Commission on the Status of Women:

In June 1946, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was formed to “promote implementation of the principle that men and women shall have equal rights.” CSW meets annually for ten days to create recommendations and gives reports to the Economic and Social Council on “promoting women’s rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields.” The agenda topics this body is currently discussing are women, the girl child and HIV and AIDS and women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work.  

The delegation from Denmark stresses the importance of sexual education in regards to women, the girl child and HIV and AIDS. Denmark further says, “We support the funding of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) programs aimed towards girls. Although this education should be age appropriate, it is vital that girls access stigma-free information about safe sexual practices and testing before becoming sexually active.”

The Representatives of Iraq stress the importance of increased medical care in regards to the topic of women, the girl child and HIV/AIDS. They believe that, “building smaller clinics in many communities would allow the necessary resources to be given to those who need it most.” The Representatives do acknowledge that just having access to resources will not immediately reduce concerns about HIV/AIDS but, “increasing the education effort about ways HIV and AIDS is spread, as well as ways to prevent it like abstinence would make diseases like this much less stigmatized.“ 

The second agenda topic for CSW is women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work. Israel, a Member State where 58% of their labor force is female, says, “Although there is a huge wage inequality between men and women, the government of Israel has been passing a number of laws to improve the status of women in the workplace.”  

Japan, a Member State who signed on to the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, acknowledges that women are unrepresentative and underpaid in the workforce. The Representatives of Japan encourage other Member States to follow their lead and “aim for a set percentage of female workers. Second, the international community should respect and uphold the various cultural and personal beliefs of member states and their constituents when offering its recommendations.”

This body will be doing important work over the next few days and we look forward to bringing you updates.