UN New York (3 representatives)

61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61)  

The priority theme was Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Changing World of Work. The review theme was Challenges and Achievements in the Implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for Women and Girls. 

• Despite lobbying by developed countries for abortion rights, comprehensive sex education in school to start with the lowest primary grades, and other undesirable initiatives, it is great to report that the language in the final document once again did not accept these demands.
• It does not mean that life has appreciably improved for women and children in most societies around the world. There were many sessions on human trafficking, the effect of pornography on families and desensitization toward violence against women and children, and the links between pornography, prostitution, trafficking, and abortion. Trafficking, world-wide modern day slavery, has surpassed all other crimes in financial gain. Refugees are especially vulnerable to trafficking.

On the positive side, the link between women’s economic empowerment and fertility awareness was made. Education was seen as a primary mover in allowing women to achieve economic independence. The use of technology to assist women in all areas of the world was seen as a positive enabling mechanism. Equal pay for equal work was a recurrent theme and there were presentations on microfinance. The family was defined as the fundamental unit of society. It was noted that it is necessary to ensure that the family is economically stable to prevent child marriage, child labour, and trafficking.