WO=MEN in New York

'It could have been stronger, but it’s not bad’ This morning at 1am, a round of applause and some cheers erupted from one of the rooms in the UN Headquarters: the resolution on Working Methods for CSW had been adopted. Together with approximately 30 civil society representatives we have been waiting, supporting our delegates and lobbying from the other side of the door of the negotiation room. Up to 10pm last night, the positions of countries could not have been further apart. It seemed very unlikely that any agreement would be reached on the 25 paragraphs in the resolution that still needed to be discussed. A few countries were holding firm on opposing references to three key issues for us as civil society: Human Rights, gender equality and participation of civil society. With the other countries holding firm on the inclusion of these three issues, a compromise seemed not in sight. Until… a break was proposed by the Swiss moderator. And with increased pressure to adopt the ...

My first CSW, and what an amazing experience it is. Being a specialist on LGBTI issues, as a generalist on women’s rights up till now so little I have been aware of the huge variety and levels of struggles women in general have to go through, to obtain something so logical, equality. Equal human rights. In fact I’m quite overwhelmed by all the things I hear and see and do lots of thinking trying to grasp the impact of the problems I’ve been made aware of this week. So many people and as many opinions. Attitudes and opinions which up until now I would have shrugged off and labelled as ‘mental’, I now realize, just can’t be ignored. There are SO MANY people here with narrow minded interpretations on human rights. At first I was pleasantly surprised by seeing loads of young, polite, neatly dressed people attending the parallel and side events. Unfortunately they uphold some strong beliefs. From what I’ve heard religious groups pay for their travels to New York and instruct them on h...

Monique Tummers of Cordaid attended the first week of CSW59. In this blog she reflect on her experiences at her first CSW. I have been several times to New York before but with the CSW in town it looks like a complete different city. It already started at the airport where the immigration officer – normally not known for his welcoming attitude – asked me what kind of business I was here for. Thinking that it would be too complicated to explain about the CSW I answered “meetings in the UN. “Aha” he said with a smile on his face “You are attending the women’s conference. Welcome.” I have only been able to attend a fraction of the over 200 meetings. But every time I am impressed by the level of strong engagement by both speakers and audience. Though the events covered many issues, the lack of sustained funding for programs and capacity building of the organizations that are implementing 1325, was raised in most of the events I attended. Hasina Safi and Samira Hamidi from ou...