Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)
In 2010 the YWCA of Canberra was involved in the World YWCA delegation attending the 54th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nations. Delegates include:
Rebecca Vassarotti, YWCA of Canberra Executive Director
Roslyn Dundas, YWCA of Canberra nominee to the YWCA Australia Board
Maree Lehmann, YWCA of Canberra Director of Children's Services
Samara Rahman, Board Trainee to the YWCA of Canberra Board
These women joined 40 other YWCA delegates from around the world, including our World President Susan Brennan, and World General Secretary Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda.
The YWCA has a number of objectives in attending the conference. These are outlined in the World YWCA Concept Note 2010 CSW54.
To keep YWCA of Canberra members updated on the progress of the conference, our delegates will wrote daily blogs which you can view here on our website. Read latest post
What is the Commission on the Status of Women?
The Commission on the Status of Women is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. It is the principal global policy-making body. Every year, representatives of Member States gather at United Nations Headquarters in New York to evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide.
The Commission was established by ECOSOC resolution 11(II) of 21 June 1946 with the aim to prepare recommendations and reports to the Council on promoting women's rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields. The Commission also makes recommendations to the Council on urgent problems requiring immediate attention in the field of women's rights.
The next session of the Commission (fifty-fourth session) will take place from 1 - 12 March 2010.
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/
Please visit the UN Website to learn more about the history of CSW.
Fifteen-year review of the Beijing Platform for Action
The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, China in September, 1995. This conference was a formal meeting where Government members of the United Nations discussed steps to be taken to improve the status of women around the world. Their final task at the Beijing conference was to agree on a document describing those measures – this document is called the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA).
The BPFA is not a list of laws, but a set of principles and strategies for action. It explains twelve critical areas of concern that are considered as the main obstacles to women’s advancement. The BPFA not only provides guidelines for actions on the part of Governments, Non-Government Organisations and members of civil society, aiming towards eliminating these barriers to achieving gender equality worldwide, but is a powerful statement of the recognition of women’s unequal status globally.
In March 2010, the Commission on the Status of Women will undertake a fifteen-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. Emphasis will be placed on the sharing of experiences and good practices, with a view to overcoming remaining obstacles and new challenges, including those related to the Millennium Development Goals.
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/critical.htm
As part of the process of ensuring Australian women had the opportunity to input into the review process, JERA International was funded to undertake extensive consultations across Australia. You can find out more about the process, and get a copy of the report which is aimed to assist non government organisations who will be participating in the 54th session of CSW, by visiting http://jerainternational.org/scope-of-services/projects/bpfa/beijing-plus-15
YWCA at the Commission on the Status of Women
The World YWCA delegation will call on the Commission on the Status of Women to consider new approaches built from the accomplishments and challenges of the past 15 years to accelerate transformative actions for women's empowerment and gender equality.
"World YWCA has participated at CSW since the start of the Commission in 1948. As the leading platform for advancing women's human rights, CSW continues to be an important event for the World YWCA," said World YWCA General Sercretary Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda who will lead the delegation of over 40 women and young women along with World YWCA President Susan Brennan.
http://www.worldywca.org/en/YWCA-News/World-YWCA-and-Member-Associations-News/World-YWCA-at-CSW-2010