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/ |
I highly recommend this recent article in Foreign Affairs magazine (by Erica Chenowith and Zoe Marks) on the right-wing backlash against gender equality activists.
"In recent years, authoritarian leaders have launched a simultaneous assault on women’s rights and democracy that threatens to roll back decades of progress on both fronts."
"Internationally, a multinational coalition is needed to explicitly reject patriarchal...
The second Generation Equality Forum (GEF) took place in Paris from June 30 to July 2, 2021. Close to 20 FAWCO members joined GEF events virtually, joining some 47,000 people online. Over 1,000 commitments were made to take concrete action to advance the women’s rights agenda around the world.
GEF, sponsored by the governments of Mexico and France, convened by...
Women's rights advocates were shocked when Turkey's President Erdogan announced unilaterally that Turkey would withdraw from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. Since the Convention was drafted in Istanbul, Turkey, and Turkey was the first country to sign it, it became known as the Istanbul Convention. A leaflet produced by the...
NGO CSW NY Consultation Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eitqt75dw9w&t=16s
NGO CSW Geneva Consultation Day (Laurie Richardson's presentation about NGO CSW Vienna starts at 40:44)
Femicide Hotspot Germany: Let's Break the Structural Pattern!
(FAWCO co-sponsored with Femicide Observation Center Germany and FEMEN Germany)
https://ngocsw65forum.us2.pathable.com/meetings/virtual/g64npsa9GQ34mxLeS
North America and Europe CSW Caucus Meeting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPs3xB6TWZQ
Beijing – COVID – What Next? (Organizer:
By Maggie Palu (AW Aquitaine)
This has been a labor of love, and fairly time-consuming, because I’ve been watching some of the sessions again. Here are some links to recordings of meetings that I “attended" virtually.
Enhancing police and justice responses to gender-based violence against women: new tools and emerging challenges in times of the pandemic
Organizer: United Nations Office...
The 65th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) came to a close on March 26 after pushback from regressive governments caused negotiations to stretch into the final day. The CSW65 Agreed Conclusions were adopted at the eleventh hour after a marathon of difficult negotiations. You can watch the Closing Session and hear Member States' statements...
In his address at the opening of CSW65 on March 15, 2021, Secretary-General António Guterres said that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how deeply embedded gender inequality is in the world’s political, social and economic systems. The UN chief noted that women work in jobs that have been hard hit by the pandemic, and that women’s and girls’ unpaid care...
By Heather Halbach, AWC Berlin
I am humbled and immensely grateful for my experience at CSW65. Watching COVID tear through the world with such devastation, ripping bare the inequality in our societies and breeding much fear was a source of personal pain over the past year, but witnessing so many compassionate, wise, dedicated and powerful people come together to advocate...
Women are now practising new freedoms in Saudi Arabia. Traditionally draped in their hijabs, Saudi women’s rights have been limited as compared to its neighbouring countries.
At an Arab women’s event at the CSW62 in New York, I took the empty seat next to a Saudi participant who introduced himself as a journalist. I had...
Some notes from the parallel event: "We Have Your Back" (co-sponsored by FAWCO)
Lucina di Meco – “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu.” (re digital and on-line abuse) (trolling)
Social media = a barrier to seeking public office
Chris Segona – League of Women Voters US – “What is not...