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On 26 March, the 65th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) held under the chairmanship of Permanent Representative of Armenia to the United Nations Mher Margaryan drew to a close with the unanimous adoption of the Agreed Conclusions on “Women's full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”.

Addressing the delegates in the UN General Assembly hall before the adoption of the document, Mher Margaryan emphasized the importance of achieving an agreed outcome under the challenging circumstances posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He expressed appreciation for the efforts of the delegations involved in the extensive negotiations that lasted several weeks, stressing the importance of the adopted document for the promotion of full and effective participation of women and girls in all aspects of public life and elimination of violence against them, Armenia’s Permanent Mission to the UN reported. 

The Agreed Conclusions set recommendations on the measures for full and equal participation of women in all areas of public life, including in the government and public sector. The document calls for legislative changes to eliminate discrimination against women, development of innovative measures, respective targets and timelines to ensure equal participation of women in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. The document also reaffirms the importance of engaging women in peace processes and outlines recommendations for the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls.

One of the most substantive deliberative events of the the UN calendar, the session of the Commission on the Status of Women featured statements by high-ranking officials from more than 100 countries, with thousands of representatives of more than 800 civil society organizations from various countries following the session. The session also featured multiple virtual side events on various aspects of gender equality and women empowerment.