Cairo, March 10, 2026
The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR) is participating in the 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), held at the UN Headquarters in New York from March 9 to 19, 2026.
ECWR is represented at this session by researcher Frida Selim Williams, a Volunteer Coordinator at the International Relations Unit, who will follow and engage in the ongoing global discussions on women’s issues. Williams’ participation in this international forum underscores ECWR’s commitment to empowering young professionals and providing volunteers with opportunities for active engagement in international representation and decision-making, ensuring generational continuity and building youth expertise in global women’s rights advocacy.
This year’s session addresses a primary theme: “Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and addressing structural barriers that hinder the achievement of justice.”
The Center emphasizes that this year’s theme reflects the core mandate of ECWR since its establishment in 1996, as well as its continued efforts to defend women’s rights, promote gender equality, and advocate for legal and policy reforms that ensure women’s empowerment, protect them from discrimination and violence, and expand their access to justice.
The significance of this participation is heightened by current political tensions and international shifts, which increase the urgency of global dialogues on protecting the rights of women and girls, strengthening the rule of law, and ensuring that legal systems are more inclusive and responsive to women’s needs.
During the session, ECWR is expected to participate in a number of specialized meetings and side events, including discussions on political violence against women and democratic backsliding; enhancing women’s access to justice through judicial leadership; access to justice pathways for women focusing on care, recovery, resilience, and sustainable peace; bridging systemic gaps to advance justice for all women and girls; access to justice for survivors of violence; strengthening justice systems to better serve women; legal reform pathways for gender justice in the Arab region; high-level discussions on eliminating violence against women and girls; legal frameworks addressing female genital mutilation and human rights principles to ensure justice for women and girls; and perspectives from governments and civil society on transforming women’s and girls’ access to justice from rights into lived reality.
ECWR reaffirms that its presence at these events, particularly at CSW 2026, reflects its commitment to bringing field-based and legal expertise from the Egyptian context to the international platform, and to collaborate with international partners to confront discriminatory policies and develop effective protection mechanisms that guarantee women’s dignity and the justice of their causes.
