Skip to main content

Opening session of the CSW57


This morning at 10 the CSW57 was officially started in the General Assmebly Hall. Marjon V. Kamara (Liberia) of the African States Group, Chair of the CSW57, opened the session. Click here to watch the video with her lively welcome message (and see photo).


Deputy UN Secretary General Jan Eliasson opened the CSW57 on behalf of Mr. Ban Ki-Moon. He made a nice implicit reference to Amartya Sen’s understanding of human rights:  “Every woman has the right to live a life free from fear of violence.” He also quoted Malala Yousafzai, the young women’s education activist from Pakistan who was recently shot by the Taliban and miraculously recovered: “Because of peoples prayers, god has given me a new life, and I will not stop to advocate for education for all girls and women.” Which I think is an inspiring example of the positive role faith can have to give people the strenght to address injustices.

Michelle Bachelet, Director of UN Women, silenced the General Assembly hall with some horrifying stories from women who experienced violence in their life. A 15 year old girl being kidnapped in conflict and raped by 3 to 5 men every night during a week, a woman who is afraid to go home with her salary….

Bachelet summarized UN Women’s 5 priorities to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls:
  1. Strengthen and implement laws, end impunity.
  2. More focus on prevention – address the root causes of gender inequality and violations of women’s human rights. This includes rights to sexual and reproductive health. It also includes involving boys and men.
  3. Togetherness: a comprehensive and coordinated strategy. This for example means not sending a victim of trafficking back to her country of origin, where she may be excommunicated or worse.
  4. Access to services. Besides services for survivors, this also means services that can empower women, such as economic empowerment and access to sexual and reproductive health services.
  5. Reliable data on the scale and forms of violence and discrimination against women and girls.

Bachelet also recalled that the last CSW on Violence Against Women, which took place in 2003, was the first in history not to result in Agreed Conclusions (last year was the second time). So whereas I always thought that violence against women and girls was the one topic related to gender equality that really no-one could disagree on, it turns out to be a tough issue to crack.


 Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Rashida Manjoo, highlighted some of the principles of the report, which I believe will be crucial – though often controversial - during the days to come. Such as the universality of human rights, meaning they apply to every human being in spite of economic, political, social and cultural context – such as religion and traditions.  The existence of both individual and structural discrimination against women and girls. That economic and social inequalities exist between women and men, as well as between women. And the importance of addressing sexual orientation and gender identity as a reality of many people in the world.

In the next blogpost I’ll give an overview of the statements by the different world regions, which gives an idea of their positions related to “gender equality” and SRHR.

= Joni van de Sand = 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Women’s Rights Caucus Statement – Protect Women and Girls by upholding the Beijing Declaration

  The Women’s Rights Caucus, representing over 900 feminist advocates from around the world, urges you to oppose the proposed US draft resolution entitled  “Protection of women and girls through appropriate terminology.” Despite the title, we do not feel protected nor represented by this initiative. Download this statement as pdf.   Download this statement in Spanish.   On the heels of the first-ever recorded vote on the agreed conclusions of the annual meetings of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and in complete disregard of the significant opposition their proposal got in the negotiation room, the United States has circulated a new resolution proposal which attempts to falsely state that the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action agreed that  “gender” was defined as “men and women”. It attributes to annex IV of the Report of the Fourth World Conference of Women a meaning that was never agreed by Member States, effectively rewriting th...
Post a Comment
Read more

ARTivism for Change: Creativity as Resistance at CSW69

Artwork "Who can I trust with my story?" from ArtVism in Uganda During the 69th CSW, the Our Voices Our Futures (OVOF) consortium organised a creative ARTivism for Change space where bold protest sign-making, intimate film screenings, and thought-provoking feminist dialogues blended together. Over two days, March 12 and 13, 2025, artists, activists, and allies transformed the space into dynamic real-life canvases of empowerment, solidarity, and cultural and political resistance.   In the main space of the Blue Gallery participants engaged with various stations, including Button Making , Journaling with Art , Drawing , and Protest Sign Making . Participants moved between activities, creating powerful messages of resistance and hope. The creativity extended beyond the activities themselves. Access Denied The ACCESS DENIED campaign , initiated by WO=MEN, was set up to be a photo installation. It highlights the deep gap between the inclusive vision set forth at the 1995 Beijing ...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Beat back the radicals!"

“We will beat back the radicals and we will fight all their falsehoods and we will help as best we can all the faithful UN delegations trying to help the unborn child. But, the Friday Fax and our presence at UN headquarters is not free. In fact, it is terribly expensive. Would you be able to make a sacrificial donation to our work of $500? $100? $50?” This quote is from a newsletter of an American based organization working to stop any agreement at the UN that might possibly be understood to mean that women can have a choice in their  reproduction. It is quite ironic to see the violence in the language, beat back the radicals, from a group who are working at the UN meeting devoted to ending Violence Against Women. Being here at the UN makes you feel in your body and soul that maintaining and advancing freedom of choice for women (and men) is a battle and not everyone fights fair. Some of our Dutch civil society friends attended a panel in which the two main speakers where ...
4 comments
Read more