Taking stock of the progress made since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995, local and regional leaders from across the globe united in New York to celebrate local action towards equality for all, everywhere, and pledged for local solutions to global challenges at the 69th Commission on the Status of Women.

Bringing together delegations from all regions across the world, including up to 90 official elected and representatives from 77 local, regional, and national governments, covering 26 countries worldwide, more than 37 civil society representatives, and a number of key stakeholders from the international community to reflect on advancements, acknowledge challenges, and pledge commitment to achieving gender equality through localized actions, the CSW69 featured Local and Regional Governments' Days on March 13-14, 2025, organized by the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments led by the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). The 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform offered a key opportunity for our self-organized constituency to take stock of the processes that have led us to the current moment, reinstate its commitments to localize the Beijing Platform for Action, and develop an inclusive, networked multilateral system that can bring answers to the plight of women and girls. 

As part of the WYDE Women’s Leadership initiative, led by UN Women and co-funded by the European Commission, and together with partners from the international sphere such as UNDP, UN Women, the UN Youth Office, the Beijing+30 Youth Steering Committee, the GEF Action Coalition on Feminist Movements and Leadership, and with the support of the governments of Sweden and Mauritania, the event provided a space for decision-makers at all levels to discuss the localization of global gender equality agendas, focusing on the Beijing+30 framework, and emphasized the need for grassroots solutions to tackle the ongoing challenges to achieving equality globally.

Under the theme "Feminist Leadership and Intergenerational Commitments for the Localization of Beijing+30", the first of the LRG Days was introduced by Fatimetou Abdel Malick, President of the Nouakchott Region, UCLG Co-President, and Chair of the UCLG Standing Committee on Gender Equality, who welcomed participants emphasizing that “local women leaders leadership is a feminist political leadership that opens up an emancipatory approach to the exercise of power, leads to the renewal of all systems of governance, towards horizontal, equitable collaboration, aiming at revitalising democracy”. Kirsi Madi, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UN Women Deputy Executive Director for Resource Management, Sustainability and Partnerships highlighted “Beijing+30 as a pivotal opportunity to ensure equality and human rights globally, and the Local and Regional Day as a unique opportunity to call to action together”.

Localizing Equality: Women’s Leadership and Multilevel Governance for Beijing+30 and the 2030 Agenda

A high-level dialogue facilitated by UCLG Secretary-General Emilia Saiz, reaffirmed the centrality of local action in achieving gender equality and explored how feminist leadership and multilevel governance sustain the momentum of Beijing+30 and embed gender equality within the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the UN Pact for the Future. UCLG Secretary General underscored equality as a core component of just and sustainable territories, recalling that the equality and care agendas have been central to the Municipal Movement since its very early beginnings, leading the movement to deliberately rebrand itself as a feminist one in recent years. The conversation also involved the presentation of the Global Taskforce’s report on localizing SDG 5, which will be presented at the 2025 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in July. 

Lara Blanco, Deputy Director, Sustainable Development Unit, UN EOSG, Oumkelthoum Hamdinou, Technical Councillor for Gender Equality, Government of Mauritania, Ana Muñiz Neyra, Mayor of San Mateo Atenco, President of the Latin American Network of Women Municipal Leaders of FLACMA and Executive President of the National Federation of Municipalities of Mexico, Gunn Marit Helgesen, President of the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities, Councillor of Vestfold and Telemark and President of the European regional section of UCLG (CEMR), Leandre Dal Ponte, Secretary of State for Women, Racial Equality, and the Elderly, State of Paraná, Ishaan Shah, Stolen Dreams, member of the Beijing+30 Youth Steering Committee and commitment maker within the Action Coalition on Feminist Movements and Leadership addressed the backlash against women's rights and the need to empower local and regional governments to implement global resolutions. CSW69 was highlighted as a key milestone to strengthen the political commitment of the Municipal Movement on the occasion of Beijing+30 through multilevel governance and multi-stakeholder collaboration.

Patricia Porras, Mayor of Aserrí and UNGL President, Ayşe Serra Bucak Küçük, Co-Mayor of Diyarbakır, Maria Eugenia Gay, Vice President of the 2030 Agenda for Barcelona, Eva Menor Cantador, Councilor for Equality and Feminism of the Government of Catalonia, and Carola Gunnarsson, Councilor of Sala and UCLG Special Envoy for Freedom, Solidarity and Fighting Violence against Local Political Leaders, emphasized the role of local governments in creating equitable societies and ensuring that no one is left behind, stressing the importance of contextualizing gender equality initiatives to fit the needs communities.

Feminist leadership and intergenerational commitments guided by local action: keys to realize global agendas for equality

A second high-level dialogue focused on the great potential of bridging generations and facilitating feminist decision-making and public policies to enhance the action of present and future generations of leaders. Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs, Felipe Paullier, first addressed the “need for a more inclusive multilateralism, more inclusive institutions and more effective policy-making, including the ones drawing from the work of the UN and the multilateral systems, stressing on the crucial importance for national, regional and local levels to put into action and give a reality to these political commitments”.

Facilitated by the co-chair of the Action Coalition on Feminist Movements and Leadership, Piyumi Samaraweera, discussions then focused on the intersection of intergenerational solidarity, youth empowerment, and the role of local governments in breaking patriarchal power structures. Chioniso Michelle Murinda, Councilor of Chegutu Rural District Council, Chairperson of the AWLN Zimbabwe Young Women Caucus, and member of the Beijing +30 Global Youth Steering Committee, Aissata Bâ, Deputy Mayor of Sebkha, and member of the YELO and REFELA Networks, and Soon-Young Yoon, Cities for CEDAW, discussed key priorities to advance equality locally and globally, including the need for mentorship for young women leaders, fostering intersectional representation, and leveraging youth-led innovations to challenge existing norms in leadership and democracy. 

Reflecting on how to ensure that diverse women’s leadership is no longer the exception but the norm across generations and continents, Member of Kutaisi City Council and member of PLATFORMA Young Elected Officials Council Magda Kostava, Deputy Mayor of Bonn Ursula Sautter, Councillor for Economic Promotion, Employment, Feminisms, and Democratic Memory of Barcelona Raquel Gil and Co-Chair of the Older Persons Constituency Group of the General Assembly of Partners Katherine Kline shared concrete examples of how feminist leadership can be an effective lever for equality for both present and future generations.

Men as Partners in Feminist Municipalism: Positive Masculinities and Local Leadership for Gender Equality

On the second day, discussions turned to the need for global feminist alliances to advance the Beijing+30 agenda. Ana Redondo García, Minister of Equality in Spain, and Rohey Malick Lowe, Mayor of Banjul and President of REFELA, opened the session with a special emphasis on “localizing Feminist Policies; gender-Responsive public Services; women’s political leadership & participation; the care economy and just transition; combating gender-based violence; the role of women leaders in the Global South and women and peace as the key priorities of the Municipal Movement for the coming years”.

The conversation addressed bottom-up initiatives that ensure  policies prioritize people over profits, and explored how to strengthen partnerships with local men leaders as strong allies and active contributors of gender-responsive policies and challenging patriarchal structures and promoting positive masculinities, thus contributing to more democratic, participatory and care-centered governance models. Emilia Saiz moderated the first panel, which included the voices of Carlos Martínez, Mayor of Soria, UCLG Special Envoy for the New Urban Agenda, Johanna Nuñez, Prefect of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, International IDEA, Emil Broberg, Councillor of the Östergötland Region, Member of the UCLG Standing Committee on Gender Equality, Lucie Sessinou Ablawa épse Tidjani, President of the Network of Women Elected Councillors of Benin (RéFEC) and Mayor of the Commune of Ketou, President of REFELA-Benin, Milka Moraa Ngare, Member of the Mombasa County Assembly (Kenya), President of the Women’s Caucus of the Council of Governors, President of REFELA-Kenya and UCLG Copresident and Mayor of Kitchener Berry Vrbanovic who highlighted the responsibility of both men and women in ensuring women's voices are heard equally, and the urgent need to collectively and actively challenge the patriarchal structures that persist.

Sustaining Political Will and Expanding Alliances: Local Partnerships Driving Equality towards FFD and the World Social Summit

Head of the Local Action Unit, UNDP Amy Gill then facilitated a dialogue focusing on collaborations across sectors and constituencies to resource and empower local feminist leadership, defining joint strategies to place equality at the core of preparations for the Fourth Financing for Development Conference and the World Social Summit. Lotta Tahtinen, Director, Office of Intergovernmental Support and Coordination for Sustainable Development, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs opened the discussion reaffirming that, “as we approach key multilateral events in 2025, it's crucial to champion the 2030 agenda and SDGs, ensuring that local and regional governments, along with civil society, remain central in shaping outcomes."

