IFMSA report from the 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
IFMSA DELEGATION TO SZYMUŚ
AMIRA AMROUNE
ANA SOPHIA ALMEIDA
DEHESA
ANOUK NUSSELDER
LYNDA PRATO
YAHAN XU
MENNA YASSER ZOHNY
MIRIAM SANTIAGO LOPEZ
RAZAN FAISAL
SALMAN KHAN
MANEEPUNNARI JIWJINDA
The International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) is a non profit, non governmental organization representing associations of medical students worldwide. IFMSA was founded in 1951 and currently maintains 139 National Member Organizations from 130 countries across six continents, representing a network of 1.3 million medical students
IFMSA envisions a world in which medical students unite for global health and are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and values to take on health leadership roles locally and globally, so to shape a sustainable and healthy future IFMSA is recognized as a non governmental organization within the United Nations’ system and the World Health Organization and works in collaboration with the World Medical Association
This is an IFMSA Publication © 2022 Only portions of this publication may be reproduced for non political and non profit purposes, provided mentioning the source.
Disclaimer
This publication contains the collective views of different contributors, the opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positionofIFMSA
The mention of specific companies or of certain does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the IFMSA in preference to others of a similar nature that arenotmentioned
All reasonable precautions have been taken by the IFMSA to verify the informationcontainedinthis publication. However, the published material is being distributed without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied The responsibility for the interpretation and use of the material herein lieswiththereader
Some of the photos and graphics used in this publication are the property of their respective authors We have taken every consideration not to violate theirrights
IFMSA from the 66th of the Commission on the of Women
1. Introduction to the CSW:
UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women (1) UN Women supports the UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and work with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programs and services needed to ensure that these standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide (1). Working for the empowerment and rights of women and girls globally, UN Women’s main roles are (1):
To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms (1)
To help Member States implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it, and to forge effective partnerships with civil society (1).
To lead and coordinate the UN system’s work on gender equality, as well as promote accountability, including through regular monitoring of system-wide progress (1).
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women (2,3). It is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world and shaping global
Declaration and Platform for Action which outlined the commitments that all countries collectively made to advance women’s rights in 12 critical areas of concern (4)
In 1996, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in resolution 1996/6 expanded the Commission’s mandate and decided that it should take a leading role in monitoring and reviewing progress and problems in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and in mainstreaming a gender perspective in UN activities (2).
IFMSA report from the 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
During the Commission’s annual two-week session, representatives of UN Member States, civil society organizations and UN entities gather at UN headquarters in New York. They discuss progress and gaps in the implementation of the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the key global policy document on gender equality, and the 23rd special session of the General Assembly held in 2000 (Beijing+5), as well as emerging issues that affect gender equality and the empowerment of women. Member States agree on further actions to accelerate progress and promote women’s enjoyment of their rights in political, economic, and social fields. The outcomes and recommendations of each session are forwarded to ECOSOC for follow-up (2)
The sixty sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66) took place from 14 to 25 March 2022. The priority theme of this year’s session was “Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes”(3).
2. Conduction of CSW66:
The Commission on the Status of Women takes place annually at the UN headquarters in New York. As this is the space for decision-making of 193 Member States, the central events are plenary sessions.
They are conducted in a big conference hall, where each member state has its assigned place and civil society together with intergovernmental organizations have their spots at the back. The plenaries are managed by a Chair appointed prior to the meeting. For CSW in particular, the discussions in the plenary regard the theme topic so a member state, observer or a non-state actor can deliver an oral statement, shedding light on an issue and calling to action All non-state actors that want to deliver the statement have to have consultative status in the Economic and Social Council The IFMSA has such status since 2003 and therefore, is able to represent the voice of medical students worldwide at the United Nations meetings. Prior to the meeting, these non-state actors need to formally express their interest in taking the floor.
