Commission on the Status of Women

 

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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/



Featured

Women’s Advocacy Coalition in Myanmar, a Country under Siege

by Jane Politi, FAUSA

 

May Sabe Phyu of the Women’s Advocacy Coalition Myanmar (WAC-M) was staffing a table in the hall of the Armenian Church Center (site of the CSW68 parallel events). She was alone, and it gave us the opportunity to speak about the situation on the ground in Myanmar and for me to learn some facts about...

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Heroes of October 7th and Beyond: Women as Agents of Change in Times of Conflict

by Jennifer Padfield, FAUSA

 

Ambassador Gilad Erdan, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, reminded us that this event, hosted by Israel, was the first time since October 7, 2023 that any meeting was held at the United Nations regarding the hostages taken by Hamas. Sexual violence against Israeli women during the October 7 attack and additional reporting that make...

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Delegates’ Brief Reflections on CSW68

US Women’s Caucus Event: “Strengthening Ties Between the US and the UN” by Lisa Wilde, AWC Berlin

Factoid: One striking fact for me personally was that women are 18% less likely than men to have loans approved, facing rejection due to gender bias. I’m often surprised by how even seemingly minor details can reveal underlying inequality. 

 

Eliminating Poverty: Structural Interventions...

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The Breaking of Rose-Colored Glasses

 by Kate O’Toole, AWC Berlin

   

The eye-opening discovery that opened a path to dialogue and conversation

 As a lifelong Texan and then young immigrant in Russia, I have experienced dismissive attitudes towards feminism and women’s issues. Even the simple discussion of these topics tended to be rejected as hysterical propaganda. I was obviously aware, to some extent, of misogyny...

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Is the UN Worth It?

by Peter W. Pruyn

From March 11–14, 2024 I attended my first Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) at the UN in New York City. I attended 14 sessions in total, which I have listed below. Some were held in small-to-medium-sized conference rooms with a few dozen participants; others were held in the main UN General Assembly Hall with...

CSW68: Inspiring and Dispiriting Views from a First-Time Delegate

by Carol Harbers, AWC Hamburg

The 68th annual session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was a first for me – and most certainly not my last. As a college student, I was greatly impacted by the second feminist movement that hit the United States in the early seventies, being totally stunned when I became aware of...

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Women Hold Up Half the Sky: Pam Perraud speaks at CSW68

FAWCO’s long-time representative at the United Nations, Pam Perraud, spoke at the NGO Briefing at the CSW on March 21, 2024. Her remarks included the call to action, “We know what is needed to advance women’s equality. Now is the time for action, the time for accountability!”
 
Here is the UN video from the CSW Briefing. Pam speaks at...
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Why November 25th?

ORANGE GENERATION EQUALITY STANDS AGAINST RAPE LOGO EN Vertical RVSD 2019.11

November 25 is the International Day to End Violence Against Women, and the first day of the #16 Days Campaign. Why November 25th? I heard the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the UN in Vienna tell the story of Las Hermanas Mirabal, or the Mirabal Sisters. Patria, Minerva and Antonia Mirabal, killed in the Dominican Republic on November 25,

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights by Otávio Roth

by Karen Castellon, FAUSA, AWC Berlin, AWAquitaine

 

We visited Otávio Roth’s xylographs of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, an art installation on permanent exhibit at the UN Headquarters in NYC. 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. The Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on...

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She Surfs Freedom

by Karen Castellon, FAUSA, AWC Berlin, AWAquitane

 

She Surfs Freedom: Approaches to Ending Violence against Women and Girls Online and Creating Safe Spaces for Young Women and Girls
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
She Surfs Freedom logoTuesday, March 7, 2023
Salvation Army Auditorium


This panel discussed the results of a survey conducted during the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-based...

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