(ANS – New York) –The 58th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) began on March 10th and will run through March 21, 2014. Challenges and Achievements in the Implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for Women and Girls is the priority theme. The Salesian Family contributed to the 58th Commission on the Status of Women through representatives of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Istituto Internazionale Maria Ausiliatrice (IIMA), and VIDES International.
During the two weeks a review of the progress towards achieving the agreed conclusions of the 55th Session will be formally presented. These conclusions dealt with access and participation of women and girls to education, training, science and technology, including the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work.
Previous to the Commission a written intervention on women and migration (E/CN.6/2014/NGO/123) prepared by Fr. Thomas Brennan and an intervention co-sponsored by IIMA, led by Sr. Maria Luisa Miranda, VIDES, and the SDBs on gender equality (E/CN.6/2014/NGO/84) were published by the United Nations as part of the official documents for the Commission.
During the Commission, Fr. Brennan facilitated a Conversation Circle on Trafficking and Migration. Additionally, he moderated the two side events co-sponsored by the Salesian Family participants. In the first event, Creating an Empowering Environment for Women and Girls: Effective Practices, IIMA presented its significant work empowering women through CIOPS, a training program for life and technical skills training.
In the other event, Getting to Zero: Women, Girls and HIV, the Salesian Family partnered with APICHA, Hunter College Center for Community and Urban Health, and the Center for Clinical Behavioral Studies at Columbia University. The vulnerability of girls and women to HIV infection was explored, and a challenge was made to address cultural norms that put women and girls more at risk for infection. The need for the end of the exploitation of women and girls achieved by behavioral and attitudinal change was also emphasized.
At another event sponsored by the Salesians, the Irish Christian Brothers, ECPAT and the NGO Committee to Stop Trafficking in Persons, Human Trafficking: Not Decent Work, Fr. Brennan co-moderated the panel which included representatives from the IOM, ILO, ECPAT and CATW. A performance group of young women, Girl be Heard, set the stage for the interactive dialog.
More than 6.000 representatives from 860 civil society organizations from all over the world registered to participate in CSW 58. Nearly 135 events by UN agencies and Member States and more than 300 side events were also organized.
Published 20/03/2014
