Blog by Pat Black, SI Advocacy Advisor.
The Political Declaration adopted at the 69th Session of the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) reaffirms global commitments to achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. The Political Declaration is an official statement which serves as a global policy guidance for UN Member States and civil society to drive gender equality initiatives and monitor progress towards commitments like the Beijing Platform for Action and Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality).
A Political Declaration is negotiated at CSW every five years, whereas every year in between, Member States negotiate a different document, called Agreed Conclusions.
This year, the Political Declaration outlines Member States’ commitments to upholding all human rights and fundamental freedoms for every woman and girl, without exception, aligning with the principles set forth in the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
Soroptimist International Contributions
It is never easy to get a consensus agreement amongst the Member States and this year was no exception.
Negotiations had been taking place in the two weeks prior to the opening of CSW69, on a draft text. A small group of Soroptimist International advisers were able to review the text and make comments about words which they felt were missing such as adding the descriptor “all” before the phrase “women and girls”. All Member States as well as other NGOs also added their suggestions.
In the week prior to the opening of CSW69 the Chair of the CSW Committee and the facilitators all hoped to be able to announce at the opening session a progressive consensus Declaration, but it was not to be.
During the final stages of discussions, a small group of Member States contested the use of certain wording, much of which had already been agreed upon in the UN forum, particularly in previous CSW meetings, Agreed Conclusions, and past Political Declarations.
As a result of this stance, the Chair (Saudi Arabia) reverted to an earlier ‘agreed’ draft of the Political Declaration, presented a Resolution to the Committee with this document attached, and was able to say to the Committee “it is so agreed” as he brought down the gavel, with no objections.
He went on to indicate that he would not take comments as the session was running out of time. He announced that any comments which Member States wished to make on the Political Declaration would be taken in the last session of the CSW69 Committee on Friday 21 March.
Welcoming its adoption, Ms. Sima Bahous, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women said: “Rising to the challenges and opportunities of gender equality requires collective, decisive action across Member States, now more than ever. At a time when hard-fought gains for gender equality are under attack the global community has come together in a show of unity for all women and girls, everywhere.
But the reception by Non-Government Organisations has not been so enthusiastic.
Firstly, the Chair’s need to actively push for an agreement despite resistance from certain Member States highlights the significant barriers that still exist in achieving gender equality.
Secondly, with the CSW Committee’s membership set to change during its next meeting – bringing in Member States that aim to roll back language on gender equality – we must collaborate closely with our allies to, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres put it, “push back against the pushback”.
Thirdly, we must stand even more united in support of all women and girls worldwide. We cannot allow the objectors divide us!