Fifty-third Session

Participants

Important message for NGOs

By the end of November 2008, all ECOSOC-accredited NGOs should have received an invitation to attend the fifty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women. This, however, will not be true insofar as an NGO has not kept the DESA NGO Section updated about changes to e-mail addresses and fax numbers. We strongly encourage these NGOs to update their contact details at
http://www.un.org/esa/coordination/ngo/ after which they should alert the Division for the Advancement of Women through the designated email address (csw53@un.org).

Submission of NGO written statements DEADLINE: 21 November 2008 for individual statements and 28 November 2008 for joint statements Written statements may be submitted by ECOSOC-accredited NGOs on the thematic issues considered by CSW in accordance with ECOSOC resolution 1996/31. Written statements by individual organizations should be submitted no later than 21 November 2008. The deadline for joint written statements is 28 November 2008. These deadlines will be strictly observed in order to allow time for processing and issuance of the statements as official United Nations documents for the Commission. Submission of written statements Written statements shall be submitted in one of the official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish). Organizations wishing to submit their statement in more than one official language must specify which language version is the original, and which other language versions are to be used as references for translation; Statements by organizations in general consultative status should not exceed 2000 words; statements by organizations in special consultative status should not exceed 1500 words; Please note that the word count should include the required title and agenda item (please use attached sample); The list of signatories (all of whom must be ECOSOC-accredited organizations) should appear in alphabetical order; The names of organizations should be written as they appear on the DESA NGO Section’s database; Statements should be submitted in their final form. Once submitted they will immediately enter the processing procedure; Statements should be written in a Times New Roman text font, size 12. Statements should be submitted as Word documents with ‘NGO name written statement’ as the filename; and Statements should be e-mailed to csw53@un.org, with “Written statement / Name of NGO” in the subject line.

Quick alert to NGOs wishing to participate in CSW53

Themes

The 53rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women will be held at the United Nations headquarters in New York from 2 to 13 March 2009. The themes that will be considered are the following:

Priority theme:

The Commission on the Status of Women will consider the theme: “The equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS” at its 53rd session.
>> Read more on the priority theme

The Division for the Advancement of Women organized an online discussion on the theme “The equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS”, which provided an opportunity for practitioners and experts to contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the issue. The online discussion will provide background information for an Expert Group Meeting organized by the Division as part of the preparatory process for the 53rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in 2009.
>> View archived online discussion (7 July to 1 August 2008)

Review theme:

An interactive dialogue will evaluate progress of the implementation of the agreed conclusions "Equal participation of women and men in decision-making processes at all levels" adopted at the 50th session of CSW.

More details will be made available on this website, as they become available.