The 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59) excluded civil society organisations from the Working Methods process, and culminated in a weak Political Declaration which falls far short of the transformative and progressive objectives of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPfA). These are the concerns put forward in this statement for endorsement by the African Women’s Caucus, who further felt that the Working Methods Resolution did not incorporate strong enough language on commitments to human rights for women and girls.
The caucus notes that despite two decades in which African women’s rights organisations have been at the forefront of shaping the global agenda on women’s rights, the present environment sees many of those gains under serious threat. Given that 2015 has been dedicated as the Year of Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063, the caucus expresses deep concern at the African Group position in the negotiations of both the Political Declaration and the Working Methods Resolution, finding it contradictory to the agreements and promises made at regional and national levels.
The statement, which encourages and facilitates endorsement at the bottom of the document, closes with a call for governments to, in summary:
- Commit toward full gender equality, without renegotiating previous agreements at national, regional, and continental levels
- Ensure continuity and consistency in negotiations on commitments to women’s human rights and empowerment in country positions at all levels
- Commit to the accelerated implementation of agreed conclusions and resolutions of past declarations and women’s rights instruments
- Recognise the role that African women’s organisations and others have played in advancing gender equality and human rights
- Commit to create an enabling and conducive environment that allows women’s rights organisations, feminist organisations and other civil society organisations to participate fully in the CSW sessions
- Recognise and commit to addressing the emerging challenges that are setbacks on gains made for gender equality and the realisation of the human rights of all women and girls.
- Affirm the strong linkages between the BDPfA and the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Strongly recognise, in future processes including the CSW, the links between the human rights of women and girls and development