PH picked to head UN body’s meeting on women’s rights

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines has been chosen to head next year’s meeting of the United Nations’ body pushing for women empowerment and gender equality, reflecting “the international community’s recognition” of the country’s capacity to take on a leadership role in a sector of critical global importance.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement late Friday that the Philippines has assumed the chairmanship of the Bureau for the 58th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), represented to the post by Philippine Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Libran Cabactulan.

The commission is the “principal global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women,” the CSW website said.

Composed of 45 UN member nations elected every four years, the body meets annually at the UN Headquarters in New York to discuss progress in pursuing women-related programs, to determine further steps to undertake toward advancing women empowerment and gender equality around the world and to “set global standards and formulate concrete policies.”

Cabactulan said in a statement that the Philippines is thankful for the “confidence placed by the international community” in an important UN body.

“The Philippines is honored by this position of leadership which recognizes the country’s long-lasting and continuing commitment to gender equality and the advancement of women. Under the Philippines’ leadership, we will continue to build on the Commission’s accomplishments and help ensure that current efforts contribute to a future of gender equality and empowerment of women,” Cabactulan said in a statement.

The Philippine chairmanship will see action at the 58th CSW session set in March 2014, where the body will hold discussions around the theme “Challenges and Achievements in the Implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for Women and Girls.”

Representatives from other CSW members including Switzerland, Georgia, Sudan and El Salvador will join the Philippines in the CSW’s 58th Session Bureau.

The Philippines has played an active role in the CSW sessions, serving as vice chair and Asia Pacific representative to the 56th and 57th CSW sessions, the DFA said.

In this year’s annual CSW, the Philippines “played an instrumental role” in breaking a decade-long impasse on an agreement toward ending violence against women and children, the DFA said.