7 Ways to Engage with CSW69/Beijing+30

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) has been for almost a decade a crucial political space for MenEngage Alliance and its members to be a part of as it directly addresses issues, such as achieving gender equality, and supporting youth and LGBTQI+ movements, on an inter-governmental and global scale. 

2025 is a review year for CSW. Instead of a priority theme, the sessions will focus on the progress of the Beijing Platform for Action and assess challenges in achieving gender justice within the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Discussions will highlight structural inequalities, financial inclusion, and institutional reforms to empower women and girls globally.

CSW provides a critical political space for MenEngage Alliance and its members to advocate alongside feminist, youth, and LGBTQI+ movements for transformative change; connect with other members and partners working on men, masculinities, and gender justice globally; and shape policies that address poverty, strengthen institutions, and promote social justice for all. By engaging with CSW, the Alliance aims to ensure that men and boys play their part in the creation of a more just and equitable world.

The 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) will take place from 10 to 21 March 2025. As in past years, MenEngage Alliance with many of our members and partners are engaging in this critical space, working in solidarity with feminist leaders for gender-transformative social change.

In addition to in-person attendance, you can take part through participating in many virtual and/or hybrid events, and watch Governments in the official deliberations of CSW on UNTV. However, for virtual participation, one consideration is that the majority of the events will be in US Eastern time, so keep this in mind while planning your participation and engagement.

1. Learn from feminist movements and connect with civil society from around the world at NGO CSW

In parallel to CSW each year, a civil society Forum is convened by NGO-CSW. The Forum allows civil society organizations to organize Parallel Events that are free and open to all to join, with many being held online this year. These sessions are organized in close proximity to the United Nations Building (with many also available online). You do not need accreditation, nor a United Nations pass, nor affiliation with any particular organization in order to take part.

The NGO CSW Forum provides a vibrant, diverse and powerful space for feminist, youth and LGBTQI+ dialogue, debate, and agenda setting at CSW, and the field of women’s rights and gender justice more broadly.

There are hundreds of Parallel Events at this year’s session—many of which are online or being live streamed. Register here to participate and find information about the parallel sessions. Once registered, you can check if any of the events resonate with you, and register to join individual sessions.

2. Take part in a Side Event

Side Events are official CSW events that are co-organized by the UN and member states. Civil society organizations can participate in co-organizing a Side Event, if done in partnership with a government or the UN itself.   See the calendar of CSW Side Events.

3. Watch the official UN Plenary Session

In addition, official CSW69 multi-lateral deliberations between Member States take place through the Official Agenda. You can also tune in to official CSW69 proceedings at webtv.un.org, if you are joining the discussions from outside of New York.

Some of the key discussion you may want to join, include:

• Monday, 10 March, 3–6 pm EST – High-level interactive dialogue with regional commissions – Outcomes of regional reviews of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and next steps
• Thursday, 13 March, 10am–1pm EST – High-level interactive dialogue – Accelerating the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action: the role of the Commission on the Status of Women
• Friday, 14 March, 3–6pm EST – High-level interactive dialogue – “Beijing@30”: a dialogue with youth representatives

4. Join events organized and co-organized by the members and partners of MenEngage Alliance

Click here to see the calendar of events in which MenEngage Alliance members and partners are participating in the CSW. If you are a MenEngage member involved in an event and it’s not reflected in this calendar, please email khurram@menengage.org , cc’ing advocacy@menengage.org, so we can add to the shared calendar. Some events to look out for include:

Men and boys as agents of change to feminism and tackling barriers to solidarity, Wednesday 12 March 2025, 10:00am-12:00pm EST
Register here to join online.

The session aims to explore and showcase various examples and lessons of the work with men and boys and on transforming masculinities, for the last two decades, and its impacts at practice, programs and policy levels towards the realisation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and gender, social and environmental justice.

Co-organized by: MenEngage Alliance, UN Women, OHCHR, WHO, Swedish International Development Agency, Government of Rwanda, the Government of Sweden, UNFPA, RWAMREC, Breakthrough, Equimundo, Sonke Gender Justice, ABAAD, MenEngage Iberia.

Engaging men in challenging social norms/systems for Gender Justice 

Tues, 12 March, 2025 Step & Repeat at 5:00 pm EST, Screening starts at 6:00 pm EST, Paris Theatre 4 W 58th St, New York, NY 10019  (In-person event in English; no interpretation)
RSVP to https://bit.ly/tokillatigermarch12

This session will reflect on the policies dismantling women’s rights and security around the globe. It will also explore pathways leading to impactful change, including the power of storytelling and the pivotal role that men and boys can play in ensuring gender equality.

