The Government of Catalonia will participate in the fifty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women which will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world will also attend the session to focus on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

 

The CSW’s fifty-ninth session began this week at the UN Headquarters in New York to review the progress made in the protection and promotion of women’s rights as well as the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 20 years after it was unanimously adopted by 189 countries at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. The review (Beijing+20) will also include the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly, the first five-year assessment conducted after the adoption of the Platform for Action, which highlighted further actions and initiatives. The session will also address opportunities for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women in the post-2015 development agenda.

 

Additionally, UN Women also launched a year-long campaign to “re-energize the vision laid out at the Beijing Women’s Conference”. Under the title “Empowering Women - Empowering Humanity: Picture It!”, the campaign intends to renew commitment, strengthen action and increase resources to realize gender equality, women’s empowerment and human rights.

 

Catalonia’s presence in the event will not go unnoticed as more than 20 Catalan entities will participate in the Beijing+20, including the Barcelona City Council (Ajuntament de Barcelona), the Inter-University Women and Gender Studies Institute (Institut Interuniversitari d'Estudis de Dones i Gènere – iiEDG) and the Workers' Commissions Women’s Secretariat (Secretaria de la Dona de CCOO). Other representatives from some of the most important women entities in Catalonia, including Ca la dona, Hildegarda, Women’s Cultural Association (Associació Cultural de Dones), Dones Lid, Women Journalist of Catalonia (Dones periodistes de Catalunya), Federation of Catalan Organizations for the Elderly, Women and Family (Federació d’Organitzacions catalanes de Gent Gran, Dones i Família) and Tamaia will also participate in the event.

 

Furthermore, the Beijing+20 will focus on 12 critical “areas of concern”:

 

•         Women and the environment

•         Women in power and decision-making

•         The girl child

•         Women and the economy

•         Women and poverty

•         Violence against women

•         Human rights of women

•         Education and training of women

•         Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women

•         Women and health

•         Women and the media

•         Women and armed conflict

 

 

 

More information avialable here