Robyn Andréo-Boosey (The Anglican Church of Australia); Bridie Boyd (The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia); Reverend Bianca Daébs (Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil); Martine Dushime (The Anglican Church of Burundi); Clare Hendricks (The Episcopal Church); Bishop Sarah Mullally (The Church of England); Amal Sarah (The Church of Pakistan); and Reverend Navina Thompson (The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East).
Eight Anglican women have been selected as the Anglican Communion’s delegation to the 64th annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, to be held in New York City in March 2020.
Supported by staff from the Anglican Communion Office at the United Nations (ACOUN), the delegation will bring expertise and diverse experiences from around the Anglican Communion to engage in two weeks of advocacy, learning and fellowship centred on the realisation of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
The delegation members are: Robyn Andréo-Boosey (The Anglican Church of Australia); Bridie Boyd (The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia); Reverend Bianca Daébs (Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil); Martine Dushime (The Anglican Church of Burundi); Clare Hendricks (The Episcopal Church); Bishop Sarah Mullally (The Church of England); Amal Sarah (The Church of Pakistan); and Reverend Navina Thompson (The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East).
Each delegate was nominated by their Primate and chosen to represent the Communion at-large on major issues of women’s rights and gender justice. The delegation selected draws together women who are leaders in their church, diocese or province, alongside younger women (aged 18 to 30) with experience and interest in gender equality and gender justice, the empowerment of women and girls, and women’s leadership. Next year’s delegation includes Bishop Sarah Mullally, and is thought to be the first time a diocesan bishop has been included in the delegation. The delegates will highlight Anglican women’s leadership and voices within the halls of the United Nations.
The UNCSW is an intergovernmental body established in 1946 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council with the exclusive objective of promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Each year, the Commission focuses on a different theme, which then shapes the agenda of the intergovernmental body as well as the engagement of broader civil society actors.
This year, the 45 UN Member States who are members of the Commission will review the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which was adopted in 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China. The Commission members will assess current challenges that affect the implementation of the Platform for Action and the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women across the world. The March 2020 gathering will offer the chance to celebrate the successes that have been achieve in the past 25 years, and to reflect on how much still needs to be done.
Jillian Abballe, UN Advocacy Manager and Head of New York Office, said: “The Anglican Communion’s long-standing engagement with the UNCSW and its themes is underpinned by the commitment set out in its Fourth Mark of Mission – to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation.”
She explained: “The Anglican Communion Office at the United Nations has participated in the UNCSW for many years now and has brought a delegation of Anglican women from around the Communion to be in fellowship, share in worship, and engage in prophetic advocacy.”
The report from this year’s CSW63 has been published to coincide with the announcement of the CSW64 delegation. The report, compiled by ACOUN staff, includes input from all the delegates, details their engagement with the CSW process and includes reflections from the delegation on their experiences before, during and after CSW63.
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