The 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council took place from 15 June to 7 July 2026. The ongoing liquidity crisis continues to affect the United Nations, significantly impacting the Council’s functioning and space for meaningful civil society participation. In addition, anti-rights actors continue occupying this space and bringing their agenda to side events, resolutions and statements during plenaries.  It is crucial for feminist activists from different regions to continue to make visible their demands within the Council and to actively hold states and other actors accountable for their human rights obligations. The SRI participated in the session through delivering statements, conducting advocacy with States and joining calls for accountability from other feminist and civil society organizations on a wide range of issues.   

Below, you will find information on some of the key sexual rights-related:

SRI at the HRC 62 

As the UN multilateral system faces mounting crises of legitimacy and liquidity, it is more urgent than ever to defend and expand spaces where civil society can actively hold states accountable for their human rights obligations. For the SRI, sexuality is, at its core, about power. Understanding power in its structural forms is essential: without accountability and solidarity, sexual rights cannot be fully realised.  Sexual rights are shaped and constrained by interconnected global crises, unchecked extractivism, climate degradation, violent populism and toxic nationalism, widening inequalities within and between states and entrenched patriarchal, racist, classist, and ableist systems of oppression. Realising sexual rights, therefore, requires advancing the self-determination and collective liberation of all peoples. 

During this session, we welcomed the increased scrutiny and documentation of the human rights and gendered impacts of AI from the Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls who presented their report Women’s and girls’ rights and artificial intelligence and related digital technologies.   We also welcomed the resolution on women’s and girls’ human rights in humanitarian crises that explicitly names reproductive violence as a distinct category of gender-based violence for the first time. This important recognition marks a precedent that denying access to contraception, forced pregnancy, forced abortion and forced sterilization, including when undertaken with the intent to destroy a group, is a violation of human rights. A clear win for sexual and reproductive rights.   

We also witnessed escalating attempts by States, a mandate holder and anti-rights civil society organizations to erase established gendered analysis of human rights.  These efforts seek to invisible the ways in which gender norms operate in all societies to repress the rights of women and gender diverse people. It also perpetuates essentialist stereotypes about women that reduce them to their biological functions and treat them as inherently vulnerable and in need of protection.  Such protectionist approaches serve to restrict the rights of women’s, girls’ and gender diverse people in the name of safety and must be rejected. It is imperative for all stakeholders to live up to the principle of universality, to name the gendered impacts of discrimination for what they are and to push back against retrogressive narratives where ever they manifest.   

 

Sexual Rights- related resolutions 

 

Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and girls in care and support systems- A/HRC/62/L.16/Rev1 

Led by Mexico, Spain and Iceland and co-sponsored by 39 other countries as of July 7, 2026. The resolution was adopted by consensus. 

This resolution addresses the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and girls within care and support systems. It recognizes that unequal care responsibilities, gender stereotypes, structural discrimination, and unequal access to services and opportunities continue to undermine the human rights of women and girls. The resolution emphasizes that transforming care and support systems is essential to achieving substantive gender equality and calls for a human rights-based, gender-responsive, disability-inclusive and intersectional approach. It highlights the need to recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid care work, improve conditions for paid care workers, strengthen social protection and public services, ensure sexual and reproductive health and rights, and promote the equal participation and leadership of women and girls in decision-making.  

The resolution calls on States to strengthen legal and policy frameworks to eliminate discrimination against women and girls, implement their international human rights obligations, and develop sustainable, adequately funded care and support systems based on equality, universality and shared responsibility. It urges States to recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid care work, improve protections and working conditions for paid care workers, expand social protection and quality care services, remove discriminatory laws and barriers, promote the equal sharing of care responsibilities between women and men, ensure women's and girls' full participation in decision-making, and collect disaggregated data to support evidence-based policymaking 

A total of six amendments were tabled. All amendments were rejected by vote. The amendments are provided below:  

  • Replace the term “gender” with “sex” through the text. Tabled by Russia and rejected by 27 votes against, 7 in favour and 11 abstentions.  

  • Replace the term “health services” with “healthcare services”. Tabled by Rusia and rejected by 25 votes against, 7 in favour and 13 abstentions.  

  • Replace the term “sexual and reproductive health and rights” with “the right to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including sexual and reproductive health” through the text. Tabled by Pakistan (on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, except Albania) and rejected by 26 votes against, 7 in favour and 12 abstentions. 

