War of Words Rages at UN Over Women, Gender Rights

AFP/APP
Geneva: Following warnings about increasing attacks on women and gender rights globally, the United Nations has become a focal point for a contentious debate over the definition of these rights. UN rights chief Volker Turk has consistently warned of systematic efforts to undermine women’s hard-won rights. Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council last week, Turk highlighted extreme cases in countries like Afghanistan and Iran but cautioned that the pushback against women’s rights is a global issue.
“No country is immune from regression in women’s rights,” he stated, also condemning ongoing discrimination and exclusion based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The UN itself has become a significant battleground in this struggle.
Diplomats have reported increasing efforts to remove references to women’s rights and to sexual orientation and gender identity in UN resolutions and texts that previously faced no opposition. “What we’re seeing is a concerted effort to push back on issues related to gender and sexual orientation and gender identity in the work of international organizations in Geneva broadly,” said a female diplomat based in Geneva, who requested anonymity.