Mothers' Union at UNCSW in 2022

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. Mothers’ Union has “consultative status” at the United Nations (ECOSOC), which means that we are able to both submit a statement in advance, and send a delegation.

This year’s priority theme for CSW is: Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes. In light of this theme, MU submitted a statement in December 2021 where we called on Member states, agencies and funders to:

1. Ensure that women participate fully alongside men in climate change and disaster risk reduction policy and decision-making at all levels.
2. Ensure that the planning and funding of all climate change initiatives are gender-sensitive and take into account the specific needs and priorities of women and girls.
3. Address the structural, systematic and systemic inequalities that put women at greater risk of the impacts of climate change, supporting women’s leadership and collective actions in doing so, and working to shift negative gender norms and policies that constrain women’s access to and control over resources.
4. Work with and support organisations embedded in local communities to identify and fund locally practical and sustainable solutions to the climate crisis, including faith-based and women-led organisations, such as Mothers’ Union.
5. Increase climate financing and resource provision for climate change adaption in marginalised communities most at risk of its impacts to ensure they are sufficiently equipped to respond, supporting locally-led, context-appropriate, gender-sensitive solutions.

MU’s goals for this year’s UNCSW include: building on the learning from 2021, and further developing a global community of MU members who are passionate about gender justice, uplifting the voices of the membership by using lived experience to highlight areas to change, learning from others, strengthening networks at a national and global level with faith and secular organisations, to collectively bring about change, demonstrating, with other faith partners, how people and organisations of faith can be powerful and effective partners for change, and setting the basis for ongoing influencing after UNCSW.

Our delegation will be 12 women from 9 different countries, and will include our CEO, Bev Jullian. In addition, we are proud to share that two of our valuable members, MU Diocesan President, Selina Longamei, from the Solomon Islands and Jocelyne Razafiarivoney, Provincial CDC, Mothers’ Union Madagascar will speaking at one parallel and side event respectively. The details for these events are mentioned below.

The events for civil society organizations will be entirely virtual. The governmental sessions can be viewed through UN Web TV. In addition to the main events, there are parallel sessions run for Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) on a platform which is free to join, and accessible to anyone. If you wish to see what is going on, you can register on: NGO CSW/NY