Participants, including  Shawyn Patterson-Howard, Mayor of Mount Vernon, Ana Falú, Ubuntu UCLG Advisor, Nomvuyo Mposelwa, National Chairperson of the SALGA Women’s Commission and Executive Mayor of the Joe Gqabi District, Miren Elgarresta, Director of Emakunde, Basque Institute for Women, Mijane Jimenez Salinas, President of Mano Amiga de la Costa Chica, National Political Assembly of Indigenous Women (ANPMI) and Ivy Koek, NGO CSW/NY Co-Chair, explored how strengthened partnerships with international organizations, national governments, civil society and grassroots organizations, as well as other stakeholders, can mobilize resources, institutionalize gender-responsive policies, and drive sustainable, inclusive governance. 

In addition, Nadine Gazmán, Secretary of Health of Mexico City, Aikanysh Ashyrova, Bishkek Deputy Councillor, Élise Pereira Nunes, Deputy Mayor of Tours for Gender Equality and International Relations, and Chair of the Gender Thematic Group at CUF, Ana Moreno, Technical Secretary of the Global Alliance for Care, Foteini Papagioti, Deputy Director of Policy and Advocacy of the ICRW, discussed the irreplaceable value of partnerships with grassroot and bottom-up civil society organisations and local and regional governments towards better connecting local realities and challenges to the global stage and international agendas, strengthening the link between the work at the UN and its real-world impact in communities, thus ensuring diversity, inclusiveness and representativity at all levels decision-making. Including representatives of networks of locally elected women and key partners, the session contributed to movement-building around equality and gender-responsive policies, fostering collective action for lasting change.

The Local and Regional Governments Constituency Policy Recommendations and Statement as key contributions to the localization of Beijing+30 and equality 

The Local and Regional Governments’ Days concluded with the formal launch of the Call to Action for Beijing+30 of the Feminist Municipal Movement and the Policy Recommendations of the Local and Regional Government Constituency at the CSW69, including the Statement of the Global Taskforce, which welcome the commitments outlined in the CSW69 Political Declaration on advancing gender equality through transformative policies, inclusive political participation, and care-centered public services, while urging the international arena to acknowledge the critical role that local and regional governments play in bridging global agendas and local realities by delivering the goals of the Platform for Action at the community level and their stand as political actors and the sphere of government closest to our communities, still missing in the UN SG Report on Beijing+30 and the Beijing+30 Political Declaration adopted on the first day of CSW69, Monday 10 March 2025. 

With cities and regions at the forefront of delivering inclusive public services and ensuring equitable political participation, the constituency of local and regional governments, gathered in the Global Taskforce, calls for the explicit recognition of their direct engagement with local communities, which uniquely positions them to localize the Beijing Platform for Action in ways that are culturally relevant, locally responsive, and sustainable, throughout four key components: 

1. Empower Local Decision-Making

2. Invest in Local Care Systems

3. Strengthen Capacity and Accountability

4. Foster High-Impact Multilevel Partnerships

During the CSW69 General Discussion, the representative of the organised Constituency of Local and Regional Governments urged the UN and Member States to further and explicitly recognize the essential role of local and regional governments in the localization of equality agendas, including Beijing+30, to ensure active and substantive engagement of all spheres of government in international policy development to guarantee the success of an equality driven global agenda, and demanding in particular: more women in decision making at all levels, as custodians of democracy; decisive action on prevention of violence against women; a renewed, networked multilateralism that includes all stakeholders in shaping the agenda and takes into account intergenerational perspectives; and a reform of the global financial system that enhances the capacity of local governments and prioritizes public policies for equality and care. 

In summary, the CSW69 served as an important milestone for the local and regional government constituency. Evidencing the indisputable power of local and regional governments in driving global change and transformative governance that puts care policies, feminist leadership, intergenerational solidarity, and cross-sectoral partnerships at the center, let us further call for their full recognition in for advancing the localization of the Beijing Declaration and Action Platform and global equality agendas for all, everywhere.