In paragraph 9 of the Political Declaration from the 23rd special session of the General Assembly (2000), Governments agreed "to assess regularly further implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action with a view to bringing together all parties involved in 2005 to assess progress and consider new initiatives, as appropriate, ten years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action." The Objective of the review is to identify achievements, gaps and challenges in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents.

The 49th session of the Commission will be a regular session. It was agreed in the 48th session of the CSW in March 2004 that it would be a high-level event. At its substantive session in July 2004, ECOSOC decided that the 49th session of CSW should convene a high-level plenary meeting open to the participation of all UN Member States and Observers, on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly. The Chairperson of the 49th session of the Commission was requested to transmit its outcome, through ECOSOC, to the 60th session of the General Assembly, including to the high-level event of the General Assembly on the review of the Millennium Declaration.

The 49th session of the Commission to be held in 2005 is more than an expanded session of the regular CSW. Its focus will be different. The work programme for 2005 will focus on national-level implementation through interactive dialogue and exchange of good practices. The Bureau of the Commission developed a proposed organization of work for the Commission in 2005, which was approved by Members of the Commission on 14 September 2004, pending agreement on one of the high-level panels.

There will be about 8 high-level events (panels, roundtables) on a broad range of issues, a high-level opening, the high-level plenary for national statements, and a celebration of international women's day within the CSW itself and not as an interagency event.

The issue of an outcome of the 49th session has been raised during informal consultations with members of the CSW. No agreement has been reached yet. It is likely that the type of outcome might not be known until after the umbrella resolution on follow-up to Beijing and Beijing +5 has been adopted in the Third Committee of the General Assembly, possibly in late November.

At its substantive session in July 2004, the ECOSOC adopted ECOSOC decision 2004/309: Preparations for the forty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (please see page 212 of ECOSOC document E/2004/INF/2/Add.2, PDF) which authorises the 49th session of CSW to convene a high-level plenary meeting open to the participation of all UN Member States and Observers.

In addition to government representatives and observers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which are accredited to, and in good standing with, the Economic and Social Council ECOSOC are eligible to designate representatives to attend the session. Moreover, ECOSOC also adopted resolution 2004/57: Participation of non-governmental organizations in the forty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (please see page 153 of ECOSOC document E/2004/INF/2/Add.2, PDF) which invites those non-governmental organizations not in consultative status, accredited to Beijing and Beijing+5 to attend the 49th session of CSW on an exceptional basis. Invitation letters to these NGOs are being sent out in September/October 2004.

The United Nations wishes to encourage the broad-based participation and representation of NGOs in this session. Space and safety consideration, however, may require the organization to limit the number of representatives who may attend the session to two or three persons per organization.

Eligible NGOs are invited to designate representative(s) to participate in the Commission. It is encouraged to provide the name(s) of alternate(s) in case the proposed applicant(s) is/are unable to obtain an entry visa to the United States of America. Online registration is recommended by logging in using the organization ID and password provided at the end of the invitation letter through the website of the Division for the Advancement of Women at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw49/register/. The online registration will be open until Friday, 31 December 2004. Please do not send any duplicate pre-registration forms via fax or through the mail as this will only delay the registration process.

Organizations without internet access, are requested to complete the form attached to the invitation letter using a typewriter and either mail it directly to CSW49 NGO Registration, Division for the Advancement of Women, 2 UN Plaza, Room DC2-1282D, New York, NY 10017, USA, or fax it to (212) 963-3463 no later than Friday, 31 December 2004. All confirmation letters will be sent to the fax number of the organization's headquarters only for the names received by Friday, 31 December 2004.

The United Nations will not facilitate the travel, visa, or other arrangements of subsistence for any participants to the 49th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. All arrangements for travel, visas, accommodation and daily subsistence costs are the exclusive responsibility of the participants themselves. Please note that participants are required to submit their visa applications at least three (3) months in advance to allow sufficient time for processing.

Written Statements

NGOs will be permitted to participate in the session by providing written statements relating to the two thematic issues. For guidelines relating to these statements, please visit the NGO ECOSOC website. NGOs that are interested in providing a statement may do so no later than 15 January 2005. Please keep in mind that there is much processing that needs to be done to prepare these statements as official United Nations documents before the Commission begins. Kindly submit these statements directly to Ms. Vivian Pliner-Josephs in the Secretariat (Room S-2950E).

Oral intervention

In addition to the high-level events, NGOs will, time permitting, provide inputs into the session by presenting an oral intervention during all sessions. NGOs will be required to request time for their intervention in advance of the session, and to complete a form which lists the name of the speaker, organization(s)/caucus, topic to be addressed and endorsing groups. NGOs will also be required to provide seventeen copies of the statement for distribution to the bureau and translators prior to the start of the sessions. Please contact Ms. Tsu-Wei Chang, Coordination and Outreach Unit, DAW via email for further information.

Side events

UN entities and NGOs who wish to organize side events during the session, or who want to sponsor exhibitions in the Conference Building Neck Area, are requested to fill out the side events application form (please complete one for each event) and submit to United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (UNDAW) via email (csw49@un.org) or by fax (1 212 963-3463) on or before 31 January 2005. Due to limited space, requests will be considered on first come, first served basis. Please note that the sponsoring organizations for the events are responsible for all charges related to the event, including, room, equipment, and any other services. The fee charges will be posted when they become available. For further information, please contact Ms.Tsu-Wei Chang via email at csw49@un.org.