Major events for 2007 :

The Fifty-first Session of the Commission of the Status of Women (CSW) from 27 February to 10 March 2007 at UN Headquarters, New York will consider “the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child” as its priority theme. (http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw51/NGO.html)

There are two critical international meetings for the Women’s/Gender Affairs this year as it relates to reviewing and assessing advances made in international agreements, in particular, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women and the Beijing Platform for Action, the agreements of the International Labour Organistion, which contain clauses relating to gender equality and paternity and maternity rights, and the decisions adopted at other United Nations world conferences and summits.

In August, there would be the Tenth Regular Session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean (http://www.eclac.cl/mujer/noticias/noticias/3/27753/background_information.pdf). The central theme of the analysis will be the importance of the unpaid work performed by women as a contribution to development and as a factor which accounts for their mode of participation in the economy and in democratic decision-making processes. A Regional PrepCom will be held in May in Antigua and Barbuda.

The Commonwealth Eighth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting (8WAMM) will be convened under the theme “Financing Gender Equality for Development and Democracy" would be held in Uganda from 11-14 June 2007. (http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Internal/33895/33901/158761/8_wamm/)

At the High Level Dialogue on Migration and Development which took place at the Sixtieth Session of the UNGA (UN General Assembly), and based upon the UN Secretary General suggestion as contained in the Report of the Secretary-General International migration and development (A/60/871, 18 May 2006), the Government of Belgium offered to host the first session of this Global Forum on Migration and Development scheduled for 9-11 July 2007 in Brussels. This Forum may serve as an informal intergovernmental consultative body to distill possible options for international co-operation on migration. The Forum would look into ways, among others, to facilitate remittances, engage diasporas, integrate migration into poverty reduction strategies.

The Fifth Meeting of the Bureaux of Women’s/Gender Affairs, a mechanism that brings together technocrats from the Member States that provide avenues for assessment, monitoring and evaluation and review the emergence of new issues of concern to the Region as it relates to women’s empowerment and gender equality.

The Fourth Meeting of the Regional Advisory Committee (RAC), a collegial mechanism that provides for an exchange of experiences, best practices aimed at achieving a coordinated approach on gender and development issues.

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