Partner Church Transylvania Tidbit – MUUF Represented at UN CSW70

I hope that you are wondering, what is the connection between our Transylvanian Partner Church activities and the UN CSW70 (Commission on the Status of Women) meeting which just concluded in New York. It went for two weeks and drew thousands of women (and a few men) from around the world, both in person and virtually.

The connection is via an organization called ICUUW, the International Convocation of UU Women. This organization was created 20 years ago by a Transylvanian Unitarian woman, who lives partially in Kolozsvar (Cluj) and partially in Texas. Gabor has spoken and written about this organization multiple times. Some of that content is still available on the muuf.org website.

First, listen to the 4-minute Closing Words during the 30 Years of Partnership service 8/6/23:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdmuXmqayGs

You can also read about the connection in a posting on the MUUF website (3 minute read) in which Gabor describes the most recent visit to our Transylvanian Partner Church in Sinfalva, Romania, while attending the ICUUW Convo 2024 meeting.

The UUA used to have an organization called the UU-UNO (UU United Nations Office) which participated in many UN activities. However, that organization is now defunct, and therefore the ICUUW is the only UU presence at the UN and the primary UU organization with an international focus.

As an accredited UN NGO (Non-Governmental Organization), the ICUUW is permitted to send delegates to CSW. Gabor asked to be a delegate, was included in the delegation, and spent the first of the two weeks in NY, attending meetings in person. The second week he participated in several hybrid and online events.

The meeting included hundreds of events, presentations, panels, speeches, workshops. Many took place in the UN building  and delegates had to apply for a “grounds pass”. Gabor was able to enter the Security Council chamber, the General Assembly chamber, and many UN conference rooms. In addition, there were numerous events in other nearby buildings, such as the UN Church Center (where the UU-UNO used to have an office), the Salvation Army building, etc. In addition, Gabor attended a presentation at the Ukranian Institute on 95^th St, where women who had suffered violence at the hands of invading Russian soldiers gave powerful testimony.

Here is a link to the main CSW page. Unfortunately, the schedule of main events apparently has been taken down, but the “agreed conclusions” are available.

Here is a link to the schedule of CSW “side-events” which is still posted as of 3/24/26

It is worth scrolling through the side-events to get a sense of what the topics were and the sheer number of events.

In addition to the UN-sponsored “side-events” there was an equally, if not more, rich variety of “parallel events” conducted by many NGOs. In order to navigate those events, one needs an account with an app called Whova. I think this app is also used for remote access to GA.

Here is a link to the CSW parallel events schedule, which might work for you.

Here is a link to the recording of the session held by ICUUW, entitled Love Your Neighbor: Helping  Refugees and Immigrants in Morally Challenging Times. It is a powerful 90 minutes. The link takes you to 15:00 for an intro and then the first presenter, from a refugee-aid organization in Romania.

Finally, many events were viewable on UN Web TV. Here are a couple of links which should work.

• From Report to Action: Actionable Pathways for Intersex Rights Beyond the UN

• We Are Still Here: LGBTI Persons and Human Rights

This was a fascinating opportunity to see the UN and associated NGOs, including the ICUUW, in action. It really is a platform for powerful, smart, energetic, and noble women from all over the world.

This CSW meeting happens every year, so anyone who is interested in attending next year should contact Gabor.