism for the systemic analysis of cases and the formulation of preventive recommendation policies Albania currently operates a nationwide network of more than 30 residential, emergency and community based services for survivors of violence and trafficking implemented through central local co financing model and strong partnership with the civil society organizations. These services include residential shelters, municipal emergency centers and four specialized centers addressing sexual violence, including two one stop centres for children based on the multidisciplinary barnhouse model. Last but not least, women, peace and security. The National Action Plan for the Implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 constitutes an integral part of Albania's national security architecture. In line with the youth peace and security agenda, Albania is also working to integrate the perspectives of young women and girls into security and public participation policies.

Excellencies, we remain aware of the challenges ahead of us that include the need to further harmonize our data systems, strengthen risk assessment capacities and ensure the consistent and sustainable implementation of protection mechanisms. From our experience, several lessons are clear. Legal reform must be accompanied by strong implementation capacities. Risk assessment must be central to prevention efforts. The public financing must be linked to measurable and accountable results.

Albania remains unwavering in its commitment to gender equality because it is not a privilege to be granted, but but a fundamental human right. Empowering women and girls is not only just, it is wise. It builds stronger economies, more inclusive institutions and more resilient democracies. In a world facing uncertainty and democratic challenges, Albania reaffirms that advancing women's rights is central to our national and global future. And we will continue to work tirelessly, relentlessly to achieve real, measurable, substantive equality for all women and girls.

Thank you very much.

Can I give my. Yeah, I will give the floor to Mr. Robert Gaida, the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination of Albania. Thank you.

Thank you. Dear Excellencies, dear state representatives, dear guests. First of all, I'm glad to be here in the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I'm here as a part of the Albanian delegation in the capacity of the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination, which is an independent authority, part of the Albanian state, but not of the Albanian government. As you can understand, my intervention will be more on criticizing rather than on achievements.

It is in this capacity that I wanted to share some important aspects on the situation of women and girls in Albania and the response of state authorities in improving their status in society. In this regard, part of the concerns goes on some structured and systemic problems which appear endemic in Albania and weigh more on the most vulnerable groups, including women and girls. Such lack of trust toward public authorities, narrow interpretation of laws from public authorities, especially those of social nature, permanent lack of budget lack of communication, coordination and collaboration between central government and local power lack of will of public authorities, including the Parliament and the government, to follow and implement the decisions and recommendations of national human rights institutions and civil society organizations. Most importantly, slow and not enough implementation of conventions, laws, recommendations, strategies, secondary legislation related to gender policies. In this way there is not a structured and systemic response on gender discrimination and on achieving gender equality.

What we see as an important challenge for Albanian authorities now is to fully guarantee the implementation and enforcement of the new Law on Gender Parity and the Law on Prevention and Protection on Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. In this regard, I think it is important to have now in Albania a specific and dedicated ministry only on social issues, equality and equal opportunities. On the other hand, the above mentioned concerns create also problems from an access to justice point of view. In this regard, some of the difficulties for women and girls to access to justice 1. Insecurities for women when they try to access justice because of lack of trust in public authorities, fear of repercussions of various dimensions, and sometimes they feel ashamed to expose and denounce violation of their rights, especially in cases of harassment or sexual harassment.

2. Lack of social response and socio economic support for women of different needs, mostly part of vulnerable groups such are women in rural areas, Roma women, women with disabilities, elder women, lesbians women, girls, women with mental disabilities, women with chronic diseases, immigrant women, single mothers and largely women with weak economic status in cases of domestic violence. On one side is the repressive response from the state and in this regard very good steps have been taken, but on the other side it is required an adequate, effective and reassuring response from a social and economic point of view. It is important that parallel to the repressive response to be guaranteed the social one, so women and girls that are victims of discrimination or domestic violence can feel secure that they will have full support coming from public authorities. I'm referring here to housing issues, social payments, institutional support, unemployment, psychosocial support, shelters, etc.

It is difficult for a woman who is not secure that will have such a support to go to courts or to other bodies and denounce or claim the violation of her rights. 3. Lack of understanding from courts of the complex forms of discrimination such are multiple intersectional discrimination, harassment structure discrimination, sexual harassment, etc. Also, the courts usually ignore conventions, standards or international rulings coming from recommendations of various committees and jurisprudence of courts. In this case it is also needed a proper translation of these instruments in a way to make it easy for different public authorities to consult the standards and apply them in concrete cases and and situations.

4. Length of procedures in courts and long distances between court and rural areas and fifth, lack of detailed and regulatory court rulings, creating difficulties and confusion in the execution phase of such decisions, weighing mostly on women and girls, especially in cases of domestic violence or divorce cases. It frequently happens that the dispositions of court decisions are general and don't rule on important matters related to children and on administrative and civil nature issues. In the end, another important issue which really concerns is that Albanian society remains strongly patriarchal and full of prejudices and negative stereotypes toward women and girls. Is because of this why it is difficult to counter hate speech in forms of discriminatory, derogatory, violent and sexist language that targets women and girls?

This task becomes more difficult when you see the use of that language in the parliament and in the media and the spread of it through digital means. This is why it is needed in Albania's strong educational policies to be implemented in schools and universities, but also in media and public discourse and gender mainstreaming to be a concrete thing and not just a theory written in important documents. Thank you for your attention.

I thank the Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Albania and her team. I now invite the partners.

Sorry. Introduce Ms. Ariola Likay, which is representative of civil society organizations in Albania.

So, thank you very much. Prevention is better than cure. Strengthening social dialogue with social actors. The new social contract Establish human rights as fundamental rights. There is no time to lose.

We need to take real actions to prevent femicide. Enough. With counting the murders of women and girls. Social partners together with the institution can guarantee real access to justice for women and girls, equality in wages, access to health care, support for victims of violence and harassment. BSPSH Independent Trade Unions of Albania as an important social actor, together with Albanian government ranked Albania in the first country in the world to ratify the C190 ILO Convention, the Convention that is important against violence and harassment and the third country in Europe.

Let's bring together and work together with social actors to say no to violence, to say no to death, yes to life and yes to peace and freedom. Thank you very much.

I thank the Minister of Health and Social Welfare and the team. And now I invite the partners of the presenting country to provide comments or pose questions. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Sweden.

Thank you, chair, for giving me the floor. And also wanted to thank the Deputy Executive Director of UN Women for the inspiring words at the opening. I take the floor now to. In response to the presentation by Albania but really wanted to also thank all those states that have volunteered to present the reports on the review theme this year. This takes courage and your willingness to be reviewed by the membership and by civil society partners and everybody here is commendable.

It shows commitment to accountability and allows for follow up. And this strengthens the csw. So I wanted to take this opportunity to also thank the distinguished representatives before from Namibia for your interesting presentation. Your consistently strong ranking on the global Gender Gap Index is truly impressive achievement, but also from the perspective of Sweden, a bit worrying. We are also in the top 10 where we feel Namibia gaining on us every year.

So this is a sense of healthy competition I hope is good. So, turning to Albania, thank you, Minister. And thank you to the Discrimination Commissioner and the Civil Society representative for your presentations and important message. We know of Albania's strong commitment to gender equality and empowerment of women and girls here at the un. You're a clear and consistent voice for these issues.

So it's been rewarding to learn more about your domestic work and the political commitment that you demonstrate. But of course also the challenges as outlined by the Commissioner. I think the speaker from the civil society as well. Minister, you highlighted Albania's commitment to a leave no one behind approach. Could you explain how you do this in practice?

In other words, how do your policies address the needs of women and girls from marginalized communities and those that may be facing different types of interrelating and intersecting discrimination? For example, can you talk about specifically about how you address survivors of violence from vulnerable groups, especially in cases when, as the Commissioner outlined, there may be a sense or a feeling of a lack of trust. I'd also be grateful if you could speak about how or if the process of integration to the European Union is impacting your work on gender equality. Fella Menderit. And thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Sweden. And now I give the floor the distinguished representative of Italy.

Madam Chair, express my congratulation to Albania for a strong political commitment to guarantee women effective participation in public life. I would just like to raise a question. Technology facilitated gender based violence is increasingly recognized as a global challenge.

Could you share how Albania is addressing digital violence against women and girls and what initiatives the country is pursuing in this area? Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Italy. And I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of oecd.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Dear members of Albanian delegation, Minister Salah, Commissioner Guide Civil Society Representative. Congratulations to the countries that and the organizers of this review session at OEC od we hold Women political participation and participation in decision making as an important mechanism to dismantle patriarchal power structures and practices and advance gender equality. OECO has 57 participating states where Albania is one of them. We also have a field office presence and we are very happy to be working with all of our participating states to advance equal, meaningful and inclusive participation.

