This week, as many of us recover from a busy International Women’s Day week of events, government, civil society and business leaders have headed to New York for the 60th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
The annual dialogue on women’s empowerment, CSW is unique in the way that it brings together the voices of women from around the world to inform the UN’s agenda relating to the advancement of gender equality. While some 6000 delegates coming together to acknowledge women’s rights is something to celebrate, it is also a time to reflect on how far we have to go, and the ongoing challenges for global social and economic development relating to persistent gender inequality.
Before you say ‘not another talkfest’, I wanted to share some insights into the workings of the Commission, and the outcomes it seeks. Over the next two weeks, all Member States of the UN will come together to discuss strategies to advance gender equality. They will reflect on previous decisions and how these have resulted in change (or not) and try to identify new ways to work together, to share lessons learned and to place pressure on each other to advance equality. Unlike most UN meetings, CSW involves not just governments, but also civil society actors. For the first time this year, there was a youth CSW, ensuring the voice of young people is heard at the highest levels within the UN system.
This year, the Commission will be specifically focusing on the achievement of gender equality as critical to the broader sustainable development goals. The newly agreed goals specifically acknowledge that gender equality is critical to development, but ensuring that this is prioritised by member states remains an issue of concern. The outcome of the Commission is a set of ‘Agreed Conclusions’ – perhaps a lot of words for non-UN geeks, but the important thing to note about these Conclusions, is that they form a ‘precedent’. Once agreed, Member States can hold each other accountable to the agreements and push for change. In an organisation like the UN that relies on soft power, influence and peer pressure to affect change – language is very powerful.
This year, the Australian Government Delegation will be led by Australia’s Ambassador for Women and Girls, Natasha Stott Despoja. In the first draft of the Agreed Conclusions, Australia has expressed support for stronger language about the role of men and boys in affecting change; the need for specific language that identifies the challenges for women who face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination; decent work and equal pay; and stronger laws to protect women experiencing violence. Australia is seen as a strong and progressive voice at the Commission on the Status of Women, and I am confident that this year will be no different.
As the Commission kicked off in New York yesterday, the Australian Government has already hosted a side event on violence against women and the use of technology in both prevention and support for women experiencing violence. At another event, one of UN Women NC Australia’s Delegates, Kathrina Bryen was able to share some of the best practice from Aurizon’s new shared care policy, which provides incentives for men to be primary carers of babies, to support women back to full-time work. Many delegates are looking forward to hearing from former Australian of the Year, Rosie Batty who will share some of her insights into what workplaces need to do to support people experiencing violence on Wednesday morning! CSW is very much about the sharing of global best practice, and it is fantastic to see so many Australian leaders profiled!
There are a number of issues which come up each year that are very hard for member states to reach agreement on. One stumbling block is around strong language on sexual and reproductive rights. UN Member States remain divided on the rights that should be afforded to women relating to their rights to control the number and spacing of their children as well as access to the broadest possible sexual health education. Unfortunately, one of the most progressive statements about women’s reproductive rights was made at the Beijing Conference in 1995. While it may seem shocking to most Australians, the issue of early and forced marriage is openly contested, with some Member States arguing that the UN should not have a role in determining the legal age of consent or marriage. The specific challenges faced by women with disabilities, women from different cultural backgrounds, indigenous women and the LGBTI community are often not addressed in UN negotiations. Catch all phrases of ‘women and men’ often don’t address the specific needs of groups who may not have the same legal status or access to leadership and decision making across the world. In 2016, it is time for strong and progressive language to be adopted by UN Member States on all of these issues. Unless gender equality is realised for all, progress towards sustainable development will be far too slow.
The Commission on the Status of Women is fundamentally about agenda setting. Mapping what we want to achieve to advance gender equality in the coming years and agreeing on the steps for implementation. While it may seem at time that negotiating language is tedious, for women around the world who are now protected by laws that provide for the right to vote, access to education, equal pay and protect against domestic and family violence, these negotiations continue to be extremely important.
For those of us who aren’t in New York this week, there are lots of ways to keep abreast of the goings on. Following #CSW60 on Twitter and Facebook is a good start. There are also lots of updates being posted by the NGO Delegates on the Australian Government Delegation – Dr Anu Mundkur and Sarah Boyd via http://thegenderagency.org/home/csw60/csw60-blog/