Post-screening discussion and reception to follow. Featuring Protagonists from the film, Director Nisha Pahuja, Executive Producer and Global Executive Director of Equality Now, S. Mona Sinha, and co-founder of Malala Fund Ziauddin Yousafzai. Moderated by Gary Barker, President and CEO of Equimundo.

High level side event: Transforming Patriarchal Masculinities and Misogynist Norms in Online Platforms to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls Across the Online-Offline Continuum

Register here.

Monday 10th March, 16:00 hrs – 19:00 hrs 

UN Women Conference Room 1925 

• Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Deputy Executive Director, UN Women
• Katsura Miyazaki, Executive Senior Vice President, JICA
• Tarana Burke, Founder of the Me Too. Movement, and Chief Vision Officer, Me Too. International 
• Gary Barker, Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice 
• Irene Mwendwa, Executive Director, Pollicy, & ACT CSO Steering Committee Member; or Jelen Paclarin, ACT CSO Steering Committee Member
• Joni van de Sand, Co-Director, MenEngage Alliance
• Gary Barker, President & CEO, Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice 

5. Learn about the CSW69 Political Declaration and other key agreements and reports

CSW Political Declaration

The main outcome documents of the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women will be the Political declaration on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women

The CSW69 Political Declaration Zero Draft calls for:

12. Further recognize the importance of men and boys fully engaging as strategic partners and allies, as well as agents and beneficiaries of change, for the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, including their economic empowerment, rights and fundamental freedoms, and the need to design and implement national policies and programmes in this regard;

This text continues to be negotiated, with potential changes to this initial formulation. You can track the outcomes of the negotiations on the UN Women website. The Political Declaration will be adopted on March 11, 2025.

CSW Revitalization

This year’s session will also center a conversation on the CSW Revitalization process, with the aim for a multilateral discussion on how to make CSW more effective.

MenEngage Alliance worked to provide inputs alongside the Women’s Rights Caucus towards the development of the Women’s Rights Caucus CSW Revitalization Priorities Political Agenda. It calls for:

“We must set the CSW Revitalization process in a wider conversation about UN reform that recognizes that the CSW is experiencing and must address the challenges seen across the UN, including weakened multilateralism, lack of resourcing, the impact of UN liquidity and budgeting crises, the corporate capture of the UN and over-emphasis on the private sector as key stakeholders, and the influence of anti-rights and anti-gender actors. Accountability must i nclude synergizing the links between CSW and other UN mechanisms and bodies including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), and other mechanisms, to ensure the integration of gender equality across the UN and support for mainstreaming a gender perspective and a human rights-based approach in UN activities.”

Other key documents

In advance of CSW69, National Governments and regional commissions of the UN had to undertake preparatory reviews of progress and challenges encountered in implementing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action:

• To read your Government’s submission, see here: National-level reviews

• To read your region’s submission, see here: Regional 30-year review processes

6. Read and elevate material on how a men and masculinities lens addresses this year's review theme

UN Secretary General’s Report

This year’s UN Secretary General’s Report: Review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the twenty-third (E/CN.6/2025/3), made strong calls for the agenda on men and masculinities, calling for:

“33. Men and boys also play a key role in supporting feminist movements and transforming patriarchal social norms. Men in leadership positions across public and private sectors, and in cultural and religious leadership roles, have a role to play in challenging discrimination, unequal power between women and men, and discriminatory narratives that promote male dominance, and advocating for gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls and the full realization of their rights. In this respect, recent years have seen more pro-feminist men’s organizations stand together with women’s rights movements and organisations seeking to transform patriarchal masculinities.”

MenEngage Alliance Joint Written Statement

MenEngage Alliance members, ABAAD Resource Center for Gender Equality, Let’s Breakthrough, Inc., MenEngage Global Alliance, Promundo-US, and Sonke Gender Justice Network, jointly developed a written statement to provide the network’s collective political agenda. 

• You can read it here: E/CN.6/2025/NGO/117

7. Attend MenEngage Alliance Caucus Meeting

For those of you who will be attending CSW69 in person and are a member of MenEngage Alliance, you are invited to join the in-person MenEngage Caucus meetings. Unfortunately we are not able to facilitate online participation.

Our Caucus meetings at CSW are where our members have a dedicated meeting to connect and strategize with each other, build relationships, and shape our shared agenda and strategies.

MenEngage Alliance Opening Caucus
Monday 10 March, from 3-5pm

📍 9W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019, Foundation CHANEL |🗣️Languages: This session is in English with informal interpretation in Spanish.

 

 

Photo credit: Ken Lund