Dispatch from the United Nations
I was in Manhattan over Spring Break as a delegate to the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The CSW is a functional organ of ECOSOC, having been established by that body in 1946. In that year, just days after the inaugural meeting of the General Assembly, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt read an open letter addressed “to the women of the world,” which laid the groundwork for the commission’s creation. The work of the commission centers on gender equity and empowerment.
Each annual CSW session revolves around a theme: one year the discussion centered on women’s poverty and access to financing; another addressed the implications for women and girls in climate change. This year, CSW focused on evaluating progress at the 30-year anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, taken in 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women.
I have been attending this session annually, in March, just as crocuses begin to pop out in Central Park and the light fades later in the evening over the East River. Yet, though the natural world continues to respond in familiar ways (and we look forward to tonight’s lunar eclipse), much in our world this year has changed. As the Secretary-General averred in his address at the opening of the session, “Women’s rights are under siege. The poison of patriarchy is back – and it is back with a vengeance.”
And yet, there were far more stories of affirming work and attitudes than not.
- Representatives of Ukraine spoke on how, three years into the war, women entrepreneurs are keeping businesses alive and powering the economic recovery.
- Representatives of Columbia talked about the efforts of rural women to sustain the environment and protect the hard-won peace.
- Representatives of Uganda showcased new technology designed to protect women and girls in the context of cyberviolence.
- Representatives of Canada reminded the attendees of their ongoing efforts to eradicate human trafficking and “child brides.”
What does all of this have to do with Ombudsing, you may be asking yourselves. In fact, they stand as two sides of the same coin, that “coin” being peacemaking and peacebuilding.
My background is in international law, and in particular the laws and norms around international human rights and humanitarian intervention. Those working in this field strive to hold governments accountable for how they treat their populations; articulate standards of living that inure to all alike, and foster social cohesion and coexistence via education and training. Much of this work occurs on the international stage, and in the context of multilateral organizations.
On a smaller plane, and within a specific population, the Ombuds works toward much the same objectives. Here at PC, my mandate is to intervene in interpersonal conflict, with the intent of reaching a greater level of understanding and respect by the parties. I write these columns with the thought of spreading information and calls to action in support of peaceful interchange. I aspire to foster a spirit of egalitarianism across campus by drawing attention to the necessity of confronting the effects of hierarchy within vertical organizations.
On and after 22 March, CSW will issue its final “agreed conclusions,” which constitutes its politically-negotiated outcome document.
For those who wish to learn more about the UN CSW, you could start at this link.
In peace,
Marguerite
Marguerite M. Dorn, Esq.
Faculty Ombudsperson
Providence College
