Media Advisory: Preparatory High-Level Meeting for CSW70 “Access to Justice for All Women and Girls in Central Asia and Azerbaijan: Strengthening Legal Frameworks and Institutional Responses”

When: 10 December 2025, from 09:00 – 17:00 (UTC+5)

Where: Academy of Public Policy and Administration, 45 Islam Karimov Street, Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan

Who: The Government of Uzbekistan and UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia will convene high-level representatives from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan — to accelerate regional progress on women’s access to justice ahead of the 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70).

How: The Preparatory High-Level Meeting, titled “Access to Justice for All Women and Girls in Central Asia and Azerbaijan: Strengthening Legal Frameworks and Institutional Responses,” will bring together senior government officials, representatives from the justice system, parliamentarians, ombudspersons, youth representatives, civil society organisations, international partners, and experts.

Participants will review progress made in eliminating discriminatory laws and strengthening gender-responsive justice systems; assess structural, economic, social, and cultural barriers that prevent women and girls from accessing justice; and explore opportunities to advance legal and institutional reforms in the lead-up to CSW70, which will take place from 9 to 20 March 2026.

The preparatory meeting will provide an opportunity to take stock of key trends, needs, gaps in policy responses, and good practices, as well as to consider possible areas for joint interventions (policy, programmatic or otherwise), to address the institutional gaps across legal systems and discriminatory laws, policies, and practices that impede women’s and girls’ access to justice. Specifically, this preparatory meeting will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and ideas among state and non-state actors in order to:

• Foster a comprehensive understanding of the systemic legal, social, and institutional barriers limiting women’s and girls’ access to justice, including discriminatory laws, policies, and practices.
• Explore legal and institutional reforms designed to realize the rights of all women and girls, close legal gaps, and strengthen gender-responsive judicial and alternative justice mechanisms. 
• Strengthen legal literacy among women and girls to ensure they are aware of their rights, understand available remedies, and are empowered to engage effectively with justice systems. 
• Examine how survivor-centered responses to violence against women can be leveraged to expand access to justice and address emerging challenges with a gender perspective. 
• Promote women’s leadership in the judiciary, to strengthen justice systems, enhance gender-responsive decision-making, and ensure that legal institutions effectively respond to the rights and needs of women and girls. 
  The event will include high-level opening remarks, three thematic panels, and the presentation and adoption of a Joint Statement encompassing measures to accelerate women’s access to justice.

The meeting will serve as a regional platform to identify priority actions necessary to ensure equal access to justice and fulfil gender-related targets across the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions).

Why: In 2026, the global community will focus on ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, the priority theme of CSW70. This is a critical moment to reflect on progress made and to accelerate action toward eliminating discriminatory laws, gender responsive institutions, promoting survivor-centered justice, and dismantling structural barriers that undermine women’s rights.

For countries across Central Asia and Azerbaijan, where women continue to face gender-based violence, entrenched social norms, and gaps in legal protections, the meeting represents a vital opportunity to reaffirm commitments to gender equality, human rights, and the rule of law.

For interview opportunities, please contact:
Gulnaz Imamniyazova, Communications Analyst, UN Women Europe and Central Asia: gulnaz.imamniyazova@unwomen.org; +77774700443