Like-Minded Advocates for Gender Equality

At the moment, negotiations about the Agreed Conclusions are continuing and slowly moving towards language that all country delegations can agree upon. In the previous blogpost we wrote about the obstructive attitudes of the Holy See as well as the African Group towards gender equality in the Agreed Conclusions of CSW55. Let us not forget that there are many individuals and organizations around the world, many of which are our partners, who support gender equality, freedom of choice, as well as sexual and reproductive health and rights from a Catholic perspective.

Freedom of Choice

Catholics for Choice (CFC) stand for “a woman’s moral and legal right to follow her conscience in matters of sexuality and reproductive health”. This organization argues from a Catholic perspective that men and women can be trusted to make moral decisions about their lives. Within their programs, they promote condom use and provision of comprehensive sexuality education information. This enables boys, girls, women and men to feel comfortable about their sexuality and live a healthy life.

Priest against HIV/Aids

Irish priest Michael J. Kelly wishes to see structural changes in the status of women. He argues for the urgency for change due to the feminization of HIV/Aids since “without a frontal attack on the injustice of gender inequality – in church, state and every walk of life- the dominance of the epidemic will continue.” According to him, the “Catholic Church must move away from its own discrimination and gender stereotypes towards women and promote their ‘active empowerment’ within it and in society.”

Gender equality as a human right

The “Gender Policy of the Catholic Church of India” was written in 2010 during the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India. The document provides a whole chapter with religious argumentation in favor of gender equality. Moreover, they argue that equality between women and men is both a human rights issue and a pre-condition for, and indicator of, sustainable people-centered development.

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CSW Revitalisation conversations in the region

Photo: Facilitation team (Liliane Nkunzimana, Lopa Banerjee, Nadia van der Linde, Ivy Koek) What do you think about when you hear countries are committed to 'revitalize' the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)? "Oh, is it dying?" is one of the responses I've gotten, as if the CSW is holding on to its last straws at the moment, in desparate need of resuscitation. The challenges ahead for the current multilateral system, as well as for many of our national governments, are huge. In order to give gender equality and the rights of all women and girls a bit more of a boost, UN Women has been encouraging countries to commit to a process to 'revitalize' the CSW. And now that this has indeed been taken on board by governments from around the world in the recent Pact for the Future, the conversation is moving to: So what does that mean? During the NGO Forum in Geneva that took place just prior to the UNECE Beijing+30 Regional Review in October 2024 I co-f...

Aandachtspunten voor de CSW delegatie en onze democratie

Hieronder lees je de presentatie met aandachtspunten voor de Nederlandse CSW delegatie gegeven door Britt Myren, Atria, tijdens de CSW69 NGO briefing op de Nederlandse ambassade (Permanente Vertegenwoordiging) in New York. De bijeenkomst werd zeer goed bijgewoond met 40+ deelnemers uit het Nederlands maatschappelijk middenveld - we pasten niet meer aan de tafel en er ontstond een tweede ring - en met een welkomstwoord en dialoog met het hoofd van de delegatie, staatssecretaris Mariëlle Paul. 11 maart 2025 “Let us be clear, gender equality is not just a goal, it is the foundation of a just and sustainable world.” Deze woorden gebruikte de Ambassadeur van Canada en ECOSOC president gisteren bij de opening ceremonie van de CSW, de VN Commissie voor de Status van Vrouwen . Als maatschappelijk middenveld herkennen wij deze boodschap en benadrukken het belang van ons functioneren in een sterke democratie. Dit belang kan niet onderschat worden, net zo min als het belang van de jui...

Access Denied Campaign

Following many concerns and calls for support received from activists who were not able to come to New York, WO=MEN – jointly with members and partners - took the initiative to launch a campaign to call attention to the exclusion of defenders from meaningfully participating in the CSW: ACCESS DENIED! “Without the active participation of women and the incorporation of women’s perspective at all levels of decision-making, the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved.” - Beijing Platform for Action The ACCESS DENIED campaign seeks to address the stark contrast between Beijing’s call for participation of women back in 1995 already and the reality of exclusion faced by many activists who had wished to be here at this 30 year anniversary of Beijing. Particularly activists from the global South , black and brown women, women with disabilities, youth, trans and gender non-binary people, sex workers and undocumented migrants face exclusion. Denied access due to visa obstacle...

WO=MEN in New York

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