The Fifty-Third Session of the Commission on the Status of Women: International Development Research Centre

When (begins) : 2009-03-02 14:00 (Ottawa) DST 2009-03-13 14:00 (Ottawa) DST -

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. Every year, representatives of Member States gather at United Nations Headquarters in New York to evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide.

The fifty-third session of the CSW, from 2 to 13 March 2009, will consider the theme “The equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS”. The work will be guided by two reports of the Secretary-General on the theme: one will identify and discuss key issues in sharing of responsibilities between women and men and suggest policy recommendations; and a second will provide an overview of mainstreaming efforts related to sharing of responsibilities at national level.

IDRC's Women’s Rights and Citizenship program (WRC) – in collaboration with the Research for Health Equity (RHE) program are co-hosting two panels at this year's CSW session.

First Panel: Health Systems and Communities Fighting HIV/AIDS

Date: Monday, 2 March 2009

Time: 10:00 – 11:45 a.m.

Venue: NGO Forum, Church Centre (777 UN Plaza)

The occurrence and management of HIV/AIDS is deeply embedded in social, political, and economic processes. Reducing HIV infections and managing AIDS requires not only quality health care, strong health systems, and people’s healthy behaviour, but also changes in these broader social, political, and economic processes. The panel presents research supported by IDRC that explores these crucial dimensions of the fight against AIDS. Panelists will discuss:

The scaling-up of innovative HIV and AIDS programs while strengthening the links between research, policy, and practice in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean
The inclusion of those who are usually excluded from HIV prevention in Namibia, Swaziland, and Botswana; and
A behind-the-scenes look at how primary healthcare providers linked to HIV programs in South Africa innovate and manage tensions between professional and gender roles.

Second Panel: Decentralization, Women’s Political Representation and Access to Public Services

Date: Thursday, 5 March 2009

Time: 1:15 – 2:45 p.m.

Venue: Conference Room 4, UN Headquarters

Decentralization policies have often been presented as a magic bullet for strengthening democracy and citizen participation, particularly among those who have been marginalized from government decision-making processes. Since 2004, Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has supported 13 research teams in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America in exploring questions of how and whether decentralization can make government more accessible, accountable, and responsive to women.

The panel is a follow-up to the international conference on "Decentralization, Local Power and Women’s Rights", held in Mexico City in November 2008. The conference was hosted by IDRC and the Government of Mexico, in collaboration with international agencies. It brought together 500 participants from more than 50 countries, and resulted in a set of policy recommendations.

Panelists will focus on women’s participation in local governance in Canada and Mexico, and decentralization and women’s rights in the context of:

Water governance in India;
Health care in Paraguay;
Participation in local development planning in South Africa; and
Increasing women's political participation in situations of conflict.