ARMEN MARTIROSYAN ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.03.2009 13:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia’s permanent representative to UN Armen
Martirosyan was elected chairman of the Commission on the Status of
Women during the commission’s 54th session on March 13, the RA MFA
press office reported.

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional
commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of
main UN organs within the United Nations.

It was established in 1946 as a mechanism to promote, report on and
monitor issues relating to the political, economic, civil, social and
educational rights of women. Among its activities, the CSW drafted
several conventions and declarations, including the Declaration on
the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in 1967.

The CSW is one of the commissions of the UN that do not limit
participation to states only. For example, NGOs are also allowed to
participate in sessions of the CSW. This is particularly important
for contested territories such as Taiwan, which is not a member of
the UN. In the past few years, NGOs from Taiwan (such as the National
Alliance of Taiwan Women’s Associations) have been able to participate
in the CSW sessions.

The UN Commission has advocated population control, reproductive
rights and contraception, while at the same time criticizing the
position of the Roman Catholic Church on sexual morality and fertility.