{"id":12394,"date":"2018-04-30T11:06:17","date_gmt":"2018-04-30T11:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wfeo.org\/?p=12394"},"modified":"2018-09-02T12:55:24","modified_gmt":"2018-09-02T12:55:24","slug":"wfeo-un-csw62","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wfeo.org\/wfeo-un-csw62\/","title":{"rendered":"WFEO at the UN CSW62"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"WFEO<\/a><\/p>\n

1. General<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the UN\u2019s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women\u2019s rights. CSW established from 1946. Its mandate was to \u201cprepare recommendations and reports to the Economic and Social Council on promoting women’s rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields\u201d<\/b> and to make recommendations \u201con urgent problems requiring immediate attention in the field of women\u2019s rights\u201d<\/b>.<\/p>\n

The 62th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 12 to 23 March 2018.<\/p>\n

The theme was \u201cChallenges & Opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls\u201d<\/b>. There were around 10,000 registered attendees in CSW62. Representatives of 170 member states, UN entities, and over 600 ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world attended the session. <\/p>\n

The Bureau of the Commission played a crucial role in facilitating the preparation and in ensuring the successful outcome of the annual sessions of the Commission. The chair of the Bureau was Ms. Geraldine Byrne Nason from Ireland, 4 other vice chairs came from Kenya, Colombia, Estonia and Bangladesh. Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, CSW secretariat, has made both the opening Ceremony and the closing remarks on the last day of CSW62.<\/p>\n

 
\n\"Ruomei<\/a>
\nRuomei Li with Queen Mother Dr. Delois Blakely from New Future Foundation in CSW62, 12 March 2018
\n <\/p>\n

During the 12 days of CSW62 (12-23\/March\/2018), there were 11 official meetings and 281 side events mainly in UN headquarters. While in UN Church Center, 456 NGO parallel events were organized by NGO CSW\/NY. <\/p>\n

For official events, the representatives were mostly officers (ministers, etc.) from the member states and UN bodies. The program style included general discussions and interactive dialogues. While side events had multiple forms, with the majority of participants from NGOs. In the parallel events organized by NGO CSW\/NY, the contents and styles have shown more diversity and opportunities of expression from the participants. <\/p>\n

 
\n2. The Focus of CSW62<\/span><\/b>
\nThe main focus of CSW62 was on addressing the difficult situation of women and girls in rural areas. It included the important issue of access, ownership and control of land and other productive resources; opportunities and challenges in agriculture, including their food security and nutrition, the impact of climate change, and the need for infrastructure such as for ICT, energy, transport, drinking water and sanitation. The education was also the hot topic, from childhood education to tertiary education, including vocational training and lifelong learning. The importance of laws was raised to end all forms of discrimination against women and girls.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nThe main focus of CSW62 was on addressing the difficult situation of women and girls in rural areas<\/b>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Commission on the Status of Women adopted agreed conclusions<\/a> on \u201cChallenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls\u201d<\/b> on 23 March 2018. It expressed the outcomes of CSW62.<\/p>\n

 
\n3. CSW62 & SDGs<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

One of the most impressed bright spot was the side event \u201cTurning promises into action: What will it take to make the 2030 Agenda work for women and girls?\u201d<\/b>. The event was based on the UN Women\u2019s global monitoring report \u201cTurning Promises into Action: Gender Equality in the 2030 Agenda\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The report shows that gender equality is central to the achievement of all 17 SDGs; assesses gender data gaps and challenges for robust global monitoring; and sets an agenda for strengthening accountability for gender equality commitments at the global, regional and national level. Most of the 17 SDGs can not be fully achieved without women\u2019s empowerment and active functions. Therefore CSW62 has settled a blueprint for women by 2030.<\/p>\n

 
\n4. The Functions of NGOs in CSW62<\/span><\/b>
\nAround 4300 representatives of more than 600 NGOs from 130 countries have attended this year\u2019s CSW62. Majority of 281 CSW62 side events in UN headquarter and 456 NGO CSW\/NY parallel events in UN Church Center, were organized or co-organized by NGOs.<\/p>\n

The topics had wide coverage and the participants had more opportunities to express themselves. It is the feature of UN women activities. In previous and afterwards work, including the document preparation and reviewing, the NGOs have kept the most active functions; it is the trend of the future.<\/p>\n

\"Ruomei<\/a>
\nRuomei Li speaking on a side event of NGO CSW\/NY, 15 March 2018
\n <\/p>\n

5. My participation and address<\/span><\/b>
\nI have participated CSW62 at UN headquarter in New York through 11~15\/Mar\/2018. On 15\/Mar, I have made an address at NGO\/CSW side event \u2013 \u201cAfrican Heritage Women in Education and Empowerment\u201d, organized by New Future Foundation. My points were: <\/p>\n