In the previous CSW session, member states and intergovernmental organizations could deliver a statement of a maximum of 5 minutes, while non-state actors - 3 minutes This duration might vary between meetings but usually, civil society receives less speaking time. Usually, the statements pertain to their commitments and recommendations to tackle an issue from the theme. The plenary has its closing right after voting on agreed conclusions.
IFMSA from the 66th Session the
During some plenary sessions, in-person negotiations on agreed conclusions is conducted, where changes to the documents are brainstormed The participation of civil society is minimal (only possible if they are part of official country delegations). Usually, member states reach an informal agreement through the “silence procedure”. This refers to the process in which the final draft is circulated and member states can send their objections to the Chair. If such objections are sent, which is then referred to as “silence has been broken”, there is a need for more negotiations and more drafts and the whole procedure is repeated. If the objections are not sent until a certain deadline, then this is equal to reaching the agreement prior to the voting (“silence has not been broken”)
Ministerial roundtables aim to develop recommendations and improvements on specific policies and programs where selected ministers deliver their speeches. In such spaces, civil society can also raise their points. Another form of engagement are interactive dialogues in which experts debate on a topic and civil society can engage through comments and questions.
Side events and parallel events are both meetings that take place alternatively to the plenary session in which different activities are conducted, usually taking the form of panel discussions or open spaces. This is the best form of fostering engagement between member states and civil society as the procedures are not governed by UN entities but by organizers of the event. This means the settings are less formal and allow discussions between stakeholders. There are multiple events happening during CSW so there is always a wide choice of topics that you can learn about. Usually, side and parallel events provide another perspective to the issues related to priority or review theme. The difference between the side and parallel events is that side events are organized by member states’ permanent missions, intergovernmental organizations and UN entities and are under UN Women's auspice and therefore, held on UN premises. The parallel events are organized by civil society organizations in the coordination of the NGOs Forum and take place outside of the UN premises (before the pandemic, the most common place was Church Center across the UN Secretariat building)
Agreed conclusions are formal outcomes of each CSW. The Zero Draft is circulated months before the event so that all stakeholders can provide comments on what they would like to amend. Further drafts are developed during the meeting and negotiated as described above and finally, voted on. Later on, the conclusions need to be approved
IFMSA report from the 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
by the ECOSOC and then at United Nations General Assembly. Since then, member states should implement solutions based on principles written in the agreed conclusions.
CSW66 was described as “historic” as it was the first time the commission recognized the interlinks between gender and climate change. Another remarkable outcome is the formal inclusion of interactive panels with youth in the Methods of Work, which is also the first time where youth is officially mentioned in such a document.
3. IFMSA Delegation:
This year the IFMSA delegation consisted of 11 delegates, together representing all of the United Nations regions: the Americas, Africa, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, South-East Asia and Western Pacific. In the two months leading up to the event, the IFMSA delegates led and participated in a series of capacity-building sessions that covered this year’s priority theme as well as the ins and outs of navigating online conferences. A few examples of the topics covered include gender related economic inequalities, gender-sensitive environmental health, climate change’s impact on sexual and reproductive health, networking in online events and meaningful youth engagement. Each of the capacity-building sessions was followed by a reflection session where delegates got to discuss and share their thoughts on the topic.
The goal of these sessions was three-fold:
1) To increase the delegates’ understanding of issues to be discussed at the conference, putting them in a better position to analyze each country’s commitment to gender-sensitive environmental health, sexual and reproductive health rights and meaningful youth engagement.
2) To broaden delegates’ perspectives on how different countries are impacted by gender inequality and climate change.
3) To help the delegates gain the skills necessary to participate, network and advocate for social justice issues in virtual spaces.
