Women’s Health and Rights in the time of COVID

Virtual Multi-Stakeholder hearing in preparation of the General Assembly high-level meeting on Beijing+25

Dr Varthani Kirupanandan MBChB, for the Commonwealth Medical Trust (Commat)

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed limitations on not only trade, economic growth and society; but also on progression of work towards meeting sustainable development goals [1], particularly gender equality and women’s health. As a result of the pandemic, the 64th session of the Commission on the Status of Women was held in a scaled down format with limited international participation, involving only New York based delegations.

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HLPF Update 9 - Friday, 31 July

Despite the technical challenges of hosting a virtual HLPF, there were 93,346 views on UN Web TV and MGoS engagement remained high:

• 19 MGoS Lead Discussants/ Resource Persons participated in the thematic sessions;

• 30 MGoS Interventions during the thematic sessions;

• 109 MGoS Side Events; and 

• 27 live questions being asked and answered during the VNR sessions and a further 20 in writing

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ECOSOC & HLPF Review | Letter from Co-Facilitators | Silence Procedure

Please find attached a letter from H.E. Mr. Kaha Imnadze, Permanent Representative of Georgia, and H.E. Mr. Jean-Claude do Rego, Permanent Representative of Benin, the co-facilitators for the intergovernmental negotiations for the review process of the Economic and Social Council and the High-level Political Forum. 

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UN General Assembly, sets modalities for 75th session – new dates

The General Assembly adopted five decisions on 21 and 22 July, which include the modalities for a virtual opening of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly and revised dates for the summit on biodiversity and the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

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[INVITATION] Once Again – We Shall Overcome: COVID-19 and People of African Descent | Thursday, July 23rd 2020 | 9:00-10:30AM (EDT)

On Thursday, July 23, UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem will be joined by Member States, civil society leaders and other experts for a global conversation on the impacts and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic on people of African descent and their communities. Participants will reflect on how we can build a better world, one that breaks the cycle of systemic inequalities and brings us towards equal societies, free from discrimination, marginalization and racism.

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Ministerial Declaration 2020 | HLS/ HLPF | Silence Procedure, 5pm Weds 22 July

Please find attached a letter dated 17 July from the President of the Economic and Social Council H.E. Mona Juul placing under silence procedure until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 22 July the attached draft ministerial declaration of the high-level segment of ECOSOC and of the high-level political forum on sustainable development.

Deadline approaching: Registration for Virtual Multi-Stakeholder Hearing Open Until 10 July

Deadline approaching: Registration open until 10 July for the Virtual multi-stakeholder hearing in preparation of the General Assembly high-level meeting on Beijing+25 

This message is a reminder that registration for ECOSOC-accredited NGOs for the online Multi-Stakeholder Hearing Accelerating the realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls is open until 10 July 2020. Please ask interested representatives to register as soon as possible in order to leave sufficient time for registration approval.

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Information note on the arrangements for the 2020 HLPF and the High-level Segment of the Economic and Social Council

An updated information note on the arrangements for the 2020 High-level Political Forum and the High-level Segment of the Economic and Social Council has been published here. 

Major Groups and other Stakeholders | Event Flyer | 2020 HLPF

Please find attached an event flyer for the events being hosted by the Major Groups and other Stakeholder constituencies courtesy of the Steering Group of the MGoS Coordination Mechanism.

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Correction | Stakeholders Perspectives Session | 4-5pm, 7 July

Please note this correction to the weekly HLPF update that was recently sent out. The Stakeholder Perspective session of the HLPF will take place between 4 - 5pm (New York time) EDT and not 5 - 6pm as previously stated. 

The time of 4 - 5pm is correctly printed in the programme on the HLPF website as well as in the HLPF Annotated Agenda. 

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