I would also like to note audio's collaboration with Albania, including the gender audit of the Albanian Parliament that was conducted in 2025 and I hope will be presented this year with the further actions in a form of gender action plan. And if you allow, Madam Chair, I would like to ask two questions to distinguished members of Albanian delegation. So the first one would be regarding political parties. We consider political parties to be gatekeepers for democracy because they decide who gets to be at the big table and in the room where it happens. Parties are the main channel through which women enter political life and career.

Could you please tell us more about potential initiatives by Albania ongoing or maybe in the future, that will facilitate dialogue with political parties between political parties with a view to hold them accountable for equal participation for women and men. And the second question would be about the Parliament. So the gender audit has been done, but does Albania have any upcoming additional gender responsive approaches and practices that would secure long term reform and advance more the concept of gender sensitive parliament? Thank you so much. I thank the distinguished representative of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

I now invite the Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Albania to respond to the comments made and questions posed.

Thank you. So I'll answer the first two questions and I'll let the Commissioner answer the last two. Thank you very much. I thank Sweden for the question.

Addressing intersecting equalities is a key pillar of Albania's gender equality policies. Women and girls from the vulnerable groups often do face multiple forms of discrimination. This includes women with disabilities, Roma, Egyptians, women, women in rural areas and those really facing poverty and social exclusion. So our approach combines legal protection, targeted services and social support. The three pillars, the new law on the prevention protection from violence against women strengthens the victim centered approach.

It also ensures that risk assessment considers the specific vulnerabilities of the victims. Albania also operates a nationwide network of shelters and support services. As I described, these services are implemented in cooperation with the civil society. Many of them are financed through the Social Fund, which also allows the municipalities to support specialized services for the vulnerable groups. This system aims not only to provide protection, but also ensure access to justice, social services and the long term reintegration.

Thank you to Representative Italy. Thank you. This is really an important issue. It is also very close to my heart. Technology facilitative violence is actually a growing form of violence against women.

It affects women in politics, journalism, civil society, public life. Albania has taken important steps to address this challenge. Our new law on the prevention of violence against women explicitly recognizes technology facilitated violence. It also strengthens the institutional responsibilities for prevention, reporting and protection. We're also working with our international partners to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement and justice institutions.

This includes training on cybercrime investigation, digital evidence and victim centered approaches. Looking ahead, Albania is working with partners including the World Health Organization to establish a European Centre on Digital Violence. The center will focus on research, prevention, capacity building. Very important. And the psychosocial impact of online violence.

Thank you.

I thank the Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Albania. I will now briefly pause the meeting in order for the podium to be rearranged for the next presentations. Please remain seated.

Radio.

Very good morning. Let's move on with the meeting. We will now hear a presentation from Magdalena Drop, Director of the Department of Equal Treatment of the Foreign Minister of Poland. And we will then hear a video from Katarizna Ucula, the Secretary of State for Poland of Poland for Equality. Please play the video.

Dear Excellencies, dear colleagues, dear friends. Unfortunately my ministerial duties have kept me in Poland. But my wonderful team is there with you at the UN in New York and remains at your disposal. We want to reaffirm that gender equality

is a fundamental human right and a prerequisite for sustainable development and democratic governance. Women's equal participation in decision making strong strengthens institutions and leads to more inclusive and responsive policies. At the same time, violence against women and girls remains a critical barrier to their full participation.

Eliminating all forms of violence is essential to ensuring that women and girls can lead and engage in public life safely and without fear. Poland remains committed to advancing effective policies, strong institutions and continued cooperation to achieve substantive equality for all women and girls.

Mucho gracias. Thank you very much. I'll now give the floor to the delegation of Poland.

Thank you. Chair. Dear excellences, dear colleagues, dear friends, I would like to start with the lessons learned when it comes to the Polish experience. And let me briefly share the two key lessons we have learned. First, gender equality cannot be achieved through isolated actions.

It requires holistic, intersectional and multi level strategies. We must address structural barriers, recognize the diverse realities of women and girls and ensure that efforts at the local, national and international levels reinforce one another. Fragmented approaches bring fragmented results. Coordinated actions bring root change. Progress also must be measurable, continuous Monitoring and robust data collection are not the technical details.

They are the foundation of effective policy. If we want a sustainable impact, we need both comprehensive strategies and strong accountability. Only then can we move forward from intervention to transformation. Dear friends, to create real change, policies must go beyond words. We need a strong legal framework, comprehensive education and active engagement with all stakeholders.

We must prevent violence against women and girls and foster inclusive decision making at every level. Mentoring and training programs for women across all sectors are crucial. They empower, inspire and build resilient communities. By combining law, education, engagement and cultural transformation, we can create societies where every woman and girl can thrive. Empowering women and girls is not just their fight, it's shared responsibility.

Engaging men and boys is essential. Education programs, parental leave promotion and awareness campaigns are powerful tools that enable equality. When men stand as allies, when families share responsibilities and when communities embrace change, we create a safe and equal society for all women and girls. The work should be done for inclusion, for fairness and for a stronger future. Now giving floor to my colleague.

Thank you very much. Progress has been made, but challenges remain. In 2025, women make up around 29% of Polish parliament, increase from 18% in 2010. It was mentioned that in the higher chamber, Marshal is Madame Kidavojinska and in the lower chamber in Senate, two out of four deputy marshal are women.

In government, women hold roughly 30% of position. This number shows that while steps have been taken fully, gender partridge is not yet achieved. We must continue pushing for inclusive policies, equal opportunities and structural reforms to ensure women have an equal voice in in shaping our societies.

Progress is visible at the local level, yet gap remains. In 2024, women held about 1/3 of seat in municipal and city council and regional assembly. In county council, they account for 25% of members. While among commune mayors and city presidents, women represented only 60%.

These numbers remind us that leadership opportunities for women must be strengthened at every level.

Challenges WOMEN Women's representation in business Leadership remains a challenge. In the second half of 2024, women held around 24% of board position in companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. This shows that why process is being made, progress is being made. We must accelerate efforts to promote gender equality in the corporate sector. Inclusive leadership, mentorships, program, gender equality and policies are key to unlocking the full potential of women in business.

And I will give my colleague. Thank you, Rita.

So when it comes to engaging men and boys, it's not only a lesson learned as a Poland we have, but also a challenge. But engaging men and boys is essential not only as those affected by gender inequality, but as a key agent of change. Research shows that young men aged 16 to 29 often hold the highest levels of misogynistic attitudes. This underscores the urgent need to focus on education, awareness and support for those who actively promote gender equality. When it comes to good practices, a shining example of good practice are Women's Council we have in Poland.

Those bodies play a crucial role in promoting equality at the local level. They review draft resolutions, contribute to strategic planning, monitor implementation and actively promote equal treatment, including through civic education. By empowering these councils, we ensure that women's voices are heard, policies are inclusive and communities benefit from fair and equitable governance. Progress in legal frameworks is a key to protecting women Poland girls. In 2025, Poland introduced a new consent based definition of rape, strengthening the rights of survivors.

Since mid-2023, specialized support centers have implemented new standards to respond more effectively to domestic violence and improve access to essential services. Additionally, amendments to the penal code expanding penalties for hate crimes, including those motivated by gender, were passed in Parliament in 2025. These measures demonstrate a strong commitment to justice, protection and equality to all. In 2025, on international human Rights Day, a debate aroundtable addressed the urgent issue of cyber violence against women. Events like this highlight the growing recognition of digital violence and its serious consequences and invite the table to all the stakeholders.

They should be there so how we support and achieve accelerated implementation. Accelerating gender equality requires strong foundations and concrete action. Poland relies on unconstitutional guarantees including Article 33, we have in constitution and electoral quotas of 35% to ensure women representation. Of course EU regulations are always a tool also for us when it comes for the changes. Recent changes also to the labor code in 2025 enhanced transparency and reduced discrimination in recruitment.

Preventing and eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls is a top priority for Poland, including in the digital space. Poland's act on Counteracting Domestic Violence and the governmental Program for Counteracting Domestic Violence provides strong measures to address this issue.

