The Divchata team joined the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations (or “SFUZHO” which stands for “Світова Федерація Українських Жіночих Організацій”) at the 67th Session of the UN within the Framework of the Commission on the Status of Women. More details can be found on their Facebook page.
SFUZHO is the international coordination superstructure of Ukrainian women’s organizations in the world. It was founded in 1948 and received accreditation in the United Nations Department of Public Information (now the Department of Global Communications) in 1990, consultative status in the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in 1993, and membership in UNICEF in 1997. Today SFUZHO is connects the network from 33 countries of the world.
Since the beginning of its existence (1948), SFUZHO, as a women’s association, has been interested in the work of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), created by the resolution of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOR) in June 1946. Thirty years ago (March 23, 1993), SFUZHO gained advisory status in ECOSOR and since then has been officially participating in the program of events that takes place in the non-governmental sphere parallel to official meetings.
On February 22, 2023, the UN held a high-level event on crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. Dr. Marta Kebalo made a statement about the concern of SFUZHO and about the activities of its component organization – the Union of Ukrainian Women of America. During the panel discussion, Russia’s violation of human rights in Ukraine, the rights of prisoners of war, and the rights of children were considered, and the mechanisms of abduction of Ukrainian children for re-education and their illegal adoption by families in Russia were documented. The UN event on February 22 was broadcast on air.
On February 27, 2023, the Geneva office of the UN hosted a meeting of Mr. Chaba Kyoresha, the President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, with the public, which was attended by the representative of SFUZHO, Lesya Nikolayeva
Representatives of SFUZHO at the United Nations took an active part in this year’s 67th session of the United Nations within the framework of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSJ-67) , which focused on innovation and technological changes, on education in the digital age to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls Representatives of SFUZHO cooperated with the delegation of Ukraine to the CSJ in New York from March 4 to 18 . It was headed by the Vice-Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna (the delegation consisted of 32 people – representatives of ministries, government departments and public organizations), and managed by Dr. Kateryna Levchenko. The delegation presented Ukraine’s positions at the UN at various additional events and meetings with the Ukrainian community organized by the Ukrainian Women’s Union of America (UUA).
On March 5, representatives of SFUZHO, together with the New Jersey District of the Union of Ukrainian Women of America, held an event at the Ukrainian-American Cultural Center in New Jersey called ” Evidence and experience of Russian violence in the war against Ukrainians: a transformative perspective.” The program includes testimonies of people who, being military and civilians, experienced a traumatic experience during Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and a screening of the film “Sexual Violence of the Russian Army in Ukraine”
March 6 representatives of SFUZHO joined the viewing of the documentary film “Sexual crimes of the Russian army in Ukraine” in the premises of the Ukrainian Institute of America. Dr. Marta Kebalo was the moderator of the event, in which K. Levchenko, O. Grigorieva and Iryna Dovgan spoke. On March 7, at the UN Security Council, Dr. Kateryna Levchenko reads Ukraine’s statement during the open debate “Women Peace Security.” On March 8, SFUZHO, together with the National Council of Women of Ukraine, held the event ” Survivors: an updated report on the situation of women in Ukraine, their peace and security, 2022-2023″ . Members of the Ukrainian delegation to the CSJ took part in the discussion. On March 8, SFUZHO celebrated the 30th anniversary of receiving SFUZHO’s UN ECOSOR accreditation at the Ukrainian Institute of America. All members of the Ukrainian delegation to the UN – representatives of the government of Ukraine in New York, together with the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Serhii Kyslytsa and Consul General Oleksiy Golubov, and representatives of the Ukrainian community and all NGOs with which SFUZHO works in partnership – were invited to the friendly meeting and dinner.
Thank you to SFUZHO for having us. We look forward to future partnerships!
