Revitalization of the Commission on the Status of Women

Recommends that the general discussion held during the ministerial segment of the sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women take place in the General Assembly Hall, or, if not available, the Trusteeship Council Chamber, in recognition of the high-level engagement and visibility of the deliberations of the Commission;

Requests the Commission to organize, in advance of each session, an informal, interactive multi-stakeholder hearing, with the participation of representatives of Member States and all observers of the General Assembly, national human rights institutions, where they exist, and non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, academic institutions and the private sector, and consider ways to use digital or other tools to allow for participation on an equal and non-discriminatory basis to provide perspectives on the priority theme agreed by the Commission for the following session, and requests the Chair of the Commission to prepare summaries of any such hearings;

Encourages the Commission to consider the rotation of the location of its five-yearly review sessions, on an equitable and non-discriminatory basis, with due regard for geographical rotation, taking into account the provisions of General Assembly resolution 40/243 of 18 December 1985, as part of the review of its methods of work to be undertaken at its seventy-first session;

Recommends that the Commission adopt, in the context of its multi-year programme of work for a focused and thematic approach, outcome documents, including agreed conclusions on priority themes and political declarations, that are short and succinct, ambitious, focused on the priority theme, and provide recommendations to close remaining gaps, meet challenges and accelerate implementation; and, where applicable, are action-oriented, time-bound and include measurable steps to achieve gender equality, the empowerment of all women and girls and the full and equal enjoyment of their human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Requests the Commission, in consultation with all States Members of the United Nations and observer States, to continue to identify and propose action on emerging issues, trends, focus areas or new approaches affecting the situation of women and girls that require urgent consideration, taking into account inputs and information from other relevant stakeholders, including the Expert Group Meeting, and the informal, interactive multi-stakeholder hearing;

Also requests the Commission to hold a ministerial round table, or other high-level interactive dialogue, on the emerging issues, trends, focus areas or new approaches identified for that session, and requests the Chair to prepare a summary of that discussion, including, where applicable, recommendations for action;

Requests the Working Group on Communications on the Status of Women, within its existing mandate as set out in Council resolution 2009/16 of 28 July 2009 and the resolutions referred to therein, to consider ways of making the existing procedure for submitting, receiving and considering communications more efficient while maintaining their confidential nature;

Encourages members of the Commission to respond to the call for nominations from regional groups and serve as members of the Working Group on Communications, in order to enable it to fulfil its functions;

Requests Member States to provide funds on a voluntary basis to assist developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States, in achieving the full, effective and accelerated implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action;

Encourages the Commission, in that regard, to consider further steps to strengthen this catalytic role through, as appropriate, exchange of information and transmission of the outcomes of the work of the Commission, joint informal interactive events, the participation of its Chair, in consultation with the Bureau, in relevant processes, or the inclusion in the programme of work of relevant opportunities for interactive dialogue on cross-cutting issues, including, inter alia, starting at its seventieth session, holding a high-level meeting on the following critical areas, on a rotating basis: violence against women and girls, followed by poverty and the economic empowerment of women, and participation of women in decision-making processes, and for the Commission to schedule further critical areas for rotation as part of the review of its methods of work at its seventy-first session;

Invites the United Nations regional commissions to continue to contribute to the work of the Commission and in that regard, in close coordination with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), to consider convening regional preparatory meetings with input reflecting diverse national experiences, including civil society organizations, youth and grassroots organizations in the preparatory processes, to assess progress and identify regional trends, priorities and good practices; and further encourages the relevant member of the Bureau of the Commission from each region to update the Bureau on the outcomes of the regional preparatory meetings;

Invites all Member States to meaningfully involve national human rights institutions, where they exist, in preparation, follow-up and implementation processes;

Also invites all Member States to meaningfully involve civil society organizations and other relevant stakeholders in preparations for each session and in follow-up and implementation processes for the outcomes of the Commission on the priority theme, including by considering holding consultations with them at the national level on such outcomes;

Encourages collaboration by two or more Member States on side events organized during the sessions of the Commission, to ensure effective participation, maximize the impact of discussions and facilitate better coordination, and encourages the Secretariat to increase the availability of appropriate meeting rooms for this purpose;

Calls upon UN-Women, within its coordination mandate, to continue to facilitate United Nations system-wide support to Member States, upon their request, in national preparations, dissemination and use of the reports and outcome documents of the Commission.