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| 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-facilitated a session specifically about this with Ivy Koek, Co-Chair of NGO CSW/NY.
UN Women Updates
Lopa Banerjee, Director of the Civil Society Division at UN Women in New York, shared the latest updates from the Summit of the Future ("this Pact is game changing!") and the plans ahead for the 69th CSW and 30th review of Beijing in New York in March 2025.
The process for this revitalisation conversation is not entirely clear yet. She stressed that the proposal for this revitalisation had come from a group of about 16 countries, all in the global South. The process will be lead by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which is one of the main organs of the UN and responsible for advancing sustainable development in these three dimensions: economic, social and environmental. Canada currently holds the presidency of ECOSOC and is thus in the lead at the moment. In July 2025, Nepal will take over the Presidency. UN Women expects there to be something concrete by the next UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2025, where Beijing+30 is expected to have a Special Session.
Concerns
Whereas Banerjee shared enthusiasm and optimism about the opportunities this revitalisation process may bring to give gender equality and women's rights a boost and improve the CSW processes, some of the people in the audience also shared concerns. Anti-gender and anti-rights forces, as well as (public) opposition to engagement of civil society, have been growing in UN spaces including within ECOSOC. "There is also much we can lose," sighed one of the participants.
There seemed to be agreement that we - progressive civil society and all allies - need to engage at different levels and in different processes all at once as we cannot risk to have all our eggs in just one basket. We have to push for gender analysis and action in other UN processes too, not just those specifically focused on women. "So basically we need to walk and chew gum at the same time," summarized one of the participants aptly. But who will support the capacity we need to engage in all those spaces?
Recommendations
We continued with a brainstorm about what we'd like to see coming out of the revitalisation of the CSW. The following are the key recommendations from the session that were shared with the NGO Forum organisers for their report:
Ensure meaningful civil society engagement in the CSW.
Include civil society as an equal partner in CSW processes. Ensure transparent processes whereby information is shared with civil society in a timely manner and civil society has opportunities to be heard in plenary in the negotiations process and can observe the negotiations process.
Ensure access of diverse civil society to the CSW processes.
Including for people with disabilities and young people. Consider moving the CSW to different spaces to increase opportunities for diverse civil society to engage. Enable not only in-person but also online (hybrid) ways of engaging in CSW processes.
Strengthen follow-up and accountability of Member States.
Ensure action is taken in-country to move forward with the CSW recommended actions. Strengthen CSW processes whereby Member States are held accountable for their follow-up (like through reporting processes at the CSW). Keep the CSW on the agenda during the year, instead of only at one time. Strengthen integration between CSW and other related and complementary UN mechanisms and processes, including CEDAW, Universal Periodic Review (UPR), High Level Political Forum (HLPF) and others. Consider linkages and interactions in terms of content, actions, processes and engagements.
This conversation will be continued, that's for sure.
By Nadia van der Linde, WO=MEN Dutch Gender Platform
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