Briefing with the US Mission to the UN:
Key takeaways:
- The US delegation has 50 members, and very few NGO members, but a few, interesting mainly representing children (girl scouts and ... )
- The administration is actively interested in getting feedback from NGO (Civil Society) partners.
- They have limited ability to change the language given the consensus nature.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- 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
- 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.
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