IHAN's Director of Global Policy & Advocacy to Co-chair ZeroDraft Subcommittee of NGOCSW at UNHQ

The NGOCSW 'Zero Draft Committee' was established in 2017 to conduct research in preparation for CSW 62, and was named for the initial draft of the Agreed Conclusion Document which is circulated each year to member states and NGOs in order to elicit feedback prior to the full commission in March. Our team, comprised of representatives from over 200 organizations around the world, collaborates through both virtual platforms and face to face meetings here in NYC. This strategy allows us to successfully influence the outcomes of CSW via a series of participatory advocacy documents which are informed by the lived experience of girls, women and civil society organizations on the ground, then reinforced by the human rights frameworks reflected throughout a dense body of United Nations declarations, treaties and international laws.

In addressing the Priority Theme for CSW63 'Social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls', we conducted a gendered needs assessment across the following intersecting domains: Health, Education, Infrastructure, Justice, Employment and Economy. Having explored the domains in detail across the life cycle, we allocated additional attention to traditionally marginalized populations including but not limited to girls and women who are indigenous, widows, divorcées, stateless or internally displaced persons, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented or irregular migrants as well as those who are incarcerated, living with chronic illness, mental or physical disability.

The outcomes of these analyses were synthesized into the 21 concrete recommendations reflected in NGOCSWs 'Initial Recommendations for the Agreed Conclusion of CSW63’, and then submitted to UN Women, CSW63 Bureau Members, all members of the CSW Commission and all gender experts and members of the Third Committee in all UN Missions. We continue inviting members of the 'Zero Draft Committee' to submit good practices in support of the recommendations.

Upon publication of the Draft Agreed Conclusion for CSW63 by the Bureau, we will compare and contrast this text against our own in order to make insertions and further strengthen the language. Our work will continue through the 10 regional Caucus Meetings and our 10 Advocacy Training Sessions during CSW63 from the perspective of our many participating NGOs. We trust that our work has supported you in your preparation and advocacy work ahead of CSW63!

https://www.ngocsw.org/zero-draft