  • Replace the term “bodily integrity and autonomy” with “full respect for the physical integrity of the human body” through the text. Tabled by Pakistan (on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, except Albania) and rejected by 23 votes against, 9 in favour and 13 abstentions 

  • Delete reference to universal access to evidence-based comprehensive sexuality education. Tabled by Pakistan (on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, except Albania) and rejected by 26 votes against, 8 in favour and 11 abstentions 

  • Insert a new preambular paragraph to include language to define “discrimination against women on the basis of sex”, based on the CEDAW. Tabled by Nigeria and withdrawn.   

Watch the discussion and adoption.  

 

Protection of healthcare in armed conflict- A/HRC/62/L.26/Rev.1 

Led by Qatar and co-sponsored by 3 other countries as of July 7, 2026. The resolution was adopted by consensus. 

This resolution affirms that the protection of healthcare during armed conflict is a fundamental obligation under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. It expresses grave concern over the increasing number of attacks on healthcare workers, hospitals, medical transport and health systems, emphasizing that such attacks undermine the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and may constitute serious violations of international law. The resolution highlights the disproportionate impact of conflict on women, children, older persons, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, and stresses the need to safeguard access to healthcare, essential medicines and humanitarian medical assistance, strengthen health system resilience, improve monitoring and accountability, and uphold the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence in the provision of medical care during armed conflict. 

The resolution calls on States to respect and protect healthcare workers, medical facilities, transport and patients, refrain from attacks on or obstruction of healthcare, and ensure safe, equitable and non-discriminatory access to healthcare during armed conflict. It urges States to strengthen the resilience of health systems, protect critical health infrastructure and supply chains, provide humanitarian access, safeguard the independence and ethics of medical professionals, protect healthcare workers from violence and intimidation, improve monitoring and data collection on attacks against healthcare, ensure accountability and access to justice for violations, and cooperate with international organizations to strengthen prevention, preparedness and compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law. It also requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a report following an expert panel discussion on the protection of healthcare in armed conflict. 

Watch the discussion and adoption.  

 

Child, early and forced marriage- A/HRC/L.24/Rev. 1 

Led by Switzerland, Canada, Honduras, Italy, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Sierra Leone, Thailand and Uruguay and co-sponsored by 43 other countries as of July 7, 2026. The resolution was adopted by consensus.  

This resolution reaffirms that child, early and forced marriage is a serious human rights violation and a form of sexual and gender-based violence that disproportionately affects women and girls, undermining their rights to education, health, bodily autonomy, equality and freedom from violence. It emphasizes that eliminating the practice requires addressing its root causes, including gender inequality, discriminatory social norms, poverty, conflict and humanitarian crises, through comprehensive, survivor-centred and human rights-based approaches that uphold sexual and reproductive health and rights, expand access to education and justice, and ensure the meaningful participation of women and girls in decision-making. 

The resolution calls on States to strengthen legal and policy frameworks to prohibit child, early and forced marriage, ensure free and full consent to marriage, and adopt coordinated, multisectoral responses across health, education, justice and social protection systems. It further urges governments to address structural gender inequalities, expand access to sexual and reproductive health services, education and survivor support, improve data collection and accountability, and work in partnership with civil society, youth-led and feminist organizations, while requesting the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN partners to provide technical support for implementation. 

A total of seven amendments were tabled  

  • Delete reference to “sexual and reproductive health and rights”. Tabled by Sudan (on behalf of group of Arab States) and rejected by 27 votes against, 8 in favour and 10 abstentions. 

  • Replace the term “evidence-based comprehensive sexuality education” with “scientifically accurate and age-appropriate comprehensive education” through the text. Tabled by Sudan (on behalf of group of Arab States) and rejected by 25 votes against, 9 in favour and 11 abstentions 

  • Replace the term “dignity, integrity and bodily autonomy” with “personal integrity and women’s autonomy”. Tabled by Sudan (on behalf of group of Arab States) and rejected by 23 votes against, 9 in favour and 13 abstentions 

  • Delete reference to intimate partner violence. Tabled by Sudan (on behalf of group of Arab States) and rejected by 26 votes against, 7 in favour and 12 abstention. 

Watch the discussion and adoption. 

