Commission on the Status of Women
(CSW)
49th Session
United Nations Headquarters, New York NY
28 February - 11 March 2005 (Beijing +10)
Background
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was
established as a functional commission of the Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC) 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. The object of the Commission is
to promote implementation of the principle that men and women
shall have equal rights.
Following the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women,
the General Assembly mandated the Commission to integrate into
its programme a follow-up process to the Conference, regularly
reviewing the critical areas of concern in the Platform for Action
and to develop its catalytic role in mainstreaming a gender perspective
in United Nations activities.
The Beijing Platform for Action was signed by 189
governments at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women,
in Beijing, China in 1995. (Note: The Fifth World Conference has
been proposed for sometime between 2007 and 2010) The Beijing
Platform for Action identifies 12 critical areas of concern to
achieve gender equality.
The ten-year global review, dubbed Beijing +10,
will be held during the 49th session of the UN Commission on the
Status of Women. The session will assess the extent of government’s
efforts to implement the original action plan as well as the Beijing
+ 5 Political Declaration adopted at the five-year review in June
2000.
Conference Themes/Details
The forty-ninth
session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was
held from 28 February to 11 March 2005 at the UN Headquarters
in New York. The Commission focussed on two thematic issues as
outlined in its multi-year programme of work:
