01-02-2023
Recommendations
On January 26, 2023, Francia Hehenkamp of
Atria, Institute on Gender Equality and Women's History, handed over our joint
CSW-priorities to Esther van Dijk, Director Emancipation at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. For the last few months, this 2-pager of recommendations has been carefully composed based on knowledge sharing sessions and input by various experts. It provides important guidelines for the delegation ánd the NGOs who will be active at the 67th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). This annual assembly will take place at the UN in New York, where progress regarding women’s rights and gender equality will be discussed.
After two years of online briefings, there was a renewed interest in attending the ngo briefing in-person on the top floor of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Over fifty participants from civil society came together with representatives of the government delegation to discuss the latest news and to convey some important messages to the delegation.
No high representative present in New York
Unfortunately, minister Dijkgraaf will not be present at this year’s CSW. This is very disappointing. The ministry of Education, Culture and Science published the new Emancipation nota at the end of 2022 ánd the Dutch government has committed to a feminist foreign policy for the first time. The CSW would have been a great opportunity for the minister to announce this development, gain more knowledge on the issue and discuss this with a broad and diverse representation of civil society.
Priorities
The priority theme of the CSW is broad: Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. The priorities presented by Lisanne Post of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science are accordingly diverse:
- Insist on the compliance with all human rights of all women and girls, including sexual reproductive health and rights
- An intersectional approach, with attention to disadvantaged/marginalised groups and inclusive language
- A strong position for civil society, including better protection of human rights defenders
The delegation will specifically focus their attention on a gender transformative and human rights approach when developing new digital platforms and tools (including artificial intelligence), countering the digital gender divide, advancing financial independence, an equal labour-care division and an inclusive and gender transformative energy transition. The role of men and boys in achieving gender equality traditionally falls within the CSW priorities of The Netherlands.
Pitches
Representatives of Dutch civil society addressed many subjects and presented various perspectives through a series of short content-related pitches regarding the priority theme of the CSW. Recommendations were added through the expertise and experience of black women, women with a disability, sex workers, lesbian women, and youth representatives. Connections were made with the forthcoming UN Water Conference and in particular, the pitchers emphasised: involve us and take human rights in digital spaces seriously.