IFMSA report from the 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
IFMSA report from the 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
IFMSA DELEGATION TO THE 66TH SESSION OF THE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
In October 2021, IFMSA’s LRA and LRP submitted a written statement to the Commission. The statement addressed the intersection between women’s rights, climate migration, and migrants’ health, and reflected on how health systems around the world are not adapted to handle increases in migration We called on the global community, in particular, member states to invest in research on climate and gender intersections, as well as develop gender-responsive policies for health, disaster reduction, and risk management. We found this to be a particularly pressing issue as migration is projected to increase as a result of climate disasters, and 80% of migrants are estimated to be women. The whole statement is available to be read here.
LIAISON OFFICER FOR SRHR ISSUES, INCL. HIV&AIDS KLAUDIA SZYMUŚ AMIRA AMROUNE ANA SOPHIA DEHESA ANOUK NUSSELDER LYNDA PRATO MENNA ZOHNY MIRIAM SANTIAGO RAZAN FAISAL SALMAN KHAN YAHAN XU IFMSA ALGERIA IFMSA NL FEVESOCEM VENEZUELA THAILAND AUSTRALIA AMSA AUSTRIA MANEEPUNNARAIPolicy Brief:
Policy briefs are the way in which we provide recommendations to member states through calls to action based on our Policy Documents. This year, we developed a brief in which we emphasize certain aspects of the climate crisis: deterioration of access to SRHR services, rising rates of violence against women and girls, the need for gendersensitive disaster risk management and reduction, the vulnerability of women’s health and meaningful youth engagement You can read the IFMSA Policy Brief for CSW66 here.
Oral statements:
At CSW66, the IFMSA delegation was given the opportunity to submit a pre-recorded oral statement. We decided to speak on Harmful Traditional Practices drawing heavily from IFMSA’s existing policy document on the subject We had to work on a preliminary draft and revisit it multiple times such that it meets the given time limit and addresses our concerns an
The statement emphasized the positive correlation between climate change and harmful traditional practices (including female genital mutilation), violence against women, and child marriage. Furthermore, it urged the commission and member states to address these practices in policies at all levels, empower and rehabilitate survivors of these practices, as well as increase social awareness of these issues. As the youth organization representing medical students, we also addressed our role as youth in facilitating change at the community level.
After reviewing the oral statement, it was then pre-recorded and submitted to the commission. It was played on the last day of the plenary, along with the other Non-State Actors’ (NSA) recordings (only a few NSAs based in New York attended the CSW in person, the rest all attended online and hence were asked to send pre recorded oral statements). Drafting and delivering the statement was a wholesome experience for the
IFMSA report from the 66th Session of the on the of Women
IFMSA report from the 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
delegation, as we worked upon ensuring our collective voice and opinion on an important topic was heard in the CSW
You can read up more about Harmful Traditional Practices and our organization’s stance on them in the IFMSA Policy Document here.
Side and parallel events:
During the CSW66, IFMSA hosted a parallel event with Ipas called “Intergenerational Dialogue on Gender, SRHR and Climate Justice''. Invited panelists include Hamaiyal Sana from The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health and Youth Advisory Panel, Chiagoze Udeh from UNFPA Joint Youth Working Group on Population, SRHR and Climate Change, Jeevika Shiv, National Youth Gender Activist, India, Laura Valenciano, Executive Director, ACCEDER, Cecilia Espinoza Palacios, Senior Advocacy Advisor, Ipas with an IFMSA speaker on the panel: Klaudia Szymus, IFMSA Liaison for SRHR Issues, incl HIV & AIDS The moderador was IFMSA Delegate Miriam Edith Santiago López
IFMSA also hosted the CSW66 Side Event for IFMSA members ‘Climate Justice 101’, moderated by Miriam Edith Santiago López, IFMSA Delegate with speakers as Arya Manandhar, from Greentech for women, Ana María Rodríguez Pereira, from Acceder, Oindrila Ghosh, from Fridays of Future and the Liaison Officer for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Issues, incl. HIV and AIDS, Klaudia Szymuś.
