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STORY: UNGA80 / WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN
TRT: 05:26
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH / NATS
DATELINE: 22 SEPTEMBER 2025, NEW YORK CITY
- Wide shot, United Nations Headquarters, UNGA80 banner
- Wide shot, Annalena Baerbock, President of the General Assembly for its 80th session walking up to the podium
- SOUNDBITE (English) Annalena Baerbock, President of the 80th Session General Assembly:
“When the phrase “she runs like a girl” is hurled as an insult. When highly qualified CEOs are called “diversity hires.” When a female world leader is attacked on social media not for the speech she gave but for the wrong high heels she wore. That is when we remember how far we still have to go. There is no country in the world where women are fully equal to men. And there are still too many places where even speaking about women’s rights is a matter of life and death.”
4. Wide shot, Annalena Baerbock, President of the General Assembly for its 80th session speaking at the podium 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Annalena Baerbock, President of the 80th Session General Assembly:
“One in three women globally will experience sexual violence at some point in her lifetime. One out of three. This is us. And these battles extend to family planning—UNFPA estimates that today a quarter of women are unable to make decisions about their own healthcare, and roughly half of all pregnancies are unintended. Delivering on Beijing, on this revolution, means also that no male politician, judge, or religious leader should dare to tell our girls what to do with their bodies, because they are human beings, not property. It’s our body. Our choice.”
6. Wide shot, Annalena Baerbock, President of the General Assembly for its 80th session speaking at the podium
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Annalena Baerbock, President of the 80th Session General Assembly:
“At the current rate, reaching economic equality will take 123 years. But women’s economic empowerment is not just about doing a favour for women, but a favour for every society, every economy. As they say, it’s economics, stupid. Closing the gender gap would increase global GDP by seven trillion US dollars.”
8. Wide shot, Annalena Baerbock, President of the General Assembly for its 80th session leaving the podium
9. Wide shot, Secretary-General António Guterres walking up to the podium
10. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is the most ambitious global political commitment on women’s rights ever achieved. And it has helped to power advances in some critical areas – legal protection, political participation, education, maternal mortality, recognizing the need to tackle violence against women as a global priority, and more. But progress has been slow and uneven. And no nation has achieved full equality for women and girls. Sustainable Development Goal Five – gender equality – is lagging far behind.”
11. Wide shot, Secretary-General António Guterres speaking at the podium
12. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Let us be clear: equal rights and opportunities are not partisan issues. They are global imperatives – and the foundation of peace, prosperity and progress.”
13. Wide shot, Secretary-General António Guterres speaking at the podium
14. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Earlier this year, countries took an important step forward. The Commission on the Status of Women adopted a new Political Declaration, committing to implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – fast and in full. So now, all countries must live up to that responsibility. We need strong, visible support at the highest levels – and concrete plans, backed by real investment.”
15. Wide shot, Secretary-General António Guterres speaking at the podium
16. SOUNDBITE (French) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“Eighty years ago, the United Nations Charter affirmed the equal rights of men and women. Thirty years ago, the Beijing Declaration enshrined women’s rights as human rights. Today, in this chamber, we must hear how you intend to turn these ambitions into reality: Make your commitments heard. Present your plans. Together, let us achieve equality for women and girls – an equality our world so urgently needs. I thank you.”
17. Wide shot, audience applauding
18. Wide shot, Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director, UN Women walking up to the podium
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director, UN Women:
“The very systems built to advance and fund gender equality are being hollowed out - quietly, but deliberately. This is not just regression. It is retreat. But, the future is not fixed. Another path is still possible.”
20. Wide shot, General Assembly Hall
At the United Nations General Assembly, world leaders marked the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995. The high-level meeting focused on recommitting to, resourcing and accelerating the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, considered the most progressive blueprint ever adopted for advancing women’s rights.
General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said progress has been made since Beijing, but deep inequalities remain. “When the phrase ‘she runs like a girl’ is hurled as an insult. When highly qualified CEOs are called ‘diversity hires.’ When a female world leader is attacked on social media not for the speech she gave but for the wrong high heels she wore. That is when we remember how far we still have to go,” she said. “There is no country in the world where women are fully equal to men. And there are still too many places where even speaking about women’s rights is a matter of life and death.”
Baerbock cited alarming statistics on violence and reproductive rights. “One in three women globally will experience sexual violence at some point in her lifetime. One out of three. This is us,” she said. “Delivering on Beijing, on this revolution, means also that no male politician, judge, or religious leader should dare to tell our girls what to do with their bodies, because they are human beings, not property. It’s our body. Our choice.”
She added that achieving economic equality could take more than a century. “At the current rate, reaching economic equality will take 123 years,” she said. “Closing the gender gap would increase global GDP by seven trillion US dollars.”
Secretary-General António Guterres described the Beijing Declaration as “the most ambitious global political commitment on women’s rights ever achieved.” He said it helped power advances in education, maternal health, and legal protection, but warned that “progress has been slow and uneven. And no nation has achieved full equality for women and girls. Sustainable Development Goal Five – gender equality – is lagging far behind.”
“Let us be clear: equal rights and opportunities are not partisan issues,” Guterres said. “They are global imperatives – and the foundation of peace, prosperity and progress.”
He noted that earlier this year, governments recommitted to the Beijing platform. “The Commission on the Status of Women adopted a new Political Declaration, committing to implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – fast and in full,” Guterres said. “So now, all countries must live up to that responsibility. We need strong, visible support at the highest levels – and concrete plans, backed by real investment.”
He added: “Eighty years ago, the United Nations Charter affirmed the equal rights of men and women. Thirty years ago, the Beijing Declaration enshrined women’s rights as human rights. Today, in this chamber, we must hear how you intend to turn these ambitions into reality: Make your commitments heard. Present your plans. Together, let us achieve equality for women and girls – an equality our world so urgently needs.”
UN Women Executive Director Sima Sami Bahous cautioned that the systems designed to support women’s rights are being weakened. “The very systems built to advance and fund gender equality are being hollowed out — quietly, but deliberately,” she said. “This is not just regression. It is retreat. But, the future is not fixed. Another path is still possible.”
The 1995 Beijing Conference brought together 189 governments and thousands of participants to adopt the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, setting strategic objectives in 12 critical areas, from education and health to violence against women and the girl child. Thirty years on, UN leaders said the challenge remains to turn those commitments into lasting equality.
