Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) confab underway in New York
The 59th Session of the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is underway at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
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The CSW is the United Nations body tasked with the promotion of gender quality and the empowerment of women, which also saw the adoption of a political declaration reaffirming commitment to the outcome of the historic 1995 Beijing women’s conference.
Representatives of Member States , including a delegation from Ghana, UN entities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world are attending the session being held from March 9 to 20, 2015.
The main focus of this year’s session is on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, including current challenges that affect its implementation and the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
The Commission is also undertaking a review of progress made in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 20 years after its adoption at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995.
The session will also address opportunities for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women in the post-2015 development agenda
Opening ceremony
As women thrive, so will humanity but if girls are held back, the whole world will feel the pain, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned at the opening ceremony.
“Women continue to suffer disproportionately from the economic crisis, from the impacts of climate change, from the displacement caused by conflict, persecution and so much else,” Mr. Ban said .
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He noted that this year's session was particularly significant as it marks the 20th anniversary of the meeting which gave birth to the action plan that has become widely known as the blueprint for women’s empowerment, and focuses on 12 critical areas of concern, from women and the environment to ending violence against women.
“We must build on the Beijing foundation and complete our work,” said Mr. Ban.
“Since the Beijing Conference, more girls have attained more access to more education than ever before. Maternal mortality has been almost halved. More women are leading businesses, governments and global organizations,” Mr. Ban said, urging that more can and must be done. “Our goal must be 50:50 by 2030,” the Secretary-General said, urging Governments to work closely with women’s groups and organizations, and calling on all men to believe in and work for the empowerment of women.
Implementation lacking
The Executive Director of UN-Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka recalled how 20 years ago, as a part of a cohort of international instruments and declarations, countries pledged to achieve gender equality by 2005.
“However, we chose to prioritize the work that has not led to irreversible and deep rooted change,” she said, pointing out that while constitutions may have been amended and new legislature enacted, implementation has been lacking.
“We must better address multi-sectoral problems affecting women including wars, the financial and environment crises. We must better serve disabled and marginalized women who are targeted for their sexual orientation,” she emphasised.
She stressed that change must take place in the power dynamics between men and women. “This is what we need to do now. For the next 15 years, the new development agenda must ensure full coherence and data informed linkages between women’s social and economic empowerment.”