On September 14, 2020, India & Afghanistan were elected as Members of the United Nations (UN) Commission on Status of Women, a body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The Commission on the Status of Women is a UN organ promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women.
India (38 votes) and Afghanistan (39) won the ballot among the 54 members, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, T S Tirumurti announced the election of India to the Committee.
Key Points:
i.India will be a member of the UN’s Commission on Status of Women for four years from 2021-2025.
ii.India & Afghanistan will now join Argentina, Austria, Dominican Republic, Israel, Latvia, Nigeria, Turkey and Zambia which were elected by acclamation (a form of election that does not use ballot) in the Commission on Status of Women.
iii.India, Afghanistan & China contested the election for the post of Two members to be elected from the members of the Asia-Pacific States. China did not cross the half-way mark in the elections.
iv.It was ECOSOC’s first plenary meeting of its 2021 session.
25th Anniversary of Beijing World Conference on Women:
i.2020 is the 25th Anniversary of the famous Beijing World Conference on Women (1995).
ii.The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace was a conference convened by the United Nations during 4–15 September 1995 in Beijing, China.
iii.During this major event, governments from around the world agreed on a comprehensive plan to achieve global legal equality between men and women, known as the Beijing Platform for Action.
Point to be Noted:-
On June 18, 2020 India was elected as one of the non-permanent members to United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the eighth time(1950-1951, 1967-1968, 1972-1973, 1977-1978, 1984-1985, 1991-1992 and 2011-2012).
United Nations Commission on Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW):
i.It is one of the main UN organs within the United Nations and is a functional commission of the ECOSOC.
ii.It is the UN organ which promotes gender equality and empowerment of Women.
Recent Related News:
i.On June 17, 2020, India was elected unopposed for an 8th term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for two years (i.e.2021 & 2022) starting January 2021 by gaining 184 votes in the 193-member General Assembly.
ii.India with 12 other countries lead the “Verified” initiative launched by the United Nations (UN) on 21st May 2020, to fight the spreading of misinformation (Infodemic) about COVID-19 with fact-based accurate information.
About United Nations Commission on Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW):
Executive Director – Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (South Africa)
Headquarters – New York, United States
Chair of UNCSW – Mher Margaryan (Armenia)
