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Celebrating Feminists’ Voices, Inspiring Global Peace

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CSW 64

WILPF submitted a written statement to the 64th Commission on the Status of Women. You can read our full statement here. Due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19, CSW64 has been shortened to a procedural meeting on 9 March. Read the alternative Feminist Declaration, launched by the Women’s Rights Caucus.

Text on a blue background reads Commission on the Status of Women 64 with a stylized symbol of a bird and female gender sign.
Image credit: WILPF
  • 8 min
WILPF International Secretariat
9 March 2020

The 64th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW64) was planned from March 9-20 in New York, with over ten thousand women activists, country representatives, and others planning to attend what is known to be the largest UN gathering on the rights of women worldwide. The year 2020 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995). At CSW64, these women belonging to women’s and feminist movements planned, alongside representatives of governments, to take stock of the progress of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) and call for greater accountibility and implementation with maximum available resources for key commitments.  

In 1995, feminist movements from around the world joined together in Beijing, China, for the Fourth World Conference on Women. At this conference, the world’s governments adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which was a landmark platform for ensuring the rights of women and girls. It contained comprehensive commitments under 12 critical areas of concern in all dimensions of life, including economic autonomy, political, social, and cultural decision-making, access to healthcare and related services, impact and role of armed conflict on the rights of women and girls, the impact of environmental catastrophes and hazards on women. The BPfA also underlined the full and equal participation of women in political, civil, economic, social and cultural life at the national, regional and international levels, and the eradication of all forms of discrimination.  

Due to ongoing concerns about the spread of COVID-19, CSW64 was shortened from its original two weeks (9-20 March) to one day (9 March) and a follow-up meeting on 13 March. On 9 March governments still adopted a political declaration, a consensus document on gender equality which they pre-negotiated before the conference, and other procedural related decisions.  

Unfortunately, the government-adopted political declaration was an extreme disappointment for feminist movements, as it failed to make any new progress or real commitments to gender equality. In the view of the global feminist movement, the declaration completely lacks the ambition needed to push women’s rights forward into the next decade, and instead merely reaffirmed commitments made 25 years ago.  

To address the huge gaps in the political declaration adopted at the CSW by governments, the Women’s Rights Caucus—a global coalition of more than 200 feminist organizations, networks and collectives that advocates for gender equality at the United Nations—has published an alternative, feminist declaration. The Feminist Declaration outlines a bold and urgent agenda for gender equality and the human rights of all women and girls, and centers the critical role of civil society organizations advocating for accountability in policy and programs meant to promote, protect, and fulfill human rights for all. WILPF is a member of the Women’s Rights Caucus, and actively participated in its advocacy and communications working groups this year. 

The feminist declaration includes critical issues that governments must tackle to achieve gender equality, including: women, peace, and security; sexual and reproductive rights and bodily autonomy; the intersections between the climate crisis and gender equality; and the role of women’s human rights defenders and feminist movements, who are the key to driving long-term change.  

Read the Feminist Declaration here.

What did WILPF do at CSW64? 

  • Advocate for peace, WPS, and disarmament: A gender-equal world is impossible without peace, disarmament, and addressing the root causes of violence, instability, and environmental crisis.  We continued our advocacy on Women, Peace and Security and disarmament, including through advocacy with the Women’s Rights Caucus around the political declaration and work on the feminist declaration and associated communications. 
  • Convening feminist activists: WILPF planned to host a delegation of WILPF members and partners to CSW 64, with feminist activists from Afghanistan, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Nigeria, Norway, Palestine, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Syria, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Yemen. **All travel to NYC has been cancelled due to COVID-19. We are looking to schedule virtual convenings with WILPF members and partners in lieu of in-person meetings.** 
  • WILPF Secretariat, our sections, and partners planned to host events at CSW to call attention to the links between gender inequality and armed conflict. Our events include discussions on gender, militarism, and the environment and the implementation of UNSCR1325 and the Beijing Critical Area E. **All parallel events were cancelled on 2 March** 

