The review of the Agreed Conclusion on financing for gender equality and the empowerment of women will evaluate the impact these conclusions have had on the empowerment of women and girls. This paper will look at how girls have benefited from the promises made in the Agreed Conclusion.

Citations from the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), A World Fit for Children and the Beijing Declaration that undergird efforts made for children are noted below:

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

Article 28:  States Parties recognize the right of the child to education and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular: a) Make primary education compulsory and available free for all; b0 Encourage the development of different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational educations, make them available and accessible to every child and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and offering financial assistance in case of need.

Article 29: States Parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to: A) the development of the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential;

A World Fit for Children

Girls were mentioned 15 times in the Agreed Conclusions.  Even though girls were always mentioned in the context of ‘women and girls’, that in itself indicates a growing awareness of girls and their rights and the importance of providing for their specific needs.

Both the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child were affirmed and several promises were made to rural women and girls.

Several promises were made to rural women and girls. They were promised financing in several areas: access to and improvement of maternal health care, education at all levels and resources to learn and develop skills needed to become independent and provide for their families. Concerned that the rate of HIV/AIDS is growing among women and girls, increased access to prevention programmes, treatment and care was also promised.

The important role that women and girls have in society and the responsibilities they have were acknowledged. Despite the fact that women and girls are often victims of violence and discrimination, they help economies grow, provide for their families, and help eradicate poverty in their communities. It is imperative that they be free from oppression, harassment and intimidate ion.

Recognizing that women and girls play an important role in society, it was agreed that many policies needed to be improved in order to assure gender equality in all aspects of social and economic life.

The World Development Report: Gender Equality and Development (WDR) refers only occasionally to girls. However, it includes some critical implications for girls that merit consideration.

The WDR speaks of ‘gender equality’ as a core development objective in its own right and a path to improve development.  It reports that women make up 43% of the world’s agricultural labour force and 40% of the entire labour force in the world but, at the same time, over half of university students are also women.

Today more countries than ever before have laws which guarantee women and men equal rights in many areas such as property ownership, inheritance and marriage.  136 countries explicitly guarantee equality and nondiscrimination in their laws.

Girls’ education has progressed at all levels. Two-thirds of all countries have reached gender parity in primary education enrollment.  World-wide, m more women than men are now enrolled at the university level.  More than 30 countries have used conditional cash transfers as an incentive to educate girls. Girls who have more education are more likely to work, marry later, have fewer children and exercise gender equality in the home.

Each of these facts has encouraging implications for young and adolescent girls. However limited the progress may be, it is encouraging and provides hope for young girls who see their mothers experiencing equality in some areas. They are more likely to become aware of their rights and work to achieve their own development.

At the same time, chronic poverty remains the single biggest obstacle to meeting the needs of children and promoting and protecting their rights.  Urgent action both at national and international level is needed to eliminate poverty.

While it is true that gender parity has been achieved in elementary education in most areas of the world, inequality still exists in some disadvantaged populations.

Women farmers tend to have smaller plots of land and less access to credit and other resources. They are still required to spend much of their time in household chores.

Although great gains have been made since the Agreed Conclusions, the gender gap is still prevalent. Continued efforts and increased funding are urgently needed to sustain the advances made and to move forward to decrease the gap that continues to exits. The Agreed Conclusions urge member states of the United Nations to commit financial resources to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. This will prove their commitment to the advancement of equality for women and girls.

January, 2012

Related articles

• Recommendations for CSW 56 (girlsrights.org)

The United Nations launched a new web portal today focusing on helping girls and women access job opportunities, training and career advice in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector.

The website – girlsinict.org – was designed to inspire and help young women between the ages of 11 and 25 prepare for and pursue careers in technology by providing them with useful resources such as links to scholarships, internships, ICT contests and awards, tech camps and online networks where they can interact with other women working in an industry that is largely male-dominated.

“It’s a little-known fact that women were the original programmers of ENIAC, the US Government’s first ever computer. But while teenage girls now use computers and the Internet at rates similar to boys, they are five times less likely to consider a technology-related career,” the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said in a news release.

