Beijing+15/CSW54 Overview

Source: Division for the Advancement of Women, Dep. of Economic and Social Affairs

The Commission on the Status of Women – Commission

The Commission on the Status of Women (hereafter referred to as “CSW” or “the Commission”) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. It is the principal global policy-making body.

The Commission was established by ECOSOC resolution 11(II) of 21 June 1946 with the aim to prepare recommendations and reports to the Council on promoting women’s rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields. The Commission also makes recommendations to the Council on urgent problems requiring immediate attention in the field of women’s rights. To learn more about the Commission’s history, click here.

To read more about the Commission’s mandate, its membership and composition, the annual sessions and the role of the Secretariat, click here.

The Commission on the Status of Women – Output

The principal output of the Commission on the Status of Women is the agreed conclusions on priority themes set for each year. Agreed conclusions, contain an analysis of the priority theme of concern and a set of concrete recommendations for Governments, intergovernmental bodies and other institutions, civil society actors and other relevant stakeholders, to be implemented at the international, national, regional and local level. In addition to the agreed conclusions, the Commission also adopts a number of resolutions on a range of issues, including the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women; and women, the girl child and HIV/AIDS. The final report of the Commission is submitted to the Economic and Social Council for adoption.

Regional 15-year review process

Regional review processes – including the preparation of regional review reports and the organization of regional intergovernmental meetings – are being undertaken in all five regions by the United Nations regional commissions – ECA, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP, ESCWA.

The outcomes of these regional review processes will feed into the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women from 1-12 March 2010.

Each of the five UN regional commissions is preparing regional review reports, and intergovernmental meetings are being organized to contribute to the global review process in the Commission on the Status of Women. Click here to read more.

Follow-up to Beijing

The Commission has been responsible for organizing and following up the world conferences on women in Mexico (1975), Copenhagen (1980), Nairobi (1985) and Beijing (1995).  Over the past decade, the Commission has systematically reviewed progress in the implementation of the twelve critical areas of concern identified in the Beijing Platform for Action at its annual sessions, and has adopted action-oriented recommendations, in the form of agreed conclusions, to facilitate increased implementation at all levels.

The Commission acted as the ad-hoc Preparatory Committee for the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly (Beijing+5).

The ten-year review of the Beijing Platform for Action was carried out by the Commission at its forty-ninth session in March 2005.

The fifteen-year review of the Beijing Platform for Action will take place during the fifty-fourth session of the CSW.

Institutional links:

Commission on the Status of Women: The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women.

1 March-12 March 2010: CSW 54th Session. The Commission meets annually for a period of 10 working days. In March 2010, the Commission on the Status of Women will undertake a fifteen-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly.

Click here to read more about NGO Participation in 54th CSW.

High-level roundtables: The high-level roundtable will cover “The implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly and its contribution to shaping a gender perspective towards the full realization of the Millennium Development Goals”. Participants will focus on the linkages between the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Click here to leran more.

Related documents

CSW 54 Official documentation and NGOs statements

Draft of Official Final Conclusions of the CSW on Beijing +15

EU Report on Beijing +15 to be presented at CSW, published by Swedish Presidency, to be presented by Spanish Presidency

Banjul Declaration on the Strategies for Accelerating the Implementation of the Dakar and Beijing Platforms for Action

ECE (Economic Commission for Europe) Beijing related documents

ESCAP(Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific) Beijing related documents

ESCWA (economic and Social Commission for Western Asia) Beijing related documents