Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport
Bern, March 8, 2024 – Federal President Viola Amherd will represent Switzerland in the coming days at the 68th meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York. The CSW is the main intergovernmental body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and women’s rights. This year, the fight against poverty and gender-equitable financial policy are at the center of the debates.
The Federal President will give a speech at the CSW general debate on Monday, March 11, 2024, to reaffirm Switzerland’s commitment to promoting the rights of women and girls. The CSW meets in New York after March 8th, International Women’s Day. Various meetings are planned between the Federal President and ministers and with high-ranking UN representatives, including UN Secretary-General António Guterres and UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous.
The Federal President’s trip also serves to implement Switzerland’s priorities in the UN Security Council in the second half of Switzerland’s membership of the Council. On Tuesday, March 12, she will open an informal meeting of the UN Security Council on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) organized by Switzerland. This marks the start of the UN Security Council’s annual open debate on WPS, which the Federal President will preside over during the Swiss chairmanship of the UN Security Council in October.
Promoting the rights of women and girls
In the general debate at the CSW, the Federal President will present the focal points of the 2030 Equality Strategy, which Switzerland is committed to in its domestic and foreign policy:
- Promote professional equality by increasing women’s access to the labor market and promoting equal pay for work of equal value
- better compatibility of work and family
- Combating discrimination, sexism and violence
Since violence is a factor in poverty, Federal President Amherd will remind people that Switzerland is committed to combating all forms of violence in its domestic and foreign policy, including child marriages, early marriages and forced marriages.
Meeting on the sidelines of the UN Security Council
The informal session of the UN Security Council will focus on synergies between the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. The CEDAW Convention and the WPS Agenda, together with other human rights treaties and international humanitarian law, form the global framework for the protection and promotion of the rights of women and girls. Synergies between these two legal instruments can increase this protection in both times of peace and times of conflict. In addition, thanks to this event, Switzerland is strengthening the ties between international Geneva, host city of the UN human rights organizations, and New York, the seat of the Security Council.
Switzerland and the CSW
The CSW is the only UN body that deals exclusively with issues of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. It reports to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Switzerland is currently (2021-2024) one of 45 countries a member of the Commission. The Peace and Human Rights Department (AFM) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs coordinates the participation of the Swiss delegation in the CSW, in co-leadership with the Federal Office for Equality between Women and Men (EBG) of the Federal Department of Home Affairs.
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Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport