The Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship, with the Permanent Missions of Finland and Mexico to the UN, and in partnership with UN Women and the NGO Commission on the Status of Women (NGO CSW), brought together panelists to discuss the importance of advancing a global feminist foreign policy agenda against the backdrop of rising anti-rights movements worldwide.

Held at the AUB Debs Center in New York City, AUB President Dr. Fadlo R. Khuri discussed the role of universities like AUB in advancing gender equality in the SWANA region. Lina Abou Habib, Director of the Asfari Institute, framed the discussion around feminist foreign policy. H.E. Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, Minister of Social Security of Finland, described how the Finnish government has successfully implemented a feminist foreign policy, as well as what barriers other countries may face. H.E. Alicia Buenrostro Massieu, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations, presented Mexico’s multilateral, partnership-focused approach to advance domestic and international feminist agendas.

Åsa Regnér, Chief Executive Officer at Save the Children Sweden and former Minister for Children, the Elderly, and Gender Equality in Sweden, explained that promoting a feminist agenda requires a consistent pressure campaign, as male leadership will not voluntarily cede power. Lopa Banerjee, Director of the Civil Society Division at UN Women, outlined how a feminist foreign policy could address issues of climate change, economic insecurity, and good governance better than a conventional one.

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