The 70th anniversary session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women focused on removing barriers to access to justice and combating the rising levels of cyber violence against women. While delegates, including representatives from the Czech Republic and the EU, sought ways to strengthen women’s rights, the negotiations culminated in a historic rift when the United States voted against the agreed conclusions for the first time in the Commission's history.
What does the Commission do?
The main purpose of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a promotion of gender-equality and women’s rights. Every year an annual two-week session of the Commission takes place in New York. UN Member states (MS), non-governmental organisations and other UN entities discuss progress in implementation of the Bejing declaration and Platform for action as well as current issues and challenges faced by women. The 70th session of the Commission took place this March with the Czech republic being one of the 45 MS of the Commission.
Priority theme: Strengthening access to justice for all women and girls
The priority theme for this year became the strengthening of gender-reposive justice systems and providing full access to justice for women and girls. Among the issues discussed were discriminatory laws, structural and institutional inequities, inadequate justice services, gaps in legal literacy and weak enforcement. More than 60% of women have not fulfilled legal needs. The accessibility is also limited by armed conflicts and by living in rural areas.
In an interactive discussion on the topic of Bridging the Systemic Gaps it was noted that the gaps can result in an increased risk of violence against women. The panelists shared ideas that could improve women’s access to justice such as specialised units in police stations and courts, mobile services, digital justice mechanisms and financial support of women's movements.
Moreover, during the discussions it became clear that inaccessible justice is not only a problem of law. It is a structural, societal and cultural problem which is deepened by various gender stereotypes. Nevertheless, the message is clear: “Women are not waiting to be given justice – they are building it. The task now is to ensure that the systems, resources and political will are in place to meet them there.”
Review theme: Women’s full participation in public life and the elimination of violence
The Commission made elimination of violence a priority theme in 2021, but it came back to it in order to reflect upon the progress that was supposed to occur. From 2022 to 2024 UN Women invested hundreds of millions dollars into development of new policies and law reformations across 100 countries, which created a better environment for 2 billion women and girls.
However, it was concluded that the progress is very slow, especially with technology-facilitated violence, which became widespread and normalised. It includes, for example, stalking, harassment, sexual coercion and non-consentual sharing of digital materials. The anonymity of online space shields the perpetrators and silences the victims. One in three women globally experiences physical and/or sexual violence in her lifetime.
At the session, countries from various UN regional groups shared their approaches and practices – legal frameworks, action plans, multilateral coordination and gender-responsive budgeting. The main message was that mere adoption of law is not enough. The focus should also be on successful implementation of the policies alongside adequately resourced services, supported civil society and cross-sector progress in justice, health and social security.
EU Takes Part in the Discussions
The European Union (EU) held two side events with the topic of gender based cyber violence on which highlighted the role of trained officers and gender-sensitive and proactive approaches to investigation of technology facilitated violence. According to the EU, it is important to implement victim-centred policies which will prevent secondary victimisation. Counsel of Europe´s Secretary General Alain Beset stated that we are in times of growing backlash against gender – equality and that protecting women’s rights is important for preservation of democracy and the rule of law.
Cypru’s Commissioner for Gender Equality made a speech at an EU side event dedicated to Preventing and Combating All Forms of Cyber Violence Against Girls as it holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU. It made clear that during its mandate it will promote centered evidence-based policies, and it also introduced EU projects which will contribute to the protection from technology facilitated violence. Amongst them is a planned conference in Nikósia, the new EU Directive on combating violence against women and the EU gender-equality strategy.
Agreed Conclusions
In conclusion the Commission released Agreed Conclusions, actions and recommendations that will help to enhance political, economical and women´s social rights. The recommendations are forwarded to ECOSOC for approval and will become an official document of the UN. Furthermore, not only UN bodies but also UN MS are supposed to use the recommendations as a baseline for the creation of their policies and strategies.
To overcome the problem with access to justice, CSW MS agreed to eliminate structural barriers such as gender stereotypes, discriminatory laws and policies, and mistrust in institutions. They committed to providing free or affordable legal aid, promoting women’s legal literacy, and encouraging the engagement of men and boys as allies. UN MS are also recommended to implement digital and inclusive access to justice through technology while ensuring data protection. Finally, they must ensure adequate and sustainable public funding for justice institutions to make them inclusive, accountable, and accessible to all women and girls throughout their life course.
Regarding cyber violence, the Agreed Conclusions recommend to hold perpetrators accountable and ensure tech companies are held responsible for the safety of their platforms. Furthermore, it is essential to cooperate with the private sector to ensure technology design is inclusive and safe by design, and to strictly regulate harmful content and online harassment. UN MS should create and strengthen systems to identify and eliminate technology-facilitated gender-based violence, ensure robust data protection, and prevent the use of digital tools for any forms of discrimination against women and girls.
USA Pushes Redefinition of Gender
The negotiations about the Agreed Conclusions were unusually tense. The United States of America (U.S.) broke a seventy-year tradition of consensus by becoming the sole nation to vote against the Agreed Conclusions. This unprecedented move followed the rejection of eight U.S. amendments aimed at redefining gender and agreed language related to intersectionality. The tension peaked when a U.S. resolution attempting to strictly define gender as "men and women" was blocked by an EU-led motion, highlighting a profound ideological divide between the U.S. delegation and the rest of the international community.
However, the approval of the document by the rest of the state actors shows that the collective commitment to protect women’s rights prevails and that CSW MS are dedicated to uphold the integrity of the UN system against pressures from the outside.
Sources:
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Photos:
[1] This year’s themes for the Commission on the Status of Women were access to justice and violence against women. OSN NY, 2019, New York, Autor: Michaela Luzio Stenzel.