This edition takes a look at how SI is actively advocating for the ratification and implementation of the ILO C-190 to end harrassment in the workplace, and brings news from CoNGO’s Civil Society Summit on Substantiative Issues. But first, let’s kick start with the latest news on CSW 66…
The sixty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66) will take place from 14 to 25 March 2022. While members would normally have an opportunity to attend some of these meetings in New York in and around the UN, once again, this session will take place in a virtual environment because of lingering COVID19 concerns.
Representatives of UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from all regions of the world are invited to attend the session. UN Women has not released registration information yet. Members will be notified about registration procedures and deadlines when we have the details.
All members are invited to participate in The NGO CSW66 Forum that will take place from 13-25 March 2022, starting with Consultation Day on the 13 March. SI will once again sponsor an exhibit booth and a parallel event highlighting the work of the Federations. Click HERE for the most updated information on the NGO CSW66 Forum.
Leading up to CSW66, Soroptimist will host a series of webinars to prepare members on taking full advantage of the many parallel and side events expected to be offered. All the webinars will be recorded. A tentative schedule for the webinars is as follows:
Webinar 1 Logistics for CSW/Advocacy/Working with member states is tentatively scheduled for Jan 29.
Webinar 2 will focus on CSW Priority Theme: Climate Change, Environmental and Disaster Risk Reduction. (February)
Webinar 3 will focus on CSW Review Theme: Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Changing World or Work. (March)
Keep your eyes on our website and social media pages for further information regarding registering to participate in CSW66 and the upcoming webinars.
Implementing the Kyoto Declaration
Earlier this month, the UNODC hosted the first thematic discussion of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) on the implementation of the Kyoto Declaration. The Kyoto Declaration was approved at the 30th Session of CCPCJ, held in May 2021, at which point it was also agreed that intersessional thematic discussions would be held to follow up on the Kyoto Declaration through the sharing of information, good practices and lessons learned.
This year’s discussion was broken down into three sessions:
Thematic session 1: Addressing the causes, including the root causes of crime; enhancing evidence-based crime prevention and promoting tailor-made crime prevention strategies; (10 November 2021).
Thematic session 2: Addressing the economic dimension of crime; (11 November 2021). This session examined economic trends created by COVID-19 and discussed the implementations for crime rates and preventative measures. SI President, Sharon Fisher, delivered our Oral Statement to the panel. President Sharon urged member states in partnership with civil society organisations to provide financial literacy education and training for communities to prevent people from being victims of fraud, and coordinate a joint response to economic crime and share intelligence on emerging threats with law enforcement, government departments and regulators, ensuring that legal and regulatory frameworks are updated to keep pace with the rapid growth in new forms of financial fraud.
Click HERE to read SI’s oral statement in full.
Thematic session 3: Mainstreaming a gender perspective into crime prevention; addressing the needs and protect the rights of children and youth in crime prevention; and empowering youth for crime prevention; (12 November 2021). This session was particularly linked to the work of Soroptimist International as it addressed the subject of violence against women and girls, notably the impact of COVID-19 on response and prevention measures, and welcomed the recommendation for gender mainstreaming in COVID-19 response plans and budgeting of resources. Click HERE to read the full summary of the panel intervention from the elected civil society representative.
News from the CoNGO Summit’s Keynote Panel, ‘The Future in Present Tense’.
The Civil Society Summit on Substantive Issues ‘Shaping the Future: The UN We Need for the World We Want’, held last month, was organised by the Conference of Non-Governmental Organisation’s in Consultative Status with the UN (CoNGO). Maria Fornella-Oehninger talks us through the highlights of the keynote panel: ‘The Future in Present Tense’.
“Irina Bokova, former Director General of UNESCO, opened this dynamic and insightful panel with a laser focus on the Sustainable Development Goal she rightly perceives as of the most critical importance for the future: SDG 4: Inclusive and Equitable Education and Lifelong Learning.
The pandemic has accelerated the digital revolution and forever changed the way we educate ourselves and our children: digital platforms and remote learning are here to stay and perhaps become the main way education is dispensed.
Education is the main social mobility vehicle through which social inequality can be overcome. Still, 3.7 billion of human beings are still not connected, and this lack of access is further exacerbated by lack of skills, and intersectional ties with geographic location, social status, ethnicity, age, gender, and other differences. Education is a human right, an access must be matched by quality.
Investing in people is the key to overcoming these colossal disparities.
Technological advances must be turned into developmental breakthroughs: this is the major ethical challenge we face, a shared recognition of the fact that we are a single Humanity which can only survive and thrive in solidarity, mutual respect, and harmony.
This leads into another major reflection that affects us all: the cost of ignorance of other cultures. Ms. Bokova invited us all to teach, promote and enact Global Cultural Competency, which is part of target 7 of SDG 4: “…global citizenship, appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development”, a relatively new concept that emerged during the UNESCO debate on the Future of Education. The ultimate purpose is to promote a culture of peace, and recognition of moral responsibility for our shared humanity.
All stakeholders have a role to play here: governments, academia, civil society, and the private sector. This vision may appear too ambitious and distant, but it becomes more real with the realisation that only through mutual understanding of our shared humanity can we build a culture of peace and thus, a sustainable future.
This inspiring and content-rich opening by Irina Bokova was followed by the next speaker’s incisive analysis of the Secretary-General’s report, ‘Our Common Agenda’. Radika Coomaraswamy spoke about the fundamental role of civil society in establishing which aspects of this very comprehensive agenda should be prioritised, funded, and implemented.
