Statement by the Director-General, Ms Jan Beagle
CSW70, New York
10 March 2026
Distinguished Ministers, Madam Chair of CSW, Excellencies, Colleagues and Friends,
I am grateful to the State of Qatar and UN Women for bringing us together for this timely discussion.
When I participated in the World Social Summit, I was encouraged to see the strong emphasis in the Doha Political Declaration on effective and inclusive institutions, the rule of law and access to justice.
The Summit reaffirmed that access to justice for women and girls is not optional or peripheral, but fundamental to social development globally.
We must move from words to action. We know that too often the laws on the books are not the laws on the streets.
Building on IDLO’s over 40 years of experience working in all regions, I want to highlight three key investments in people-centred justice systems that can empower women and girls, and accelerate social development.
First, we must identify and eliminate discriminatory laws and practices.
When laws guarantee equal status and those guarantees are implemented effectively, they reshape economic participation, social cohesion and institutional trust.
If a woman cannot inherit land because discriminatory laws persist, or because local authorities refuse to enforce equal inheritance rights, her economic security is undermined.
If a survivor of violence cannot safely report abuse, or if cases are delayed indefinitely, impunity prevails.
If a girl’s right to education exists in law but cannot be realised when she is forced into early marriage, then legal protections remain theoretical.
IDLO works with UN Women and national partners to conduct legal assessments that identify discriminatory provisions against women and girls and provide practical recommendations for reform.
We have recently launched a new report that synthesizes lessons from our work on promoting legal equality across multiple country contexts.
Recommendations include strengthening enforcement mechanisms, improving data collection, supporting strategic litigation, and ensuring sustained political commitment and financing.
Second, we must make justice institutions work for women and girls.
Good laws and policies are just the start.
Change requires transforming how justice institutions operate, how services are delivered, and how systems respond to lived realities. We also need to challenge persistent social norms that often limit remedies available to women.
Where justice systems function fairly and accessibly, they protect women’s rights to property, inheritance, work, education, and bodily autonomy.
Where they fail, inequalities deepen and social development stalls.
From supporting survivor-centred domestic violence responses in Mongolia to expanding women’s participation in ADR mechanisms in Somalia, IDLO focuses on building institutional capacity that delivers measurable results across both formal and informal systems.
We have seen that when justice systems become accessible, fair, and responsive to women and girls, the effects ripple outward, strengthening societies as a whole.
Third and finally, we must empower women and girls to use the law.
Our experience in Afghanistan illustrates that empowerment can lead to positive results, in even the most challenging environments.
Despite severe restrictions on women’s participation in public life, between 2023 and 2025 legal professionals supported by IDLO provided over 800 legal consultations to women, and represented more than 400 cases in court on behalf of women clients.
Behind these numbers are women claiming inheritance rights, challenging child marriages, and obtaining access to land and property.
In all regions our community justice initiatives, which raise awareness of rights and provide legal aid, have reached tens of thousands of women and girls. We also involve men and boys – they must be part of the discussion and the solution.
If we are to realize the promise of the Doha Political Declaration, we must place the rule of law at the heart of our efforts. Access to justice transforms rights from promises to realities.
IDLO stands ready to deepen partnerships with all of you, to scale up proven strategies, and to explore innovative approaches to close the gender justice gap.