Conduction of CSW66

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.