Finland emphasises economic equality and rights of women in conflict zones at the 68th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women

The 68th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) took place in New York between 11 and 22 March. The theme of the session was ‘Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective’.

Finland was represented at the CWS session by a delegation headed by Minister Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, who is responsible for gender equality issues. The Finnish delegation consisted of representatives of civil society organisations, Members of Parliament and representatives of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and the Council for Gender Equality (TANE).

During the session’s general debate, Minister Grahn-Laasonen gave Finland's National Statement , emphasising the interdependence between economic equality and the rights of women and girls. The Minister also expressed great concern over sexual and gender-based violence in conflict zones. She stressed that Finland is taking decisive action to promote gender equality both nationally and internationally. Minister Grahn-Laasonen also participated in a ministerial round table to discuss good practices for strengthening institutions and maximising funding to achieve gender equality. She had numerous bilateral meetings with ministers from different parts of the world. She also met with Kirsi Madi, the Deputy Executive Director of UN Women (the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) and LBTI activists.

Side events hosted by Finland focused on the status of Afghan women and girls and gender responsive budgeting

During the CSW’s two-week session, over 200 official side events and more than 700 informal parallel events were organised in addition to the official meetings.

Together with Italy, Qatar and UN Women, Finland organised a side event at the UN General Assembly Building to discuss the empowerment of Afghan women and girls and the elimination of poverty. Minister Grahn-Laasonen gave the opening remarks at the event, which also featured a panel discussion on the situation of Afghan women. The discussion was moderated by the former Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations, Ambassador Adela Raz. The panellists were Mahbouba Seraj, Director of the Afghan Women Skills Development Center, who won Finland’s International Gender Equality Prize in 2023; Manizha Wafeq, Founder of Afghanistan Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Mursalina Amin, Founder of Girls Toward Leadership. The room gave a standing ovation to Seraj’s powerful speech on the status of women in Afghanistan. Seraj told the audience that Afghan women are completely excluded from society and asked that these women be heard in future as well. She gave her special thanks to Finland for recognising the status of Afghan women.

Finland’s Permanent Mission to the UN provided an arena for discussion on 14 March, when Finnish civil society organisations held the 18th International Helvi Sipilä Seminar there. The seminar, named after the first woman to hold the rank of Assistant Secretary-General at the UN, Helvi Sipilä, has been organised by Finnish women's organisations since 2006. This year, the theme of the seminar was gender responsive budgeting. Finland organised the event together with Rwanda and UN Women.

Resolutions adopted by consensus of Member States

The CSW’s two-week session ended with resolutions adopted by consensus of the Member States on 22 March. The resolutions are in the form of a written declaration negotiated by the UN Member States, expressing their common opinion on this year’s priority theme and recommendations related to it. This year’s resolutions call for the implementation of gender-responsive economic and social policies, increased women’s representation, leadership and participation in economic institutions, ensuring equal pay and supporting women-owned businesses. Finland participated in the negotiations on the resolutions as part of the European Union. Finland’s main priorities in the negotiations were sexual and reproductive health and rights, responding to multiple discrimination and eliminating gender-based violence.

The next session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women will be held in New York, the United States, on 10–21 March 2025. The main focus of the sixty-ninth session will be on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which were adopted in 1995 to achieve gender equality, contribute to the realisation of women’s rights and remove obstacles to them.