Reimagine Access to Justice for Girls: A Call to Action at the 70th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women
On 12 March 2026, global leaders, practitioners, and girls themselves will gather during the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) to reimagine what justice systems must deliver for every girl.
Date and time: 12 March 2026, 0900 - 1200 EDT/ 1400 - 1700 CEST
Co-hosts: UNICEF, Spanish Cooperation Agency for Development, the Permanent Missions of Belgium and the Philippines, the Global Working Group on Justice for Children and the Pathfinders for Peace, Just and Inclusive Societies.
Location: UNICEF Danny Kaye Conference Room, 3 UN Plaza, NYC, USA, and online.
This Side Event will be comprised of four Sessions. The Opening Session considers 'what is at stake?', followed by sessions on Opportunities and Challenges on Access to Justice for Girls, and Systems Response on Access to Justice for Girls. The Closing Session presents our Call to Act.
Co‑hosted by UNICEF, the Spanish Cooperation Agency for Development, the Permanent Missions of Belgium and the Philippines, the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, and the Institute for Inspiring Children’s Futures as convenor of the Global Working Group on Justice for Children, this event underscores a vital truth: justice for all cannot be achieved until justice works for girls.
Despite being a fundamental right, many girls still face barriers to accessing justice - including discriminatory norms, fear of retaliation, adult‑centric legal systems, and limited child‑ and gender‑sensitive support. These barriers are even more pronounced for girls with disabilities, girls on the move, indigenous girls, and those in conflict or humanitarian settings.
Advancing access to justice for girls is indispensable for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 16 and its promise of justice for all, as well as for meeting the wider ambitions of the 2030 Agenda and global human rights commitments. Without dismantling the specific obstacles girls face, progress on peaceful, just, and inclusive societies will remain out of reach.
This CSW70 side event will highlight how partners are strengthening people‑centred, gender‑responsive and child‑sensitive justice systems, drawing on the Reimagine Justice for Children agenda. It will spotlight efforts to eliminate discriminatory laws and practices, share lessons from global programmes to end child marriage and female genital mutilation, and explore how the upcoming CRC General Comment No. 27 can reinforce girls’ access to effective remedies.
By bringing together ministers, jurists, civil society leaders, grassroots justice defenders, and girls with lived experience, the event aims to catalyse concrete, collaborative action. Speakers will share examples of reforms that expand access, improve coordination across services, and elevate girls’ voices in shaping the systems that affect their lives.
Join us in New York, or follow online, at CSW70 as global actors unite to advance a bold vision: a world where justice truly works for every girl.
Speakers include:
H.E. Ambassador Sophie De Smedt - Permanent Mission of Belgium to the United Nations
Ms. Miriam Ciscar -Deputy Director of Feminist Cooperation, Economic and Human Development, Spanish Agency for Development Cooperation
Ms. Catherine Russell -UNICEF Executive Director
Ms. Petra Bayr - President, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
Ms. Sheema Sen Gupta - UNICEF Director for Child Protection and Migration
Mr. Benoit Van Keirsbilck - Member, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; Director, Défense des enfants International Belgique
Prof. Ann Skelton - Professor of Law, University of Pretoria; UNESCO Chair in Education Law in Africa
Ms. Angela Vigil - Pro Bono Partner and Executive Director of Global Pro Bono, Baker & McKenzie
Ms. Sirira Jones - Representative, The Grail – Working Group on Girls
Ms. Sandrine Lusamba Mbuyi - National Coordinator, SOFEPADI (Solidarité Féminine pour la Paix et le Développement Intégral)
Moderated byProf. Jennifer Davidson - Executive Director, Institute for Inspiring Children’s Futures, University of Strathclyde;Convenor, Global Working Group on Justice for Children.