The fifty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women took place at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 10 to 21 March 2014. You can read the Agreed Conclusions here.

NAWO Chair Annette Lawson reflects on CSW 58 and what did and did not make it into the Agreed Conclusions: read Annette’s piece here.

Picture: Annette Lawson, NAWO Chair, delivering Margaret Owen’s statement on Widows to the General meeting at UN CSW58.

Picture: at the EU briefing for NGOs during CSW58 in New York. Margaret Clark (Soroptimists), Jan Grasty (President, UN Women UK), Annette Lawson (Chair, NAWO) and Pat Black (Immediate Past President, International Soporoptimists, SIGBI).

Priority theme: Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls

Review theme: Access and participation of women and girls to education, training, science and technology, including for the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work (agreed conclusions from the fifty-fifth session)

Emerging issue: Women’s access to productive resources

NAWO Statement to the 58^th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

Gender inequality continues to be a huge global challenge. The prospects and life chances of millions of women and girls are stunted because of widespread discrimination and inequalities based on gender. Gender equality and women’s empowerment is a key pre-requisite for tackling poverty and social exclusion, achieving rights for all, averting conflicts and building peace.

Global legal frameworks for promoting gender equality and women’s human rights have been in place for many years. NAWO urges that these should be fully implemented at global, national and local level.

Keep reading here.