On the 22nd of March, the yearly international negotiations at the UN on Women’s rights reached an agreement. The meeting is called the Commission on the Status of women (CSW). Every year, UN member states come together and discuss a different aspect of gender equality. This year, “addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective” was the theme. Negotiations are difficult, member states have very different positions on human rights, SRHR, comprehensive sexuality education and even the very concept of gender equality. Some years, they don’t reach a consensus.
What’s in the text?
The agreed conclusions contain strong references to sexual and reproductive health (SRH), health care services, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. In addition, it focused on the specific experiences of poverty of adolescents and girls. The text also promotes full, equal and meaningful participation and leadership of young women, adolescents and girls in the context of addressing poverty. In particular, the language addressing the gender-specific barriers to their rights and empowerment, is a positive signal.
Gender-specific barriers mentioned in the text include:
Gender-specific barriers mentioned in the text include:
- All forms of violence, including sexual and gender-based violence
- Child, early and forced marriage
- Adolescent pregnancy
- The unequal distribution of unpaid care work
What’s next?
These UN texts are dense and the process can seem very abstract. However, global consensus on the need to promote women’s and girls’ empowerment and its connection to poverty is positive. Civil society organisations all over the world can now use this text to push national government to do the right thing at home and abroad. Governments can use these conclusions as inspiration for their own policies and programmes.