Also in 2026, 2027, there will be implementation of one of the EU directive when it comes to gender based violence, it will be the first legislation specifically targeting violence against women and girls. This directive requires clarifying national laws on non consensual sharing of intimate material, super bullying, super stalking and other forms of online abuse floor to my colleague,

Thank you very much Magdalena. Strengthening gender responsive reforms and women's leadership is essential across all sectors. In science and research, 34% of universities have implemented gender equality plans and in 2025, the Council for Women in Higher Education and Science was established to advise on equality policies in public Policy activation and care programs support women returning to labor market, ensuring the full use of their talents and potential.

Promoting women's leadership in business and management is crucial for inclusive growth. Poland has launched initiatives to achieve gender parity on the boards of state owned com and state owned enterprises and large companies. Programs supporting women's entrepreneurship provide grants, mentoring and training in management and digital skills. By fostering leadership, empowering women and removing barriers in the corporate sector, we unlock talent, innovation and economic potential for the benefit of all.

Strengthening women's voice and ensuring no one is left behind is essential for inclusive governance. In 2025, women women made up approximately 30% of the council of Ministers with more female Secretaries of State, including the Secretary of State for Equality. Efforts are also being made to protect women voices in the digital space and to develop targeted measures for women from underrepresented groups.

To tackle gender inequality, we must address its root causes. In Poland, persistent gender division in labor, unequal access to power and the motherhood penalty, including career breaks and lower wages, remain significant. Significant barriers, weak enforcement of anti discrimination laws, violence and insecurity entrench cultural norms and stereotypes and intersectional inequalities further limit opportunities for women. Understanding these challenges is the first step towards meaningful reforms, inclusive policies and a society where everyone can rise equally.

Removing barriers to women's participation is essential for equality and progress. Women must have full access to public life, education and technology. By ensuring equal opportunities, providing the necessary tools and dismantling structural obstacles, we empower women to lead, innovate and contribute fully to society. Inclusive policies today build stronger, more resilient communities for tomorrow.

Engaging men and boys is key to achieving gender equality. Education in schools and equal parental leave policies, including encouraging fathers to take paternity and parental leave and their active participation in social campaigns like Stop Violence are essential steps. By involving men as allies and agents of change, we challenge stereotypes, prevent violence and create a society where equality is a shared responsibility.

Cooperation with stakeholders is essential to achieve lasting progress in gender equality. Our Department for Equal Treatment actively supports policies at both national and local levels, working hand in hand with municipalities to ensure inclusive decision making. Consultations with civil society organizations including Feminoteca Foundation, Daime, Jetsun, Shiwe foundation and Campaign Against Homophobia allow the meaningful participation, ensuring that diverse perspectives are considered in policy development. Pre consultations and dialogue with this organization strengthen our strategies, improve their effectiveness and help us identify gaps that might otherwise be overlooked.

Okay. Effective cooperation with stakeholders is key to advancing Gender equality and Social inclusions. Poland is implementing projects that promote social awareness, combat violence and ensure the participation of underrepresented groups. Collaboration with universities on the implementation of gender equality plans strengthens institutional policies and foster a culture of equality in education and research. Furthermore, regular reporting to European Institute for Gender Equality ensures transparency, accountability and alignment with EU standards.

Thank you for your attention.

I thank the Deputy Director of the Department for Equal Treatment at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland and her her team. I now invite the partners of the presenting country to provide comments or to pose questions. I therefore give the floor now to the distinguished representative of the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Thank you very much Chair for giving us the floor and to Poland for volunteering for this review. I'm speaking on behalf of the Netherlands where I work at the Department for Gender and LGBTIQ Equality. Dear members of the Polish delegation, let me extend my congratulations to your strong commitment to gender equality. And please allow me, Madam Chair, to ask two questions to the Polish delegation. The first question is about the low levels of part time work amongst women.

In Poland, in the Netherlands and in many other countries across the European Union, a significant number of women work part time work part time, often as a way to balance caregiving and household duties with paid work. Of course this can have a long term negative effects on their income, career prospects, pension savings and economic independence. We have seen a positive shift, but I noticed that already in Poland there is a low level of part time work amongst women. From the Polish perspective, can you explain what policies, labor market arrangements or social factors you would highlight that contributed to the to this my second question. We believe it's very interesting to bridge the discussion here today by not only asking whether women are formally allowed to participate in society, but also whether the environment around them is safe enough to do so.

You also mentioned the involvement of men and boys and the necessity to challenge harmful norms in your presentation. Today, online misogyny and gender disinformation increasingly function as a gatekeeping mechanism. They do not just attack women individually, but discourage women from speaking, leading and participating in public life. In the Netherlands, we are trying to review and introduce policies to tackle online hate against women, online sexual intimidation and prevention in education. How does Poland view this challenge and what measures do you think are most effective in preventing anti equality online subcultures from translation into real world exclusion and violence and against women and LGBTIQ persons?

How should governments respond together when online misogyny, gender disinformation and manosphere narratives start functioning as a democratic barrier to women's participation in public life. Thank you very much.

I thank the distinguished representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. And I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the Organization for Security, Security and Cooperation in Europe. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Madam Chair, warm congratulations to the members of Polish delegation. This is Office for Democratic Institutions on Human Rights that works across 57 participating states but is proudly based in Poland. And I would like to circle back with two questions. Circle back to the political institution and political sphere that remains the core subject that we are reviewing today.

And again, congratulations for volunteering to be reviewed today. So my first question will be about political parties that in Republic of Poland remain the democratic vessels of women and men into the institutions, into the parliaments. Does Poland have any ongoing initiatives that would engage different political parties with a view to encourage meaningful participation of women in political life? And the second question would be of course, naturally, about the national Parliament. Poland has a bicameral parliament with two chambers, same and Senate.

Are there any approaches, gender responsive approaches and practices that are taking place? Maybe some planned activities that promote gender sensitive parliament concept in either of the chambers? Thank you very much.

I thank the distinguished representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the Centre for Reproductive Rights. Please. Thank you, Madam Chair. On behalf of the center for Reproductive

Rights, I would like to express our gratitude to Poland for the the opportunity to participate in this dialogue and for the presentation. I would like to pose two questions to the distinguished delegation.

First, in addressing root causes of gender inequality and eliminating barriers to women's full participation, how is Poland planning to strengthen universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services in line with its international human rights obligations? Second, further in this regard and in realizing the right to the highest attainable standard of health, women and girls in Poland are facing barriers with regard to available and accessible reproductive health services.

In particular, the legal restrictions on abortion in Poland are creating significant access barriers that subject women and girls to harm. What concrete measures is Poland taking or planning to take to ensure that safe and legal abortion care is available and accessible across the country? Thank you very much.

I thank the distinguished representative of the Centre for Reproductive Rights. I now invite the Deputy Director of the Department for Equal Treatment under the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland to respond to the comments and questions raised.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you Netherlands for your questions. In Poland, full time employment remains the dominant labor market model shaped both by economic necessity and social expectations. Dual full time income is often essential for household stability, which has limited the structural expansion of part time work. At the same time, we have invested in family support policies, expanded child care infrastructure and strengthened parental leave, including dedicated leave for fathers, to facilitate women's continuous labour market participation.

However, low part time rates alone do not guarantee equality. The key lesson from our experience is policy should focus on ensuring economic independence, adequate social protection and shared caregiving responsibilities, rather than promoting or discouraging one employment model over another. Thank you also for your second question. This is a crucial issue for democratic resilience. Poland views online misogyny and gender disinformation not only as individual attacks, but as potential structural barriers to women's participation in public life.

The most effective response must be comprehensive enforce existing laws against threats and hate speech, strengthen cooperation with digital platforms, invest in media literacy and digital education, and ensure institutional support for women facing coordinated harassment. When online hostility becomes a gatekeeping mechanism, governments must act decisively yet proportionally, defending equality, protecting fundamental rights and safeguarding women's full participation in democratic life. Now I give the floor to Magdalena.

Thank you colleagues, thank you Madam Chair and thank you all our partners for the questions. And regarding the other question, when it comes to facilitating dialogue, so political parties indeed serve a serve as a key gatekeeper for democracy and ensuring equal and meaningful participation of women and men.

And it's central to inclusive governance. And in Poland we actively promoting initiatives to engage political parties in advancing gender equality. As we already said, it is important to implement quotas on election list. As we said, when it comes to 35%, to guarantee balanced representation and dialogue is ongoing through consultations, pre consultations, workshops aimed at rising awareness about structural barriers women face to politics. When it comes to building gender responsive approaches, political institutions are essential when it comes for the lasting reform.

