Feminist advocacy on international agreements for disaster risk reduction: From Yokohama to Sendai

Civil Society at the United Nations Through the Lens of Organizational Sociology: Exclusion and Temporariness

“…At an international level interest group theories tend to focus on inclusion at international conferences for it provides a tangible context and relevant starting point to study CSOs' activities, advocacy strategies, and influence (Betsill and Corell 2008;Hanegraaff 2015a;Rauch 2018;Kimber 2020). Two main mobilization theories have been used to understand CSO inclusion in IOs.…”

“…Furthermore, since the very nature of temporary organizations as ephemeral and unstable need to be reevaluated because inaccurate in practice (Bechky 2006), I suggest to re-read temporary organizing at the United Nations as groups subject to practices of exclusion; CSO is neither invited to take the floor, nor to attend decision-making venues, basically confined to policy arenas (Kimber 2020). Organizing enables to observe exclusion mechanisms in activities and practices.…”

“…Observing and Experiencing Temporariness and Exclusion at the UN Grasping the temporariness of an organization cannot be better done than by experiencing it firsthand. I rely on data produced and collected during my PhD research in which I investigated the relative inclusion and the dynamics of exclusion of civil society in the international negotiation processes (Kimber 2020). With this goal in mind, I integrated the Women's Major Group.…”

“…The way SUN ensures CSO engages in intergovernmental negotiations is determined by the major themes it enacts. They do so with three major tasks: 1) take the floor in meetings where they are allowed to voice their concerns and opinions; 2) recommend alternative wording to various member states either via email or in person; 3) edit draft documents SUN sends out to all actors involved in the process (Kimber 2020). The WMG members primarily advocate for gender issues, such as recognizing the social impact of gender inequality and hence fighting for the implementation of equality in areas such as decision-making, economic resources, and leadership at a national and a local level.…”

“…For example, the third feminist wave (Parini 2006) introduces the role of patriarchy which requires to be deconstructed in the public sphere and most importantly in the private sphere. According to civil society, the UN is consequently not bold enough to promote "women in all their diversity" and seems at a loss to implement a more forward-looking understanding of women's position in societies (Kimber 2020).…”