Overview

The Secretariat is tasked with maintaining contacts and linkages with women's and gender-focused organisations throughout the Commonwealth.

It is currently hosted by the Eastern African Sub Regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI) Secretariat in Kampala . The CWN will remain in Uganda for the next three years and then move to the host of the 9WAMM. The National Focal Point for the CWN in Uganda is the National Association of Women Organizations in Uganda (NAWOU).


Background

The Secretariat was initially established in Trinidad and Tobago with the task of maintaining contacts and linkages with women's and gender focussed organisations throughout the Commonwealth and assist organisations where possible in their preparations for the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women and their input into the commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender equality.

At the meeting of the CWN in the wings of the 7th Commonwealth Women's Affairs Ministers Meeting (7WAMM) in 2004 in Fiji Islands on 30 May - 2 June, members agreed tha the Secretariat of the CWN would move every three years to the country hosting the subsequent WAMM.

At the same meeting it was further agreed tha there would be five regional focal pioints to represent
CWN in each of the regions, who would take on the role of 'theme drivers' of the areas in the CPoA. The focal points would also form the steering committee for the CSO meeting for each WAMM. The CWN undertakes the monitoring of the commonwealth processes through thematic 'focal points based on the four themes of the CPoA and hosted by a CSO in each of the regions of the Commonwealth (Africa, Asia, Aribbean, Pacific and developed countries -Europe) as well as capacity building within the regions.