On 14 September 2020 in New York, Latvia was elected to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW) for the 2021–2025 period. In total, 10 of 45 UN CSW member states were re-elected during the elections. Alongside Latvia, the other countries to be elected were Afghanistan, Argentina, Austria, the Dominican Republic, India, Israel, Nigeria, Turkey, and Zambia.
The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women was established on 21 June 1946 and it is a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The UN CSW is the principal global intergovernmental body dedicated to the identification and understanding of various aspects of women’s lives across the globe and creating global standards for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
The UN CSW gathers in New York for annual two-week meetings with participation of UN member states, civil society organisations and representatives from UN bodies. At the commission’s sessions, the participants discuss progress achieved in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which is the principal political document for women’s equality at the international level. The Commission discusses current developments concerning gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as producing thematic resolutions and general conclusions.
An increasingly broader representation of Latvia in the bodies of international organisations advances Latvia’s foreign policy interests and raises its profile internationally.
On 1 January 2020, Latvia began a three-year term on the UN Economic and Social Council. Latvia has also been elected to an ECOSOC subsidiary body, the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development.