Reflecting on CSW 57: the Good & the Bad - PeaceWomen ENews (WILPF) March 2013

The UN's Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Addresses Arms and More in Work to Eliminate and Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls

Two weeks of negotiations, events, advocacy and networking at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) have come to an end. Thousands of women groups and activists came together in New York to work towards the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls. The political games and maneuverings during negotiations meant that the Agreed Conclusions were contested and consensus was difficult. However, in the end, states managed to avoid repeating last year's failure and an agreement was reached.

The final Agreed Conclusions acknowledges the relationship between the “illicit use of, and illicit trade in, small arms and light weapons and aggravated violence against women and girls”, which was a late addition to the text and part of WILPF's advocacy priorities. The Agreed Conclusions have an explicit call for accessible and affordable healthcare services, including sexual and reproductive health services, such as emergency contraception and safe abortion for victims of violence –a highly contested issue over the past two weeks. There is stronger language on participation than in the zero draft, including a call for increase in women's participation in conflict resolution and peacebuilding processes and post-conflict decision-making. There was also an important paragraph on supporting and protecting women human rights defenders and a reference to all women, peace and security resolutions; these are significant areas of strength. In other areas there are clear remaining weaknesses. There is no new language on ‘gender identity' or ‘gender orientation' to address the protection of LGBT rights-which represents a huge gap. Proposed language on ‘intimate partner' or ‘intimate relationships' did not make the final text, which would give some recognition to violence occurring outside of marriage but within partner relations.

Two of the most alarming aspects of the negotiations at CSW were a continued conservative backlash with impacts both at the UN and at national level. In the conference room of UNHQ, the “Unholy Alliance” led by Iran, Russia, Syria and the Vatican, worked together to push hard to roll back agreed language and add sweeping paragraphs about traditions and national sovereignty, which would have undermined the whole text. These paragraphs did not make the final text. Madeleine Rees, WILPF SG, blogged about the negotiations and calling out the spoilers.

Meanwhile, beyond New York, there were serious actions pushing back against women's rights such as the Libyan Grand Mufti issuing a fatwa against the agreement at CSW even before it was finalized as undermining the family's structure and integrity; and Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood issued a declaration stating that the CSW agreement would lead to “the complete disintegration of society”. These statements are particularly concerning because this means that women's human rights defenders in the MENA region may be increasingly at risk.

Despite the push back, the WILPF partners from MENA region called for CSW to reflect the reality for women facing increased militarization in the region realizing that the biggest threats in the region are poverty, unregulated weapons trade and a lack of democratic oversight of the armed forces. Zahra Langhi, member of the Libyan Women's Platform for Peace (LWPP), as well as WILPF's partner for the MENA Agenda 1325 wrote a response. Others also responded including Soad Shalaby of Egypt's National Council for Women who wrote that the UN agreement would, to the contrary,

"lead to women's integration within society.” The Women of the Arab Caucus demanded that states “stop using justifications based on religion, culture, tradition or nationality to block the progress of laws at all levels” arguing that the “violence they cause is unacceptable and can never be condoned or tolerated.” WILPF supports these courageous women in reminding the UN and the world that violence is no one's culture, and states must uphold their obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill women's and girls' human rights.

Now that CSW has concluded, member states at UN headquarters started another round of negotiations on the proposed Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) where efforts must continue to create a strong and comprehensive framework that includes binding provisions for preventing gender-based violence. Establishing the linkages between CSW's focus on violence against women and girls, and the ATT, Annie Matundu-Mbambi (President of WILPF-DRC) deliveredour joint statement at CSW calling for a strong arms trade treaty that includes legally binding gender provisions, and requires States to deny arms transfers to countries in which there is gender-based violence, especially rape. Subscribe to Reaching Critical Will's updates or follow them on Facebook and Twitter for live updates.

In news, events and initiatives we feature Women, Peace and Security material, with a special focus on CSW 57 outcomes. This edition includes a recent news articles on Michelle Bachelet's decision to leave UN Women, the deteriorating situation for Syrian women, an initiative on WILPF USA practicum Blogs and a statement on Concerns of Women's Organizations over Negotiations on CSW 57 Outcome Document. Additionally, two Policy Brief resources on Women, Peace and Security issues and peacebuilding in post-conflict settings and another resource on challenges to Women's security in the MENA region.