The Trump administration *hardly got a mention* in scores of public speeches by foreign delegations at the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, or CSW, at the headquarters of the United Nations <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZZ3TfEND1ZITkCk74YNDzxwr2NMPyYrOFs6MMmvr_GTOpl-4xD6ABf533TDFnUxJf6QJPB-0=> in New York.
But Washington was on everyone’s mind, reflecting heightened anxiety that it is not only rolling back the rights of women and other historically discriminated groups, but *dismantling the entire multilateral system*. There was some relief that the U.S. delegation did not torpedo the adoption of a political declaration <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POiKRGbNY2OKC42jxnUn9zvq24cVm7OPp7KJYuKNWXqfFnyNhq-tKar0e2TTFE-4VPtUeVQvrMKXH_zw4tJl_it1lrUqfqXijd27qLprlFHm7sUSglHx-s8ePjzs8F1rv5iHHc52M7wZYv7LC1aquUGBwUyM1RsSaXqZEt7VS0ZwzsIVL597ak3KWT2sjtSwJ8Ezc8FISA8JH5qZdxqh-LSNHRz_oduOz5ClelZuEgzAq1-uHHpJTxsiFfDGdHhXhDg==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZZ3TfEI5k8vwl2WkoMSlTjGsxOswy32w5pTl1O4FAhXLEOmhUGIgN9KBqCvL7Q5JYSryjGCA=> reaffirming the Beijing Declaration and Plan of Action <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZZ3TfEJJwmBo5EZECaCp2OeMgQWLV7kzbsLhYLG8aAKmd0AkvvBjKPtMpS7A8xpqG9iL6lso=>, the 30-year-old landmark blueprint for advancing women’s equality and rights. And on Friday, the delegates overcame reservations by Washington’s ally, Argentina, to adopt a program of priorities *to advance the cause of women over the coming years*. But Washington sent a strong signal that it plans to leverage its financial and diplomatic muscle *to reverse a range of progressive U.N. policies*, from access to sexual and reproductive health and rights to quotas tailored to achieve gender parity in U.N. institutions. [image: A view of the U.N. General Assembly Hall at CSW69.]*A view of the U.N. General Assembly Hall at CSW69. Photo by: UN Photo / Evan Schneider* In a farewell statement, Jonathan Shrier, acting U.S. representative to the U.N. Economic and Social Council <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZZ3TfEDPPUFEXFtSfGzTJxqqpAIDWm-oc8yT4wDxwwNSRHddRGKauCXYoT-Ir_j7ZjTAUmHk=> , *sharply criticized the political declaration*, saying it lacked clear language recognizing “women are biologically female and men are biologically male.” He took aim at a provision of the declaration’s recognition of a right to global development, attacked government regulation of online content as suppressing free speech, and *denounced the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals*. “We will no longer reaffirm them as a matter of course,” Shrier said. He also raised concern about references to climate change *before his microphone was silenced* for surpassing the allotted speaking time. While several delegations expressed frustration that the final declaration made *no explicit mention of women’s sexual reproductive health and rights*, they appeared relieved that the U.S. had not blown up the entire process. “It’s been a weird CSW,” said Ishaan Shah, a U.K.-based advocate with the Young Feminist Caucus. “People are *not really addressing the elephants in the room*, obviously now the U.S., but also this growing move to authoritarianism, the right-wing underfunding, aid cuts, that sort of thing. “There is definitely this undertone of depleted funding, lack of resourcing, and growing anti-rights, anti-gender movement,” he added. “I think it’s been quite somber in that sense.” *Scoop:* US pokes globalism in eye in women’s rights talks at UN <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POiKRGbNY2OKC42jxnUn9zvq24cVm7OPp7KJYuKNWXqfFnyNhq-tKar0e2TTFE-4VPtUeVQvrMKXH_zw4tJl_it1lrUqfqXijd27qLprlFHm7sUSglHx-s8ePjzs8F1rv5iHHc52M7wZYv7LC1aquUGBwUyM1RsSaXqZEt7VS0ZwzsIVL597ak3KWT2sjtSwJ8Ezc8FISA8JH5qZdxqh-LSNHRz_oduOz5ClelZuEgzAqasP2rNrlqDF2inyhrWc_aw==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZZ3TfEI5k8vwl2WkoMSlTjGsxOswy32w5pTl1O4FAhXLEOmhUGIgN9KBqCvL7Q5JYSryjGCA=>
