Horizons magazine is published by Presbyterian Women (PW) the national women’s organization of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Issue link: http://horizons.epubxp.com/i/521232
30 T he United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women is a global policy-making body focused on gender equality and the advancement of women. The Commission has an annual two-week session, which brings together representatives of UN Member States, UN entities and nongovernmental organizations at UN headquarters in New York. Delegates to the event evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and women's empowerment worldwide. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was granted consultative status at CSW in 1998, and national denominational staff began to attend CSW. In 2006, PW's then-Vice Moderator for Justice and Peace Lillian Oats attended CSW with four other PWs from the New York area. This marked a shift in Presbyterian presence, with increasing numbers of non-staff participants and a PC(USA) delegation made up largely of Presbyterian Women. PW and PC(USA) participation at CSW also includes work with Ecumenical Women. This international coalition of church denominations advocates for gender justice at the United Nations. Prior to CSW, PW and the PC(USA) collaborated with other members of Ecumenical Women to create a joint written statement on the review of the Beijing Platform. The statement affirmed the promotion of gender equality as fundamental to human rights, but lamented that despite national and international agreements to advance women's rights, many of the goals of the Beijing Platform remain unfulfilled. (Read the full statement at http://ecumenicalwomen.org/2015/02/23/ecumenical-womens-joint- written-statement-to-uncsw-59.) This year's session was the 59th Commission on the Status of Women, held March 9–20, 2015, in New York. The event's theme was Beijing+20, a review of the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. The Presbyterian delegation to this year's CSW included 38 participants, supported by PC(USA) staff who offered orientation and debriefing. Staff included Mark Koenig (director of the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations), Ryan Smith (Presbyterian representative to the UN), Jewel McRae (associate for Women's Leadership Development and Young Women's Ministries) and Jackie Spycher (field staff for Young Women's Ministries and Presbyterian College Women). Reflections from first-time and seasoned attendees follow; read more reflections at http://pwpcusa.typepad.com/jandp. United Nations Commission on the Status of Women A Worldwide Vision and Commitment to Justice for Women