Her speech focused on a menu of priorities, with vaccine solidarity coming first, followed by a new social contract based unequivocally on social protection. She next highlighted the need for a global code of conduct for public Information and digital justice, radically stopping cyber violence and abuse, while not impinging upon free speech. Civil Society should put its full weight behind a digital global pact with that clear goal in mind.
Ms. Coomaraswamy found ‘Our Common Agenda’ to be the most imaginative and promising in its emphasis on youth and intergenerational relations. A sense of accountability of the older generations to the young and the concept of trusteeship duties is at the base of sustainable development and should be honored.
On the topic of peace and security, the focus should be on prevention, protection of civilians and humanitarian action, as stated in the Agenda for Peace. Radika crowned her presentation with a powerful appeal to respect women and girls’ rights and emphasised three aspects that require urgent attention: gender parity, stopping violence against women by strengthening emergency responses, and recognising the role of women and unpaid work in the care economy.
The relevance of intersectionality was mentioned here once more, since it is gender’s intersection with class, religion and identity and determines how vulnerable groups receive benefits.
In closing, Ms. Coomaraswamy again highlighted the importance of Civil Society activism and was grateful for the idealism the youth movement is bringing to the global scene today. The world sorely needs it.”
News from the CoNGO Summit’s Panel 5, ‘Gender Justice, Youth and Intergenerational Solidarity’.
Bev Bucur, Soroptimist International Director of Advocacy.
SI’s Director of Advocacy, Bev Bucur, was rapporteur for the panel. Here, Bev summarises the key concerns and recommendations raised during the panel discussion:
“This panel focused on the importance of including women and youth in decision making at all levels and the need for intergenerational discussion.
Women are sidelined from decision-making positions, severely under-represented in government and political structures, and disenfranchised. Archaic laws must be changed on gender issues including child marriage, marital rape, divorce, custody, citizenship, sexual and reproductive health and rights, protection from gender-based violence, sexual orientation and gender identity. To counter structural barriers, nations must implement CEDAW, the Beijing Platform for Action and SCR 1325 without reservations.
We capitalise on existing strategies rather than invent new ones, and hold the government accountable for international commitments. The women’s movement and civil society need access to explicitly earmarked resources sufficient to implement their ambitious recovery plans, and stronger connections with UN agencies.
The international community should promote gender quotas and the meaningful participation, both formal and informal, of women’s and youth groups. Affirmative action for a women’s parliamentary quota, reform of discriminatory policies in line with international standards. Women’s meaningful participation should be a condition for financial assistance from the international community.”
End Violence Against Women – Ratify ILO C-190!
The NGO Coalition to End Violence and Harassment in the World of Work is an initiative of five committees at the UN in New York that have come together in a campaign to advocate for the ratification and implementation of ILO Convention C-190. Soroptimists Maria Fornella-Oehninger, Co-Chair of NGO Committee on Social Development, and Jackie Shapiro, representing the NGO Committee to Stop Trafficking in Persons, are active members of the organising group. The Coalition gathered 1155 NGO endorsements from around the globe that support ratification by their respective governments.
C-190 expands and reinforces the ILO’s founding commitments to social justice and human rights for all in the world of work. It is the first international treaty to recognise the right of everyone to a world of work free from violence and harassment, including informal workers, who are frequently ignored. Although gender-encompassing, C-190 has wider application to women as well as vulnerable groups such as migrants, refugees, older persons, and persons with disabilities are more frequent victims of unequal power relationships at work.
Accompanying C-190 is Recommendation No. 206 which supplements Convention No. 190 by setting out specific measures, including leave for victims, flexible work arrangements, temporary protection against dismissal, inclusion of domestic violence in workplace risk assessments, and awareness-raising.
To date, eight member states- Uruguay, Fiji, Namibia, Argentina, Somalia, Ecuador, Mauritius and Greece- have ratified C-190 and the ILO has said fifteen more member states were at some stage of ratification.
On September 8th, the Coalition organised a consultation on how to further energise the process of ratification, with the government of Fiji as a co-sponsor. Jewel Howard-Taylor, Vice-President of Liberia delivered strong and inspiring opening remarks. Manuela Tomei, Director of the Conditions of Work and Equality Department of the ILO. Member states, ILO officials, and NGO experts shared strategies to accelerate the ratification of C-190 at the national level. What was different in this consultation was that after the general debate, participants went into breakout rooms where they shared insights and experiences, and brainstormed together on the best paths to further action. Soroptimist International Francesca Fletcher-Williams, Global Policy Advisor was the Rapporteur for a breakout session, and SI UN representatives Berthe DeVos and Theresa Devasahayam also participated. Each breakout session had a moderator, two ILO resource persons, and a Rapporteur to report all actionable recommendations to the plenary session. The full report will be available soon, but for eager advocates who want to get started, here were some key ideas:
- Visibility of C-190 through Social Media Messaging and other means is crucial.
- Strategy is everything and must be adapted to the national context
- Construct broad coalitions – women, trade unions, human rights groups and even willing employers.
- Ratification of C-190 is a win-win for all constituencies, employers, workers, and government.
- Build government ownership that they will be good global citizens by exercising their sovereign right to ratify the Convention.
- Try to work across key ministries and identify a “champion “to keep up the positive pressure.
- Include parliaments, cabinet members, and the Minister of Finance in your advocacy/lobbying.
- In the private sector, emphasise it is in the best interest of businesses to have a productive workplace.
Keep an eye on the SI website and social media for further updates on ILO C190.
