In 2017, Saudi Arabia was granted membership to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for a four-year tenure commencing in 2018.

Since then, there has been a notable improvement in women’s rights within the kingdom. As a result, the CSW has selected Saudi Arabia to lead the 69th session of the UN Committee on the Status of Women in 2025.

Ambassador Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Wasel will be the first-ever permanent representative of the Gulf state to chair the committee since its establishment in 1946. Having previously served as ambassador and permanent representative to the UN Office in Geneva since November 2016, Al-Wasel assumed the role of ambassador and permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the UN headquarters in New York in July 2022.

The CSW, stemming from the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), is one of the principal organs of the United Nations. It is recognized as the UN body dedicated to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment globally, focusing on advancing women’s status.

Annually, the CSW convenes to assess progress in this field, establish standards, and formulate policies to enhance women’s status worldwide.

The Innovation By Design Summit is in Doha on April 24. Attendance at the summit is by invitation only. Delegates can register here to receive their exclusive invite.