After the Civil Society Forum, some women's organizations did not endorse the Civil Society Statement presented at the UNECE intergovernmental meeting. Some had serious disagreements about language, process and positions. In the end, most of the NGOs represented at the Civil Society Forum acknowledged the diversity of the views represented in the opening statement. The far more important priority is...
Current Initiatives
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"A quarter of a century after Beijing, not a single country has achieved gender equality. Beijing+25 and the global drive to achieve the SDGs provide us a unique opportunity to accelerate efforts, strengthen our partnerships and mobilize all of society, including all generations, to fulfill the longstanding commitments to women and girls."
Ăsa Regnér, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive...
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Eight FAWCO members from Athens, Bern, Berlin, Paris, Vienna and Zürich attended the UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Beijing+25 Regional Review Meetings in Geneva, Oct. 29-30, as well as the preparatory Civil Society Forum on October 28.
From left to right: Paula Daeppen (AWC Zürich), Rhonda Staudt (AWC Berlin), Georgia Kallis (AWO Greece), Laurie Richardson, UN Liaison (AWA Vienna), Salle Chaballier (AAWE Paris), Pam Perraud...
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Olga Algayerova, Under Secretary General and Executive Secretary, UNECE, opened the meeting on October 29, pointing out the need for more women’s political involvement and participation in decision making: “Let us work together so every girl and woman can live in safety and dignity.” Gender equality is both an objective and a driver of sustainable development. Despite significant progress and lessons...
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FAWCO members will participate actively in Beijing+25 events around the world beginning in 2019, leading up to the 2020 reviews, civil society fora and intergovernmental meetings. Learn more about Beijing+25 and Generation Equality here.
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By Jane McCall Politi, PhD (FAWCO UN Rep in NY)
During the week of September 23, 2019, I attended several events around the Climate Summit. Most events on climate did not address migration and children - just fossil fuels and the like. It was disheartening.
I made a comment at an event on Refugee Children and Climate Change about the need...
Subcategories
Women's Rights
Women's Rights (CEDAW)
CEDAW is the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. It was adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly and entered into force in 1981.
What does CEDAW do?
Reduce sex trafficking and domestic violence
Provide access to education and vocational training
Ensure the right to vote
End forced marriage and child marriage and ensure inheritance rights
Help mothers and families by providing access to maternal health careEnsure the right to work and own a business without discrimination
Why has the USA NOT ratified CEDAW?
Almost all countries have ratified CEDAW - 189 out of 195 countries. Only six have not ratified including Sudan, Somalia, Iran, two small Pacific Island nations (Palau and Tonga) and THE UNITED STATES!
FAWCO supports CEDAW and continues to work towards it ratification.
Key Links
UN Women CEDAW Text
UN High Commissioner for recent developments, links to treaty, reports www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cedaw/pages/cedawindex.aspx
Amnesty International Fact Sheet on CEDAW www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/cedaw_fact_sheet.pdf
Organization working for US Senate Ratification
http://www.cedaw2015.org/
Commission on the Status of Women
The UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), part of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), promotes gender equality and the advancement of women. Its charge is to measure progress towards equality and highlight challenges, set standards and formulate concrete policies to promote equality and women’s empowerment, and encourage mainstreaming of the gender perspective in all UN activities worldwide.
FAWCO is a member of the NGO Committees on the Status of Women (NGO CSWs) in NY, Geneva and Vienna. FAWCO members and UN Representatives regularly attend the annual CSW in New York. You can read blogs by members of FAWCO's delegations to CSW.
FAWCO signs on to Written and Oral Statements submitted to UN Women for consideration by CSW, joining our partner women's NGOs with consultative status to ECOSOC. You can read these statements on the Advocacy page.
| Key Links | |
| UN CSW | http://www.unwomen.org/en/csw |
| NGO CSW New York | www.ngocsw.org |
| NGO CSW Geneva | www.ngocsw-geneva.ch/ |
| NGO CSW Vienna | https://ngocswvienna.org/ |
Trafficking
“The trade in and exploitation of human beings through trafficking is one of the gravest violations of human dignity that exist. The purposes of trafficking in persons range from forced and bonded labour to various forms of sexual exploitation, forced marriages, removal of organs and other contemporary practices similar to slavery."
