International Policy

As a worldwide organisation, Mothers' Union represents a diverse membership. Members and their communities across the world face a huge range of issues including family breakdown, violence, poverty, water shortages, illiteracy, HIV/AIDS and gender inequality. As well as addressing these issues through practical programmes, Mothers' Union lobbies for political change to tackle the root causes.

Within their own countries, Mothers' Union members engage with local and national government on issues affecting their communities. Mothers' Union also holds special consultative status with the United Nations, which entitles us to make a contribution to the UNs work in areas relating to Mothers' Union expertise. Mothers' Union exercises its consultative status every year at the Commission on the Status of Women, held at the United Nations headquarters in New York. We attend this commission in particular because gender inequality compounds many other problems such as illiteracy and the spread of HIV/AIDS, and as Mothers' Union represent millions of women, we have a great deal of knowledge about the impact of womens inequality across the world.

The Commission is dedicated exclusively to advancing the status of women across the world. In the 21st Century, girls and women still face inequality and discrimination because of their gender.

Each year the CSW looks at a different theme and after talks and negotiations between governments and non-governmental organisations, the Commission produces a set of agreed conclusions. Governments are then responsible for implementing these agreements.

CSW 54 (2010): Review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
The Beijing Declaration is an outcome document from the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, committing UN members states to improving the lives of women. The Platform for Action (PfA) provides the roadmap to achieving the goals set in the Declaration. The strategic objectives and actions in the PfA relate to:

           • Women and Poverty
           • Education and Training of Women
           • Women and Health
           • Violence against Women
           • Women and Armed Conflict
           • Women and the Economy
           • Women in Power and Decision-making
           • Institutional Mechanism for the Advancement of Women
           • Human Rights of Women
           • Women and the Media
           • Women and the Environment
           • The Girl-child

Mothers’ Union believes that governments must take the following actions:

1. Eliminate all forms of institutional discrimination against women and counteract discriminatory attitudes in society through education, addressing the media’s sexualised and violent representation of woman and girls and strengthening commitment to all human rights.

2. Invest in healthcare and health education, including training of health workers, for all throughout the life-course and recognise that women are affected by the health of their whole family.

3. Ensure girls’ and women’s equal access to and participation in education and training across the life-course, including those with caring responsibilities, those in poverty and those in rural areas.

4. Prohibit discrimination and harassment in the workplace, including eliminating the gender pay gap and denial of land rights, and ensure that family friendly work practices are available, for both women and men.

5. Ensure women’s fair and equal access to political participation, including free voting and genuine political leadership at all levels and relating to all political areas.

For to read the CSW54 statement please view below