UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)

The UN 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. A functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), it was established by ECOSOC resolution 11(II) of 21 June 1946.

The CSW is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women. Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world contribute to the sessions.

CSW67 (2023)

The sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place from 6 to 17 March 2023 and will consider the priority theme of, “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”. The session will also review the agreed conclusions of the sixty-second session, “Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls.”

CSW66 (2022)

The sixty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women took place from 14 to 25 March 2022. Due to the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, CSW66 took place in a hybrid format. All side events and parallel events were fully virtual. This years priority theme 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.”

IANSA held an event on “Women and arms control: from sidelining to reshaping the mainstream,” in where writer and filmmaker Jenny Morgan interviewed Mary-Ann Nobele from Gun Free South Africa, Bianca Pabotoy from Center for Peace Education-Miriam College in the Philippines, and Hana Salama, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) to understand women’s experiences of controlling small arms and reducing gun violence.

CSW65 (2021)

The sixty-fifth session of the Commission on the Status of Women took place from 15 to 26 March 2022. CSW65 took place in a hybrid format with mostly virtual meetings. The priority theme was “women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.”

IANSA held an event on “Gender mainstreaming in the fight against gun violence – A view from civil society.” The event focused on how the integration of gender perspectives in firearm control measures is imperative and that a more informed understanding of gender, gender based-violence and gender-related killing can help us develop more effective plans, programs, and approaches to firearms control, while addressing some root causes.