Soroptimist International South East Asia Pacific, hold special consultative status at ECOSOC.  SISEAP a non-governmental organisation (NGO's) was granted special consultative status in 2014.

As an NGO with Special Consultative Status, SISEAP is invited to participate in the annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York. The Commission on the Status of Women is:

• A functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
• The principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
• Established by resolution on 21 June 1946 to monitor and promote women’s rights
• The CSW is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
• The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is a visionary agenda for the empowerment of women. It is also one of the reference frameworks to analyse the situation of women around the world and to assess the efforts of States in support of women’s empowerment.
• Progress on implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) is reviewed by the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) every five years.

Reference UN and UN Women

Commission on the Status of Women is one of the largest principal organs of the United Nations. CSW  promotes gender equality and the empowerment of women

At CSW, governments, civil society organizations, experts and activists from across the world come together to agree on actions and investments that can end women’s poverty and advance gender equality.

They discuss progress and gaps in the implementation of the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the key global policy document on gender equality, as well as emerging issues that affect gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Member States agree on further actions to accelerate progress and promote women’s rights in political, economic, and social fields. The outcomes and recommendations of each session are forwarded to ECOSOC for follow-up.

Official representatives from member states and civil society and NGO's can attend the formal CSW meetings and the accompanying side events on women’s issues which are sponsored by member states.

As SISEAP hold special consultative status, we are able to have delegates attend the two-week session.  NGOCSW, the civil society arm of CSW presents the NGOCSW Forum where hundreds of sessions, known as parallel events are open for all interested parties to attend. To attend in person NGO's must register their official representatives.  But now with hybrid events, members can register to attend for virtual events, to register for parallel inperson and virtual events visit ngocsw.org.

Soroptimists and indeed activists from across the globe should participate in CSW, attendance at a CSW meeting is important as it gives participants the opportunity amplify their voice with thousands of women world wide, as they explore solutions to myriad problems facing women of the world; through parallel and side events you can showcase the grass roots project work of SISEAP, work that is closing the gap towards 2030.  Attendees will also  gain valuable knowledge around critical issues affecting women worldwide by attending side and parallel events; seek partnership opportunities and network with like-minded attendees from all over the globe

CSW69 Beijing +30

CSW69 will be held in New York from the 10 - 21 March 2025.  SISEAP is able to offer 7 delegate positions to Soroptimists from the South East Asia Pacific.  One of these positions will be a scholarship position worth $2000.00AUD towards costs to attend CSW69.  The other positions will be self funded positions.

CSW69 Focus

The main focus of the sixty-ninth session will be on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly. The review will include an assessment of current challenges that affect the implementation of the Platform for Action and the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and its contribution towards the full realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.