UNITED NATIONS, New York -- Minister of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon. Frankie A. Campbell began what is scheduled to be a busy week at the United Nations in New York, attending the Opening Session of the Sixty-Third Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63), Monday, March 11, 2019.

Joining Minister Campbell in the General Assembly Hall for the Opening Session were Mrs. Patricia Minnis, Office of the First Spouse, and Her Excellency, Sheila Carey, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of The Bahamas to the United Nations.

Minister Campbell was accompanied by Dr. Jacinta Higgs, the Director of the Department of Gender and Family Affairs and Lillian Quant-Forbes, Director, Department of Social Services, Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development.

The Sixty-Third Session of the Commission on the Status of Women will be held at United Nations Headquarters, New York, United States of America, from March 11 through March 22. The Priority theme for CSW63 is: “Social Protection Systems, Access to Public Services and Sustainable Infrastructure for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls”.

CSW is the principal global intergovernmental body of the United Nations that is exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality. A functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (or ECOSOC), the Commission was established by Resolution in 1946.

CSW is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.

“It is good to be here to search for best practices to be able to go back home and ensure that we are able to add quality to the lives of our people, not just for the sake of reporting, but to be able to report if and when that is necessary,” Minister Campbell said.

“We are here to do things that affect us all as people on this planet. Sure we have our various shortcomings and peculiarities as independent nations, but we also have the common denominator of ensuring equity and equality for our people.

“The focus is currently on women and girls, but equity and equality for our people - which is a basic human right – is what we are after. It is good to see that we are all on the same page in that regard,” Minister Campbell added.

Earlier Monday, the Assembly took time to extend expressions of condolences to the families and countries of the 157 persons (149 passengers and 8 crew members) that were killed Sunday following the deadly crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 shortly after take-off from the airport in Addis Ababa. The flight was scheduled to land in Nairobi, Kenya.

“When you think of the United Nations, this morning’s expressions of condolences and sympathy for the passengers and crew members was a true embodiment of what the United Nations is all about,” Minister Campbell said.

“We saw the world come forward and take a break from the intended subject matter to sympathize and offer words of kindness, and to me that is the true essence of what we are doing here.”

A main focus of the Sixty-Third Session of the Commission on the Status of Women is the implementation of social protection systems.

Social protection systems consist of policies and programmes designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability, while diminishing exposure to certain social risks, among other key factors.