The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a global intergovernmental body focused on gender equality and advancement of women among UN Member States, as well as on mainstreaming a gender perspective in the UN’s broader work. As an intergovernmental body, the CSW is composed of State representatives, rather than independent experts. In its annual sessions, the CSW provides a forum for States, civil society, and other stakeholders to discuss and advance policy responses to specific “priority themes” related to gender inequality.
The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) created the CSW in 1946, via Resolution 11(II), and refined its mandate in 1996, via Resolution 1996/6. These resolutions, together with and Resolution 2016/6, establish the CSW’s composition, functions, and methods of work.
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women) serves as the CSW secretariat and provides support and coordination to the CSW.
COMPOSITION
The CSW is composed of representatives of 45 UN Member States who serve as members of the Commission. The CSW’s members are elected from among the UN’s 193 Member States by the Economic and Social Council to serve staggered, four-year terms on the CSW. The 45 seats are allocated on the basis of equitable geographic distribution, with 13 members from Africa, 11 from Asia, nine from Latin America and the Caribbean, eight from Western Europe and other States, and four from Eastern Europe.
These members elect a Bureau of four or five CSW Member State representatives, who serve for two years and help prepare the CSW’s annual sessions.
FUNCTIONS
The overall purpose of the CSW is to promote, monitor, and review progress and challenges in advancing gender equality and empowerment of women. To focus its work, the CSW adopts a “priority theme” for each year. The 2023 priority theme, for example, is “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.”
The CSW also considers complaints (“communications“) submitted by individuals, groups, or organizations concerning alleged violations of human rights affecting the status of women anywhere in the world. The CSW sends each communication to the relevant State for its response. However, the CSW does not decide the merits of these communications, and does not issue findings or a substantive response for the individual or group that submitted the complaint. Rather, the CSW takes the information into consideration in its role of monitoring and responding to discriminatory trends around the world.
The CSW primarily operates through its annual two-week sessions, held in New York City (described below).
ANNUAL SESSIONS
Every March, the CSW holds its annual session in New York City at the United Nations headquarters, around a specific “priority theme.” The session includes ministerial segments (roundtable discussions among State representatives), a general discussion among all Member States on the status of gender equality, interactive panels, and closed meetings. States, UN entities, and civil society organizations participate in the agenda.
Toward the close of the session, the CSW adopts the “agreed conclusions” (policy considerations and recommendations related to the “priority theme” for that year) and agrees on the following year’s priority theme and provisional agenda. During the session, the CSW may also adopt other resolutions related to gender equality.
CIVIL SOCIETY PARTICIPATION
Civil society organizations may participate in CSW activities in several ways. Non-governmental organizations with ECOSOC consultative status may register to attend the CSW annual sessions, can contribute written submissions related to the priority theme, and can sign up to deliver oral statements during the general discussion or interactive panels.
Civil society organizations also organize many side events to coincide with the annual CSW session. One organization, NGO CSW, coordinates many of these events through its NGO CSW Forum.