IFMSA from the 66th of the Commission
Social media:
The delegation was able to maintain a strong social media presence throughout CSW66. On the first day of the event, the delegation prepared a “Meet the Delegation” post, which introduced CSW66 and outlined the delegation’s goals. In the following days, delegates were responsible for selecting quotes from different speakers and civil societies and publishing them on IFMSA’s Twitter and Instagram. Additionally, the delegation also published IFMSA’s calls to action to governments and NMOs on Twitter, with Each delegate also recorded a short clip of the specific call-to-action inspired by CSW66, and the series was able to gain high traction on various social media pages.
Throughout CSW66, In order to draw more medical students into the conversation of women’s involvement in climate actions, the delegation maintained regular Twitter Space hours. Twice during CSW66, people passionate about climate justice and gender equity were able to come along and ask questions to the delegation and various guest speakers The Twitter Space received great engagement from medical students worldwide
The delegation also shared numerous educational posts, Instagram quizzes, and resources on social media in order to raise awareness around the urgent needs to involve women and girls in climate actions. Some of the resources the delegation shared on social media were recommended by CSW66 speakers and others by members of the delegation.
IFMSA recommendations:
Every 5 years, Methods of Work are renewed and CSW66 was the platform for their improvement. The IFMSA delegation provided UN Women with a set of recommendations regarding building capacities of youth in terms of engagement with the UN system and agreed conclusions, centralization of youth activities, and improvement of engagement between civil society and member states in digital spaces and structures of oral statements. They were sent to the designated person who collected the feedback from young attendees.
5. Youth Inclusion in CSW:
As mentioned at the beginning, during CSW66 “youth” appeared for the first time in Methods of Work, creating a precedent for further youth engagement. Through the NGOs Forum, Youth Preparatory Series was organized to expand knowledge on the priority theme and develop soft skills for advocacy. Youth also produced Youth recommendations that are described before. Their engagement was possible through self-organized groups. The IFMSA as part of the Joint Youth Working Group on Population, SRHR and Climate Change could also contribute to common efforts.
The IFMSA also organized reflection sessions after each week of CSW to collect thoughts and observations from various youth organizations and individuals. Our parallel event and Twitter Space also regarded youth inclusion in the dialogue.
During plenaries, there were a couple of youth delegates and speakers. However, due to hybrid settings, it was impossible to evaluate how many young people were included in their country's delegation as the list of delegates was not published from the 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
6. Representation Watch Takeaways:
Representation Watch is a tool for tracking which countries received speaking time and how many certain issues were reflected in a meeting. The results presented here are from all plenary sessions:
According to the United Nations, Global South accounts for 78 countries while Global North for 61 This ratio was reflected in speaking opportunities given to member states
28% of interventions from the Global North were given online and for Global South, this percentage was similar - 25%
Global South and Global North: Regional distribution:
The concerning trend is the participation of Western Pacific countries that spoke majorly online, perhaps leaving the accessibility question for this particular region
When it comes to the attention given by regions to specific topics, the distribution presents itself as follows:
For Africa, the Americas, Europe and Western Pacific regions the most important topic was gender-sensitive climate policies, while for the EMR and South-East Asia - women in climate leadership were given the priority.
In Africa, the least spoken issues were the gender pay gap and unpaid care and domestic work. None of the representatives from the Americas mentioned the gender pay gap nor specific issues on women’s health in climate crisis The gender pay gap was not addressed also by representatives from Western Pacific. The EMR did not tackle upon access to SRHR. South-East Asia did not reflect at all on youth involvement and women’s working conditions. Women’s working conditions were also the least spoken topic by European representatives.
Topics:
The most prevalent topic was the need for gender sensitive climate policies, followed by women in climate leadership. The least attention was given to the gender pay gap. The detailed analysis is presented below:
As the IFMSA champions the advocacy on meaningful youth engagement, the delegation kept track of the governments and non-state actors reflecting on it The results are presented below:
This means that the region that spoke the most on youth involvement was Europe and South-East Asia did not address it at all. The only Non-State Actor who spoke about youth inclusion was the IFMSA.
