CSW60 Blog
A delegation of 14 FAWCO women joined over 6,000 other NGO representatives for the 60th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW60) in NY from March 14 - 24, 2016. The Commission was established in 1946 and is "dedicated to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women". The annual sessions provide advocates for human rights for women an opportunity to influence the UN agenda. Around 6,000 delegates from the 45 Member States of the Commission, United Nations entities, and accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) attended this year's annual session with the priority theme "women's empowerment and its link to sustainable development". The session comprised the official ministerial meetings, more than 200 side events hosted by the Member States and UN entities, and around 450 parallel events organized by NGOs.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), launched in September 2015, are the top priority at the UN and are to be achieved by the year 2030. Goal 5 is "achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls". The focus of the Goal 5 Targets—e.g., violence against women and girls, trafficking, early marriage, health, discrimination—were reoccurring themes in the events. "Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step it Up", the theme of 2016 Women's Day, was also in focus.
The opening speech "CSW60 is the First Test of Our Resolve" by UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka gives a perspective on the 2030 Agenda. The concluding commitment of CSW Member States to the implementation of Agenda 2030 is summarized in a press release from the closing day. (Thanks to Carol Strametz of AWC Hamburg for contributing this introduction.)
Blog posts are by UN Liaison Laurie Richardson (AWA Vienna) unless otherwise noted.
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I found a quiet place where I can take a breath, reflect and write about CSW60, so I can share my thoughts and experiences. I had the East Lounge to myself until about 11 AM, when it began to fill up with delegates and NGO reps eagerly talking and networking. Here is a photo of the view from my workspace, looking...
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Monday March 21
Every morning at the 8.30 AM NGO Briefing, we hear updates on the negotiations on the Agreed Conclusions by the CSW delegations. On Monday March 21, as we started Week 2 of CSW, the third revised draft had been disseminated, and the lead facilitator of the negotiations talked about their progress and sticking points. Substantive improvements were...
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Tuesday March 22
UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka attended the NGO Briefing at CSW this morning. She wanted to give us her impressions of the CSW work to date, and to hear from us about our priorities and concerns.It was a great honor to be invited to speak at this session. FAWCOs statement on protection of women...