One Step Closer to a Dedicated Goal of Gender Equality in the Post 2015 Development Agenda

 USA  Advocacy  2nd Apr 2014

New York (28 March 2014): CARE International participated in the 58th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW58) which was held from 10 to 21 March. Our experts from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe, propose their analysis of the results of the negotiations.

Mixed Results of the MDGs due to Gender Inequalities

The Commission unanimously agreed that States should accelerate efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. While the MDGs have helped to reduce poverty, progress has been held back in part due to “unequal power relations between women and men” including discriminatory laws, social norms and gender stereotypes.

Thus, the MDGs focusing on women and girls – particularly on achieving gender equality (MDG3) and improving maternal health (MDG5) – have made the least progress.

Gender equality in the post-2015 Development Framework

The aim of CSW58 was also to reflect on the place of gender in the Post 2015 Development Agenda, which will follow the MDGs. The meeting called for gender equality, women's empowerment and human rights of women and girls to be reflected within the post-2015 development framework through both a standalone goal on gender equality and women’s empowerment and to be integrated through gender-specific targets and indicators across all goals, especially those related to education, health, economic justice, and the environment.

CARE welcomes the reaffirmation by Member States of previous international agreements on:

• The promotion and protection of women's rights, their Sexual and Reproductive Maternal Health and Rights.
• The condemnation of all forms of violence against women and girls and the commitment to engage men and boys in the fight against violence and the root causes of gender inequality.
• Continuous and effective participation of women in both in prevention and conflict resolution processes.

This year CSW58 also focused on two major issues:

• The recognition of the growing impact of climate change, particularly in developing countries and on women and girls. CSW58 reminded governments that women must be involved in defining policies related to environment and climate change adaptation. Similarly, their needs must be taken into account in humanitarian responses to natural disasters.
• The need to integrate women's and youth organisations and other civil society organizations in the implementation and monitoring of policies to achieve the MDGs as well as the design of the Post 2015 Development Framework.

However, the document failed to recognize:

• The need to establish accountability mechanisms at local, national, regional and international levels to encourage accountability of state and non-state actors.
• Families in all their diversity: the CSW58 conclusions reinforce a traditional and restrictive definition of the family, a significant step back from the language adopted at the World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995.
• As the post-2015 negotiations process evolves, the CSW58 Agreed Conclusions will now be used to push for the integration of gender into the next set of sustainable development goals.

Contact: Aisha Rahamatali Rahamatali@careinternational.org

Click here to find out more about CARE's advocacy work.

ABOUT CARE : Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian and development organization fighting global poverty and providing lifesaving assistance in emergencies. In fiscal year 2013, CARE worked in 86 countries around the world, supporting 927 poverty-fighting development and humanitarian aid projects to reach 97 million people. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor girls and women because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to help lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. 

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