Global Civil Society & the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Gender Equality


While the world has achieved progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment under the Millennium Development Goals (including equal access to primary education between girls and boys), women and girls continue to suffer discrimination and violence in every part of the world.

Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. Unfortunately, at the current time, 1 in 5 women and girls between the ages of 15-49 have reported experiencing physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner within a 12-month period and 49 countries currently have no laws protecting women from domestic violence. Progress is occurring regarding harmful practices such as child marriage and FGM (Female Genital Mutilation), which has declined by 30% in the past decade, but there is still much work to be done to complete eliminate such practices.

Providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes will fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large. Implementing new legal frameworks regarding female equality in the workplace and the eradication of harmful practices targeted at women is crucial to ending the gender-based discrimination prevalent in many countries around the world.

Name Acronym Founded City HQ Country/Territory HQ Type I Type II

International Centre for Women Playwrights

ICWP 1989 C v

International Chair-Network UNESCO/ICES on "Technical and Vocational Education and Training"

TVET Moscow Russia K

International Child Rights Center

InCRC Seoul Korea Rep G

International Children's Trust

ICT 1967 Coventry UK G f

International Christian Aid Relief Enterprises

ICARE 1982 Surry Hills NSW Australia G

International Circle for the Promotion of the Creation

1990 Bafoussam Cameroon F v

International Civil Aviation Organization

ICAO 1947 Montréal QC Canada B g

International Civil Liberties Alliance

ICLA 2012 Basel Switzerland C

International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group

ICLMG 2002 Toronto ON Canada G y

International Civil Society Action Network

ICAN 2006 Washington DC USA F

International Co-operative Alliance

ICA 1895 Brussels Belgium A y

International Coalition for Agunah Rights

ICAR 1989 Jerusalem Israel G

International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea

ICNK 2011 New York NY USA E y

International Commission of Catholic Prison Pastoral Care

ICCPPC 1950 Eindhoven Netherlands D v

International Commission on Freedom of Conscience

Washington DC USA N

International Committee Buchenwald Dora and Commandos

IBDC 1952 Montreuil France E v

International Committee for a Free Vietnam

ICFV 1986 Bruges Belgium E

International Committee for the Safeguarding of Linguistic Rights in Asturies

ICSLRA N

International Committee for World Day of Prayer

1968 New York NY USA E

International Committee of Historical Sciences

ICHS 1926 Turin Italy A y

International Committee of Sports for the Deaf

ICSD 1924 Lausanne Switzerland B y

International Committee of the Red Cross

ICRC 1863 Geneva Switzerland F v

International Communications Forum

ICF 1991 Penzance UK F

International Community for Ecopsychology

ICE N

International Community of Women living with HIV Eastern Africa

ICWEA Kampala Uganda E

International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS

ICW 1992 F v

International Computing Centre

ICC 1971 Geneva Switzerland E g

International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas

CICAE 1955 Berlin Germany D

International Confederation of Cleft Lip and Palate and Related Craniofacial Anomalies

ICCPCA 1969 E v

International Conference on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology

ICCAP S c

International Conference on Learning Representations

ICLR 2013 La Jolla CA USA S c

International Conference on Men and Equal Opportunities

ICMEO S c

International Conference on the Great Lakes Region

ICGLR 2000 Bujumbura Burundi E cg

International Consortium for Male Contraception

ICMC 2013 Paris France C

International Contraceptive Access Foundation

ICA Foundation 2003 Turku Finland F f

International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children

1921 T g

International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women of Full Age

1933 T g

International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination

1965 T g

International Council for Adult Education

ICAE 1973 Belgrade Serbia B y

International Council for Peace and Justice

ICPJ El Cerrito CA USA G

International Council of Jewish Women

ICJW 1912 Mexico City Mexico C

International Council of Psychologists

ICP 1941 Boulder CO USA B v

International Council of Sqay

ICS 1987 Pampore India G

International Council of Traditional Sports and Games

ICTSG 2009 Lahore Pakistan E

International Council of Women

ICW 1888 Seoul Korea Rep B

International Council on Social Welfare

ICSW 1928 Madrid Spain A y

International Council on Systems Engineering

INCOSE 1991 San Diego CA USA C

International Council on Women's Health Issues

ICOWHI 1984 Baltimore MD USA D v

International Council Supporting Fair Trial and Human Rights

ICSFT Geneva Switzerland D

International Court of Justice

ICJ 1946 The Hague Netherlands F g

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