by Carole Shaw (JERA International)

Reflections on Day 2

The sun shone brightly this morning as most of the snow from the sidewalks disappears. A crisp morning and an early start to the day found yet more queues to get passes to get into the UN Building.

Today was also the International Tribunal on Crimes against the women of Burma, a full day event hosted by Nobel Womens Initiative and the Women's League of Burma. This whole day event, held out at City University of New York brought women displaced by conflict in Burma to share their stories across 3 thematic areas: Testimonials on Violence Against Women ; Civil and Political Violations and Economic, Social and Cultural Violations. Women bravely shared their stories in a packed auditorium holding approximately 500 people. Judges who provided human rights commentary were Heisoo Shin, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi and Bitit Muntarbhorn. The sessions were extremely raw and emotional, with tears flowing in the audience and on stage. An extremely well executed event which showed the strength and resilience of women displaced by conflict from Burma in the context of human rights. Simultaneous translation was available via portable headsets. Leaving this event I paused for thought and breath on the concrete sidewalks of New York, not far from the Empire State building and reflected on how lucky I was and how far we have yet to come to make the world a safe and secure place for ALL women, for until ALL women have equality to live their lives in safety, security and peace we cannot stop walking on this journey. We have got to keep moving forward never turning back.

Back down at the UN the High Level Plenary provided a backdrop for Country Statements. Many countries have their Ministers as head of delegation, and in the main conference room government representatives and NGOs listen to the achievements and challenges of countries. From NGOs this is a good opportunity to listen to examples of good practice, where governments have managed to progress women and girls. For countries, it is an opportunity to say to other countries Hey! We are doing this really well, but also to ask for assistance where things are not going so well. Some NGOs sit in the gallery listening to the reports and noting for key areas on policy or practice. Other NGOs spend their time in the multiple side-events that occur around CSW.

A lunchtime event on Women in Decision Makers in Action, hosted by Pacific Island Forum Secretariat and sponsored by Australian government was a packed out event. Standing room only for the event which discussed women's political leadership in the Pacific. Moderated by Hon Pansy Wong Minister for Women's Affairs and Minister for Ethnic Affairs, New Zealand and featuring as speakers Hon Minister Fiame Mataafa, Minister for Women, Community and Social Development, Samoa; Hon Minister Willy Talavi, Minister for Internal Affairs, Tuvalu; and Ruth Maetala, Director Research Planning and Policy Division, Ministry for Women Youth and Children Affairs, Solomon Islands. This interactive session attended by many Ambassadors from the Pacific discussed the importance of a gender balance at the highest levels of decision-making in the Pacific region. Each of the speakers spoke of their own experiences of being a woman in politics and the challenges of women's representation inPacific parliaments.

At the end of each day Australian NGOs and Government meet to discuss events and opportunities to share language, strategies and issues. In addition NGOs are meeting regularly to combine their experiences and learnings and develop joint strategies to send out through organizational networks. The sheer number of workshops and side meetings taking place makes it extremely difficult to track all events, and many NGOs are following thematic workshops, building linkages and expertise in key areas.

YWCA and WAGGS are coordinating the youth caucus and providing a coordinated and insightful team of young women inputting into discussions. Free wireless access has allowed those more technically minded amongst us to begin blogging on their experiences of CSW, New York and the presentations they are participating in. The wonderful women from the YWCA are coordinated in their pink scarves so they are easily identifiable and seen in each of the sessions.

CSW Day 3 March 3rd 2010

The days go quickly here at CSW and the rhythm of the days remains the same, breakfast briefings, pre-session meetings, High Level Plenary, or workshops, some sort of lunchtime session then back into the High level plenaries or workshops then, for the Australians off to the govt NGO debrief. Leaving just enough time to eat, sleep and then start again.

Today was the International Women's Day observance in the CSW calendar. Traditionally for these discussions, NGOs can enter the floor of the conference room. This caused confusion for some delegates who were not aware of this.

