Hon. Betty Amongi Ongom, Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development led Uganda’s delegation to the sixty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66) held from 14th to 25th March 2022 at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
CSW66 was held under the theme “Achieving Gender Equality and the Empowerment of all Women and Girls in the context of Climate Change, Environmental and Disaster Risk Reduction Policies and Programmes”.
The Commission’s two-week session included activities such as the General Assembly, the Ministerial round table discussions, voluntary presentations, and side events.
While addressing the General Assembly, Amongi stressed Uganda’s commitment to the implementation of international, regional and national frameworks to address Gender Equality and Climate Change.
On the side-lines of CSW66, the Minister held five bilateral meetings, where she met with her counterparts from Oman and Qatar respectively to discuss issues related to migrant workers.
She later met with H.E Malte Nkoana-Mashabane, South Africa’s Minister for Women.
Both Ministers committed to supporting women in business to participate and benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) with a special focus on women’s economic empowerment.
While meeting with H.E Bjørg Sandkjær, the Norwegian State Secretary for International Sustainable Development, Amongi discussed issues related to cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV) during and post COVID 19.
Lastly, the Minister met with the UNAIDS Regional Director for Southern Africa, Anne Githuku Shongwe, who briefed her on UNAIDS’ priorities as presented in the Global AIDS Strategy and Education Plus Initiative and the Global AIDS Strategy 2021-2026 on Ending Inequalities and AIDS.
Uganda’s delegation included Members of Parliament, Flavia Rwabuhoro Kabahenda, Sarah Opendi, Charles Bakabulindi, Luttamaguzi Semakula, Margaret Ayebare, and Senior Government officials from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Ministry of Water and Environment, the Permanent Mission of Uganda to the United Nations and Uganda Women’s Network (Represented the NGOs).
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
It is a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) that was established by ECOSOC resolution 11(II) of 21 June 1946.