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1. The present note provides a summary of the contribution that the work of the Commission on the Status of Women can make to the work of the Economic and Social Council and the high-level political forum on sustainable development in 2018.
2. In its resolution 68/1 on the review of the implementation of General Assembly resolution 61/16 on the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council, the Assembly introduced changes with implications for the subsidiary bodies of the Council. Among other provisions in the resolution, the Assembly described the substantive leadership that the Council would provide to the United Nations system through the adoption of an annual theme and the staggering of the segments of the Council throughout the year, beginning in 2014. With the adoption of the resolution, the Assembly created opportunities and expectations for the subsidiary bodies to advance their own work in the context of the wider process of strengthening the Council.
3. In its resolution 70/1, the General Assembly decided that the high-level political forum under the auspices of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council would have the central role in overseeing a network of follow-up and review processes at the global level with regard to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including support for thematic reviews by the functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council.
4. In accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 2015/6 on the future organization and methods of work of the Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission reports on the aspects relating to gender equality and the empowerment of women of the agreed main theme of the Council, in order to contribute to the work of the Council, applies a thematic approach to its work and has adopted a multi-year programme of work. In selecting its priority theme, the Commission takes into consideration, in addition to the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, the programme of work of the Council, as well as the 2030 Agenda, so as to build synergies and contribute to the work of the Council system and the high-level political forum.
5. The theme of the 2018 session of the Economic and Social Council, as indicated in its decision 2017/208, is “From global to local: supporting sustainable and resilient societies in urban and rural communities”. In accordance with General Assembly resolution 70/299, the high-level political forum will, in 2018, consider the theme “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies” and will conduct an in-depth review of Goals 6, 7, 11, 12 and 15, as well as Goal 17.
6. The multi-year programme of work of the Commission, as contained in Economic and Social Council resolution 2016/3, enables the Commission to build synergies and linkages with the work of the Council and the high-level political forum in order to contribute to the accelerated realization of gender equality and the empowerment of women. The Commission will consider the following topics in 2018:
Priority theme: challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls
Review theme: participation in and access of women to the media, and information and communications technologies and their impact on and use as an instrument for the advancement and empowerment of women (agreed conclusions of the forty-seventh session)
7. The thematic focus of the Council and the high-level political forum in 2018 can benefit significantly from the recent work of the Commission, especially its agreed conclusions.
8. At its sixtieth session, in 2016, the Commission, in its agreed conclusions on women’s empowerment and the links to sustainable development, set out a comprehensive road map for the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The Commission highlighted five policy areas where action by Governments and other stakeholders is especially urgent in order to achieve the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda, namely, strengthening normative, legal and policy frameworks; fostering enabling environments for financing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; strengthening women’s leadership and women’s full and equal participation in decision-making in all areas of sustainable development; strengthening gender-responsive data collection, follow-up and review processes; and enhancing national institutional arrangements. These action recommendations are also relevant to the themes of the Council and the high-level political forum in 2018.
9. At its sixty-first session, in 2017, the Commission, in its agreed conclusions on women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work, set out steps and measures necessary to overcome persistent inequalities, discrimination and barriers that women face in the current world of work and action that is needed to ensure that women can take full advantage of the opportunities that are arising as the world of work is changing.
10. The priority theme of the Commission at its sixty-second session is expected to highlight policies and actions that are necessary for gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls. The important role and contribution of rural women and girls to rural development, poverty eradication, sustainable development and the building of resilient societies is well documented. The Commission’s priority theme is thus in line with the themes of the 2018 session of the Council and the high-level political forum and can contribute directly to their deliberations.
11. The outcomes of the consideration by the Commission of its priority theme are expected to be in the form of agreed conclusions, which can catalyse and effectively support the Council and the high-level political forum in the integration of gender perspectives into their deliberations and outcomes. Chair’s summaries of ministerial round tables, interactive dialogues and expert panels will also be available. The report of the Secretary-General on the priority theme (E/CN.6/2018/3) can also support the deliberations.
