“We have to continue walking…We still have to cover a long distance, but we are in the right direction.”

Gertrude Mongella, Secretary-General of the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women, shared her invaluable perspective at the virtual event “Women Who Shaped the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, organized by the United Nations Academic Impact, the Human Rights team of the United Nations Department of Global Communications, and the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR).

The event took place 20 March during the 69th Commission on the Status of Women, a panel of experts discussing those women who helped draft and adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Opening speakers Ilze Brands Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Human Rights Office, and Nanette Braun, Director of the Campaigns and Country Operations Division at the United Nations Department of Global Communications, both highlighted the hard won gains of the thirty years since The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the challenges still to be met. 

The event also featured panelists Ms. Mongella, Anna Fierst, Great Granddaughter of Eleanor Roosevelt and Chair of the Board of Directors at the Eleanor Roosevelt Center, Dr. Rebecca Adami, Associate Professor at Stockholm University, and Dr. Manu Bhagavan, Professor in the Department of History, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY.

The success of the event is owed to these esteemed speakers, whose contributions ultimately echoed both Ms. Mongella’s words, and Ms. Fierst’s, quoting Eleanor Roosevelt: “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home…”

Though there is much work to be done, history tells us progress is possible, and gives us the tools to move forward in our communities and beyond.

UNAI and UNAI SDG Hubs remain committed to advancing SDG 5: Gender Equality, with special recognition of our SDG 5 Hub Chair, CHRIST (Deemed to Be University).

For more information, please visit: