Highlights
Thirty years ago, world leaders made a promise at the Fourth World Conference on Women – equal rights, opportunities, power, and safety for women and girls everywhere. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action enshrines that promise. The world cannot wait another 30 years to fulfill gender equality. Today we stand stronger, more united, more diverse, and determined to become the first generation to achieve equality.
Three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian women continue to bear the brunt of the war. With over 1.8 million internally displaced and almost 6.7 million requiring humanitarian assistance, the war in Ukraine is one of the most profound humanitarian crises of our time. Women in Ukraine face rising unemployment, escalating gender-based violence, and growing domestic burdens. Yet, amid destruction and displacement, Ukraine's women are stepping up as first responders, civil society leaders, and entrepreneurs at the forefront of humanitarian response, economic recovery, and social cohesion.
On 6 February 2023, twin earthquakes struck Türkiye and Syria, killing thousands of people and injuring many others. In close coordination with the government and partners, UN Women Türkiye’s emergency response is addressing the urgent and longer-term needs of women and girls impacted by the earthquakes.
Launched in 2021, the Women’s Entrepreneurship EXPO is a unique partnership platform to promote women’s entrepreneurship ecosystem building in the Europe and Central Asia region. EXPO provides an interactive space for women entrepreneurs, investors and private sector representatives for collaboration, ideas generation, capacity building and business development.
In 2025, the global community will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995). The Beijing Declaration serves as a global policy framework and blueprint for achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls worldwide.
Op-Ed
The Unstoppable March Forward: A Call for Action on International Women's Day
On the occasion of the International Women's Day, 8 March, in their joint op-ed, UN Women Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, Belén Sanz Luque and UNFPA Regional Director for Easter Europe and Central Asia, Florence Bauer, call for urgent, collective action to secure progress #ForAllWomenAndGirls. Read more ►
Regional Director, Belén Sanz Luque
Belén Sanz Luque is the Regional Director for UN Women Europe and Central Asia. Previously, Belén Sanz served as UN Women Country Representative for Mexico (2017-2024) and Colombia (2013 - 2017). Full bio ►
Featured video
For over a decade, UN Women has sparked transformative change in the lives of women and girls in Europe and Central Asia. This video report highlights the main achievements under the 2018 – 2021 reporting period.