In Poland, we are actively working to promote gender sensitive parliaments in both the same and the Senate. Ongoing activities include monitoring women's representation and participation in a parliamentary work, as well as supporting initiatives that integrate gender perspective into legislative processes. We also provide support workshops and training programs for parliamentarians and staff to strengthen understanding of gender equality. Looking ahead, we plan to further institutionalize these practices by developing comprehensive gender equality guidelines, creating programs and facilitating regular exchanges with civil society and international partners.

When it comes to the question from the center for Reproductive Rights and thank you for those important questions. Poland remains committed to ensuring access to quality health care services for all women and girls in line with its international human rights obligations and the principles of dignity, equality and non discriminations. Strengthening women's health and well being requires a comprehensive approach that includes improved access to information, preventive care and medical services across the life course. Poland continues to invest in strengthening its healthcare system, expanding access to maternal healthcare, family support programs and health education, while also working to reduce regional disparities in access to services.

When it comes to the second question, it is important to remind that also in 2024 Ministry of Health published new guideline in relation to reproductive health and the same happened when it comes to the guideline from the General Prosecutor and Poland recognizes that civil society organizations and women human rights defenders are essential partners in advancing gender equal equality and protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights. Their expectations, advocacy and direct work with communities are indispensable for identifying gaps in public policies and ensuring that the voices of women and girls are reflected in decision making processes. Thank you.

I thank the Deputy Director of the Department for Equal Treatment in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland and her team. We will now hear a presentation by Her Excellency Iman Suleiman Ibrahim, Minister of Women's affairs and Social Development of Nigeria. The presentation will be preceded by a video, so please could you play the video.

Across Nigeria, women women rise each day with resilience. Children dream of safer, brighter futures. Families hold on through hardship, uncertainty and hope. Yet the reality remains stark. Nigeria's poverty rate is estimated at over 46% with more than 104 million people living below the poverty line and about 63%.

Roughly 1,133 million Nigerians experiencing multi dimensional poverty across health, education and living standards. It's about time that we do it right. A country of over 200 million people.

I can we cannot serve our children one pint of milk in the classroom per day.

We didn't see the investment opportunity, we didn't see the economy in the past. Now, without saying it, we must work together so realize the dream.

These burdens are deeply gendered with women and girls facing compounded risks including high rates of sexual and gender based violence. But under the leadership of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that reality is being confronted with action through a deliberate national focus on women, children and families as the center of development. Nigeria is the heart of the continent and it is necessary for us to do what necessary to strengthen the economy. At the heart of this commitment is the Renewed Hope Social impact impact interventions 774 a unified gender responsive national delivery architecture designed to reach over 50 million women, children, families and vulnerable persons across all 774 local government areas of Nigeria. RHSC 774 is built to remove the everyday barriers that keep households trapped in poverty, limited access to finance weak social protection, food vulnerability, digital exclusion, insecurity and gaps in community support systems by delivering integrated interventions where people live.

This is nation building because empowering women is smart economics. When women gain resources and opportunity, families invest more in children's education and nutrition, businesses grow, communities stabilize and the nation moves forward. And so the nine connected programs of the RHSI 774 are driving visible change, touching homes, markets, schools, farms and local economies through power. Her 774 Nigeria is expanding access.

Gracias. Thank you very much. Respectfully, I would like to ask the Nigerian team to make their presentation.

Thank you very much Madam Chair. May I start by expressing our gratitude for the opportunity to participate in this voluntary review and to learn.

May I also appreciate the response team that swiftly provided care to the lady who fell in this room while this presentation was going on.

The priority theme of CSW 70 ensuring strengthening access to justice for all women and girls is a right, it's not a privilege and a foundation for equitable national development. We can't all agree more. The review theme today, women's participation in public life and the elimination of violence against women and girls. Both dimensions are deeply interconnected and mutually reinforcing. Building up from the CSW65 which coincided with the COVID19 lockdown, a period that exposed the structural inequalities, the heightened violence against our women and our girls and disrupted justice and protection systems globally.

For Nigeria, it reinforced the urgency for us to build a more resilient, a more inclusive and a gender responsive social system and to strengthen our social workforce, our foundational position with the population of With a population exceeding 240 million people, with women and girls representing over 50%. Access to justice in Nigeria is realized through economic empowerment, political representation, civic identity, our social protection, institutional inclusion. Inclusive justice systems are not just optional, they are foundational for any national stability and security.

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, speaking about national leadership and governance, our Women gains since 2021 as you can see on the screen, we've recorded measurable and significant gains in women's leadership across all three arms of government, the executive, the judiciary and the legislative. And also the civil service, financial sector and security architecture of the country. At the Federal Executive Council we have eight females across different portfolios. Trade, investment, industry, the creative economy, our social, our foreign policy, labor and productivity. And also for the third consecutive time, we have a female head of Civil Service in Nigeria since 2015 till date it's been a woman presiding over our social, our federal civil service and our chairman for the Judy for the Judiciary Council in Nigeria is a woman because she's the chief judge of our Supreme Court and the chief judge of our appeal court which is our intermediate court is also a woman.

And this is for the second time in the last 15 years. 40% of our supreme Court judges are women.

And if you look at the private sector particularly in banking and finance Today we have 11 MDs, the CEO of Banks in Nigeria. This is a great shift from just one in 2019 with almost 50% of the chairmen of banks being women in Nigeria. Nigeria has also validated and approved the third National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security. One of the few countries that have been able to do that. On the screen you can see those women.

So this is real life. And also we have two women that are heading our law enforcement agencies in Nigeria. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Person and also our Nigerian Immigration Services being headed by a woman for the second time.

Talking about our legislative, there's women in elective position, an area that we need to do more.

In Nigeria we have less than 5% representation in the National assembly we have 4, 4 senators out of 109. In the House of Representative we have 17 women out of 360 seats. In the state assembly we have 45 out of 991 seats with 13 states not having a single woman in their parliament. We have 11 deputy governors and no governor since 20 since in the last 20 seats six years. So we still remain at a stacking 5% below the global average of 26%.

But there are solutions underway. We are hopeful with the special reserve seat bill we'll be able to provide a shock therapy to the system and make way for more women. We're also looking at structured mentorship to be able to give women better confidence, to vie for offices and to be able to make it there. We're also doing a lot of voters registration. There was renewed registration for all political parties and we made sure that we mobilized a lot of women to be part of the party level politics, Economic empowerment as a justice and participation too.

When you talk about the economic spaces, 41% of SMEs are being owned by women in Nigeria and 47% of women access for more credit compared to 58% of men.

Structural barriers facing women in these spaces remains access to finance, access to market, access to land ownership, digital inclusion and our policy response are around affirmative procurement. Because right now only under 5% of female owned and female led businesses have access to public procurement opportunities. But just recently our President has approved the 35% affirmative procurement policy which will allow 35% of all public contracts being given to women. We also strengthened our gender responsive budgeting with an increase to domestic resources to gender initiatives. We're strengthening our interventions in digital identity platforms and also civic voters and registration links.

This is just a reputation being represented, but also we have our digital inclusion platform which is the Happy Women's app. It's a convenient platform for women and also an aggregator of opportunities.

I'd like to speak about the Nigerian for Women flagship intervention program. It's an economic empowerment program, the largest investment for women in Africa which is now at the scale up level. During the piloting phase, only six states out of 36 and FCT were being piloted. We saw the emergence of 26,577 affinity groups being formed. These are self help groups with over 560 60,000 women enrolling within the WAGs.

These are also self help groups with over 100,000 collectives of their own and they collectively save 4.9 billion naira which is almost $3 million of their own money. This is a grassroots program at a very local level. Now the Scale UP is a $540 million investment. This is a collaboration between the World bank, our national government and our subnational government. We're targeting 10 million women nationally in all the states including the Federal Capital Territory and 774 local government areas.

So it's a fully localized program for the scale up and sustainability.

Our flagship intervention program for women under this administration is called the Renewed Hope Social Impact Intervention 774 and is a nine pillar program. As you can see on the screen. It's Cut across powerha which is a clean energy access program. The Women Agro Expansion program. In Nigeria, 70% of the smallholders are farmers and they account for 80% of the output the food production.

So this is an intervention program to ensure that there's prosperity and then there's more opportunities for them. Along the value chain we have the National Child Advancement and achievement program. 50% of the Nigerian population are under the age of 15. So this is also an intervention for the children. The Digital Harmony program is also to ensure digital literacy and inclusion for our women and girls.

We're targeting 5 million women and girls. The Safeguard her is a protection mechanism to strengthen our GBV response so that it's survival centered. The women rise, innovate and create. It's a creativity and innovation platform for women. We're targeting 10 million women in our creative economy.

