UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/index.html
Mission/Mandate:
“The Commission on the Status of Women […] is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. It is the principal global policy-making body. […]
The Commission was established by ECOSOC resolution 11(II) of 21 June 1946 with the aim to prepare recommendations and reports to the Council on promoting women's rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields. The Commission also makes recommendations to the Council on urgent problems requiring immediate attention in the field of women's rights.” (CSW Website, http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/index.html, accessed on 21 November 2008)
“The Commission's mandate […] include the functions of promoting the objectives of equality, development and peace, monitoring the implementation of measures for the advancement of women, and reviewing and appraising progress made at the national, subregional, regional and global levels. […] The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) again modified the Commission's terms of reference in 1996, in its resolution 1996/6, to include, inter alia, identifying emerging issues, trends and new approaches to issues affecting equality between women and men.” (CSW Website, http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/index.html#terms, accessed on 21 November 2008)
Target group:
Objective:
Objective of the Commission is to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide.
“Throughout its sixty years of existence and its fifty sessions, the Commission on the Status of Women has consistently promoted the advancement of women. It has been instrumental in expanding the recognition of women’s rights, in documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, in shaping global policies on gender equality and empowerment of women and in ensuring that the work of the UN is all areas incorporates a gender perspective. It continues to play a critical role by bringing together Governments, UN entities, NGOs, and other international and regional organizations to promote women’s rights and advance gender equality.” (CSW: Short History of the Commission on the Status of Women, without date, p.20, http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/CSW60YRS/CSWbriefhistory.pdf, accessed on 7 January 2009)
Funding:
United Nations Budget
Scope of reporting:
Geographic focus: Commission on the Status of Women is the principal global policy-making body on women and hence focus all countries world wide.
Thematic focus: Commission on the Status of Women sets priority themes for each year which are covered in Commission’s annual reports; among other emerging issues it focuses on general violence against women, women's rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Reporting methodology:
Sessions and Reports of the Commission are based on the work of expert groups and NGOs. Annual Reports are final outputs of the Commission’s sessions where Commission members and other participants evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide. (CSW Website,http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/index.html, accessed on 28 November 2008)
Publication cycle:
Reports of the Commission are published annually in accordance with the sessions of the Commission on the Status of women.
Languages:
Reports of the Commission are available in English; new Reports (from 2007 on) are published in all official UN-Languages - Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.
Navigation of website:
Information about Commission’s sessions (including program of work, themes and statements) and reports can be accessed by selecting the session in question on the left-hand menu bar.
Additional references:
