NGO CSW GenevaAt CSW66, NGO CSW Geneva ran a parallel event titled, “The Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment: Building Global Solidarity and Partnership.” If you missed it, it’s not too late to watch the speakers at the event. It was recorded and uploaded on YouTube here.
At CSW66, Food on All Tables: Promoting access to food for all and its impact on women’s health and rights was recorded. It was recorded and uploaded on YouTube here.
Ukraine: Legacy of Trauma, Generations of War, Future of Hope
Statement of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations Regarding the Current Situation in Ukraine
With each hour, Vladimir Putin’s threat of Russian aggression against Ukraine intensifies. Whether he chooses a military invasion of Ukraine, a crippling cyber attack, an economic chokehold, or any combination of destructive actions, his intent to break Ukraine, the nation, and her people, is unequivocally clear. Along with the rest of the civilized world, the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations cannot presume to understand Russia’s unilateral obsession with destroying Ukraine. Along with the rest of the civilized world, we fully condemn Putin’s actions.
All of Putin’s “reasons” for wanting to break Ukraine are factually baseless, historically inaccurate, and immoral. Ukraine does not pose a threat to Russia unless Putin chooses to fabricate a threat, Ukraine is not Russian land just because Putin wants it to be, and ultimately, Putin rejects the century-long international effort to stop the strong from subjugating those less strong simply because they can and want to do so.
Ukrainians have no illusions. Russia started a war with Ukraine eight years ago and will escalate in some manner. War is not coming. War is already here. Ukrainians are preparing for more, but not panicking since panic leads to weakness and Putin would like nothing more.
For the past 100 years, war is a leading reason why “historically, Ukraine has one of the largest diasporas in the world” (United Nations International Organization for Migration Report, 2010). Ukraine’s diaspora maintains ties to its homeland for generations. At present, approximately 10 million self-identified Ukrainians live beyond the borders of Ukraine, almost 25% of Ukraine’s in-country population of 45 million. Vast stretches of World War I, the “Russian” Civil War, World War II, were fought by foreign armies on Ukrainian land. Moscow sent Ukraine’s soldiers to die in the various international wars instigated by the USSR. Even after the inevitable and fortunate end of that dictatorial empire, Moscow could not leave Ukraine alone. Since Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine, 14,000 have died and 1.5 million civilians have fled their homes.
More than language, more than religion, or place of birth, the one characteristic common to every Ukrainian woman, whether in the diaspora or in Ukraine, is that each is either a direct or intergenerational victim of war. Every woman has her personal war-story legacy – as a survivor, as the mother of a soldier, as the daughter or granddaughter of a war refugee, as a woman whose great grandmother lived through two world wars. The very real and very immediate consequences of war – physical destruction, loss of life, a humanitarian crisis, then the long-term burden of alleviating the intergenerational trauma of war – raising healthy children, keeping families together, healing emotional and physical damage – primarily has been the responsibility of women, a burden needlessly imposed by foreign aggression. Once again, this fate awaits tens of millions.
We commend and are grateful to the nations who support Ukraine, understand that Ukraine is the current fault line between the past and the future – a victory for the old world order of aggressive and authoritative powers, or a victory for the future of a rules-based international order with a goal of peace.
Regardless of Russia’s immediate actions, the unwinding of this war will take decades. In the end, Putin’s vision will fail. For every Ukrainian he kills today, there is a mother raising a child in a foreign land to understand that might does not make right and that the dignity of each individual and each nation lies in the ability to freely choose a destiny.
In the title of her iconic 1890 poem Contra Spem Spero! the poet Lesya Ukrainka offers the essence of a message that every Ukrainian understands – with no reason to hope, I still hope. In three words, she summarized Ukraine’s reality. With no objective reasons to hope, we still hope.
WFUWO Executive Board
February 12, 2022
Світова Федерація Українських Жіночих Організацій є міжнародною координаційною надбудовою українських жіночих організацій у світі, яка була заснована в 1948 р. СФУЖО має акредитацію в Департаменті глобальних комунікацій і консультативний статус в Економічній і со¬ціальній раді ООН та членство при ЮНІСЕФ. Мережа СФУЖО діє у 31 країнах світу.
The World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations is an international umbrella founded in 1948 in Philadelphia, USA. WFUWO is an NGO affiliated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (1990), accredited in consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (1993), and a member of the NGO Committee on UNICEF (1997). The WFUWO network currently represents and coordinates the work of women’s organizations in 31 countries of the Ukrainian diaspora.
Executive Office: 145 Evans Avenue, Suite 203, Toronto, Ontario M8Z 5X8 Canada
Facebook: WFUWO at the UN & Світова Федерація Українських Жіночих Організацій
E-mail: wfuwo.office@gmail.com
After months of collaborative research and outreach by members of the global and regional NGO Committees on the Status of Women: New York, Geneva, Vienna, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean, and MENA, we have identified critical concerns for “the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes.”
The following letter with 6 Key Recommendations on behalf of women and girls in all their diversity were sent to the UN Secretary General, UN Women, the CSW Bureau, and other receptive member states for inclusion in the CSW66 Zero Draft.
CSW66 Recommendations for the Zero Draft NGO CSW Advocacy Research Group 3 December 2021
We respectfully submit the following Recommendations on behalf of girls and women in all their diversity for inclusion in the CSW66 Zero Draft. After months of collaborative research and outreach by members of the global and regional NGO Committees on the Status of Women: New York, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Geneva, Latin America and Caribbean, MENA and Vienna, we have identified these as critical concerns for “the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes.”
1. Investment in gender-responsive policies and programs that prioritize girls and women of all ages (including underrepresented, rural, Indigenous and people with disabilities) in decision-making, implementation and monitoring of mitigation and adaptation strategies at the local, community and national level.
2. Prioritization of knowledge management and strategies for disaster reduction and resilience that focus on the care, protection and support of girls and women who are dependent on natural resources for their well-being and livelihoods.
3. Collection of comprehensive data on displaced girls and women, disaggregated by birth and marriage documentation, to form evidence-based policies on climate-induced migration, as outlined in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly Migration.
4. Training for women in climate-resilient jobs, including food and water security, to transition to a carbon-free environment and education in schools on climate crisis mitigation and adaptation for a sustainable future.
5. Financial support for mitigation and adaptation to climate change for women in the Global South through dedicated funds, debt cancellation, grants instead of loans and 1 reparations from the Global North that privilege local ecosystems, Indigenous knowledge and youth leadership.
6. The elimination of legal barriers to women, including widows, concerning land ownership, resources and inheritance, to reduce the economic impacts of climate change on girls and women who suffer most from food and water insecurity.
We hope that identifying these representative global issues will assist you as you prepare for the CSW66 negotiations on the Zero Draft, which will be addressing the most significant challenges of our time.
After months of collaborative research and outreach by members of the global and regional NGO Committees on the Status of Women: New York, Geneva, Vienna, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean, and MENA, we have identified critical concerns for “the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes.”
The following letter with 6 Key Recommendations on behalf of women and girls in all their diversity were sent to the UN Secretary General, UN Women, the CSW Bureau, and other receptive member states for inclusion in the CSW66 Zero Draft.
CSW66 Recommendations for the Zero Draft NGO CSW Advocacy Research Group 3 December 2021
We respectfully submit the following Recommendations on behalf of girls and women in all their diversity for inclusion in the CSW66 Zero Draft. After months of collaborative research and outreach by members of the global and regional NGO Committees on the Status of Women: New York, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Geneva, Latin America and Caribbean, MENA and Vienna, we have identified these as critical concerns for “the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes.”
1. Investment in gender-responsive policies and programs that prioritize girls and women of all ages (including underrepresented, rural, Indigenous and people with disabilities) in decision-making, implementation and monitoring of mitigation and adaptation strategies at the local, community and national level.
2. Prioritization of knowledge management and strategies for disaster reduction and resilience that focus on the care, protection and support of girls and women who are dependent on natural resources for their well-being and livelihoods.
3. Collection of comprehensive data on displaced girls and women, disaggregated by birth and marriage documentation, to form evidence-based policies on climate-induced migration, as outlined in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly Migration.
4. Training for women in climate-resilient jobs, including food and water security, to transition to a carbon-free environment and education in schools on climate crisis mitigation and adaptation for a sustainable future.
5. Financial support for mitigation and adaptation to climate change for women in the Global South through dedicated funds, debt cancellation, grants instead of loans and 1 reparations from the Global North that privilege local ecosystems, Indigenous knowledge and youth leadership.
6. The elimination of legal barriers to women, including widows, concerning land ownership, resources and inheritance, to reduce the economic impacts of climate change on girls and women who suffer most from food and water insecurity.
We hope that identifying these representative global issues will assist you as you prepare for the CSW66 negotiations on the Zero Draft, which will be addressing the most significant challenges of our time.
You are invited to join us for the Global Youth Conference on the Commission on the Status of Women by NGO CSW Geneva.
Theme of the Conference: Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental, and disaster risk reduction policies and programs.
What is this conference about?
This conference shall simulate the UNCSW with youth representatives from all around the world while engaging in an intergenerational conversation.
If you would like to participate as a delegation at the conference representing your organisation or institution, please write to Srruthi, with a list of your delegation participants after registering everybody through the below registration link.
Age: 16 – 30 years old
Venue : Online
Dates : 15th – 16th of January 2022
The conference includes workshops, training and interactive sessions with experts from UN and other International Organisations.
Registrations open : CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!
To see our flyer, click here.
For any further information and queries please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Srruthi Lekha at s.lekha@wfwp.org
Please read our written statement to the UN Human Rights Council, and its Special Session on Afghanistan on August 24:
Biovision is pleased to announce an important new book which can be downloaded free of charge at https://www.globalagriculture.org/transformation/. The authors were supported in the publication of the book by the Biovision Foundation for Ecological Development (CH) and the Future Foundation for Agriculture (D). Please feel free to forward to your networks.
Transformation of Our Food Systems
The COVID-19 pandemic exposes sharp injustices and system wide failures of today’s prevailing food and agriculture systems, injustices that have been accelerating over the past decade; the most destructive period of food production and consumption in modern history. In their new book “Transformation of our food systems – the making of a paradigm shift”, 40 international experts describe the highlights and trends in food production since 2009, when the ground breaking International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development Report (IAASTD) was published.
The critical new book calls for an urgent, accelerated transformation of our food systems. Dr. Hans Herren, Biovision Foundation’s president, former World Food Prize winner and co-president of the IAASTD, researcher and expert in agroecology, is the initiator and co-editor. “This book clearly proves from various perspectives that the agroecological approach is by far the most important and fundamental pathway to ‘build back better’ (after COVID-19) and to make the shift towards sustainable food systems,” says Herren. Co-editor Benny Haerlin, says of the book “it not only talks about transformation, it also shows how it can be done and where it is already happening.”
The book is published in the run-up to this year’s only virtual High Level Special Event of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS), where for the first time agroecology will be at the centre of discussions and where decision-makers will also reflect about global efforts needed to “build back better”. The book is also a critical contribution to the “Food Systems Summit 2021”, being organized under the auspices of the United Nations.
More information is available here:
https://www.globalagriculture.org/fileadmin/files/weltagrarbericht/IAASTD-Buch/2020-09-24_Media-Release_IAASTD_10.pdf