 

Other resolutions 

  • Promoting, protecting and respecting women’s and girls’ full enjoyment of human rights in humanitarian situations- A/HRC/62/L.21/Rev.1 (Colombia, Fiji, Georgia, Japan, Sierra Leone, Sweden, Uruguay) 

  • Twentieth anniversary of the Human Rights Council- A/HRC/62/L.19/Rev.1 (Mexico, Cabo Verde, Estonia, Morocco, Slovenia, Spain, Thailand) 

  • Human Rights and climate change- A/HRC/62/L/18/Rev.1 (Philippines, Bangladesh and Vietnam)  

  • Role of States in countering the negative impact of disinformation on the enjoyment and realization of human rights A/HRC/62/L.9 (Ukraine, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) 

  • Freedom of opinion and expression A/HRC/62/L.12/Rev.1 (Canada, Brazil, Fiji, Namibia, Netherlands (Kingdom of the), Sweden) 

  • Human Rights implications of the obstruction and denial of humanitarian access and threats to the safety of humanitarian personnel in armed conflict. A/HRC/62/L.25/Rev.1 (Kuwait, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia)  

 

Sexual Rights- related discussions  

 

Panel discussion on the intensification of efforts to empower women and girls in and through sport.  

The panel discussion highlighted actions to advance the full an equal participation and empowerment of women and girls in and through sports. It focused on promoting women’s leadership, equal access to opportunities and resources, and creating safe, inclusive sporting environments free from discrimination, harassment, and abuse.  

Watch the debate on Un Web TV. SRI made a statement during the panel discussion, which you can watch here.  

 

Annual full-day discussion on the human rights of women:  

Panel 1 domestic violence against women and girls 

The annual discussion focused on a call for urgent action on domestic violence against women and girls. It discusses how international human rights framework provides concrete guidance for prevention, protection, access to justice and accountability, as well as for survivor-centred and coordinated responses at the national level.  

Watch the debate on UN Web TV. SRI made a statement during the annual discussion, which can be viewed here.  

 

Panel 2 commemoration of the international Day of Women in Diplomacy focusing on women’s right to work and representation in decision-making.  

The annual discussion focused on commemorating the International Day of Women in Diplomacy, and addressed how women’s right to work and condition in the world of work shape women’s participation, leadership and influence in decision-making in public administration, diplomacy and multilateral contexts.  

Watch the debate on UN Web TV here.  

 

SRI Oral Statements  

  • SRI statement to the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health, commenting on the report on Health as an enabler of dignity. Watch the first and second part of the interactive dialogue, along with our statement, on UN Web TV.  

  • SRI statement to the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, commenting on the report on transforming food systems for a safe climate and health for all. Watch the interactive dialogue, along with our statement, on UN Web TV. (Not delivered due to time) 

  • SRI statement (Spanish) to the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, commenting on the report on violence and discrimination faced by lesbian, bisexual, and queer women. Watch the first and second part of the interactive dialogue, along with our statement, on UN Web TV.  (Not delivered due to time) 

  • SRI statement to the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, commenting on the report on freedom of expression in new frontiers. Watch the interactive dialogue, along with our statement, on UN Web TV. (Not delivered due to time) 

  • SRI statement to the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, commenting on the report on violence against mothers. Watch the first and second part of the interactive dialogue, along with our statement, on UN Web TV.  

  • SRI statement to the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, commenting on the report unmasking the chilling effect of the digital surveillance ecosystem: the erosion of assembly and association rights. Watch the interactive dialogue, along with our statement, on UN Web TV. (Not delivered due to time) 

  • SRI statement to the interactive dialogue with the Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls, commenting on the report on women’s and girls’ rights and artificial intelligence and related digital technologies. Watch the first and second part of the interactive dialogue, along with our statement, on UN Web TV.  

  • SRI statement to the annual discussion on domestic violence against women and girls. Watch the interactive dialogue, along with our statement, on UN Web TV. (Not delivered due to time)  

  • SRI statement to the panel discussion on the intensification of efforts to empower women and girls in and through sport. Watch the interactive dialogue, along with our statement, on UN Web TV.  

 

Joint oral statements  

  • Joint statement with Women Deliver and 35 other organizations on the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health, commenting on the report on Health as an enabler of dignity. Watch the interactive dialogue, along with our statement, on UN Web TV.  

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