Sheeranz. That's the Women in Leadership pillar. Just like I said, there's a need for us to ensure that we address the challenges that we face when it comes to elective positions for women in Nigeria. So the she Runs program has been designed to strengthen that particular pillar. The Hasef Haven is also a women Child Family infrastructure that would help us to achieve our Family Cohesion and Advancement program.

Your Excellency, Delegates, Ladies and gentlemen, I have spoken about this slide. That's our intervention program, the renewed hope social impact774 the next page speaks to Access to Justice GBV Prevention and Response Systems Nigeria is implementing a comprehensive multisectoral approach to GBV prevention, response and survival support, treating GBV as both a human rights violation and a development impediment. Our National GBV Dashboard a national real time tracking system for GBV case monitoring, data aggregation response coordination. The Dashboard enables evidence based resource allocation and allows government to monitor case resolution, timelines and survival outcomes. The Sexual Assault Referral Centers Scale up will provide immediate and integrated medical, psychological and legal support to survivors.

SAC Centers serves as a primary institutional entry point for survivors seeking justice and recovery. At the moment we have about 50 sarc settings across the country. We're looking to scale up to almost about 200 within the next three years. Safe spaces and Shelter Networks we're expanding networks of safe shelters offering secure accommodation, rehabilitation services, psychosocial support for DBV survivors. These spaces will provide immediate safety safety and long time recovery pathways for vulnerable women and girls.

Community Partnerships there's close collaboration with traditional and our religious leaders, our NGOs, civil societies to shift harmful and social norms to provide survivor supports Strengthen community based prevention. Cultural engagement is central to sustainable behavioral change in our communities. We do have existing legal instruments like the like the VAP act of 2015, the Child Rights act of 2003. These are all protection legal frameworks that we have. We also have our gender policy and our Women's Economic empowerment policy.

Also just recently we have launched the Costed Action Plan on Ending Violence Against Children and its implementation plan. We've also launched the Costed Action Plan on Ending Child Marriage and its implementation plan.

I'll move to Lessons learned. Some of the lessons learned so far are structured grassroots delivery do work for us in Nigeria. So when we organize community level groups like the Women Affinity Groups under the Nigerian for Women program, we can generate durable, measurable and economic and social outcomes for our women. Economic empowerment does unlock justice opportunities. Women with financial independence are better able to access legal systems.

They are better able to assert their rights and participate in civic processes.

Digital and civic identity are very critical. Linking empowerment platforms to formal identity and voter registration systems strengthen political agency for our women and collective representation integration outperforms fragmentation. We have learnt that coordinated national systems that link social protection, economic inclusion and GBV response delivers Franklin far greater outcomes than isolated interventions. Some of the challenges that we've identified are low elective representation In Nigeria, women hold fewer than 5% of National assembly seats,

significantly below the global average of 26%. But deliberate affirmative mechanisms are urgently needed and they've been put in place which I mentioned the special reserve seat bill. Another challenge is uneven access to identification. Many women, particularly in rural and very urban areas and conflict affected areas, they lack formal identification documents limiting their access to services and civic participation. Sub national capacity gaps Capacity to implement gender responsive policy varies considerably across many states in Nigeria requiring targeted technical support and institutional strengthening.

We also highlighted a weak social workforce. Our care economy strategy which is on the way would help us to address this. Another challenge that we have identified is the technology facilitated gbv. Emerging forms of digital and online gender based violence require updated legal frameworks, digital literacy programs and new institutional response to address them. Some good practices that we have highlighted, one of them being the Happy Women's App.

It's a digital inclusion initiative targeting 10 million women combining financial tools, health information, civic education, identity services in one platform. The National Gender Based Violence Dashboard which is a real time data collection and case tracking enabling evidence based government response, resource deployment and accountability in addressing sgbv the SACS center scale up expansion of sexual assault referral centers providing coordinated survivor support, medical, psychological and legal in a city single accessible entry point and then the fit and community leaders engagement, systematic collaboration with traditional rulers, our religious leaders and embedded gender equality within cultural frameworks.

In conclusion, our family focused approach, social policy and international cooperation Mr. President our President has declared 2026 as the year of Family and Social Development. The declaration underscores the centrality of family to national stability, cohesion and inclusivity and inclusive development. It guides all social and economic Programs Priorities of 2026 Placing the household at the center of Nigeria's development agenda. The Universal Cash Grant a critical tool for reducing poverty and inequality in Nigeria household given that approximately 63% of Nigerians experience multidimensional poverty, family centered social protection instruments are essential for long term stability and intergenerational well being, strategic partnership and international cooperation. Nigeria remains committed to reboost partnerships with traditional and religious leaders, NGOs, civil society, society and our international partners.

These alliances are essential for norm change, survival support, community prevention and scaling successful intervention. Nigeria demonstrates that access to justice for women and girls are achieved when empowerment is structured, when representation is deliberate, when data is visible, when cultural norms are engaged, when systems are coordinated. Nigeria remains committed to accelerating progress through affirmative action, robust economic intervention, strategic partnerships, ensuring that justice for women and girls is system is systematic, measurable and enduring. Nigeria remains committed to the principle of global collaboration and partnership. I thank you.

I thank the Minister of Women's affairs and Social Development of Nigeria and her team. I now invite the partners of the presenting country to provide comments or pose questions. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Serbia.

Hello Madam Minister, on behalf of the Ministry of Gender Equality of the Republic of Serbia, I would first like to express my appreciation for the cooperation we have had through this week. It has been great pleasure to exchange views and experience with your delegation and I have to say that your passion and passion of your team for this

topic is very impressive and crucial for the topics that we do. I'm very pleased to hear about the wide range of programs aimed at accelerating women empowerment. Nigeria's approach clearly highlights that access to justice for women is closely linked to their economic empowerment.

So in that regard, I would be interested to learn more about how initiatives such as Nigeria for Women program and the Happy Woman app are helping women achieve not only financial independence but also stronger civic participation and improved access to justice. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Serbia. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Gambia.

The opportunity and thank you Madam Minister. I want to comment your presentation and the milestone recorded in women's empowerment in your country. However, sustainability is often challenged for women's empowerment. What legal and policy reforms are you

adopting to address the problem, particularly at the local community level? And how is your city's CEDAW initiative contributing to this as the OLE Human Rights Treaty which affirm and target cultural tradition as the influential force in shaping women's rights in Nigeria.

Thank you. I am Bintou Fati from the Gambia.

I thank the distinguished representative of Gambia.

We have slightly exceeded our available time. Your Excellency, the Minister of Women's affairs and Social Development. So we will give you one minute please to answer the comments and the questions and if you need to, you can provide answers in writing. Thank sorry separately. Thank you.

Thank you so much. My one made response to this question is that most of these interventions are localized and when you give local ownership, then there could be sustainability and scalability. I thank you.

I thank the Minister of Women's affairs and Social Development of Nigeria and her team. We will now briefly pause the meeting to reorganize the podium for the next presentation. Please remain seated. Thank you.

Continuamos con lasacion. We'll now move on with the meeting. Please.

Gracias. Thank you.

Please, could you take your seat so that we can continue with the meeting? I know that we have some people entering the room, but I'd respectfully ask you to stay as quiet as possible and please take your seats.

Gracias. Thank you.

So let's move on. We will now hear from Her Excellency Gloria Reyes, Minister of Women of the Dominican Republic. Please.

Thank you very much. Madam Chair, Ministers delegates a very good afternoon.

It's an honour to participate in this review of progress towards the full and effective participation of women in public life and the elimination of violence against women. Please receive the friendly greetings of the Government of the Dominican Republic and the Administrative of Women. Today I would like to share with you how our country has moved ahead in promoting gender equality through democratic political and social reforms and a recent commitment to the economic empowerment of women. This dialogue is also being held at a significant time as we commemorate 30 years of the Beijing Platform for Action, which remains a fundamental compass in ensuring equality between men and women. The Dominican Republic is a country of 11 million inhabitants where women represent just over half of the population.

Over the last decade, gender equality has been incorporated gradually in democratic and institutional efforts across the country. In preparation for this CSW 70, the Ministry of Women can carried out a national consultation. The aim was to better understand the realities, challenges and priorities of women across the country. Through this process, 3,747 Dominican women shared their perspectives, allowing us to align public policies with the voices of those who should be the main beneficiaries of those policies. This consultation revealed several challenges that continue to influence the lives of many dominican women.

