The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) is one of the events and mobilizing points for Anglican women. Each year Anglican women from around the world attend. We have strong Anglican networks of women working around UNCSW issues. There have been vital additions such as training in economic literacy and advocacy, and gender budgeting analysis of Aid Effectiveness. Women have had direct engagement with UN Missions and this has deepened the women’s skills and delivery capacity. The women are equipped to:
Our view on Women's Rights
The empowerment of women is a critical issue facing the world in the 21st century. Since the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing, this has been a focal point for our work. Each year Anglican women have returned to their communities committed to the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Sustainable Development Goals.
In 2020, the global community will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995). Additionally, the international community will reach the five-year milestone towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 2020 is therefore a pivotal year for the accelerated realisation of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, everywhere, and a critical year for Anglican engagement at the United Nations.
The main focus of UNCSW64 will be on the review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action to assess current challenges that affect the implementation of the Platform for Action and the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women. It is a moment to share the good news—to celebrate the successes we have had in the empowerment of women and girls, the engagement of men and boys, and supporting women’s leadership. It is also a time to assess how far we have left to go in order to truly transform unjust power relations and create a world of love, dignity, and justice.
The Anglican Communion Office submitted a statement to the UN Commission on the Status of Women. You can read the statements below, in English, Spanish, or Portuguese.
More information on CSW60, 61, 62 and 63 can be found below. Reports and statements from earlier meetings of the UNCSW can be found in the Anglican Communion Document Library
The report is a snapshot of Anglican engagement at the 63rd Session of the UNCSW, including reflections from the delegates themselves and examples of the various opportunities they had to share their own experiences throughout the two weeks, with support from the ACOUN staff.
In it, you will find testimonies from this year’s delegates, stories about how they advocated on topics of concern, and how they are taking their experiences at the UNCSW back to their home provinces.
Priority theme: Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls;
Review theme: 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 (agreed conclusions of the forty-seventh session);
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Priority theme: Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work
Review theme: Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls (agreed conclusions of the fifty-eighth session)
Emerging issue/Focus area: The empowerment of indigenous women
Priority theme: Women’s empowerment and its link to sustainable development
Review theme: The elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls (agreed conclusions from the fifty-seventh session)