CAMEUS & Other Affiliations
CAMEUS is the agreed-upon acronym for the collaboration between the North American affiliates of Graduate Women International (GWI). It is composed of Canada (CFUW), Mexico (FEMU, Federación Mexicana de Universitarias) and the USA (WG-USA, Women Graduates-USA). The acronym is composed of the initial letters of our respective countries.
At the Mexican Mission in New York, our MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed, formalizing our regional alliance on March 7, 2023, during CSW67.
Our association is based on the understanding that our three organizations in North America share not only a deep friendship but also the unwavering belief that all women and children should be educated and empowered to reach their full potential. All three organizations hold status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and participate in sending delegates to the annual Commission of the Status of Women (CSW).
An overarching concern for CAMEUS has always been migration both within and between our countries. We work separately and together to ensure the human rights of the women and children crossing our respective borders. To that end, we seek to educate our members on the needs of migrants and to advocate with other civil societies and our respective governments.
We collaborate in creating a work plan for our work each year and we hold a parallel event at each CSW focusing on how the priority themes are applicable to migrants and refugees in North America.
IAW
The International Alliance of Women (IAW) is an international NGO comprising of 41 member organizations involved in the promotion of women’s human rights, equality, and the empowerment of women. The IAW has general consultative status at the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and is accredited to many specialized UN agencies, has participatory status with the Council of Europe, and is represented at the Arab League, the African Union, and other international organizations. It was founded in 1904 and is based in Geneva.
Mission
The objectives of IAW are:
- to promote the human rights and the empowerment of women in all spheres of life
- to ensure that the status of every individual without distinction on grounds of sex, sexual orientation, age, race, religious or political persuasion or any other ground shall be based on respect for the person
- to promote social justice and to work for peace and good understanding among peoples.
Constitution
IAW adopted a new constitution in 2022.