Firstly, 80% of women reported that unpaid care responsibilities limited their personal and professional opportunities. Secondly, more than three quarters said that access to stable, decent employment remained a significant challenge. Thirdly, 63% said that they feared retaliation and that was the main reason for not reporting violence. The consultation also included the perspectives of adolescents and young people through the you report platform. This allowed us to better understand their perceptions on equality opportunities and violence.

Their answers highlight the importance of strengthening prevention efforts from an early age and of addressing the social norms that might normalize violence. The Dominican Republic has strengthened its legal and institutional framework to advance towards gender equality. The 2010 Constitution in Article 39 recognizes equality and non discrimination as fundamental principles of our legal order. This article enshrines the right to equality not only as a formal dimension, but also a mandate for state action so that equality is real and effective. Electoral reforms have introduced a rule for parity of 40 to 60%, ensuring a more balanced representation in public spaces.

Furthermore, jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court has reinforced the legitimacy of affirmative action as a tool to promote more inclusive democracy. The Constitutional Court has established that these measures do not violate the principle of equality. Rather, it develops it and allows us to overcome historical divides. Together, all of these reforms have established more robust institutional bases for the participation of women in public life. As a result of this progress, women's political participation in public decision making has been on the up.

Currently, women represent 36% in the Chamber of Deputies. We have 71 women currently elected to Congress. We have with us a deputy, Maria Otis. She is one of our legislators. In addition, women represent around 60% of those matriculated to the judiciary.

This shows an increasing presence in key state institutions. While we have made meaningful progress, we do recognize that reaching full parity remains a pending challenge. The elimination of violence against women is a central priority for the Dominican Republic. Over the last few years, the country has carried out key legal reforms to strengthen our response to gender based violence, including the classification of femicide as a crime, looking at physical and digital abuse and including them all in the criminal code. We have also reformed the trafficking law, which expanded the definition of the crime to include new forms of trafficking and strengthening protection for victims.

We've also taken decisive steps to protect girls with the absolute prohibition of child marriage, and we have an adolescent from the ASO province who works in this area. In public policies, we have been implementing a plan for a life free of violence for women, together with other policies in this area. One of the most important challenges in the Dominican Republic has been developing social protection policies to ensure the economic empowerment of women. Through our main strategy for social protection, Superafte, we have reached 1.5 million families. In addition, 290,000 people have been involved in training programs, 80% of whom were women.

And more than 30,000 women have been supported through entrepreneurship and financial education programs. For the first time, the job generation in the country shows a clear female face. Over the last year, 82% of the new jobs created were for women and the rate of occupation reached 62%, showing Greater Women's insertion in the labor market. These programs not only seek to alleviate poverty, but also promote economic mobility and empowerment for women in the long term. Recognising the unequal distribution of unpaid care work, we have forged ahead in building national care system.

Through the Communities of Care strategy, we've managed to certify more than 1500 certified caregivers. We also have 24,000 households where we identified care needs. This aims to redistribute the care responsibilities and provide services to women to allow them to participate more in economic life. This is not only a social policy, it is social infrastructure for equality. Women also play a fundamental role in rural development and food security.

Through initiatives that support agricultural cooperatives, greenhouse production and inclusion in tourism value chains, they are working to strengthen local economies, improving their communities. This has made significant progress. According to the FAO, undernourishment fell from 8.7% in 2019 to 3.6% in 2025, placing the country among some of the most advanced in terms of reducing hunger. Behind every policy, there are human stories. For instance, here we have a producer from the Anda Gracia Province.

She represents a new generation of women who are actively participating in rural development. Her experience recognizes the impact of of inclusive policies on people's lives and the lives of their communities. Histories like hers remind us that gender equality isn't an abstract aim, rather a path towards equality and development. And we would just like to briefly share a video, just 40 seconds, sharing the testimony of this lady. Thank you.

I thank the Minister of Women of the Dominican Republic and her team. Please play the video.

For us. It has been amazing to be able to work with women in this project. There are eight of us in this project. And it's been amazing to see how much we can bring extra income to our households without having to leave our communities, our children. I love being able to work with other people, feeling useful and feeling useful to society.

Every year, our project produces 42,000 tons of tilapia. Being able to do this every day together, being able to do this has been absolutely incredible. Being able to carry on studying, working in the field, and without having to forget our roots, our parents and our children. It's been amazing. Thank you.

Mucho gracias. Thank you very much. I now invite the partners of the presenting country to provide comments or pose questions. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Canada. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Chair. And thank you, Honorable Gloria Reyes, Minister of Women of the Dominican Republic, for your presentation. Excellencies, Friends, Canada commends the Dominican Republic for progress made to advance gender equality, including the advancement of democratic reforms, strengthened legal frameworks, social policies and women's economic empowerment. Gender equality is an essential component of strong, vibrant democracies and economies. The participation of women and youth is essential is an essential component of responsive evidence based interventions, including those highlighted in your presentation.

Minister, we recognize efforts taken by the Dominican Republic to strengthen the legal framework to combat gender based violence, including through criminalization of femicide, regulation of harassment in the online sphere, prohibition of child marriage and strengthen legislation against trafficking in persons. Minister, violence against women remains as one of the main barriers to women's full participation in public life. Could you please share the key priorities of the Dominican Republic to strengthen prevention and response to gender based violence? Gracias.

I thank the distinguished representative of Canada and I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the European Union. Please. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Madam Minister. The EU welcomes the Dominican Republic's comprehensive presentation and achievements in the implementation of commitments in the areas of women's political participation and elimination of violence.

In particular, I wish to salute the the measures aimed at gender balance in political life, the judiciary and the Constitutional Court. In addition, the strengthening of the legal framework on gender based violence as well as the focus on women's economic empowerment and care policies also deserve recognition. These reforms, from electoral parity measures to the National Plan for a life free of Violence and the development of a national care system are important steps to translate gender equality commitments into concrete change in the lives of women and girls. Dear Minister, the Dominican Republic has made progress in promoting women's participation in political decision making and in this regard I

would like to ask you what additional measures you consider important to continue advancing toward more balanced representation in leadership positions. And I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of the European Union. I now invite the Minister of Women of the Dominican Republic to respond to the comments and questions. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. I will firstly address the first question raised by Canada. The Dominican Republic recognizes that violence against women represents one of the main obstacles for the full exercise of women's rights and their participation in public life.

For this reason, as I was saying, we have implemented institutional and legal reforms geared towards ensuring firstly prevention and timely response to gender based violence.

We have, for instance, a full legal framework in the new criminal code that I've also so I provided as an example. But we also have better coordination between the Cabinet, women and institutions, state institutions working in coordination to provide monitoring and more effective follow up for everything related to care prevention and also reparation for violence. All of this is essential. Rethinking in addressing cases of this violence. This has also been rolled out in accordance with the Plan for a Life Free of Violence and an initiative undertaken by our General Prosecutor's office which provides centers for victims, which was driven by the need to provide a more community based approach for the female victims of violence.

Another response carried out by the Ministry of Women and the Police was to ensure that women have access to easy reporting for cases of violence. These specific examples are all part of how we have strengthened our response and how we address the cases of female victims of violence and how we try to avoid many others falling victim to such violence. On the second question question raised by the European Union, we thank you for that question that was related to what other action we deem important to increase women's participation in leadership spaces and in public life and in decision making. As I was saying, we have undertaken vital reforms. We have a legal framework and an equality law which has allowed a to.

Increase around 30 spaces for female deputies from one election to the next. We now have the responsibility to ensure coordination between the state and the Congress and the political party system to promote mechanisms that ensure better and more effective women's participation in these spaces of public life. We have a women's bench bench of women's legislators which now has 17 laws in progress. These are laws that seek to promote gender based laws and or address legislation that contains bias, etc. And we think that this will allow us to ensure that we we fully comply with the parity that we aspire to and ensure greater participation of women at all levels of leadership.

Our task for as we look ahead to 2028, which will be when we have our next election, will to be ensuring meaningful increase in these spaces which will bring us even closer to parity. Thank you very much.

I thank the Minister of Women of the Dominican Republic and her team. We will now hear a presentation from Her Excellency Ainura Orozbaeva, Deputy Minister of Labour, Social Welfare and Migration of Kyrgyzstan and His Excellency Iskender Sadi Galiev, Deputy Minister of Justice of Kyrgyzstan and Her Excellency Umel Tan, Concomber, the Prosecutor in the Court the General Court of Kyrgyzstan for their presentation. Thank you

distinguished delegates. Ladies and gentlemen. At the outset I would like to thank the organizers this interactive dialogue dedicated to the full and effective participation of women in public life and decision making. It is also dedicated to the elimination of violence as an important prerequisite for achieving gender equality and broadening the opportunities available to women and girls. Now this topic was Central to the 65th session of the convention, the CEDAW, and here at the 75th, at the 70th session of the CSW.

