Chairperson of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions H E Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah addressing 2025 annual conference of GANHRI in Geneva.
Doha, Qatar: Chairperson of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) and Chairperson of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) H E Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah, has said that the economic, social, and political barriers that disproportionately affect women and girls not only human rights violations but also obstacles in the way of achieving sustainable development for all.
She said: “The current backlash against gender issues and women’s rights at the local and global levels is deeply concerning and is pushing us back in our fight for equality and justice.”
Al Attiyah also emphasized the importance of the active participation of women and girls in all aspects of decision-making, to ensure their rights are protected and translated into reality.
This came during Al Attiyah’s opening speech at the 2025 Annual Conference of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions on ‘The Role of National Institutions in Promoting the Human Rights of Women and Girls’, which was held at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva.
The event was attended by H E Volker Türk United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, H E Jörg Lauber President of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the heads of the regional networks that are members of the Global Alliance, and a group of heads of national human rights institutions, experts, and academics.
Al Attiyah said: “At the heart of these crises, women and girls, who have long been subjected to systematic discrimination, are among the most affected.”
She said that despite progress, women and girls around the world still face persistent discrimination, violence, and inequality. “Gender-based violence remains a pervasive global epidemic, women’s participation in political leadership and decision-making processes in many countries remains inadequate, and millions of girls are still denied their right to education, healthcare, and equal opportunities.”
Al Attiyah noted that despite all the difficulties and challenges, national human rights institutions are capable of addressing them. She added: “As national human rights institutions, we bear a unique role and a historic responsibility in supporting our countries and societies to address and overcome emerging challenges.”
Al Attiyah explained that many national human rights institutions from all regions and diverse contexts demonstrate the real contributions and impact they can have by advising states on legal and policy reform, working and collaborating with their communities, promoting education and awareness, and addressing challenges and backlashes on gender issues.
She said that this is in addition to collecting reliable and disaggregated data and evidence to detect discrimination, reporting at the local and global levels, and providing constructive recommendations to decision-makers.
