Day 4 Part 2: Briefings and Caucuses

Briefing with the US Mission to the UN:

Key takeaways:  

1. The US delegation has 50 members, and very few NGO members, but a few, interesting mainly representing children (girl scouts and ... )
2. The administration is actively interested in getting feedback from NGO (Civil Society) partners.
3. They have limited ability to change the language given the consensus nature.
4. A radical change in strategy created a simpler, broad level document adopted the first day of the CSW, unlike previous years. This is throwing all the NGO's for a loop.  The ambassdor explains the language is deliberately vague so that there is room to negotitiate specific goals,  measures and .... over the negotiations on the Protocal over the next few months.
5. The committee that controls the methods is very anti-NGO, so the "welcoming" language for NGO's was the best they could do. No observation, no formal participation nor support will happen this round.

NGO Caucus: Europe and North America
Training on CSW process

Most attendees of caucus working on Education, VAW and Human Rights
   get the categories... where do we fit?

Great book- Guide for NGO's  - Megan Scan and use.

Finances place in the Sustainble Development goals.  Post 2015. and financing.

Agreed, every single member state has to agree to the language.   Who is saying what... one word can signify a huge step forward or a huge step backwards.

Typical CSW Session:
1. priorit  6 steps

How negotiated.
starts with a zero draft  by UN women as secty of CSW.  Two weeks to say what they want to change in the text.

Adopt sentences bit by bit. until all are market ad ref.  then if no more revisions it is all agreed upon.

Time tomorrow night to discuss some of the issues in groups, and will clarify the language.

No conclusion document...political declaration accepted first day.  Now method of work... is focus.  Now lots of sharing of practices about how Beijing platform was implemented.

Theres an app with all the tex of the Women's Human Rights documents, continously updated by Univ. of Bern.

Know your own key messages, and build common messages with your allies.

Develop an advocacy brief.  Message, rationale, text and suggestions on how to change the text.  Hand with a card and a fact sheet.

Set up meetings, attend parallel events
use allies
follow what the delegates say.

Know your own skills, who is in the right place at the right time.

Look at the Verbs--how strong are they.

What methods will you use to raise your issues.

Diplomats are tweeting,   use that to track them, understand their positon, their connections, and reply to their tweets.

NGO CSW website-- will load the slides...to the webpage.

The position of the country should be decided by the government of the country back home.  But sometimes the UN ambassador and the minister coming have differences....  and if you are in a group, there can be differences.  Sometimes the country doesn't send a minister...question whether the permanent ambassador is out of touch... you need to represent the government.   Call ministers out on discrepancies between their positions in the UN vs their positions at home.

Working methods on draft last friday...and she's facilitating bilateral talks, and some trilateral talks...and hoping for a meeting this friday or next week...working with recalcitrant delegations as well.

Areas of support work for the NGO suggested is:  Include the words Human Rights ,  Empowering Women and Girls...the position of civil society is another one...some want to change it to stakeholders...  18, 19, 20, 23.

Europe group 1;
Large list of priiorities

•  Education
• equal rights
• civil society
• Morocco, supporting the family...focus on womens and orphans. 

Europe group 2:

• Working Methods include organizations and NGO's
• Language in the handbook, wording of Sex work
• Link to the SDG and post 2015 Agenda...the inclusion of environment and economy
• Transparency of political declaration

 Canada 1:

• Methods of Work
• NGO's in decision making, some funding for women's programs
• Divide between NGO's and government
• Talking about how to deal with that.
• Talked about organizing themselves...have a separate caucus for canadians.
• VAW
• Equal pay for Equal work
• removal of civil service from trade agreements
• women in leadership
• indigenous women

USA 1:

• Methods of Work
• Response from Yesterday, what to push forward
• More NGO involvement. and Civil Society
• Provide knowledge and advice to t the UN and secretariat that implements UN decisions.
• Importance for NGO CSW caucus to collaborate and share info of NGO's  so that definitions in the handbook are compatible Int'l legal instruments including CEDAw.

• 
  

US priorties in caucus is the NGO participation in the process.  
Battle between NGO vs Civil society ...civil society includes trade unions and other entitities. NGO's find it threatening.





 

Day 4: Engaging the Next Generation: Technology for Maternal Care: US Mission

 Day 4 Session 1:  Engaging the Next Generation

A "parallel event" which are the events organized by the NGO's off of the main UN site.

