On three emerging themes at CSW63:
It is now 12:03 am and we are currently sitting under the room of negotiations, patiently waiting to hear any news from our representatives from the UK Mission. Whilst most of our delegation is most likely sleeping (we are secretly dreaming of it, too), it felt like it was the right time to round up on the key themes emerging from different events, chats and the overall impressions from this CSW63:
Data is an important precedent to promoting gender equality and empowering women worldwide. It is important to continue collecting data in order to understand how to learn about the needs of all women and girls, further using this information to address the emerging problems. At the same time, already existent data should be assessed with the help of additional indicators, these helping to consider other undervalued factors contributing into the issue. Importantly, data should also be collected from rural areas and marginalised communities to further listen to the needs of those whose voices are underrepresented. In this way, data can be the basis for a better public policy on gender equality.
With the importance of data comes the monitoring mechanism: how can civil society ensure that states live up to their commitments? How can data enable decision-makers to set goals and be held accountable for the goals they set? Monitoring progress is vital for sustainable collaboration between civil societies and local governments where ideally, the civil society would supply the government with the already existent data, the latest further integrated into gender-responsive policies. Otherwise, the absence of such collaborative mechanism would account for a huge loss of action, especially in the context of delivering social protection and security for all women and girls.
The overarching theme has been the utility of CSW63 after the Session finishes. This point is a primary concern for many participants and panellists, as there has been a significant attempt to push on taking actions after the end of the Session. Indeed, the time at CSW63 is unique and truly inspirational for its participants, but the remaining question is translating all the knowledge and experience gained into action on the national, regional and local levels. When it comes to our work, the delegates representing the UN House Scotland, alongside with the other UK representatives, will speak at the Post-Conference event on April 4th. They will explain how they represented Scottish voices, what they did at the UN and how they will continue implementing CSW63 before the next 2020 session begins. Don’t miss on your chance to learn more and to hold your representatives to make your voices count!
If you have any ideas of how UN House Scotland could advance CSW63 in action, please write us a message (iuliia.drobysh@unhscotland.org.uk).