Original schedule of events

  • 10 March 2020, 8:30-10:00AM: “Feminist Alternatives: Challenge Militarism to Save our Planet” (4 W 43rd Street, Social Hall, New York, NY). Sponsor: WILPF **rescheduled to 1 April** 
  • 11 March 2020, 12:30-2:00PM: “Media’s Role in Implementation of UNSCR 1325” (52nd St Salvation Army, Downstairs), Sponsors: International Media Support, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and Syrian Female Journalists Network (SFJN) 
  • 11 March 2020, 2:30PM: “Sisters, Seeds and Soil: Bold Voices & Choices for Ecofeminism” 4 W 43rd Street, Green Room, Sponsors: WILPF, FAO/WUNRN; Rural Coalitions; Seeding Sovereignty/Indigenous Iowa; WhyHunger; Soul Fire Farm; Family Farm Defenders and WILPF Ghana 
  • 12 March 2020, 4:30-6:00PM: SHE SPEAKS: Conversations for a Peaceful and Inclusive Society, (52nd St Salvation Army, Downstairs), Sponsors: Joy Onyesoh Foundation, WILPF Nigeria 
  • 12 March 2020, 7:00-8:30PM: Global Women Changemakers Summit: Reimagining Peace, Working Toward Justice (The Forum, Columbia University, 601 W 125th St, New York, NY 10027) Sponsors: Earth Institute Women, Peace and Security Program, Columbia University World Leaders Forum (Co-sponsors: Nobel Women’s Initiative, Peace is Loud,  and the Public Science Project) 
  • 13 March 2020, 12:30-2:00PM: Transnational Feminist Peacebuilding to End the Korean War, (52nd St Salvation Army Auditorium), Sponsor: Korea Peace Now! 
  • 13 March 2020, 2:30-4:00PM: Feminists Want System Change: Agenda2030 & BPfA, (CCUN Chapel), Sponsor: Women’s Major Group 
  • 14 March 2020, 10:30AM: Beijing Platform for Action Implementation in Yemen: Recommendations from women at frontlines, (CCUN Tenth Floor), Sponsor: Peace Track Initiative, WILPF, Food for Humanity 
  • 14 March 2020, 10:30AM-12:00PM: Beijing Women’s Peace Train – Looking Back, Looking Forward, (CCUN 8th Floor), Sponsor: WUNRN – Women’s UN Report Network, WILPF US 
  • 18 March 2020, 2:30-4:00PM: Implementation of 1325 in (Post)Conflict Context: Balance Between State and Human Security (Church Center for the United Nations, Drew Room). Sponsors: WILPF, Women’s Initiative “One of Us”, Women’s Network for Dialogue and Inclusive Peace, Ukrainian Women’s Veteran Movement  

Highlight

Women Peacebuilders Discuss Feminist Political Economy in the Context of Beijing+25 

Under the current dominant economic model, whose priorities and needs are being cared for? Specifically before, during, and after conflict, how do economic, political, and social policies exacerbate or reduce inequalities, and what are the gendered impacts of these policy decisions? Who has the authority to make these decisions in the first place? 

On 18 March, WILPF held a workshop with Young WILPF members and MENA partners on feminist political economy, to address some of these questions from a feminist peace perspective. The discussion was led by Nela Porobić Isaković, Coordinator of WILPF’s Women Organising for Change in Bosnia Project and WILPF’s focal point on political economy. Zarin Hamid, Programme Manager for the Women, Peace and Security Programme, welcomed Nela and the participants, and introduced the concept for the workshop which was originally planned to take place during CSW64 in New York. The workshop was attended by WILPF members and partners who were originally planning to come to CSW from different parts of the world, including from Australia, Yemen, Japan, Sweden, and Lebanon. 

The opening presentation introduced the concept of a feminist political economy analysis to the participants, and outlined the value of bringing a feminist political economy lens to advocacy work conducted by human rights and peace activists as well as others. Although feminist political economy looks specifically at the gendered aspects of economic, political, and social policies, the presentation highlighted that this frame of analysis does not box us in, but rather opens up our ways of seeing the world to also look at other intersections, such as class, age, urban/rural divides, race, and disability.  

The current dominant economic framework of capitalism, manifested in neoliberal policies, is frequently presented as “neutral” and an “objective” way to look at economic realities. In response to this, feminist political economy analysis makes visible the interconnections between production and reproduction, formal and informal economies, and asymmetric power relations, as well as the different harms that are perpetuated under the capitalist framework. Participants were  introduced to a methodology for conducting a feminist political economy analysis, including a myriad of questions and topics that can be explored under a feminist political economy framework, which can assess for example, investment in public goods, environmental degradation, care economies, and remittances.  

Participants then analyzed their own contexts within a feminist political economy framework. Members from WILPF Japan highlighted the varied impacts of US military bases that have been built in parts of Japan despite the opposition of the local population, and how these bases carry associated economic and gendered impacts on communities. The current situation with COVID-19 was also raised by several participants, including in the context of xenophobic policies in Sweden and other European countries, the unique threats to political prisoners incarcerated in Egyptian prisons during the pandemic, as well as the broader underinvestment in public goods under neoliberalism. In Yemen, a current conflict country, one participant identified the importance of looking at differential impacts of violations and harms on different groups. 

WILPF will be continuing the discussion on FPE with its members and partners as a powerful way to make visible the realities that dominant economic thinking seeks to obscure. In the context of conflict and post-conflict settings, this will be be a critical tool for analyzing lived reality of affected communities, and paving a way forward to inclusive, sustainable peace.

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WILPF International Secretariat

WILPF International Secretariat, with offices in Geneva and New York, liaises with the International Board and the National Sections and Groups for the implementation of WILPF International Programme, resolutions and policies as adopted by the International Congress. Under the direction of the Secretary-General, the Secretariat also provides support in areas of advocacy, communications, and financial operations.

Matt Mahmoudi

Matt Mahmoudi (he/him) is a lecturer, researcher, and organizer. He’s been leading the “Ban the Scan” campaign, Amnesty International’s research and advocacy efforts on banning facial recognition technologies and exposing their uses against racialized communities, from New York City to the occupied Palestinian territories.

Berit Aasen

Europe Alternate Regional Representative

Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

A woman in a blue, black, and white dress smiles radiantly in front of a leafy green background.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.