Category: The Civic Circle

Today (15 Sep), at the launch of the 2025 SDG Gender Snapshot report, UN Women and the UN Economic Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) said that 5 years from the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline, none of the gender equality targets are on track, but this does not have to be a reality for women and girls of today or tomorrow.

Bjørg Sandkjær, UN-DESA Assistant Secretary-General, said, “Profound gaps persist. At current trends, more than 350 million women and girls could still be living in extreme poverty by the year 2030. Last year, in 2024, nearly 64 million more women than men experienced food insecurity. Again, talking about leadership, women hold only 27 per cent of parliamentary seats globally, while more than 100 countries have never had a woman Head of State or Government.”

She stressed, “Under a worst-case scenario, climate change could push up to 158.3 million more women and girls into extreme poverty by 2050.”

She also warned that “Without accurate, timely gender data, we cannot measure progress or design effective interventions and we are receiving reports that close to 70 percent of national statistical offices reported reduced funding since the start of this year.”

She concluded, “We need renewed political will and reinvigorated international cooperation to accelerate progress toward gender equality. This is not only just—it is also sound economics and smart policy.”

The report shows that the world is at a crossroads.

Some key data from the report: The world is retreating from gender equality — and the cost is counted in lives, rights, and opportunities.

Sarah Hendriks, director of UN Women’s Policy Division, said, “In essence, this year’s Gender Snapshot sounds a very clear and urgent alarm: Not a single one of the SDG 5 indicators have been met, and none are actually on track, not one. And the truth is quite stark, and what we see from this data is that the world is actually backsliding when it comes to gender equality. It is taking quite significant steps back, and the cost is measured in lives, but also in rights and lost opportunities.”

She highlighted, “The outcomes of this are not inevitable. They are actually the result of deliberate choices. They are, in fact, the result of disinvestment, the result of institutional erosion and the result of systems that prioritize war over rights, war over equality. We live now in a world that spends $2.7 trillion a year on weapons and yet fall short on the $420 billion price tag to advance and achieve gender equality and women’s rights.”

Papa Alioune Seck, chief of UN Women’s Research and Data, noted, “Nearly 1 in 3 women will experience physical and or sexual violence in her lifetime. This is a crisis of pandemic proportions. Yet, we also know how to change this: Financial inclusion is a powerful tool. For every 10 percent increase in women’s financial inclusion, violence decline by approximately 2 percent.”

The Gender Snapshot report is the world’s most authoritative source on gender and the Sustainable Development Goals, drawing on more than 100 data sources to track progress across all 17 Goals.

Female extreme poverty has hovered at 10 per cent since 2020. If current trends continue, the world will reach 2030 with 351 million women and girls still living in extreme poverty.

Conflict is getting deadlier for women and girls.

Already, 676 million women and girls live within reach of deadly conflict — the highest recorded since the 1990s.

But where gender equality has been prioritized, it has delivered.

Girls are now more likely to complete school than ever before, and maternal mortality has declined by nearly 40 per cent between 2000 and 2023.

Rates of intimate partner violence are 2.5 times lower in countries with comprehensive measures on violence compared to those with weak protections.

Closing the gender digital divide alone could benefit 343.5 million women and girls worldwide, lift 30 million out of poverty by 2050, and generate an estimated $1.5 trillion boost to global GDP by 2030.

The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, told the Security Council that stability in Yemen cannot be separated from broader regional dynamics. He warned that Yemen’s unresolved conflict acts as a fault line, sending tremors across borders and amplifying existing regional rivalries, while broader Middle East instability continues to feed divisions within Yemen. “Yemen is both a mirror and a magnifier of the region’s volatility,” Grundberg said, stressing that peace in Yemen is contingent on progress across the region.

Grundberg expressed concern over recent escalations, including drone and missile attacks by Ansar Allah on Israel, as well as Israeli strikes in Sana’a and other areas controlled by Ansar Allah, which reportedly killed civilians and senior interlocutors. He emphasized that these cycles of retaliation must end to prevent a return to widespread conflict. At the same time, he warned that viewing Yemen solely through a regional lens risks sidelining the voices, needs, and aspirations of Yemenis themselves. “The current cycle of violence is dragging Yemen further away from a peace process that would bring sustainable, long-term peace and economic growth,” he said, calling for a renewed focus on internal challenges and unlocking Yemen’s potential.

The Special Envoy highlighted the ongoing humanitarian and operational challenges faced by the UN, including the arbitrary detention of over 40 UN staff in Sana’a and Hudaydah, the forced entry into UN premises, and the seizure of UN property. He condemned these actions as violations of international law that endanger the UN’s ability to advance peace and deliver humanitarian support. Grundberg expressed solidarity with detained colleagues, called for their immediate and unconditional release, and urged Ansar Allah to repatriate the surviving crew members of the Motor Vessel Eternity C.

Turning to the frontlines, Grundberg noted that while relative stability has been maintained, recent military activity in Al Dhale’, Ma’rib, and Ta’iz highlights the risk of miscalculations triggering renewed full-scale conflict. He underscored the importance of ongoing de-escalation efforts and meaningful security dialogue, noting the productive engagement of the Yemeni Government, regional actors, and the Military Coordination Committee, including the reopening of key roads as a demonstration of cooperation.

Grundberg also highlighted economic progress, including improvements to currency value and reductions in living costs, crediting dialogue with the Central Bank of Yemen, government ministers, and private sector representatives. He stressed that sustainable economic stabilization requires depoliticizing national institutions and taking a nationwide view.