WAGGGS’ voice counts at UN

5 March 2008

WAGGGS was strongly represented at the 52^nd Commission on the Status of Women(CSW) held from 23 February to 8 March 2008 at UN headquarters in New York. At this year’s women’s Commission, WAGGGS focused on the review theme ‘Women’s equal participation in conflict prevention, management and conflict resolution and in post-conflict peace-building’.

The CSW is held every year and brings together representatives from all Member States of the UN as well as over 4,000 NGO members.

The UN team New York, led by Anita Thomas, together with Chief Executive Mary Mc Phail, World Board member Magda Murr, Communications officer Bernadette Fischler, and representatives from the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) ensured that the voice of girls and young women was heard at the UN.

WAGGGS delegates attended sessions and events and lobbied governments and UN agencies to actively contribute to the outcome of the Commission and improve girls’ lives worldwide. Delegates also took the opportunity to meet with other large NGOs and UN agencies to discuss partnerships and joint projects.

Voice of girls and young women heard
Nine young WAGGGS representatives aged 16 and 17 from GSUSA formed the core of the delegation and took the lead at the WAGGGS hosted side-event: girls worldwide say “we have the right to live in peace” on 28 February. They presented WAGGGS peace projects from around the world including Building Peace among Children, run in 11 African countries and sponsored by Soroptimist international, and the very recent World Thinking Day 2008 activities on peace in Kenya.

Justine Nkurunziza, Chief Commissioner of Burundi Girl Guides served as an expert speaker on women’s role in peace-building processes. Justine had a leading role in the Amahoro Amani peace project, conducted in Burundi, Rwanda and DR Congo in cooperation with WOSM to promote peace in the region.

The WAGGGS friends’ breakfast on 26 February attracted many present and former Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, including national delegates from Korea, Australia and Jamaica.

WAGGGS submitted a written statement (see document E/CN.6/2008/NGO/5) to the Commission on the Status of Women and an oral intervention in French presented by Justine Nkurunziza from Burundi to the interactive panel on women in peace-building processes (you can download it from the resources section.)

The World Association also attended the first meeting for the newly elected board of the Conference of NGO (CONGO) from 28 February to 1 March. CONGO is an umbrella body for organizations which consult the UN and its agencies. WAGGGS was elected as one of the 20 representative-strong Board in December 2007 together with two other youth organizations, WOSM and YMCA.

CSW

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. The Commission was established with the aim to prepare recommendations and reports to the Council on promoting women’s rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields.