Preparations are underway for the Sixty-Fifth Session of the Commission on the Status of Women which takes place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, 15 – 26 March 2021. The theme this year is: Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
Recognizing the importance of convening separately from Latin America on the CARICOM’s needs and priorities, a virtual two-day the CARICOM Preparatory Meeting Ahead of CSW 65 was convened on February 9th and 12th to review and adopt a CARICOM Statement on the theme of CSW 65. The Statement is to be incorporated into the Americas and Caribbean Statement to the global meeting in March 2021.
The CARICOM Secretariat and UN Women Multi-Country Office for the Caribbean, in collaborationwith Caribbean Women in Leadership (CIWIL), University of the West Indies Institute for Gender and Development Studies and ParlAmericas coordinated the two-day discussion involving Ministers with responsibility for Gender Affairs, Parliamentarians, heads of the National Gender Machineries, representatives of civil society and academia participated in the preparation sessions.
Permanent Representatives from CARICOM States to the United Nations, National Gender Machinery Heads, representatives of Civil Society Organizations and Parliamentarians participated on both days, while Ministers with responsibility for Gender /Women’s Affairs were invited to participate on the second day.
The coming together of these key stakeholders in gender affairs anticipated constructive dialogue on ways to increase the presence, voice and influence of women and girls in governance processes in the region, in keeping with commitments made by CARICOM Member States that have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and which are signatories to the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The CARICOM Secretariat Communications Unit interviewed the Deputy Programme Manager for Gender and Development within the CARICOM Secretariat on the CARICOM Preparatory Meeting Ahead of CSW 65, and on the status of women in the Caribbean, particularly within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please click on the IMAGE below to view the full interview.
