SI Advocacy Advisor, Bev Bucur, brings us an insightful overview of this year’s Commission on the Status of Women.
“The 66th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66) came to a close on March 25. The results were historic because the core theme of gender equality in the context of climate change was discussed for the first time and an explicit connection was made between sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and climate justice. Though this is a start, there was significant pushback from the Global North, showing reluctance to make ambitious commitments towards achieving gender and climate justice.
Click HERE for more information about the CSW 66 agreed conclusions.
It was disappointing that the UN informed Civil Society just 3 days before the start of CSW that the UN would be open to in-person attendance as this excluded many NGOs that are not New York-based and most of the Global South. To express our concern and outline how this late notice of the re-opening caused inequitable access to CSW66, SI joined 100 organisations in signing an open letter to Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, and Marc-Andre Dorel, Acting Chief at the NGO Branch of UN DESA. Participation was further reduced because only 3 UN passes are allowed per organisation.
The methods of work for the next 5 years were also under review. Despite efforts of Civil Society and the UNmute Civil Society Coalition which included the governments of Costa Rica and Denmark, The Future Organisation and Methods of Work of the Commission on the Status of Women for 2023-2027 did not secure a formal role for Civil Society in the negotiations of the agreed conclusions. While member states are encouraged to include Civil Society, there is no formal place for Civil Society in the negotiations of the Agreed Conclusions.
Two other resolutions were adopted at CSW66 without a vote:
Women, the girl child and HIV and AIDS.
Soroptimist International participated in 2 side events, Advancing Gender Equality & Women’s Economic Empowerment, Women and Girls as Agents of Change in Climate -Related Conflict with the Mission of Ireland, and New Paradigm for Women: Dignity Through Decent Work, with the mission or Argentine.
We sponsored 3 parallel events, including: Opening Doors to a Bright Future: Educating, Empowering and Enabling Women which provided an opportunity for the federations to showcase some of their projects work and learn about SI President Maureen Maguire’s Appeal, Women, Water, Climate Change – Roles and Risks: Tackling the Challenges was a collaboration with past SI President Mariet Verhoef Cohen and Women for Water Partnership. There were two events about older women which are part of Immediate Past President, Sharon Fisher’s Appeal, The Road to Equality. These events were Older Women’s Universal Right to Economic Security and Older Women and Environmental Justice. We also Co-Sponsored three events and provided Soroptimist speakers for another 2 events. Soroptimists can watch the events via the SI website webinar page.
You can catch up on all the news and blogs from our CSW events HERE.
Now that CSW66 is over, preparations are underway for CSW67 in 2023. The priority theme for CSW 67 is: “Innovation and Technological Change, and Education in the Digital Age for Achieving Gender Equality and the Empowerment of All Women and Girls’, and the review theme is: ‘Challenges and Opportunities in Achieving Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Rural Women and Girls’ as per the agreed conclusions of the sixty-second session.”