Commission on the Status of Women


The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. Established on 21 June 1946, the CSW is instrumental in the promotion of women’s rights and shaping policies on gender equality and women empowerment.

The CSW is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It was established with the aim to prepare recommendations and reports to the Council on promoting women’s rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields. Throughout the years, this mandate was expanded and in 1996, the CSW’s terms of reference were modified to include monitoring, reviewing and appraising progress achieved and problems encountered in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA), ensuring support for mainstreaming a gender perspective in UN activities, identifying emerging issues, trends and new approaches to issues affecting the situation of women or equality between women and men, maintaining and enhancing public awareness and support for the implementation of the BPfA, among others.

The CSW meets annually for a two-week session to discuss a priority theme and review theme, which focus on progress and gaps in the implementation of the BPfA and emerging issues that affect gender equality and the empowerment of women. Representatives of UN Member States, civil society organizations (CSOs) and other UN entities relevant to the chosen themes gather at the UN Headquarters in New York City.  The PCW and the Department of Foreign Affairs – UN and other International Organizations (DFA-UNIO) co-lead the preparations for the annual CSW, with support from the Philippines’ Permanent Mission to the UN based in New York, including convening the agencies that will comprise the Philippine delegation, preparing the national statements and interventions, and organizing side events in the margins of the CSW programme.


At the end of the two-week session and after extensive negotiations, the CSW collectively comes up with the Agreed Conclusions, the main output document related to the priority and review themes.  The Agreed Conclusions contain a set of concrete recommendations for action by Governments, intergovernmental bodies and other institutions, civil society actors and other relevant stakeholders, to be implemented at the international, national, regional and local levels.


Finally, the Philippine delegation report on the outcomes of the UN CSW session to government and private sector stakeholders through a Feedback Forum organized by the PCW.  The first Feedback Forum was conducted by PCW for the UN CSW62 in 2018 and has since been a regular activity.