Soroptimist International’s week two delegates at CSW58, led by SIAPD Caroline Leach (front row, left). The delegation is much smaller this week.

The Soroptimist week
2 delegation at the 58^th Session of the Commission on the Status of
Women (CSW58) continues to  lobby for the
strongest possible outcome document to be agreed by Governments when the
session closes on Friday. This outcome document will set out concrete
recommendations for action by Governments, intergovernmental bodies and others
on this year’s primary theme: challenges and
achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for
women and girls.  

“Your Soroptimist
Team is working diligently here at CSW this second week as negotiations are
underway”, explains SI Assistant Programme Director Caroline Leach, who is
leading this week’s delegation. “The same issues are
looming as the first week’s delegation reported but the overall feeling is
optimistic that an agreement will be reached.”

So what are our
Soroptimist delegates doing each day at CSW to help reach a positive outcome
for women and girls?

“This group’s most important task is to check
the revised draft of the agreed conclusion”, explains SI Europe Immediate Past
President Kathy Kaaf. As reported in our update on day 2, for the first time
this year the draft conclusions being negotiated are shared with civil society
organisations.

“It has been a
fantastic collaboration between our UN delegates and Soroptimists from all over
the world”, says Kathy.  “Our UN reps and
Pat Black from SIGBI take the lead in briefing us on the relevant texts and the
‘UN language’ which has to be carefully considered. We also participated in
various ‘Caucuses’ to work together with regional women’s groups. It has been
nice to hear how much Soroptimist International is recognized for the good work
we do!”

NGO Regional Caucuses
are regular meetings throughout CSW that bring civil society organisations from
a particular part of the world together, to discuss issues emerging from the
official negotiations and co-ordinate action in response. By working together,
NGOs can ensure that they lobby Governments effectively. Now that many of the
Soroptimist delegates have returned home, the remaining Soroptimists ensure
that they continue to attend all of the regional caucuses, to represent SI
clubs in that part of the world.

“We were
given this 3rd draft [of the agreed conclusions] late yesterday afternoon”,
explains Caroline Leach.  “The caucuses all met last
night.  As a team we made sure that Soroptimist from caucuses not
represented here this second week were represented by a SI UN Representative or
myself and will continue to do so.”

In her daily
report for the SIGBI website from Tuesday 18 March, SIGBI Immediate Past President
Pat Back writes: “The
contacts made earlier during the first week of CSW are invaluable at this point
because the more Member State delegations that the comments can be sent to the
better.The usual morning briefings are still taking place and so far there are
many delegates still in New York. This is good to see and means that NGO
influence with their delegations could remain strong.”

 

SIGBI’s Margaret Clark (left) and Pat Black (right) with representatives of UN Women UK

The
relationship between NGOs and official Government delegations from each country
varies, but at this session of CSW, the links between the UK Government
delegation and UK NGOs have been highlighted as particularly effective, with
NGOs from other countries seeking to learn from their example.  SIGBI’s Pat Black gave a presentation to the Europe/North
America caucus of NGOs about the work of the UK NGO CSW Alliance, of
which she is a key member.

“Each
NGO is able to offer detailed suggestions on the text of the latest draft of
the Agreed Conclusions which are submitted to the UK negotiators, and then on
to the EU negotiators”, she explains in her report for the SIGBI daily blog. http://sigbi.org/2014/csw58-blog/

Co-ordination between Soroptimist delegates and between
Soroptimists and other NGOs is crucial to successful advocacy at CSW.  In addition to working together with other
NGOs through the Caucuses, SI also continues to work closely at CSW with
partner organisations like World Assocaiton of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
(WAGGGS). WAGGGS are currently pushing for strong language on girls to be
included in the draft outcomes – with “women and girls” included throughout the text, rather than just “women”. Read WAGGGs’ statement
(18^th March).

 

Read more updates and see the latest pictures from CSW at www.soroptimistinternational.org/CSW58.