It's equally important as a topic for all states, women's participation in public and civic life is impossible unless we have systemic work underway to prevent violence and dedicated to breaking down discriminatory barriers, creating a safe environment. Now, the Kyrgyz Republic attaches particular importance to these issues. Over the last few years, we've had large scale events in our country so as to strengthen the legal and institutional mechanisms aimed at bolstering the protection afforded to women's rights, opening up new opportunities to women and preventing all forms of violence. I would like to introduce my colleagues who will go into the details of the specific measures and practical steps the Kyrgyz Republic is undertaking. In this area.

We have the Deputy Minister of Labour, Social Welfare and migration of Kyrgyzstan, Ms. Aynura Orozbaeva, as well as the Deputy Minister of justice of Kyrgyzstan, Mr. Iskender Siddurgalev. I would now like to give you a snapshot of the key areas of our work. What we're seeing today is that violence against women and girls is becoming increasingly complicated in terms of the form it takes. They are keeping apace with developments in technology alongside traditional forms forms of violence. We're seeing more and more instances of violence using digital technologies, including online harassment, cyber crimes and online threats.

The Kyrgyz Republic believes the fight against violence to be a comprehensive battle. It requires consistent efforts to be taken at the legislative, institutional and practical level. In 2024, Kyrgyzstan signed the ILO Convention on Violence and Harassment in the Workplace. Now, this decision meant that we strengthened our commitment to creating a safe working environment for women. An important milestone was the fact that we updated our national labor legislation.

The new Labor Code, which entered into force in 2025, superseded previous versions which contained restrictions imposed on women across 400 professions. Special guarantees were maintained for pregnant women and breastfeeding women in professions where there are additional risks. This is a way for us to break down structural barriers and to broaden women's economic opportunities. We are paying particular attention to creating institutional mechanisms. In Kyrgyzstan, we have a National Family Council which also focuses on gender development, social protection.

This centre coordinates state policy in this area. Moreover, state bodies and local government authorities have all appointed gender focal points. Thanks to this, we can mainstream gender approaches across government bodies. In parallel, we have a system for preventing prevention. We are doing this, for instance, in the transport sphere.

We have education programs raising awareness about how to prevent violence and how to create A zero tolerance culture vis a vis discrimination. An important component of our work is bolstering digital literacy so that people can recognize cyber violence. Men and boys have an important role to play. They are our allies in promoting important social changes as well as a culture of equality. The Kyrgyz Republic is also creating interagency response systems, pooling law enforcement agencies, efforts, those of the judiciary, the health system and social services.

We have a number of crisis centers, a network in fact, which provide assistance to victims. At the same time, we have digital tools for providing support that are being developed, for instance, online channels through which people can access help. There's e justice as well. That's an important area that's particularly important for people living in remote areas of our country. Distinguished colleagues, cutting edge technologies are changing our world, but they shouldn't become a tool for waging violence and engaging in discrimination.

That's why today what's particularly important is to bolster international cooperation to enhance legal mechanisms at our disposal and to ensure that we provide sustained assistance to victims. The Kyrgyz Republic stands ready to continue sharing its experience, to develop partnerships and to work hand in hand with the international community to ensure that every woman, every girl, can live in safety, freedom and dignity. Thank you for your kind attention. With your leave, I would now like to give the floor to the Deputy Minister for Labor, Social Welfare and migration of Kyrgyzstan, Ms. Aynura Ozubaiva, which will tell us in detail about the measures that are being taken in the social sphere. You have the floor, madam.

Thank you. Dear colleagues, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Ministry of Labor, Social Welfare Immigration of Kyrgyzstan, I would like to tell you about the national progress we've made on following up to the CSW 65 outcomes, as well as tell you about our plans for the future. In my presentation, I want to tell you about the key outcomes of the legal reforms, institutional strengthening work, as well as, of course, the practical mechanisms which are helping Kyrgyzstan to make sustained progress towards gender equality.

Over the course of the report period, we've compared and updated our national legislation to bring them in line with international standards. We have state laws guaranteeing equal rights and opportunities for men and women. This prohibits direct and indirect discrimination, ensures equal rights in politics, in the civil service, in economic affairs and in terms of access to property. It also introduces response, or rather strengthens responsibility, strengthens the responsibilities of state institutions. We have a law for protecting everyone from domestic violence.

We have a number of other laws which call for gender assessments, or rather equality assessments of existing Laws on our books. We also have a decree promoting women's leadership, a program out to 2030. We have another program promoting women's entrepreneurship. We have a national strategy promoting gender equality out to 2030, a national strategy. Also a national Plan of action for implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325.

In addition, we heightened our international commitments. We have a wealth, a relative wealth of experience as a party to cedaw, the YON Convention and as my colleague just mentioned, we ratified the ILO 190 Convention on on the prevention of violence and harassment in the Workplace. A few years ago, we were the first country to do this in the region. On the economic front, according to the World bank, in 2025, Kyrgyzstan was one of the top six reformers for that year. After we adopted in 2025 the new labor code which my colleague mentioned, we strengthened all legal guarantees for women in the workplace.

Thus, we bolstered our ranking in terms of the economic opportunities we give women woman. Our national strategy on gender equality out to 2030 has been implemented in three stages. 22 2024, 2025, 2027 and 2028. 2030. Those are the three stages.

We grouped the priorities including for instance, broadening economic rights and opportunities for women, cultural and functional education, protection from discrimination, equal opportunities to justice, gender parity in decision making and regulatory policy enhancement. This attests to our long term vision, the fact that we're taking a phased approach to advance our reforms. We have a system for coordinating all of this. We have a National Council for family issues, gender issues. They answer to the Cabinet of Ministers.

Specifically the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the Parliament is also in charge of a specific body. Working on this front, we have relevant agencies within all government bodies. The list goes on. On top of that, in every state body and also at the regional level, we have seven oblasts in Kyrgyzstan. There are focal points in charge of gender policies.

This not only ensures a division of labor, but ensures horizontal links between the various bodies and various regions. We've strengthened our gender statistics system as well. That's worth mentioning. We've incorporated the basic minimum number of gender indicators that the UN recommends, thereby bolstering SDG monitoring and overall oversight of programs. Thanks to this progress, we've managed to take evidence based decisions and to swiftly correct course if need be.

Recently we adopted a Women's National Leadership Program. I mentioned this already. And also In February of 2026 the the President introduced a requirement for 3070 gender balance in the talent pool, which is very much in keeping with the other work we're doing. The electoral legislation has also preserved women's quotas. And as the head of my delegation said, in the 2025 elections, 33% of parliamentary seats were filled by women, the highest in the history of my country.

We also have a domestic violence law that was adopted. We have new measures being taken to help victims. In 2024, we adopted new law on sexual, gender and other kinds of violence. Corrective programs for offenders were introduced, amongst other measures. Today, 11 state and government bodies are incorporated into the system of combat for combating domestic violence.

This includes a whole host of bodies. This means that we respond in lockstep with other bodies. We've made amendments to the code of criminal code. Rape investigations have, for instance. There's been some reforms on that whole.

Host of other measures has been taken on this front. According to the Ministry of the Interior, we've seen greater complaints lodged. This not only reflects the fact that there is a problem, but it shows that victims are more willing to come forward. We have a system of crisis centres. There's procurement underway.

The government is growing the amount of financial resources which is being funneled to these centres. So we're helping women victims. We have a new hotline and day in, day out, we are every year. In fact, we're partaking in the Violence Free Day that's held every year. We have a zero tolerance policy as well, which our president endorsed.

We've also showed our commitment to leaving no one behind to that principle. We're broadening opportunities for elderly women, rural women, women with disabilities. The list goes on. We take demographics into account. We're combating ageism and developing programs for older women.

We're focusing on rooting out the key causes of gender inequality, so structural factors which are creating long term barriers for women and girls. These efforts are being pooled across various areas of public policy. I thank you.

I would now like to give the floor to my colleague, the Deputy Minister of justice of Kyrgyzstan, Mr. Iskander Siddhaghalev.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Kyrgyz Republic has consistently, step by step, strengthened our national system for protecting women's rights. As a country that upholds the rule of law, we guarantee freedoms and rights irrespective of gender. We combat discrimination actively, laws on equal freedoms and opportunities. The foundation for our national gender policy which states that government bodies are responsible for implementing these principles. At the start of this year, Seriya Japadov, the President of our Republic, signed a decree on implementing a system for gender quotas in our governance.