Further analysis of climate-related issues presents as follows: the 66th the
IFMSA report from the 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
Europe is the region with the biggest share in all topics except for climate and other vulnerable populations, women’s working conditions and unpaid domestic and care work, in which Americas, Africa and Western Pacific, respectively, took the lead. The reasons behind Africa’s advocacy on working conditions are due to high rates of women in the informal economy and being the majority of the agricultural workforce The Americas speaking about other left behind populations addressed the needs and roles of indigenous women, women living in rural areas and people with disabilities.
In regards to unpaid domestic and care work, representatives from Western Pacific shed light on the effect of crises and the rise of domestic burden as was the case for the pandemic.
Something that was not measured by the delegation but was emphasized in many statements was the need for gender disaggregated data
The conce hat spoke majorly on gion
When it c istribution presents it
Non-state actors:
The delegation kept track of the number of times taking the floor by different stakeholders. 87%, which is a vast majority, of interventions, were delivered by member states, which reveals the persisting limited participation of civil society organizations.
When it comes to the analysis of the topics, civil society put the biggest emphasis on women’s health in climate crisis which is contrary to the focus of member states which was the 4th least spoken topic The gender pay gap was not mentioned at all by nonstate actors which was generally the least addressed issue by all stakeholders
IFMSA the the the
7. How to set up advocacy on the national level on gender-sensitive climate action:
Climate change exacerbates different existing inequities and is, therefore, an issue that requires an intersectional approach. Whether you’re already involved in climate advocacy, or completely new to the theme and want to get started, we have composed a non-exhaustive list of tips that might help in setting up local or national advocacy plans for gender-sensitive climate action:
Gather knowledge and read into the many different intersectional aspects that relate to climate change. Many international organizations and NGOs have already gathered knowledge and research on the relationship between climate change, health, gender equity and SRHR. You can find reliable information on the websites of IPAS, Women Deliver, the Lancet Countdown and the IPCC. Also keep in mind that neither climate change, nor gender equity are solely SCOPH or SCORA topics: both are themes with many intersectional aspects that require interdisciplinary collaboration and cooperation. Collaboration and joint capacity building with different standing committees are likely to be useful and even necessary. What is also helpful to remember is that it is not necessary to be an expert on climate change or all its related aspects in order to be involved in climate action! However, it might be beneficial to work in a diverse team, in which each member brings their own expertise and perspective.
Explore your regional or national context and set concrete advocacy goals that are relevant to your context. In order for your advocacy efforts to be impactful as well as relevant, they need to address your local context and situation. Exploring questions that can help in this process are: what climate and environmental policies currently exist in my country/municipality/city? How are these policies implemented and which bodies or representatives are responsible for the implementation of these policies? Are these policies efficient to limit global warming to 1.5 °C and are they in line with international agreements? Do they adequately acknowledge and address the different (gender) inequities exacerbated by climate change? Are the voices of those most affected by climate change represented? Once you have identified gaps and shortcomings in current climate policies and action, you can set relevant advocacy goals to address these.
Writing a policy document, containing a policy statement and position paper, can help in structuring and substantiating your advocacy goals and calls. It also provides you with a tool to clearly voice your stances and calls to external partners,
IFMSA report from the 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
Conduct a stakeholder analysis and create an advocacy strategy. Once you have formulated your advocacy goals and calls to action, it is important to set up a concrete strategy on how you would like to achieve these goals. An important step in this process is to conduct a stakeholder analysis: what different individuals, organizations, institutions or governmental bodies are involved in this topic and who can you collaborate with, address or influence?
Connect and collaborate with relevant stakeholders, such as NGOs, that work on themes relevant to your mission. Combining your fields of expertise may prove beneficial when addressing the intersectionality of climate change, and strategizing with other civil society actors will likely provide learning opportunities and strengthen your advocacy efforts as well as provides you with a starting point for an advocacy strategy. While setting up and writing down your calls, it is also important to reflect on whether or not your text and calls to action adequately address the (gender) inequalities that underlie, and are exacerbated by climate change.
