Members of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations (WFUWO) and the Shevchenko Scientific Society attended the 63rd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, held at the UN Headquarters in New York City. At the core of WFUWO’s mission is supporting the dignity and integrity of women in Ukraine and Ukrainian women in émigré communities by supporting adherence to international standards of human rights, raising public awareness of problems and violations, maintaining Ukrainian language and culture, cultivating awareness of Ukrainian history, family and social traditions, as well as efforts that support modern Ukraine’s development into an independent, stable democracy with respect for the rule of law.
(From left to right): Olesia Bondar (Director, Ukrainian Women’s Fund); Milena Goryachkovska (Project Coordinator, Economic Opportunities for People Affected by Conflict in Ukraine Project, Ukrainian Women’s Fund); Halyna Skipalska (Ukraine Country Director, HealthRight International) Natalia Bohdanova (Head of the Department of Gender Policy, Ministry of Social Policy); Maryna Guryanova (Organizer of the Cherkasy Women’s Forum, Cherkasy Media Hub); Natalia Fedorovych (Deputy Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine and the side event convener); Martha Kebalo (Main Representative to UN/ECOSOC for the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations); Iulia Drobysh (undergraduate student, the University of St. Andrews); Olena Hantsyak-Kaskiv (Director of the Ukrainian Centre for Nonviolent Communication and Reconciliation “Dignity Space”; moderator of the side event); and Natalia Karbowska (Director on Strategic Development, Ukrainian Women’s Fund).
Among side-events on issues outlined in the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 “Women, Peace, Security” was a panel, featuring Natalia Mokryak and Olga Oprysko, relatives of Ukrainian sailors who were captured by the Russian forces in the Black Sea on November 25, 2018.
Ukrainian National Women’s League of America hosted a special event, honoring participants in the UN Commission on the Status of Women, on March 15, 2019. Maryna Prykhodko and Martha Kebalo discussed WFUWO’s work at UN and introduced the Ukrainian delegation to the UN session. Among guest speakers were Maryna Guryanova, coordinator of the Women’s Forum in Cherkasy, and Akhtem Chiygoz, former deputy chairman of the Majlis, the Crimean Tatar assembly.