Skip to main content

CSW66 Blog#1 from NGO Rep Sanne - message from the plane

Sanne Van de Voort

It’s Saturday morning as I make my way to Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to take a flight to New York City. That’s where I’ll be for the next two weeks: the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the most important international annual meeting on gender equality at the United Nations.

I am part of the Dutch governmental delegation to this conference as the NGO representative, bringing the perspectives, priorities and recommendations of civil society to the government.

Together, we will be negotiating with other governments about this year’s CSW priority theme: Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes

Mixed Emotions Once I reach the airport, I’m feeling a big mix of emotions: mostly I feel excitement, motivation & gratefulness. For this incredible opportunity to contribute to international decision-making on gender equality, climate & environmental action. At the same time, I’m extremely aware of my own privilege: I will be one of very few NGO representatives that will travel to New York and be allowed in the negotiation room at the United Nations Headquarters. As an EU citizen I do not have to deal with complicated visa restrictions to enter the US. I am also fully vaccinated and boostered, clearly on the privileged side of the vaccine inequity that rich countries put in place during one of the biggest public health crises the world has ever faced. And as a representative on a governmental delegation, I am not faced with the excluding measures that other civil society is facing at the United Nations Headquarters. Restricted Civic Space at the UN Until now, the UN has prohibited 'accredited observers' (such as civil society) to physically enter the UN building. Using the argument of COVID-19 safety, this exclusion has become unjustifiable at a time when COVID-measures are being relaxed in the state and city of New York.

While parts of the CSW-programme are offered online - with virtual side-events, interactive dialogues and discussions - the decision-making of the CSW will take place during in-person negotiations at the UN Headquarters. That leaves this CSW to be one of the most exclusive in its 66 year history: excluding the voices of civil society, specifically from the Global South, in multilateral decision-making in a way we haven’t seen before.
This leaves me, on the plane to New York, with an immense feeling of responsibility in my role as NGO representative. Not only towards the government of the Netherlands - who will give me the opportunity to be in the negotiation room at the UN. Also towards all those other (young) feminists, activists, and civil society organizations that are excluded from attending the negotiations this year. Because it’s feminist, community-based and youth-led organizations that are already leading the fight against climate change and gender inequality.

I am committed to bring these perspectives, priorities & solutions to the table as much as I can at this CSW.

N.B.: Immediately after I arrived in New York, it turned out that the UN changed their minds about this decision and will, with limitations, allow accredited observers inside (parts of) the UN building during the CSW. While this is positive, unfortunately it is too late for most people to still make their way to the city.
Labels:
Location: New York City, New York, Verenigde Staten

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