8. Recommendations for future delegations:
Capacity building self-led by delegates and supported by other international teams (PRC, EA, CB) is something that allowed the participants to prepare themselves factually for the meeting and created the space for reflections. This practice should be sustained for future meetings as it is also a good way of team building. Something that should have been explained better to delegates is definitely CSW-specific procedures such as how the plenaries go, what is the purpose of agreed conclusions, and what silence breaking means. An advocacy plan, structured, with clear objectives and timely tasks, could have been developed with the delegates and sent for input to NMOs so this is another area for improvement.
What should future delegations do differently?
Future delegations should join available youth spaces in order to network with other youth activists and strengthen IFMSA’s message.
When it comes to involvement with other civil society organizations - definitely youth engagement was prominent in the meeting and we were part of many youth spaces. These connections should be sustained in order to strengthen the message and allow networking. After the meeting, we joined the Women's Rights Caucus, which if joined
IFMSA report from the 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of WomenIFMSA report from the 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
earlier, could have been beneficial for the delegation as they ensured transparency of the meeting’s procedures Keeping up with WRC for the upcoming CSW will increase our understanding and involvement in CSW. As our main recipients of the messages are member states, for future meetings, the possibility of contacting member states' representatives through permanent missions should be explored at the early stages of the delegation process to increase the chances of participating in national negotiations. In terms of advocacy tools, the usage and impact of policy briefs should be evaluated with the possibility of looking for alternative advocacy tools. Social media plans and contents (including content-based posts and other publications) should be prepared beforehand if possible as the meeting is in the proximity of MM, they should be created before the General Assembly to avoid overworking during the meeting or in between meetings.
9. Agreed Conclusions:
This section summarizes the commitments that all countries attending the meeting have agreed to uphold. The delegation has chosen key areas to summarize:
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR):
The Commission recognizes that climate change, environmental degradation and natural disasters will lead to reduced access to SRHR services and reaffirms that these services are necessary for the maintenance of the highest attainable standards of health. The stakeholders are called to strengthen the quality of healthcare and ensure universal access to the services, including SRHR, as climate change will exacerbate current health gaps. Although the words “comprehensive sexuality education” do not appear in the document explicitly, there is an emphasis on the provision of information on SRHR with the involvement of civil society and with the usage of formal and nonformal education programs.
Gender-Based Violence:
The Commission acknowledges that intersecting forms of discrimination and marginalization affect women's decision-making and in the elimination of violence. It is also concerned with the environmental degradation that causes harsh living decisions such as scarcity of water, and damage to health facilities and transportation, which results in the displacement of women and girls, therefore, exposing them to all forms of gender-based violence. The Commission strongly condemns all forms of violence against women and girls, which are rooted in historical and structural inequalities and unequal power relations between men and women
Moreover, the Commission acknowledges that girls are at a higher risk of discrimination which leads to child marriage, female genital mutilation and human trafficking which reaffirms the need for gender equality. The Commission recognizes that women face sexual harassment in the workplace including in private and public which affects their participation in climate change decision-making. It acknowledges also the increasing number of violence against women and girls in an online setting such as cyber stalking and cyber bullying which affects their physical and mental health.
The Commission is concerned that violence against women and girls increases when they are in a conflict and disaster setting and they need to adopt a preventative approach that will take into account the victims and survivors. Moreover, the Commission acknowledges that indigenous women and girls face much higher discrimination, violence and exclusion from health care services and technology, and also recognizes their role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Member States should consider Consider ratifying or acceding to, as a matter of particular priority, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child and putting effective legislative policies. Finally, the Commission acknowledges the Elimination, prevention and response to all forms of violence against all women and girls, online and offline, such as sexual and genderbased violence, including domestic violence, gender-related killings, including femicides, all harmful practices, including child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation, sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment, as well as trafficking in persons and modern slavery and other forms of exploitation in public and private spaces, which are exacerbated in contexts of climate change, and ratify key international treaties and hold accountable perpetrators of Gender based violence.
