Amnesty International on Thursday called on the international community to resist mounting attacks on gender justice. The group reiterated its call on states to recognize gender apartheid as a crime against humanity under international law ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2025.
The statement by the Secretary-General, Agnès Callamard, was released against the backdrop of 30 years of the Fourth World Conference on Women when 189 countries adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995. Amnesty noted the inconsistencies in the implementation of the commitments discussed in the Declaration. Additionally, the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, scheduled from March 10 to 21, 2025, is set to conduct its annual assessment of the implementation of the declaration.
These challenges worsened after US President Donald Trump assumed office in January. Domestically, Trump mandated the censorship of publications including reference to LGBTQ+ or gender “forbidden terms.” Internationally, the withdrawal of key funds for global initiatives also impedes international humanitarian operations that protect women’s rights, including those in Afghanistan and Ukraine.
Amnesty urged states and non-state actors to recognize and support the work of women human rights defenders and those on the frontlines of the fight for sexual and reproductive rights, as well as to put in place tangible measures to empower and protect them.
Furthermore, Callamard reaffirmed the need for nations to recognize gender apartheid under international law. The idea was initially put forth by Afghan women human rights advocates in response to the Taliban’s violation of their rights in the 1990s and has acquired interest since their regaining power in 2021. The framework has also been applied to systematic discrimination in the Islamic Republic of Iran by UN experts and Iranian rights advocates. Feminist activists and allies around the world, including four female Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, have overwhelmingly supported an international campaign to recognize gender apartheid in international law.