Navi Pillay
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
The CRC was the first legally binding international instrument which set standards for the civic, economic, social and political rights of children under the age of 18. It consists of 54 articles and two optional protocols.
The four core principles of the Convention are non-discrimination; devotion to the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. Every right spelled out in the Convention is inherent to the human dignity and harmonious development of every child. The Convention protects children's rights by setting standards in health care; education; and legal, civil and social services.
The optional protocols deal with rights of children involved in armed conflict, sale of children, prostitution and child pornography.
It is the most widely signed of all UN treaties. To date, 195 countries have ratified it; South Sudan and Somalia ratified the CRC in May 2015. Only the United States remains as a non-signatory to the treaty.
FAWCO endorses CRC and has joined other NGOs in urging the US Senate to ratify the treaty as soon as possible. In late 2015, in honor of International Children's Day and in collaoration withFAWCO's UN NGO Reps Team, FAWCO's US Liaison promoted an advocacy campaign to FAWCO members, with letters to President Obama and key US Senators encouraging them to ratify CRC as soon as possible.
Key Links
UNICEF- Rights of the Child www.un.org/rights/dpi1765e.htm
Campaign for US Ratification of CRC www.childrightscampaign.org
Amnesty International – Rights of the Child www.amnesty.org/en/children
Child Right International Network (CRIN) www.crin.org
UN Youth Rep
Welcome to our new UN Youth Rep, Vali Mitsakis. Vali is from Greece; her mother is a member of AWO Greece. She was active with the Model UN in high school, and she's spending a year in New York, where she's keeping very busy going to UN meetings and learning about the UN's post-2015 sustainable development agenda.
FAWCO's first UN Youth Rep was Gavin Higbie (pictured below at UN Headquarters in New York, third from left). Gavin is the son of Erica Higbie (FAUSA, AWC Perth) who is an active FAWCO volunteer; she serves as our UN Rep in New York and as the Chair of the Human Rights Team.
Gavin attended UN meetings live in New York and via Webcast throughout 2014 and reported via a blog. He attended the UN Youth Assembly on February 5 and 6, 2014 and posted blogs about his experiences.
This is a great way for your club's teenagers to engage in global issues and get involved with other FAWCO youths. Please encourage your club's teenagers to check our Youth Program webpages.
To follow Gavin's UN Youth Rep Blog, click here.
Violence Against Women
Violence against women and girls is a horrific worldwide phenomenon.
It has been estimated that one in three women (35%) of women worldwide have experienced intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.
Intimate partner violence is the most common however other forms of violence include human trafficking, sexual violence including when it is used a s tactic of war and harmful traditional practices such as early forced marriages, female genital mutilation and so called “honor” killings.
Globally, as many as 38% of murders of all women are committed by an intimate partner.
Gender based violence cuts across ethnicity, race, class, religion, education and international borders.
Click here for more information about FAWCO’s Sub-Committee on Ending Violence against Women and Children
Key Links
World Heath Organization Fact Sheet on VAW www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/
Say No to Violence - Join the orange campaign to fight violence against women www.saynotoviolence.org/
UNITE- UN Secretary General’s Campaign to End Violence against Women www.un.org/en/women/endviolence
UN Women- support for Ending VAW www.unwomen.org/
US Strategy to End Violence against Women and Girls http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2012/08/20120812134584.html#axzz2nkXBZuih
UN Environment
UN Climate Conference Blog
In 2015, FAWCO's UN Reps Team and Environment Team collaborated to inform FAWCO members about the proceedings of the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP21) held in Paris from November 30 to December 11, 2015. The UN Climate Conference in Paris was of historic importance. While no one from the UN Reps Team or Environment Team were able to attend the Conference, we reported on what was happening. In addition to general background information on UNFCCC (and definitions of the UN’s alphabet soup of abbreviations), we posted summaries of previous UN environment meetings.
In 2016, motivated by the interest of members of AIWC Cologne, FAWCO applied for Observer status at the UNFCCC so our UN Reps could participate in Climate Change Conference sessions in Bonn. We were granted Observer status and three members of FAWCO's UN Reps Team attended meetings in Bonn in May 2017. FAWCO joined the Women and Gender Constituency of Observer NGOs at the UNFCCC and will continue our coverage of and involvement with the climate conference process.