This oral statement was delivered on behalf of ARROW and the Women’s Rights Caucus (WRC) at the Open CSO hearing for the CSW Methods of Work resolution on 4th February 2022.
I am Shamala Chandrasekaran and I am making this statement on behalf of the Asian Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) and the Women’s Rights Caucus (WRC). We align our statement with the WRC, and appreciate the organising of this meeting.
As mentioned by the previous speakers, the CSW remains an important space for us to advocate for gender equality through progressive decisions and outcomes, as well as for gender responsive actions, through the monitoring and effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, ICPD Programme of Action, and Agenda 2030. COVID-19 pandemic has further affected women’s participation in decision making. We have experienced that the processes have become more inaccessible in the past two years especially for women and feminist organisations and activists from the Global South. Without the meaningful and inclusive participation of women in all their diversities in the CSW process, the outcomes will remain insignificant.
In light of this, our recommendations to the Methods of Work resolution are as follows:
- Women’s and girls in all their diversities, adolescents, youth, community, human rights and feminist organizations and groups, trade unions and activists are meaningfully integrated into the CSW structure and decision-making at all levels, with a seat on the CSW Bureau.
- And that they are:
- One – able to observe negotiations of Agreed Conclusions and resolutions ensuring regionally diverse representatives’ access to negotiations, as recommended in the Secretary-General’s report
- Two – comment and intervene during the negotiations, whether held before the official CSW or during the CSW
- Three – are included to form part of government delegations in a systematic and transparent manner.
- And four – the inputs to the Zero draft by the feminist organisations as well as activists are taken seriously and are reflected in the Agreed Conclusions.
- Regional preparatory meetings are crucial space to discuss regional priorities. We therefore recommend that CSW regional preparatory meetings are carried out every year in a timely and inclusive manner ensuring that the Agreed Conclusions are reflective of diverse national and regional experiences.
- Finally, actively engaging civil society organisations in the CSW annual sessions and commission work is crucial. This include women and girls in all their diversities, adolescents, youth, community, human rights and feminist organizations and groups, trade unions and activists, who are instrumental in supporting the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, ICPD Programme of Action, and Agenda 2030.
Thank you.