A new UN Women report published on Thursday underscores the role of female judges and legal officials in strengthening international justice, and Kiribati’s women’s leadership in the judiciary was held up as a practical example at the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) this week. Speaking on the sidelines of the CSW’s 70th session, Kiribati Women’s Minister Ruth Cross Kwansing argued that women’s presence on the bench and in legislatures makes institutions more legitimate, credible and responsive to society.
The UN Women assessment, released during the conference, found that when women shape international justice mechanisms they help broaden perspectives and increase trust in decision-making. At the CSW event, Kwansing pointed to Kiribati’s recent progress: women now make up 38 per cent of the country’s magistrates and 29 per cent of its legislators. “The depth of women’s leadership across our legal institutions … didn’t happen by accident, it happened because women in Kiribati refused to accept that justice was not their domain,” she said on Thursday local time.
Kwansing framed representation as both a rights and a practical issue for the Pacific, where geography amplifies barriers to justice. Kiribati comprises 33 widely scattered islands — 21 inhabited — meaning access to courts can require ocean crossings rather than merely being a matter of numerical representation. “For many Pacific women, the distance from justice is not measured in percentage points but also in ocean crossings,” she said, urging governments and multilateral partners to recognise the logistical as well as institutional obstacles women face.
The minister also linked gender-balanced judicial leadership to climate resilience. Kiribati is confronting rising sea levels, freshwater shortages and ecosystem decline that — she said — tend to hit women harder because of existing social and economic inequalities. Empowering women in judicial and policy roles, Kwansing argued, is vital to crafting inclusive solutions that protect vulnerable communities and ensure fair outcomes as island nations adapt to environmental change.
Kwansing called for international cooperation to turn individual gains into lasting reform. She urged partners to support mechanisms such as the gender justice platform and to engage networks like the International Association of Women Judges, saying global backing is needed to shift the balance from isolated advances toward systemic change. “Small island states are often invisible in global justice,” she said, calling on donors, governments and multilateral institutions to step up support.
The remarks came amid a packed CSW programme: organisers said more than 3,000 delegates representing governments, charities, non-government organisations and advocacy groups had been accredited to attend this year’s conference. The major theme for the 70th session is ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, a focus that organisers and speakers say is intended to prompt concrete commitments on legal reform, resourcing and outreach.
The UN Women report and Kiribati’s presentation at CSW add fresh momentum to debates on gender and justice, highlighting specific Pacific challenges — geographic isolation and climate vulnerability — alongside measurable advances in representation. Kwansing’s message at the CSW positions women’s judicial leadership as both symbol and instrument of change, while pressing international partners to help translate those gains into broader, sustainable justice reforms.
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