Update from the UN CSW: Unionists at the Asia-Pacific Women's Caucuses
The lobbying of government delegates is one of the main tasks of the trade union delegation attending the 52nd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), where caucuses are important spaces for strategizing and putting collective strength behind particular issues.
Shashi Bala Singh, EI Asia-Pacific Coordinator, attended the Asia-Pacific Women's Caucuses organised during the first working week of the CSW. These meetings facilitate the consultation and exchange among participants from the region regarding the common issues of concern for NGOs on the priority theme of the Commission.
The caucus discussed the Draft Agreed Conclusions (draft presented by the Bureau of the Commission on the Status of Women) on the priority theme which is "Financing gender equality" and "Empowerment of women". Member NGOs provided inputs, suggestions and amendments, and pointed out the need to strengtheng the language of the draft document which was considered too weak.
The EI Regional Coordinator attended both the meetings, highlighted the issue of decent work for women and lobbied with the focus for inclusion of a decent work agenda for women at the heart of the policies and programmes aimed at financing for development, decent work indicators, establishment of normative framework and allocation for the provision of basic services including education, water, health, and sanitation.
The caucus suggested the strategic actions for lobbying with the governments, missions and the influencial groups as the negotiation process will start on 29 Feb. The caucus was organised by the Asia-Pacific Women's Watch (APWW) and co-sponsored by ISIS International Manila. Working meetings continues during the second week.
