Statement Issued by Palestinian Feminist Organizations Regarding Participation in the Seventieth Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), New York

A consultative meeting was held on 19 January 2026, bringing together a group of Palestinian feminist organizations and coalitions to discuss participation in the seventieth session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) in New York. The meeting took place against the backdrop of escalating discriminatory measures adopted by the U.S. administration throughout 2025, which have had a direct impact on international justice mechanisms and the broader UN human rights system.

On the 16^th of December 2025, the United States expanded its travel ban to include holders of Palestinian passports, alongside nationals of 75 other countries -most of them from the Global South and affected by colonial systems and grave human rights violations.

This was followed by the issuance of Executive Order No. 14203 on 6 February 2025, which enabled the imposition of sanctions on the International Criminal Court and its staff, in retaliation for the issuance of arrest warrants against perpetrators of war crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in the Gaza Strip. Subsequent sanctions were imposed on several ICC judges, as well as on the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ms. Francesca Albanese, on 9 July 2025. Sanctions were also imposed on a number of Palestinian human rights organizations during the same year.

The feminist organizations participating in the consultative meeting affirmed that the call for this discussion stemmed from principles of transnational global feminist solidarity and the rejection of the exclusion of women and human rights defenders from international platforms—particularly in light of travel-ban policies targeting countries affected by colonial systems and severe human rights violations.

The participants concluded that restricting women’s access from these contexts to the Commission on the Status of Women entrenches the marginalization of the most affected voices and undermines the Commission’s core purpose and directly contradicts the theme of this session: “Access to Justice.” which is meant to ensure women’s representation. Instead, these women are subjected to exclusion due to political measures beyond their control.

This denial constitutes a continuation of structural injustice and reproduces exclusion within the international system itself. Women who demand equality, dignity, and justice are prevented from entering spaces that claim to defend these very values. Such exclusion does not only silence the most affected voices; it also undermines the foundations upon which the Commission on the Status of Women was established—namely inclusivity, equitable representation, and the universality of human rights.

Despite these exclusionary policies, Palestinian feminist organizations affirm that their voices will not be silenced.

Accordingly, Palestinian feminist organizations have decided as follows:

1. To limit their participation in the seventieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women to virtual events only, The organizations affirm that this digital participation will serve as a platform to amplify the voices of Palestinian women and to underscore that denying them access constitutes a violation of their right to equal participation and a direct contradiction of the session’s theme, “Access to Justice.”

2. To engage with delegations from other countries affected by entry restrictions, with the aim of unifying positions and working toward the development of a joint legal and human rights response demanding guaranteed participation without discrimination.

3. To formally address the Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, demanding clarification of the legal framework that allows UN meetings to be held in a host country that imposes arbitrary entry restrictions on participants, and calling for immediate measures to ensure that such practices are not repeated in the future.

4. To build alliances and expand solidarity with feminist and human rights movements worldwide, in order to confront policies of exclusion and collective punishment targeting women and defenders of justice, and to guarantee the right to equitable access to UN platforms.

5. To demand the relocation of the Commission on the Status of Women to an alternative, more just and inclusive host country, preferably in the Global South, in order to ensure equitable access and lower participation costs, particularly for women from conflict and occupation contexts. Should relocation prove unfeasible, the organizations demand clear guarantees ensuring unhindered access for women from the       Global South and other marginalized groups to UN platforms.

6. To call on feminist actors participating in CSW70       in New York to protest and to include the exclusion of Palestinian women from participation in their advocacy messages, while amplifying the voices of Palestinian women living under occupation and genocide.

7. To call upon UN Women to take a clear and public stance against exclusionary and discriminatory policies that prevent women from meaningful participation in the work of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), and to demand guarantees for women’s unrestricted access to UN decision-making platforms, in line with the core principles of equality, justice, and inclusivity upon which the agency is founded.