Ordo Iuris Joins Pro-Life Coalition at 69th Session of UN Commission on Status of Women

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• Last week, experts from the Ordo Iuris Institute attended the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York, the largest global gathering of countries and organizations focused on women's rights.

• Poland’s Minister for Equality, Katarzyna Kotula, also participated in the event, representing the EU due to Poland’s presidency. She reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to promoting "reproductive rights," which in her mind should include access to sex education and abortion services.

• This year’s session focused on assessing the international community’s progress 30 years after adopting the Beijing Platform for Action.

• Some side events promoted global funding for so-called reproductive and sexual rights. During such an event, Sweden reported its efforts to introduce a "right to abortion" into its constitution.

• However, thanks to the presence of a coalition of pro-life organizations, the final document of this year's session did not include provisions recognizing abortion as a human right or explicitly referencing reproductive and sexual rights.

• The Ordo Iuris Institute was the only European organization in this pro-life coalition.

This year's CSW69 session was particularly significant as it coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, which concluded with the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action. The document, while addressing family and motherhood, also stated that abortion should not be considered a method of family planning and should be restricted for health and social reasons.

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), established in 1946, is a key UN body responsible for monitoring the global status of women and developing policy recommendations. Each year, UN member states negotiate and adopt final conclusions that influence international standards on women's rights and gender equality.

Pro-Life Coalition’s Role and Activities

Ordo Iuris experts went there as part of a pro-life coalition comprising several organizations that have been active at the UN for over a decade. The Ordo Iuris Institute was the only European organization in this coalition. Pro-life representatives participated in multiple CSW69 events at UN headquarters, advocating for life, marriage, womanhood, and family identity.

This engagement is part of a broader effort to strengthen Ordo Iuris' role within UN structures, this time mainly in collaboration with the U.S. think tank C-FAM, which has long defended life and family values at the UN. During the session, C-FAM organized a panel discussion on gender ideology, in cooperation with U.S. government representatives. This event was historically significant as the first-ever discussion against gender ideology at UN headquarters.

Jonathan Shrier, Acting U.S. Representative to the UN Economic and Social Council New York, emphasized the importance of protecting women and families from gender ideology, stating:

"It is an honor to address this important gathering today on the critical issue of protecting women and families from the impact of gender ideology,"

He further declared that the U.S. would oppose the promotion of gender ideology in educational settings. Similarly, Jay Richards of the Heritage Foundation described gender ideology as an unprecedented movement in human history, arguing that it denies gender as an "observable" characteristic.

Controversies and Pro-Life Response

During CSW69, UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted severe challenges faced by women worldwide, for example in Afghanistan. However, he also called for increased global funding for “reproductive and sexual rights,” terms often interpreted by pro-abortion groups to include abortion on demand.

Poland’s Equality Minister Katarzyna Kotula, speaking on behalf of the European Union, stressed the EU's commitment to ensuring "the right of every individual to have full control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to sexuality and sexual and reproductive health."

Swedish Minister for Gender Equality Paulina Brandberg announced that Sweden is working to enshrine the right to abortion in its constitution. If successful, Sweden would become only the third country in history—after Communist Yugoslavia and modern France—to explicitly guarantee such a right to kill the unborn in its constitution.

Pro-life coalition representatives were present at these discussions, firmly asserting that international law does not recognize abortion as a human right.

Addressing Gender Bias in AI

CSW69 also addressed the intersection of technology and gender equality. Oliver Röpke, President of the European Economic and Social Committee, emphasized the importance of eliminating gender bias in artificial intelligence (AI), warning that AI systems could perpetuate historical inequalities.

Ordo Iuris' Contribution and Future Engagement

Thanks to its presence at CSW69 in New York, Ordo Iuris actively monitored negotiations and contributed to discussions on women’s issues and effective policy solutions.

Due to its longstanding engagement at the UN and its extensive legal analyses, Ordo Iuris was invited by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls to participate in a closed-door meeting regarding an upcoming report for the UN Human Rights Council.

Final Thoughts

Julia Ksiazek of Ordo Iuris’ International Law Center reinforced the Institute’s stance, stating:

"The right to life is the most fundamental human right. Women also have the right not only to professional fulfillment and education but also to the protection of motherhood and family. Pro-life organizations advocate for women's true freedom of choice regarding their life paths."