April: Activism at the UN, climate change, women’s leadership for climate justice
22 April is International Mother Earth Day. Ecosystems support all life on Earth. The healthier our ecosystems are, the healthier the planet - and its people. Restoring our damaged ecosystems will help to end poverty, combat climate change, and prevent mass extinction. Enhancing women’s leadership in the service of ecosystem restoration is key to tackling climate change in equitable, healthy, and sustainable ways.
We've partnered with groups working in Guatemala:
Guatemalan women with tree plantings
ICUUW, Ecosystem Restoration Camps USA (ERC USA), and Contour Lines supported women-led tree planting efforts in Chinabenque and Socela, indigenous communities in the mountainous region of Guatemala. A historically persecuted group, the Q’eqchiʼ Maya have been actively resisting a foreign-owned mine that has polluted nearby waterways.
ICUUW is at the forefront of championing gender equality and climate activism at the United Nations:
ICUUW delegation at the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, July 2023
As an international organization in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), ICUUW contributes to the accomplishment of the goals and mission of the UN, advancing the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal #5 (SDG5): “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.” Last year, we submitted our first quadrennial report to ECOSOC: 2023 UN ECOSOC Report
ICUUW takes part in the yearly sessions of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the UN’s principal body dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, and has participated in several recent UN conferences: the Climate Change Conference or COP 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh Egypt, the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York, USA, a conference on developing a global treaty on plastic pollution in Paris, France, and a UN High Level Political Forum. Several ICUUW members attended events virtually during UN General Assembly sessions.