70% is the maximum that can be occupied by any one gender. We have women's leadership programs as well and we have a talent pool that is being set up now. The aim of the reform is to combat gender stereotypes and to ensure equal opportunity in accessing official positions. Women candidates are being given professional training to help bolster their career progression. In this talent pool, we should have at least 30% women.

At the legislative level, we have a 30% minimum quota for women in the national parliament and local parliaments as well. De facto women's participation in practice that is is growing. We have 42% women in some of our local parliaments, which shows that we're translating all of this into concrete steps, helping women to accede to decision making. We have a state policy on ensuring gender equality which helps to implement the constitutional principle of equal opportunities and rights for women and men. Implementing this quota is in keeping with our international commitments, including within the framework of the un, implementing the recommendations of cedaw.

Thus, we're seeing a transition from formally enshrining these principles in our legislation to actually translating this into action. At the legislative level, we're paying particular attention to combating gender discrimination and violence. Our national legislation bans direct or indirect discrimination, including discrimination based on family status, pregnancy and the distribution of household tasks. In instances of sexual harassment and unequal pay, there are sanctions. Domestic violence is a serious, serious challenge.

Our analysis showed that mechanisms for protecting victims need to be worked on. Further, we've taken preventive steps. Therefore, in 2025 we've introduced E oversight system, so e monitoring of persons who have committed domestic violence crimes. They might have to wear ankle bracelets, they might have to report through mobile applications. This means we have round the clock control to ensure that they are complying with the law.

These sanctions they were given, this is a way of combating family violence and ensures that law enforcement can respond immediately. This is an effective mechanism for for defending victims. These steps are aimed at ensuring there is no repeat offending. It's part of a culture of zero tolerance vis a vis this kind of violence. An important part of our work is ensuring effective access of women to justice.

Those who have suffered as a result of domestic violence, they can get qualified legal aid lawyers in the system, get specialized training to work on violence related cases, taking into account their specific characteristics. They are very sensitive. After all, the Kyrgyz Republic stands convinced that ensuring women's safety and their fully fledged participation in public political life are important tasks. A woman cannot fulfill her potential unless she's protected from violence and discrimination. I thank you.

I thank The Deputy Minister of Labor, Social Welfare and Migration of Kyrgyzstan and the Deputy Minister of Justice of Kyrgyzstan and the Deputy Public Prosecutor. I now invite the partners of the presenting country to provide comments or pose questions. I now get the floor to the distinguished representative of Romania. Please. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

And I join again today's discussion on a voluntary presentation of the 13 member states. I echo what Sweden said earlier. Actually, if I may make a comment this morning. It is courageous of all these countries

to do these presentations and to advocate for the advancement of gender equality. It is encouraging also that we have both member states and non member states of the CSW that are doing this.

So congratulations to all of them. On Kurdistan, I think we heard the marathon of how things you're doing there and it's encouraging. I think for me it will stay how you move from traditional to online and how to try to fight also

online bullying against women. And I think I heard a lot of increased reporting of domestic violence cases. And on this I would like to ask where should victims of domestic violence seek assistance in this environment that you

are saying that you have already increased cases? I thank you very much. I thank the distinguished representative of Romania. I now get the floor to the distinguished representative of the Russian Federation.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair. We're very grateful to the distinguished delegates representing Kyrgyzstan for their substantive presentation on the efforts your country has taken to promote and broaden women's opportunities as well as the comprehensive measures you've taken to combat violence against women. Would be grateful if you could provide greater color regarding the crisis centers operating in your country. One of your speakers referred to that. And also if you could tell us about other measures that have been granted to women who find themselves in particularly difficult situations.

I thank the distinguished representative of the Russian Federation. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the Philippines. Please.

Hello, Mabuhay. I am Anne Mati Bug, Chairperson for the Committee on Women Gender Equality of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. And I'm honored to join you at the 70th session of the Commission on Status of Women. Ensuring access to justice for women and girls is central to advancing their full and effective participation in public life. Participation cannot be meaningful where justice is inaccessible, where protection is uncertain, or where speaking out carries personal and political risk.

In the Philippines, we recognize that these justice gaps stem not from the absence of right, but from the need for systems to better respond to evolving forms of violence and exclusion across digital spaces, workplaces and political institutions. These systematic gaps in protection continue to silence voices, restrict opportunities and weaken democratic participation. We have approved measures strengthening protection against technology, facilitated violence against women, recognizing that online harassment and digital intimidation are increasingly used to silence women and restrict their participation in public life. By affirming that digital harm is real harm, these measures reinforce survivor centered remedies and accountability. These reforms are informed by engagement with women's organizations and community level work, including my involvement in the Zonta Club of Laguna, which grounds our policy in lived realities and local needs.

We are advancing reforms to discriminatory provisions in marriage and family laws that undermine women's economic security, parental authority and access to justice for the Philippines. Our commitment is clear. Women must be able to participate fully and meaningfully in public life. Justice must be accessible, participation must be safe, and equality must be informed through institutions. These commitments align with our shared responsibility under this commission to dismantle structural barriers and ensure justice works for all women and girls.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I thank the distinguished representative of the Philippines. I now invite the Deputy Minister of Labor, Social Welfare and Migration of Kyrgyzstan and the Deputy Minister of Justice as well as the Deputy Public Prosecutor to answer the questions raised.

First and foremost, thank you very much for expressing interest. For your questions. Indeed, we had limited time.

The first question. Thank you for your question. If you've suffered from violence, who can you turn to? Under our legislation, all citizens, including women, girls, foreigners, stateless persons, those who have suffered from domestic or family violence can talk to the territorial division for the relevant agency. Also the social protection agency throughout the country of representatives of our ministry.

You have territorial divisions for child protection, you have the Ministry of Health bodies. You can go also if it's in education, you can go to the head of your educational institution, Mayor's offices. Local authorities are not sitting idly by. Through collaboration between the various state bodies, all of the various structures that I mentioned earlier, they can all help women in such situations. According to our legislation, victims can turn to all of these various bodies and then, as per the protocol, various steps are taken.

The girl or the woman in question is protected. She is afforded protection. The second question from the representative of the Russian Federation. Thank you. Equally interesting, your question.

I think they're all very much logically linked. One stems or flows from the other. Indeed, in my speech I said that we are promoting, we're developing these crisis centers. These crisis centers lend Sakura to women. And yesterday I attended a very important high level event on combating violence against women and girls.

And I heard the Russian presentation. We heard about just how well developed these crisis centers are in Russia. We understand that it's impossible to do without such centers. They're very helpful. We have 17 such crisis centers for women who've suffered family violence.

Two are municipal, in Bishkekanarin. And in these centres we have temporary shelters. You can get medical, psychological, legal, social services. And without a doubt, you can get temporary shelter. I also mentioned procurement.

The state engages in social procurement and in fact we've increased the amounts. 28 million soms is now the size of the procurement. NGOs can partake in these tenders and access this money. And that's another way of broadening the network of these crisis centers. We can broaden the network, employ more people.

So that's a good mechanism. Between 2022 and 2025, as part of this government procurement, the amount of Funding grew from 12 to 28.6 million SOMs. From 12 to 28.6 million SOMs. We also have a one stop shop for victims where they can get all the assistance they need. Furthermore, as part of the procurement work I mentioned, we have a separate hotline where a woman, a girl, who's suffered some kind of violence, can call at any time.

So, thanks. Through all of these mechanisms, state bodies and NGOs can work hand in hand, effectively collaborate to address this very important challenge combating violence against women and girls. Turning now to the third question. In fact, I think I'll hand over to my colleagues. To my colleagues to answer the third question.

From the distinguished representative of the Philippines, a very good afternoon to you once again, regarding guarantees.

Our legislation guarantees equal rights for everyone partaking in a judicial proceeding. Furthermore, the state is supposed to guarantee legal aid to the to the applicant, and this applies to both criminal cases and civil cases. The state guarantees qualified professional legal aid.

I thank the Deputy Minister of Labour, Social Welfare and Migration, as well as Deputy Minister of Justice and the Deputy Public Prosecutor, as well as the whole team from Kyrgyzstan. We have thus concluded our program of work for this meeting. I once again would like to thank the presenting countries and their partners for their excellent case studies. The interactive dialogue on the review theme will continue this afternoon at 3pm in this room. Information on the session is available on the igov page portal igov.un.org the meeting is adjourned.