Migration:
Every year, women and girls are forced to leave their homes due to climate change and resulting natural disasters The CSW acknowledges the effects climate change has on migration and urges member states and civil societies to address the vulnerability of women and girls to displacement and any violation of their basic human rights encountered during migration. The Commission encourages society to acknowledge the positive roles women and girls play within the communities they migrate to and minimize the harms and discrimination they experience. In order to have a well-rounded understanding of the impact climate change and climate change have on the health and rights of women and girls, funds should be directed to research in these particular
IFMSA from the 66th of the on theIFMSA from the 66th of the Commission the Women
areas, and local, national, and international evidence-based initiatives should be implemented everywhere to address those impacts Additionally, in order to ensure that women and girls are allocated sufficient resources and experience minimal loss in natural disasters, the ability of member states to collect, analyze, and coordinate statistical data concerning climate change, gender, and migration status should be strengthened while guaranteeing that the privacy of women and girls is protected.
Youth and young people:
The Commission recognizes that the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 calls for the integration of gender, age, disability and cultural perspective into all policies and practices while taking into account national circumstances, and consistent with domestic laws as well as international obligations and commitments, and women and youth leadership should be promoted. Also recalled General Assembly resolution 71/312 of 6 July 2017 endorsing the declaration entitled “Our ocean, our future: call for action”, and recognizes the importance of gender equality and the crucial role of women and youth in the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. And called for creating space for youth, especially young women and girls, to participate in shaping the decisions on climate change, environmental degradation and disasters that will affect their future and, to this end, enhancing curricula at all levels of education.
Disaster risk reduction and management:
The Commission recognizes that women’s full, equal, effective and meaningful participation and leadership at all levels of decision-making are critical for making disaster risk reduction and recovery efforts more effective. And called for Respect and fulfill existing commitments and obligations under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, related to disaster risk reduction in a holistic and integrated manner, taking into account their gender action plans and calling for the creation of such plans where there are none and highlighting the importance of integrating a gender perspective in, and ensuring the participation of indigenous women when elaborating, national and local strategies for disaster risk reduction. Also encourage to ensure women’s and girls’ equal access to justice and essential services, including by providing access to comprehensive social, health and legal services for victims and survivors and by providing accessible, confidential, supportive and effective mechanisms for all women's dispute resolution mechanisms, including in the context of disaster risk reduction and by strengthening the effectiveness, transparency and accountability of judicial and relevant institutions at all levels
IFMSA report from the 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
Participation in decision-making:
The Commission recognizes that existing gender roles limit women’s ability to participate in decision-making processes related to climate change and that these limitations will continue to be exacerbated. It emphasizes that empowerment of women and girls can lead to their bigger participation, and create more gender-equal leadership in climate movements. It also outlines the need for meaningful engagement of all women and girls, including those living in conflict and post-conflict zones, humanitarian emergencies, indigenous, and young and adolescent girls. Women’s leadership is seen as critical to implementing effective climate action that can contribute to sustainable development, sustainable consumption, greater food security and more resilient and sustainable food systems, among others.
It also reaffirms the role of indigenous women including their ancestral knowledge and practices and its importance for environmental protection and disaster resilience.
The Commission also recommends that in order to ensure equal participation several gender specific barriers need to be tackled through creating spaces safe from gender based violence and discrimination, providing adequate resources, funds and technology, skill and knowledge capacity-building, establishing mentorship programs, ensuring sufficient water and sanitation management and access to equitable economic and social resources (education, employment, among others).
