FAWCO at the UN
In 2025 at the sixty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) we will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995). This is called Beijing +30 in shorthand.
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) will take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 10 to 21 March 2025. Registration opened on October 4, 2024 and will continue through January 27, 2025, however, there is a layer of approval on behalf of FAWCO that must take place before the UN grants credentials so register early!
2025 will be a year of UN landmarks: 80 years since the UN was founded in 1945; 30 years since the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing (Beijing+30); 15 years since the launch of UN Women; and 10 years since the adoption of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As the UN, UN Women, and global women's organizations commemorate Beijing+30, FAWCO looks back on the trailblazing women who led the beginnings of our engagement at the UN.
FAWCO was a member of the Board of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the UN (CoNGO) from 2018 - 2021. FAWCO UN Liaison Laurie Richardson was a co-author of the 2021 CoNGO Declaration on the UN's 75th Anniversary.
In 2017, FAWCO looked back with pride at 20 years of special consultative status with the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Learn more in the Press Release.
FAWCO’s involvement at the UN is rooted in our mission to improve the lives of women and girls worldwide, as specifically stated in our Resolutions and Recommendations:
- support the mission and goals of the United Nations, particularly those that address women and girls;
- work on global women’s issues with UN Women and the UN Commission on the Status of Women, sponsoring UN events and actively seeking partnerships with like-minded NGOs; and
- promote the ratification by the US Senate of the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and advocate for the inclusion of American women living overseas in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
Learn more about FAWCO’s involvement with the United Nations.
FAWCO's SDG Awareness Program
For the UN's Decade for Action on the SDGs (2020-2030), we launched FAWCO SDG Awareness. FAWCO member clubs are engaging their members in awareness raising and action on the SDGs.
Check out FAWCO's interactive historical map of our fundraising beneficiaries around the world, including the SDGs our projects have addressed.
UN Reps Team
FAWCO has UN Representatives in New York, Geneva, Vienna, Athens and Bonn, and at-large representatives based in Paris, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Manila and other cities.
Learn more about the FAWCO UN Reps Team.
Advocacy
“Never forget that a political, economic or religious crisis will be enough to cast doubt on women's rights. These rights will never be vested. You'll have to stay vigilant your whole life.” Simone De Beauvoir
As an active stakeholder in the UN NGO community, FAWCO joins other civil society organizations in advocacy statements, position papers and letters to UN agencies and commissions, including the Commission on the Status of Women. Read these statements.
FAWCO’s History as a UN-accredited NGO
FAWCO’s commitment to working with the UN began in 1993. Read the history of FAWCO at the UN.
Learn more about the early days of FAWCO's UN engagement, and hear from the FAWCO women trailblazers who attended the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing.
FAWCO is an organizational member of the Board of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the UN (CoNGO).
UN Reps and Global Issues
FAWCO's UN Reps collaborate with FAWCO’s Global Issues Teams, Target Program and Youth Program, focusing on raising awareness and sharing information about the UN Sustainable Development Goals and other initiatives, promoting action, and participating in global campaigns.
UN Reps and Education
Learn what FAWCO’s UN Reps are doing in the area of education.
UN Reps and Environment
Learn what FAWCO’s UN Reps are doing in the area of environment and climate change.
UN Reps and Health
Learn what FAWCO’s UN Reps are doing in the area of global women’s health.
UN Reps and Human Rights
Learn what FAWCO’s UN Reps are doing in the area of human rights for women and girls.
Migration
Learn what FAWCO’s UN Reps are doing in the area of migration.
UN Youth
Learn what FAWCO’s UN Youth Reps are doing.
Gender Equality
FAWCO’s mission is to improve the lives of women and girls worldwide, so Gender Equality is our highest priority. Learn about FAWCO’s work at the UN in the area of Gender Equality.
NGO Committees on the Status of Women
FAWCO’s UN Reps participate actively in NGO Committees on the Status of Women in New York, Geneva and Vienna. A delegation of UN Reps and FAWCO members attend the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) each year. We co-sponsor Written and Oral Statements that are submitted to CSW (see more in Advocacy) and organize NGO Forum events.
Learn more about FAWCO at CSW and read blogs by FAWCO CSW delegation members on the CSW Blog.
Communications
FAWCO’s UN Reps Team and UN Liaison publish periodic UN Liaison Bulletins to inform our members about current priorities at UN Women, in the NGO Committees on the Status of Women, the Human Rights Council, the NGO Committee on Migration, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC), UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), UN Department of Public Information, and much more.
Find current and past UN Liaison Bulletins and the link to sign up to receive the UN Liaison Bulletin (for logged in FAWCO members only).
You will also find the UN Reps Team Annual Reports for FAWCO, as well as reports submitted to the UN Department of Public Information and UN ECOSOC. See these reports.
