While the 60th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is taking place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York (14-24 March 2016), WAVE - which is this year represented by a delegation of 14 members from 8 countries - was invited to present a statement at the High-level interactive dialogue among Ministers: Building alliances for gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on Wednesday 16th of March. The statement was delivered by WAVE President Rosa Logar.

WAVE welcomes the Agreed Conclusions [advanced unedited version] on women’s empowerment and the link to sustainable development of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and urges UN member states in Europe to swiftly implement the provisions within the document.

In its Agreed Conclusions, the Commission "strongly condemns all forms of violence against women and girls" and "expresses deep concern that discrimination and violence against women and girls particularly against those who are most vulnerable, continues in all parts of the world."

The Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) adopted its questionnaire to monitor the implementation of the Istanbul Convention by state Parties, on the occasion of its fifth meeting in Paris, 9-11 March 2016. Based on this questionnaire, GREVIO will draw up and publish reports evaluating legislative and other implementation measures.

Published in March 2016, the WAVE Thematic Paper "Access to Justice for Women Victims of Violence: Analysis and Key Tenets of International Law and Practice in the Field" was developed by lawyer Genoveva Tisheva, of WAVE member Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation (BGRF). The thematic paper 'explores the notion of access to justice for women victims of violence, as well as barriers to such access, including gender stereotyping and additional vulnerabilities. Additionally, it addresses achievements in the access to justice before international human rights bodies. Further, the balance between ensuring the autonomy of women survivors of violence in initiating procedures for protection of their rights and the obligation of the state to ensure public prosecution of aggressors in criminal law is also discussed. The indispensable role of civil society organisations, in particular women’s NGOs, in facilitating access to justice for women survivors of violence is one of the core arguments put forward in the present paper.'

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