Re-framing Social Protection Systems at CSW63

From left to right: H.E. Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, Ms. Sherine Tadros, Dr. Phumzile Mlamo-Ngcuka       

            On the morning of March 10, 2019, the 63^rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) kicked off with an opening event also known as the Consultation Day attended by hundreds of participants from all over the world. A theater located in Borough of Manhattan Community of College was filled with powerful voices and occasional mix of applause and silence. The theme for this year CSW is "Social Protection Systems".

Following the welcome message by Dr. Susan O'Malley, the chair of NGO Committee on the Status of Women/NY, the stage around the theme was set by a dialogue with Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women and H.E. Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, the Permanent Representative Mission of Ireland. 

"The infrastructures that supports care for women are missing in most countries." - Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

The conversation underlined the progress that the United Nations have made in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 5 which focuses on gender equality and in putting forward the issue of lacking social protection services in public sectors in many countries. The dialogue also highlighted the history of struggles women faced, such as being forced to resign from work due to marriage; the guest speakers also emphasized the impacts of civil society on changing government policies and designing new social protection frameworks.

Continuing the discussion on the main theme, four panelists from various organizations engaged in a meaningful conversation to provide explanations of the definition, contexts, and vision of social protection. The deputy director of International Labor Organization (ILO), provided a broad definition of social protection as basic social security guarantee, but he emphasized the importance of focusing on what is needed within specific contexts, rather than what it generally is. The contexts of United States, Africa, and Latin America were brought to the table. 

"26 wealthiest people own as much as the 50 percent of the poorest in the world." - OXFAM

Most interestingly, the context of United States, as explained by the head of OXFAM Washington office, illustrates the unfair taxation policies which benefit the big corporate companies and wealthy individuals but hurt the disadvantaged groups due to the legal element of tax evasion which, she said, requires a progressive reform to identify and eliminate the loopholes. 

The event committee did a wonderful job in setting a stage for the upcoming two-week conference. The event served as a great platform where conversations were encouraged and language was provided for an active engagement in some challenging topics regarding the issue of social protection for women.

"Gender inequality is not just an economic issue. It is an issue of injustice." - Ms. Nadia Daar (Head of Washington Office, Oxfam)