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/ |
Introducing the Civil Society representative, the UNECE chair said, "Civil Society always has a lot of good advice for us."
The Beijing+25 ECE Review Civil Society Statement was developed in consultation with over 420 NGO representatives from 48 countries. The key messages were delivered by a 27 year old student of international human rights law from Turkey - a strong symbol of youth...
Paula Daepppen (AWC Zurich) Reflections on B+25
Promoting gender equality is not a cost to communities, society or businesses - it is an Investment!
Gender equality recognizes that empowering women also empowers and benefits men and boys, and results in healthier families and communities.
By Sallie Chaballier (AAWE Paris)
"We have everything we need already on paper, we just need to implement it! The 1995 Beijing Platform was a turning point in looking at women and climate and the interlinkages with environmental issues." Jeannette Gurung, Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (WOCAN)
Climate change has a disproportionate impact on women and...
By Tara Scott (AW Central Scotland)
The UN brings into focus issues which need to be discussed, analysed and resolved, as they are affecting people on a global level. The Beijing+25 Regional Review meeting was focused on the current status of women. The consensus is that while progress has been made during the last 25 years, there is still a...
By Rhonda Staudt (AWC Berlin)
October 29-30, 2019, UN Geneva
The Beijing+25 UNECE Regional Review Meeting provided an exceptional forum to review the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) in particular SDG 5...
By Rhonda Staudt (AWC Berlin)
28 October 2019, Geneva
Approximately 500 civil society stakeholders from across the UNECE region gathered to strengthen civil society cooperation and their role in UN processes on Beijing+25, and the interlinkages with the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Istanbul Convention and Agenda...
After the Civil Society Forum, some women's organizations did not endorse the Civil Society Statement presented at the UNECE intergovernmental meeting. Some had serious disagreements about language, process and positions. In the end, most of the NGOs represented at the Civil Society Forum acknowledged the diversity of the views represented in the opening statement. The far more important priority is...
"A quarter of a century after Beijing, not a single country has achieved gender equality. Beijing+25 and the global drive to achieve the SDGs provide us a unique opportunity to accelerate efforts, strengthen our partnerships and mobilize all of society, including all generations, to fulfill the longstanding commitments to women and girls."
Ăsa Regnér, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive...
Eight FAWCO members from Athens, Bern, Berlin, Paris, Vienna and Zürich attended the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Beijing+25 Regional Review Meetings in Geneva, Oct. 29-30, as well as the preparatory Civil Society Forum on October 28.
From left to right: Paula Daeppen (AWC Zürich), Rhonda Staudt (AWC Berlin), Georgia Kallis (AWO Greece), Laurie Richardson, UN Liaison (AWA Vienna), Salle Chaballier (AAWE Paris), Pam Perraud...
Olga Algayerova, Under Secretary General and Executive Secretary, UNECE, opened the meeting on October 29, pointing out the need for more women’s political involvement and participation in decision making: “Let us work together so every girl and woman can live in safety and dignity.” Gender equality is both an objective and a driver of sustainable development. Despite significant progress and lessons...