Report on the Commission on the Status of Women held 12-23 March 2018 in New York

COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN (CSW 62)
12-23 March 2018, UN Headquarters, New York

The sixty-second session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 62) took place in New York during the period 12-23 March 2018. The ‘working’ two week period was preceded by a Consultation Day – a mix of events, with speakers (such as Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women and H.E. Ms Geraldine Byrne-Nason, Bureau Chair (see below), and others, easing the CSW 62 attendees into two busy weeks.1 The International Law Association (ILA) has recognised consultative status with the Economic and Social Commission of the UN (ECOSOC)2 and was represented by the ILA Feminism and International Law Committee at CSW 62.3

The priority theme this year was Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls. A timely topic; rural women and girls suffer multiple discrimination – even compared with women and girls in non-rural areas. The review theme was Participation in, and access of women to, the media, and information and communications technologies, and their impact on and use as an instrument for the advancement and empowerment of women, from the 47th session of the CSW. This approach (priority and review themes) allows for new themes to be explored, and at the same time, provides for review of what has been a priority theme. The overall result is to broaden the range of subjects under discussion during CSW, and by revisiting a review theme, to facilitate an assessment of progress made.

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