The Commission on the Status of Women was held in New York from March 14th to 24th, 2016.  It was preceded by a one day event on Sunday March 13 the  NGO CSW  Consultation Day.  If you wish to see the web cast of the adoption of the Agreed Conclusion of the 60th Session of the CSW Click Here

The negotiations were only concluded before midnight on March 24th  You can access the document HERE   If you listen to the statement of the various member states you will get hints as to the stumbling blocks.  Saudi Arabia was the first to make a statement followed by the US, the EU, Egypt, Yemen, Mexico, Sudan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Canada, Iran, Colombia, Mauritania, and the Holy See.

GSIJP Team at CSW 60 with Mission Partners from Taiwan and Emma.   From right to left: Cecile Kern, Winifred Doherty, Yen-Chu Chen , Emma Mackey,  Yu-Chia Chang, Cyan Chen and Clare Nolan 

This team presented a parallel event entitled ‘Economic Empowerment Strategies Addressing Systemic Issues affecting Girls and Women’ from Taiwan, to the Democratic Republic of Congo to Bolivia. From the Agreed Conclusion paragraph 16 “The Commission…emphasizes that no country has fully achieved gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, that significant levels of inequality between women and men, girls and boys persist globally, and that many women and girls experience vulnerability and marginalization owing to, inter alia, multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination throughout the lifecycle.

The Agreed Conclusion “Women’s empowerment and its link to sustainable development” are captured here in a piece of art work submitted by Monique Tarabeth to NGOCSW Committee for the cover of the Handbook 2016.  We were not selected for the cover but were a divider inside the book.  Thanks Monique!

Apart form the cover the other art pieces were in black and white.  Beautiful expressions of empowerment!