2-13th March 2009

For the third consecutive year, Karama partners placed Arab women center stage at the United Nations, where Karama’s delegation made multiple interventions at the 53rd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York. Addressing the 2009 CSW themes of equal participation in decision-making at all levels and equal responsibility for caregiving, the Karama delegation released a policy paper, “Toward an enhanced participation for women in decision-making positions in the Arab World,” using the occasion of a high-level speakers’ panel co-sponsored by Karama and UNIFEM, an international press briefing, and meetings with the Special Advisor to the Secretary General on Gender Issues, the head of the New York Office of the UN High Commission on Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, and the Chair of the UN CEDAW Committee.

In these venues, Karama partners issued key recommendations and insights to government missions, UN agencies, parliamentarians, NGOs and donors present at CSW, providing in-context strategies for realizing women’s equal participation with men at all levels and their political participation in the Arab Region.

For further information and resources, please click on the following links:

Interventions and Advocacy by the Karama Delegation

Karama’s Panel

Karama’s Press Release

Karama Podcast on OpenDemocracy

Policy Paper

Karama’s Oral Statement