Update from Women’s Caucus at the UN

The most recent update from the Women’s Caucus at the UN, of which Zonta USA are members.

Dear US Women’s Caucus at the UN:

   As we conclude this extraordinary pandemic year, I am very grateful for your participation in our Caucus.  Despite the challenges, we managed to hold an informative meeting in March in conjunction with the UN Commission on the Status of Women.  Over the course of this year, we have raised our voices with US State Department officials and with the Congress to push back on conservative moves restricting women’s human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights.  We critiqued and made constructive suggestions to improve the draft USAID policies on gender equality.  We pushed back on the State Department’s inadequate observance of the significant Beijing + 25 anniversary.  We added our support to efforts to ratify the ERA and shift the US towards a more feminist foreign policy. 

     We sent a letter of congratulations to our first female Vice President-Elect, Kamala Harris, and we are in the process of developing another letter to the nominee for US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.   

      These documents are available on our website (www.uswomenscaucus.org).

     As a core part of our mission, we have kept open the lines of communication among women and NGOs that care about the US relationship with the UN, especially on women’s issues, alerting one another to key meetings, hearings, reports, and webinars.

      An important development in 2020 was our realization that to strengthen our Caucus, it is time to form our own non-profit corporation.  As many of you know, we have had the benefit of a fiscal agent, Women’s Intercultural Network (WIN), for the past three years.  Now it is time to spread our wings and develop our own legal and financial capacities.  To that effect, we are forming our first Board of Directors that all are invited to apply for.  I’ve attached an application form and a list of available positions.  If you are able to serve the Caucus as a Board member, please send me your application by December 30, 2020 at uswomenscaucus@gmail.com.

     I look forward to the challenges and possibilities of a new year under a new US administration, continuing our understanding of the benefits of multilateralism and advocating for the well-being of women and girls at home and abroad.  Thank you for joining with me in this mission.

      With warm holiday greetings,

       The Rev. Susan H. Lee