Biodiversity, environment conservation and reduction of degradation, agriculture and food and security: Greenhouse emissions and fossil fuels:
The Commission reaffirms that climate change expresses profound alarm that greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise globally. It recognizes that countries are already experiencing increasing impacts, including biodiversity loss, extreme weather events, land degradation, desertification and deforestation, sand and dust storms, persistent drought, sea level rise, coastal erosion, ocean acidification and the retreat of mountain glaciers, causing severe disruptions to societies, economies, employment, agricultural, industrial and commercial systems, global trade, supply chains and travel, with devastating impact on sustainable development, including on poverty eradication, livelihoods, threatening food security and nutrition and water accessibility. It further acknowledges the important role of women and girls as agents of change, along with indigenous peoples and local communities, in safeguarding the environment
The combustion of fossil fuels, and the consequential emission of greenhouse gasses,
are the main drivers of climate change. In order to limit global warming and the accompanying exacerbation of health and gender inequalities, it is crucial that member states commit to urgently divesting from fossil fuels. Unfortunately, however, the final Agreed Conclusions of the CSW66 make no reference to fossil fuels, nor does it contain concrete agreements on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, it being the outcome of a meeting with its main goal pertaining to gender equity. The Agreed Conclusions do, however, reaffirm the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement of 2015. It reiterates the goal of member states to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1 5 °C above pre industrial levels It also recognizes that limiting global warming to 1.5 °C requires rapid, deep and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, including reducing global carbon dioxide emissions by 45% by 2030 relative to the 2010 level and to net zero around midcentury, as well as deep reductions in other greenhouse gases.
Despite efforts from civil society to maintain a language focused on the 1.5 °C, the agreed conclusions still include the 2 °C as a maximum threshold of temperature increase, even though this degree of global warming is not safe and poses a serious threat to human health. Possible actions for NMOs could be to advocate and call on their countries’ governments to keep pursuing a maximum temperature increase of 1.5 °C, to divest from fossil fuels, and to timely make the necessary cuts in emissions in order to achieve these goals, as estimated by the latest IPCC reports.
Effect on health and economy:
The Commission encourages countries to take a gender responsive approach when planning their transition to a sustainable economy. It emphasizes that women should not be left behind in this transition, and urges that education and training programs are set up such that pregnant adolescents and single mothers are able to secure wellpaying jobs. The Commission also supports the transition from the informal to the formal economy across all sectors and emphasizes that women’s right to work has to be protected and promoted It states that member-states must recognize, reduce and redistribute women’s and girls’ disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work. Policies such as paternity leave and available childcare facilities were suggested as policies that could support this shift.
Human rights and marginalized populations:
The conclusions are based on the principles of human rights and their full and equal realization and enjoyment the 66th the
IFMSA report from the 66th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
It also recognizes the struggles of indigenous, rural, refugee and migrant women and the necessity of inclusion of their voices in decision making and policy designs and implementation.
Older women and widows are also acknowledged as a group of higher vulnerability to climate change and faced discrimination, especially when it comes to land tenure and ownership.
However, there is an Insufficient focus on the support of women living in poverty currently - only by mentions of increasing poverty.
Legal framework and data collection:
The Commission acknowledges that there is a lack of disaggregated data and gender statistics on climate change, environmental degradation and disaster risk reduction. It goes on to state that this lack of data makes it difficult for governments to come up with well-informed policies that can properly address the disproportionate impact that women and girls face from these issues The Commission encourages governments to strengthen their national data collection centers and fund gender sensitive environmental health research.
1. About UN Women [Internet]. UN Women Headquarters. [cited 2022 May 6]. Available from: https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/about-un-women
2. Commission on the Status of Women [Internet]. UN Women Headquarters. [cited 2022 May 6]. Available from: https://www.unwomen.org/en/csw
3 Sixty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 66) [Internet] [cited 2022 May 6]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news room/events/detail/2022/03/14/default-calendar/sixty-sixth-session-of-the-commissionon-the-status-of-women-(csw-66)
4. https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/