“Research consistently shows that girls tend to choose careers where they feel they can ‘make a difference’ – healthcare, education, medicine. With this new portal, we’re trying to show them that there’s much more to ICTs than writing computer code,” said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré.

“As we move towards an ICT-based knowledge society, the rise of apps and the explosion in telemedicine, remote learning systems and research and development make the ICT industry the most exciting choice any young person can make,” Mr. Touré said.

“I hope our new portal will serve as a showcase to attract the many talented girls and young women in countries worldwide to this booming sector,” he added.

ITU stressed the need for a change in attitudes towards ICT jobs, which according to experts, girls usually see as unfeminine, too challenging or just plain boring. However, the demand for these jobs worldwide is steadily increasing with not enough qualified individuals to fill the gap in the job market.

The European Union, for example, calculates that in 10 years there will be 700,000 more ICT jobs than there are professionals to fill them. Globally, that shortfall is estimated to be closer to two million.

The website seeks to inspire women to consider ICT as a career option by offering them information on the range of options available in the sector as well as provide them with real life examples of how women are already changing the industry.

“We hope our new Girls in ICT portal with its profiles and videos of women in ICTs will be a major catalyst in creating exciting and rewarding new choices for women worldwide,” said Brahima Sanou, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau. “Encouraging girls into the technology industry will create a positive feedback loop, in turn creating inspiring role models for the next generation.”

Date: February 26, 2012
Time: 10:00AM – 3:00PM *Lunch provided
Cost: $10.00 per youth participant (Ages 15 – 25 years) / PAY AT DOOR
Location: Salvation Army @ 14th Street – Mezzanine Room
Click here to register

Description:
This year’s Youth Delegate Orientation will be held in conjunction with NGOCSW Consultation Day at the Salvation Army on 14th Street. The youth orientation is designed for young people (ages 15 – 25) attending the 56th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW 56). The day will include interactive workshops on the history for the CSW, as well as provide an overview of the primary and review themes as they relate to girls’ human rights. Participants will receive training in advocacy skills and learn to utilize social networking sites to promote girls’ rights. Youth delegates will also consider current efforts to advance the human rights of girls and learn how to best navigate CSW 56.

This event provides youth with a valuable space to prepare, network and strategize for CSW 56!

Special guest speakers include: Dr. Josephine Ojiambo, Kenyan Ambassador to the UN

*Please Note: This event is reserved for youth delegates ONLY*

1. PROMOTE A HUMAN RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH TO GENDER EQUALITY Strengthen the implementation of all existing commitments, in particular the provisions of the CRC, CEDAW (including Article 14 on rural girls/women) and the goals of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, in particular Section L. We strongly support the development of a joint General Resolution/Comment on harmful practices affecting girls to help fulfill obligations under CEDAW/CRC and ongoing monitoring on the implementation of these noteworthy treaties.
2. SUPPORT ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT VIA EQUAL ACCESS TO ECONOMIC RESOURCES Fulfillment of human rights is a precondition for girls to successfully transition to adulthood and to become empowered both economically and socially. Barriers to the full enjoyment of their rights persist in practice (e.g., gender stereotypes, patriarchal attitudes and discriminatory practices within families, communities and institutions) and in law (e.g., land, property, inheritance rights) and must be removed with urgency. Legislative and administrative reforms must promote the economic empowerment of girls through policies, strategies and programs that ensure equal access to education at all levels, physical and mental health services, employment opportunities and economic resources, including the right to inheritance and to ownership of land and other property, credit, natural resources and appropriate technologies. Positive employment opportunities for girls in rural areas must be expanded.
3. INTENSIFY EFFORTS TO REDUCE POVERTY AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY        The feminization of poverty requires investing sufficient resources for gender equality and the empowerment of girls, taking into account the diversity of needs between those in urban and rural areas. Promoting gender equality and empowerment within rural communities helps to reduce poverty, hunger, disease, environmental degradation and violence. We urge greater investment in rural development and agriculture, labour-saving technology, and clean and renewable energy in rural communities.
4. INVEST IN QUALITY EDUCATION AND TRAINING Investment in quality education and training in rural areas, including vocational and literacy training, is a central intervention with strong multiplier effects. Comprehensive national education strategies must include long-term funding that ensures adequate education infrastructure and prioritizes girls’ education in all development plans and poverty reduction plans.
5. IMPROVE DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Effective policies and programmes for girls’ empowerment and rural development will require strengthening countries’ capacity to collect and analyse data that are disaggregated by sex and age, as well as by rural and urban populations. Examples of good practices and lessons learned in promoting gender equality and girls’ empowerment in rural areas should be compiled and shared, with a view to replicating and scaling up successes.
6. LAUNCH PUBLIC CAMPAIGNS TO CREATE AWARENESS Public campaigns are vital to eliminate discrimination in the public and private spheres based on the notion of girls’ inferiority and support positive attitudes and behaviors that encourage girls’ full partnership in all areas of life. Campaigns must utilize the media and address the active role of men and boys by establishing gender equality and emphasizing the societal benefits for all of girls’ empowerment. Studies also indicate that gender biases and stereo- types are influenced by parents, school, the media, and reinforced by the peer group.