Today though I want to talk about the queues and problems of access to the UN that have caused many problems this year. While the figures thrown around of NGOs registered to attend CSW this year float between 7,500 and 8,500 the sheer numbers of people, combined with the renovations currently happening at the UN have caused considerable problems for NGOs. Those on Government delegations can enter the UN via any of the entry gates, and have no limitations on access to the old building, or the new (IKEA style) building on the North Lawn. For NGOs it is a different matter. Firstly, the queues to get passes to the conference found people waiting for over 5 hours to get their pass. For those who did not arrive on Friday it has been a constant queuing for passes. Once you have gained your pass, then you can enter the UN building. NGOs can only enter the building via the visitors entrance this is similar to going through an airport where you have to put your bags and coats through an X ray machine. The queues for this process can be up to 1 hour not nice when it is cold and snowing outside. This pass does not allow NGOs to enter the new (IKEA style) building on the North Lawn where some of the sessions are being held. To gain access to these events, NGOs must RSVP and get their names on a list, meet a representative from the workshop to be given a separate pass to enter the building. This has proven challenging for many. Then the other workshops are being hosted either in the Church Centre opposite the UN or the Salvation Army a few blocks away from the UN. These workshops are crowded and given the numbers of women wanting to get into the building and workshops stretch the fire and safety regulations to the extreme.

Security in the building will stop women entering when the sessions are full causing many to get extremely agitated. Now, there are some genuinely aggrieved people here and the UN guards have not always been as helpful as they could have been. However, the combined effects of waiting for passes, lack of access to workshops, the UN and Church Centre and then not being able to get into workshops is causing many NGOs to be extremely upset. Many NGOs self fund to attend CSW it is very expensive and to arrive and not have access is very irritating. Given that the renovations at the UN will take approx 7 years to undertake, these challenges may exist for a long time.

Today was the day Australia read their National Statement. HE Gary Quinlan, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations joined Sally Moyle for the presentation of the country statement. Included in the report was the role of National Human Rights Institutions and support of their independent status at CSW. This is a key area Australia has lobbied on for the last couple of years. Also included was the support of the new Gender Entity and the speedy appointment of the Under Secretary General.

Day 4 CSW 4th March, 2010

Country reports completed, it is on to the business of CSW and negotiations started in earnest today as governments begin to discuss shape, form, structure and content of draft resolutions that will be put before CSW 54th session. It is expected there will be 5 7 resolutions presented this year. Currently being negotiated are the Draft Resolutions on Women's Economic Empowerment; Maternal mortality; Women and Children in Hostage Situations, expected to be presented within this session are also a draft resolution on Female Genital Mutilation and HIV/AIDs. Others are currently in the process of being drafted and sponsored. There will also be resolutions to be reviewed from previous CSW sessions. It is encouraging to note the active role Australia is taking in these discussions. Having a strong team representing The Office for Women, EOWA, DEEWR, DFAT, AusAID, Australian Human Rights Commission and active input from NGO delegates reflecting aboriginal perspective, national reviews and civil society position on the Australian delegation has both strengthened and enriched the input into negotiations.

High Level Panels continue in the Main Conference room and today regional perspectives in progress achieved in remaining gaps and challenges in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. Panelists : Mr Abdulie Janneh, ECA (Africa); Mr Jan Kubis, ECE, (Europe); Ms Alicia Barcena, ECLAC (Latin America and Caribbean); Ms Noeleen Heyzer, ESCAP (Asia and Pacific) and Ms Bader Al-Dafa, ESCWA (West Asia) presented regional perspectives.

Day 5 5th March, 2010

Is it really the end of the week. Where has the time gone? As the Commemorating 30 years of CEDAW panel session took place in the main conference room, audience members were reminded of how despite advances in gender equality, violence remains one of the biggest issues for women today.

A Joint Statement by Representatives of National Human Rights Institutions at the 54th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women was circulated reaffirming the important and constructive role played by National Human Rights Institutions. The key point being that National Human Rights Institutions do not currently have independent participation states at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

Asia Pacific Women Watch presented their first workshop of CSW. Asian and Pacific Women's Perspectives on Crisis Response. A panel moderated by Cai Yiping (Isis International). Pam Rajput, Song Wenyan, Hiroko Hara, Pawadee Tonguthai and Jane Pritchard presented on gender and climate change. In the audience was a member from Tuvalu who was invited to present on what is happening in Tuvalu and the impacts of climate change on the community.