Just before midnight, on the 24 March,
governments, civil society and other organisations celebrated the adoption of
CSW60’s agreed conclusions. These celebrations came after nearly 80 hours of
negotiations, and the conclusions will help develop how gender equality will be
included in development efforts moving forward.

“Countries gave gender inequality an expiry date: 2030. Now it is
time to get to work. These agreed conclusions entrench and start the
implementation of a gender-responsive agenda 2030 with which we have the best
possibility to leave no one behind.” – UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

During these negotiations there are
opportunities for civil society organisations, like Soroptimist International,
to provide input and influence the negotiators. This is a key activity that the
SI delegation undertook – by influencing government representative it is
possible to improve and develop what commitments are made in the document. Each
year the agreed conclusions focus on the main theme of CSW, which this year was
‘women’s empowerment and it’s link to sustainable development’.

 

Please click on the image above to download and read the Agreed Conclusions from CSW60.

As this was the first CSW after the agreement of
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it was extremely important to
reaffirm the same level of commitment made in those new global goals. If the
level of commitment had reduced, or there was ‘push back’ on commitments made
then it could be harder to hold governments to account for what was agreed in
the SDGs. However, as discussions around women’s and girls’ empowerment and its
link to sustainable development had been discussed so recently, it was hoped
that discussions would not be too contentious.

Unfortunately this was not the case for all
issues. Health, violence against women and girls, the role of civil society,
and ensuring global accountability were all controversial subjects. This was
largely due to different perspectives on these areas. Finding language that
applies globally is difficult, and so reaching a consensus can be challenging.

 

Image: H.E. Mr Antonio de Aguiar Patriota (Brazil),
Chair of the 60th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women,
announces that the outcome document has been agreed. 

However there was significant progress made on
other issues. There was specific attention given to the role of men and boys as
allies and contributors in achieving gender equality. Increasingly, there is
agreement that it will be impossible to fully empower women and girls in all
areas of life, without everyone being involved. Additionally, consensus around
the need to mainstream gender perspectives in order to accelerate progress was
clear.

For many, that a final consensus was reached was
indicative of the mood at the CSW. Since the agreement of the SDGs there is a
renewed drive to achieve the ambitious vision of the Sustainable Development
Goals. This boosted political will be critical in driving action, and at this
CSW, this positivity did mean steps forward in commitments could be made. Now
it is important to make sure that these commitments are implemented at the
grassroots. Civil society, and organisations like Soroptimist International,
will be key players in pushing for the achievement of gender equality.