A Panel of 4 young women (age 15-19)  from all over the world discussing how they have learned to lead, engage their peers, and importantly, engage their elders and the powers that lead the culture.

They have learned that engaging the older men has been important in making progress on their causes, whether its ending Female Genital Mutilation in west africa  or Reducing domestic violence in Latin America.

The Gambia:
Engaging older men was critical to changing the culture of FGM.  They had worked with only the women and girls, and were getting nowhere.  They then found that

Ecaudor:
Working with the men and boys, they have experienced violence.  Work with the boys, ask them how to stop this,  Ask them how they want to change the world.  When it becomes personal, then he realizes that he doesn't want that for his mother, sister or daughters, and it is a way to have him stop the cycle. She finds that personal engagement with each child or teen is what is needed to involve the men.

What New Tools are there: are you Using Video and Art are new ways of engaging with the next generation.

Social Media is being increasingly used to make girls voices heard.  They are shouting, but there is no one to hear them.   More relevant information is available on a topic.  Digital divide makes it less useful in many countries.  The problems are where there is no social media. Have to use old media, and use the TV and Radio to help do campaigns and training sessions.  Its hard work, and they take boys and men to the TV discussions, so they are not just women.  Its not just about girls, its about all of us.  Having the young men come on board.

Another is Sports,
they organize matches, gets the boys there, and then talk to them during the breaks about violence against women.

Also through Music,

The also organize academic camps for boys, focusing on schoolwork, but also have a session on FGM and violence.

A traveling van about issue of National Development-  FGM, Early Marriage, and Violence.

Drama also effective, esp when including the young men in role playing.

Make sure there's food.. you'll get more attendance.

Make sure you listen to the young people..the policies and activities need to value the engagement with young people.  YWCA poetry...going up on YWCA website today.

Social Cultural patterns we need to change. -Authorities now say women are already in important positions, what else could you want?  But you also have to be in the towns and the families to see what is rooted in the culture to effect the change. Example  The boys hate domestic work. - She went to director of school to say she wanted to change this. She said we can do it. We can share the chore burden at the school.  They also added cooking to the curriculum for all students..the boys learned to cook and clean up.   This helped a lot, and its easy to do.

 Health Care for Women

Technology, Training and Education
Devices and internet data infrastructure...Bill Kelly (see program for co)  using smartphones for medical use.  
New Gen U - education and training for free...  important social determinant for health for women.  It improves education and health.  all translated.  Dr. Erica Frank
Days for Girls... Dignity and confident to raise their voice, have the knowledge and share their knowledge 

Education for Girls in Islam? 2pm CCUN Chapel - Look it up
Sat in for a few minutes.  Key definitional difference. the audience members saw the gender violence issues as "disharmony within the family" and kept asking what was best for the family.

Day 3: Sessions - Zonta's first Hosted Event

Zonta and Unicef Spoke about Ending Violence against women and children in Rwanda.

Day 2: Consultation Day!- where the NGO's Get Motivated

Consultation Day

Consultation Day was held at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem.  What a gorgeous facility!  Maria Jose, Sonja, Britt and I arrived early to help Allison and Megan save seats for the large contingent of Zontians. More than 30 Zontians filled more than two rows to get motivated about where we have come since Beijing, and how we will achieve Gender Equality in our lifetime.

International Womens Day March for Gender Equality  to Times Square

After the last inspiring panel of the next generation working on equal rights, we disbanded to make our way the subways to go to Times Square for the March for Women's rights, organized by UN Women to celebrate International Women's Day.   The subway cars will filled with NGO delegates with "I am 20" fans. (refering to Beijing +20)  Arriving at times square our group was just in time to meet the marchers walking from the UN Plaza.  We proudly displayed the Zonta banner, and listened to some short speeches about the progress made, and the work still to be done for women's rights around the world.

Day 1 CSW - Excitement and Disappointments

Exciting!  Confusing! Engaging!

Day 1 featured a marvelous briefing by Leslie Wright on how the UN works, and how our week will evolve.



Why are we here? Advocacy

 The complexities of the schedule are a hot topic, sometimes distracting from the core work, ADVOCATING for gender equality in the forums and conversations we are in during the week.