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United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was established as a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1946 to prepare recommendations and reports to the Council on promoting women's rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields.

CSW also makes recommendations to the Council on urgent problems requiring immediate attention in the field of women's rights.

The object of CSW is to promote implementation of the principle that men and women shall have equal rights by:

preparing recommendations and reports to ECOSOC on promoting women’s rights in political, economic, social, civil and educational fields;
providing recommendations to ECOSOC on urgent problems requiring immediate attention in the field of women’s rights; and
providing follow-up to the Beijing conference, playing a catalytic role and regularly reviewing the critical areas of concern in the Platform for Action (PFA) and the Outcomes Document from Beijing Plus Five.

CSW consists of 45 members elected by the ECOSOC for a period of four years. Members are elected on the following basis: thirteen from African states; eleven from Asian states; four from Eastern European states; nine from Latin American and Caribbean states; and eight from Western European and Other states.

CSW 52 (2008)

CSW 52 focussed on the following priority theme:

Financing for gender equality and the empowerment of women.

And reviewed the following theme:

The equal participation of women in conflict prevention, management and resolution, and peace-building activities.

Australia’s country statement was delivered by Ms Julia Burns on 27 February 2008.

Australia’s country statement: HTML | PDF [17kb]

CSW 51 (2007)

CSW 51 focussed on the following priority theme:

Eliminating all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child

And reviewed implementation of the agreed conclusions from 2004 on:

The role of men and boys in achieving gender equality

Australia’s country statement was delivered by Ms Julia Burns on 28 February 2007.

Australia’s Country Statement: HTML | PDF [58kb]

CSW 50 (2006)

CSW 50 focussed on the themes of:

Enhanced participation of women and development: an enabling environment for achieving gender equality and the advancement of women, taking into account, inter alia, the fields of education, health and work,

and

Equal participation of women and men in decision-making processes at all levels.

Australia’s Country Statement was delivered by Ms Lee Emerson on 2 March.

Australia's Country Statement: PDF (97 Kb)

CSW 49 "Beijing Plus Ten" (2005)

Forty-Ninth Session, 28 February - 11March 2005

The Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues, Senator the Hon Kay Patterson, led the Australian delegation to CSW 49.

This meeting was known as Beijing +10 as it marked the tenth anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action that was adopted at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women. Countries from around the world reported on their progress across 12 critical areas:

On 2 March 2005, the Minister presented Australia's Country Statement reaffirming Australia's strong commitment to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Background to Beijing Plus Ten

The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women (known as 'Beijing' after the city which hosted it) produced the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action .

International commitment to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was reaffirmed at the UN Special Session, Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century ('Beijing +5') , during which the Beijing plus Five Political Declaration in 2000 and the Beijing +5 Outcomes Document were adopted, as a supplement to the original Platform for Action .

As part of Beijing+5, Australia developed an implementation report that was lodged with the UN in June 2000. In addition, Australia was one of the first countries to develop a Beijing Plus Five Action Plan 2001-2005 , to progress domestic implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Beijing +5 Outcomes Document.

In preparation for the ten-year review of Beijing ('Beijing+10'), in 2004 the Australian Government submitted its response to a preliminary questionnaire that was distributed by the UN Division for the Advancement of Women. The Australian Government was also represented at the Regional High Level Intergovernmental Meeting hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Asia Pacific (UNESCAP) in Bangkok from 7-10 September 2004.

As part of the Australian Government's consultation process for Beijing+10, the Office for Women conducted consultations on the domestic implementation of the Platform for Action over the past ten years, with input sought from key government agencies, states/territories, the women's sector and the general public.

The Australian NGO women's sector consulted through forums such as the local Caravans, the Women's Human Rights Workshop, and the Asia-Pacific NGO Forum in Bangkok in July 2004.

CSW 48 (2004)

In 2004, CSW focussed on two thematic issues which OFW prepared discussion papers on. These were:

The role of men and boys in gender equality
(see: Discussion paper [format: Word (46Kb)] | Agreed conclusions [format: PDF]); and
Women's equal participation in conflict prevention, conflict management and conflict resolution and in post-conflict peace-building.
(see: Discussion paper [format: Word (55Kb)] | Agreed conclusions [format: PDF]).
Outcomes of the 48th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women
48th CSW - Country Statement - Australia