A wide view of the General Assembly as Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro (on screens) addresses the opening of the fifty-fifth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz

Have you attended the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) as a student or youth delegate?

Did your experience at CSW inspire you to

• share the stories you heard with others
• act differently with your friends or in your community
• or to find a way to respond to the issues affecting women and girls in your area or around the world?

For this year’s 56th CSW, we want to hear from YOU.

The power of the CSW can be found not only in the resolutions and discussions amongst governments and international leaders, but also in the localized actions carried out by CSW participants in their own lives, communities, and nations. This year the Loretto Community, along with the Working Group on Girls (WGG) is planning an event that will share the stories of past CSW youth participants and the ways in which they have sought to initiate change for women and girls because of their previous experiences at the CSW. One way we hope to do this is through a video compilation of stories of youth from around the world who have found unique and creative ways, both large and small, to bring the CSW home and continue to affect the lives of women and girls.

Download a flyer with more information! (Flyers are available in English, French and Spanish)

CALLING ALL PAST YOUTH DELEGATES TO CSW

Español CSW ex participantes

Frances CSW alumni

Related articles

• Working Group on Girls: Girl Advocates 2011-2012 (girlsrights.org)
• Girls as leaders for future youth revolutions to be trained in downtown Manhattan Sunday (girlsrights.org)
• A Teenager in NYC: My Time at the United Nations (girlsrights.org)

Image by Asian Development Bank via Flickr

Dear Supporters,

Thank you for signing the online petition ‘Support the Social Protection Floor Initiative’. Our goal is one million signatures. As of now, more than 3000 supporters from 125 countries have signed the petition. The Social Protection Floor is an effective and inclusive strategy towards poverty eradication requiring immediate implementation at the national level.

Here at the United Nations, we will be using the signatures, particularly during the Civil Society Forum on 31^st January 2012 and the 50^th Session of the Commission for Social Development (February 1-10, 2012) to demonstrate the desire of civil society globally for its implementation. http://social.un.org/index/CommissionforSocialDevelopment/Sessions/2012.aspx

In addition to working towards our goal of one million signatures, we are reaching out to all signatories, requesting everyone to urge their governments and representatives (President, Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Social Welfare Minister, Parliamentarian of your constituencies) to give priority to implementing the Social Protection Floor programme tailored to national needs. Please find a template in the attached file and on our website for your convenience http://www.ngosocdev.net/index.php/social-protection-floor-campaign/.

It is an easy process!

1.      Download the template.
2.      Fill out the appropriate information.
3.      Print and mail or e-mail to your government representative.

It only takes a few minutes! Thank you for your help as well as supporting the Social Protection Floor Initiative!

Yours sincerely

The NGO Committee for Social Development at the United Nations
New York

postcard

Related articles

• Social protection is the best foundation for development | Jayati Ghosh (guardian.co.uk)
• Civil Society Forum (zoroastrians.net)

Speakers:

Lydia Cherop, Founder of Women Integrated Initiative for Deveopment (WIIDE) ‘Rural Girls’ – Progress and Challenges in Africa

and

UNICEF Presenter: Andres Guerrero-Feliu, Partnerships Manager

Download Flyer: WGG Mtg Flyer.12.1.11