Skip to main content

Stand Together


Yesterday morning we gathered together as a group of women peace activists from all around the world (Cameroon, Colombia, DRC, Ethiopia, Finland, India, Liberia, Nepal, Netherlands, Liberia, Pakistan, Philippines, Uganda, and the USA) in the office of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) to get prepared for the busy CSW days ahead. 

As I stood in line for registration on Friday - luckily still a rather short line! - I was told the number of people coming to New York this year would be bigger than ever: more than 6,000 people have registered, and more than 300 NGO side events alone are planned to take place. Meaning a lot of energy will be going around in this part of Manhattan during the upcoming two weeks.

However, not all of this energy is directed at serving women's interests and rights. As we all know - there were no Agreed Conclusions last year. There are counter forces at work that are organizing rapidly and steadily to increase their influence on the outcome documents, and setting back the women’s agenda.

As we sit around the table to get our CSW orientation, it becomes clear that it is not the easiest task to find your way among the many channels and moments of influence. This not only applies to those attending the CSW for the first time, also some of the CSW veterans are clearly still struggling to figure out the way things work. As we talk, there is frustration in the room: Political and physical space for civil society engagement at the CSW is shrinking every year; many women’s activist groups are already so overwhelmed with work at home that they do not have the time, energy nor capacity to dive into unraveling the labyrinth called CSW in New York City.

Against this rather sobering reality, it becomes tempting to spend the CSW days attending the many side events that are being organized. Though undoubtedly very inspiring and re-energizing, this also carries the risk that we are not spending our activist energy there where it really matters: influencing and monitoring the processes around the CSW’s Agreed Conclusions.

First, we will need to do better what activists are usually good at in terms of creating change: Standing together, organizing and mobilizing early on, drawing on each other’s CSW expertise and inside connections, as well as formulating the solutions and recommendations where we observe the problems. We end our morning compiling a list of solutions to insure a stronger and more meaningful civil society inclusion during the CSW process:
- For the UN: Increase space for civil society at the CSW in terms of providing all access ground passes to each representative of an ECOSOC accredited organization (instead of a maximum of two passes per accredited organization as currently in use);
- For ECOSOC: The current ECOSOC accreditation process is too cumbersome and requires simplification to support NGO access to and participation in the CSW and all UN policy discussion and policy-making spaces;
- For the Chair and Bureau of the CSW: Meet with civil society in an open and easily accessible location, at least twice during the two weeks to inform civil society of the latest status of the deliberations;
- For the NGO Committee: Invest in the re-constitution of a Coordinating Caucus in order to bring together civil society input to the Agreed Conclusions in a systematic and effective manner.
-  For the Chair and Bureau of the CSW or anyone responsible for the CSW agenda: Include more speaking slots for NGO representatives during the official sessions;
- For the Member States: Make sure to send representatives to the CSW with gender expertise and expertise on the theme of the CSW session;
- For the Member States: meet with your countries’ NGO delegations well ahead of the CSW; and make sure to be accessible for your national civil society during the CSW sessions; and
- For the Member States: Increase the number of CSO delegates in the official government delegations who are nominated by CSO networks or coalitions in the country.
These points are currently being captured in an NGO Statement, which will be circulated soon for signing onto.

Isabelle Geuskens, WPP Executive Director


Labels

Labels:

Comments

Loeky droesen said…
I just ran into a representative of the British civil society group, who thanked us for the interesting information provided in the blog.
Loeky droesen, policy advisor Rutgers wpf, board member wpp and freelance at rights for change
March 4, 2013 at 6:27 PM
Dr. Robin M Chandler said…
Yes, participation and credentialing is a cumbersome 'labyrinth' as you state w. 6000 attendees. US NGO participation has been focused on including non US entities. Will be there for some portion of CSW, but enjoy your Holy See reflections on power, privilege.
March 4, 2013 at 6:55 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more