The UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), part of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), promotes gender equality and the advancement of women. Its charge is to measure progress towards equality and highlight challenges, set standards and formulate concrete policies to promote equality and women’s empowerment, and encourage mainstreaming of the gender perspective in all UN activities worldwide.
FAWCO is a member of the NGO Committees on the Status of Women (NGO CSWs) in NY, Geneva and Vienna. FAWCO members and UN Representatives regularly attend the annual CSW in New York. You can read blogs by members of FAWCO's delegations to CSW.
FAWCO signs on to Written and Oral Statements submitted to UN Women for consideration by CSW, joining our partner women's NGOs with consultative status to ECOSOC. You can read these statements on the Advocacy page.
| Key Links | |
| UN CSW | http://www.unwomen.org/en/csw |
| NGO CSW New York | www.ngocsw.org |
| NGO CSW Geneva | www.ngocsw-geneva.ch/ |
| NGO CSW Vienna | https://ngocswvienna.org/ |
From Christine Humphreys and Karen Boeker who attended a session on HerStory at CSW62
The HerStory Campaign works with grassroots partners in 27 countries to listen to, amplify and champion the voices of girls through innovative after-school programming designed to cultivate modern literacy skills and foster self-advocacy. Check out their InfoCard and video!
By Claire Castellon (daughter of Karen Castellon, AWC Berlin)
Editor's note: Claire is 12 years old and in the 6th grade at Berlin International School. She is a Cadette in Berlin Troop #502 of the USA Girl Scouts Overseas. We are delighted that she was part of the FAWCO delegation at CSW62!
The person I remember the most is Fatima (Shafi),
By Christine Humphrey, AW Surrey
My first experience at the NGO CSW 62 Forum far exceeded my expectations. It was informative, challenging and inspiring. What I enjoyed most is the increased awareness of important issues created through dialogue at various side and parallel events and the common quest for gender equality from all the participating civil society organisations.
Initially, I was...
By Karen Boeker, AWC Denmark
The session started when Ms Shiori Ito told her story about being raped in the most humble and trustworthy way. In the beginning and again in the end she emphasized that the main reason to go public was her sister. She realized that her own experience would have been worse for her younger and very shy sister.
Laurie Brooks attended a session on Ending Violence against Women: opportunities of ICT. It was the coolest session she attended so far. The goal of the session was to raise awareness raising, however, she would like to have seen more emphasis on solutions and actions. She learned that women can be attacked virtually, in online violence, with devastating effects on their...
I often tell people that one of the UN Reps Team’s priorities is increasing and improving collaboration with our sister women’s organizations in the UN NGO community. Developing relationships with other NGOs increases FAWCO’s visibility in the NGO community, and opens up opportunities for joint advocacy and action. This sounds very good, but what does it really mean?
In...
Right off, Secretary General Antonio Guterres faces the truth head on, saying that the issue of gender equality is a question of power. We live in a male dominated world, and many social problems are rooted in the damaging legacy of centuries of patriarchy. Women are taking action, and we need to listen to them, and lift them up.
The...
It is Monday March 12, and there is a full house in Conference Room 4 of the UN General Assembly or GA Building, to view the Opening Cermony of CSW62 on livestream. Due to space constraints, each NGO represented at CSW is allowed to have one delegate attend the ceremony seated inside the General Assembly. Our President Sallie Chaballier is...
By Jane McCall Politi, PhD, MSW
The CSW 61 emerging issue/focus area was empowerment of indigenous women. I attended a parallel event "Retos y Logros para el Empoderamiento de las Mujeres, las Jovenas, y Ninas Indigenas."
Representatives from Guatemala, Nicaragua, Cameroon, The Continental Network of Indigenous Women of the Americas (ECMIA), and Colombia described the issues particular to their countries and...
By Susan Alexander, AWC Bern
I had the privilege of attending the opening of the Commission on the Status of Women in the United Nations General Assembly Hall. The Chairman of the CSW, H.E. Mr. Antonio de Aguiar Patriota of Brazil, welcomed the members of the Commission and the NGOs in observance.
I work for the Universal Postal Union, a...