Venue: United Nations Headquarters, New York
Dates: 10–21 March 2025
Organized by: Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
General Context
In 2025, the international community commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) during the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), held from 10 to 21 March 2025 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The session brought together Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world. The primary objective was to review the implementation of the Beijing Declaration, assess current challenges in achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment, and evaluate their contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Participation of the Zagros Human Rights Center
The Zagros Centre for Human Rights, an organization holding consultative status with ECOSOC, participated actively in this session as a civil society voice advocating for women’s rights, particularly those of ethnic and national minorities.
Our delegation engaged in plenary sessions, parallel events, and bilateral meetings with other NGOs and government representatives. This participation provided an opportunity to amplify the voices of Iranian, Syrian, Kurdish, Baluchi, Arab, Turkish women and other minority groups, who face intersecting forms of oppression and are often excluded from international decision-making spaces.
Organization of a Parallel Event
On 13 March 2025, the Zagros Centre for Human Rights organized an official parallel event titled:
“Iranian Women and Beijing+30: Rethinking Rights, Justice, and Equality”
This event brought together experts, activists, and defenders of women’s rights, including Ms. Viviana Krsticevic, member of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran. Discussions focused on:
- The status of women’s rights in Iran, 30 years after the Beijing Declaration;
- The impact of recent women-led uprisings under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom”;
- Political repression and arbitrary detention of female activists, lawyers, journalists, and minority language teachers;
- The need to reinvent mechanisms of international justice and cooperation to better protect women in repressive contexts.
Submission of a Written Statement
As part of CSW69, the Zagros Human Rights Center submitted an official written statement outlining our grave concerns regarding widespread violations of women’s rights in Iran, especially those belonging to national minorities. We called on the international community to take firm and coordinated action.
Our recommendations submitted in the statement were as follows:
- Strengthen gender equality by incorporating an intersectional approach in all policies and programs, particularly for marginalized groups.
- Support women’s empowerment through education and vocational training programs to ensure equitable access to employment and economic opportunities.
- Eliminate gender-based violence by reinforcing laws, protection mechanisms, support services for victims, and ending impunity.
- Ensure access to reproductive healthcare by guaranteeing safe and equitable access to essential medical services.
- Fight poverty by removing barriers to economic resources and actively supporting women’s participation in the economy.
- Recognize the rights of national minorities, including Kurds, Baluchis, Turco-Azeris, and other ethnic groups, by ensuring their inclusion in public life and the protection of their cultural, linguistic, and social rights.
- Strengthen international cooperation by promoting solidarity between governments, NGOs, and civil society to ensure the effective implementation of international commitments on women’s rights.
- Demand the immediate release of women imprisoned in Iran for exercising their fundamental rights. Many activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and lawyers are arbitrarily detained for their peaceful engagement. We call on the international community to denounce these detentions and promote accountability for such systematic violations.
Bilateral Engagement and Advocacy
Throughout the session, our delegation held meetings with various diplomatic missions and international NGO representatives to advocate for support of our recommendations. We placed particular emphasis on the critical situation of women prisoners in Iran, urging delegations to incorporate this issue into the session’s final conclusions and their national statements.
Outcomes and Impact
Our participation in CSW69 enabled us to:
- Strengthen the visibility of the Zagros Centre for Human Rights within UN mechanisms;
- Establish strategic partnerships with NGOs and international feminist networks;
- Provide an international platform for marginalized women often excluded from global gender equality debates;
- Submit concrete recommendations as part of the Beijing+30 process.
Conclusion
The Centre Zagros pour les Droits de l’Homme expresses its gratitude to the organizers of CSW69, participating delegations, and partner organizations for their continued commitment to gender equality and women’s rights. Our participation in this historic session reinforced our determination to advocate for women and girls facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, particularly in Iran and across the broader region.
We remain committed to working with international partners to ensure that the voices of oppressed and marginalized women are not only heard but lead to concrete actions. We encourage continued dialogue, collaboration, and accountability to advance the goals of the Beijing Platform for Action and ensure no woman is left behind.
