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IWTC
WOMEN’S GLOBALNET #356 ACTIVITIES
& INITIATIVES OF WOMEN WORLDWIDE COMMISSION
ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN WRAP-UP AND THE GEAR CAMPAIGN April 29, 2009 Katie Kotler, Helena Gronberg and Joeyta Bose |
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1. SUMMARY
OF 2009 CSW OUTCOME DOCUMENT The 53rd Commission on the
Status of Women rolled to a close on March 13, 2009, with a hard-won set of
Agreed Conclusions on the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and
men, including caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS -- its priority theme,
as well as several resolutions on women’s empowerment. The outcome document,
which is the principal output of each commission, urges governments to use
policy to scale up efforts significantly to achieve universal access to
comprehensive prevention programs, treatment, care and support by 2010. Governments recognized the increased
feminization of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the need to review existing
HIV/AIDS policies to ensure that they reduce women’s vulnerability to the
disease. They also highlighted the
need to improve and promote accessibility to quality public health-care
services, and design programs that encourage men’s responsibility for
home-based care. In other areas, the
conclusions pushed for a focus on protecting the rights and addressing the
needs of women of all ages, including older women and widows, those infected
with or affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as those providing unpaid caregiving.
In addition, it emphasized the need for female-headed households to be the
target for social and legal protection, with the goal of increasing access to
economic resources such as micro-credit, sustainable economic opportunities,
pension and saving schemes, education and access to health services,
including affordable antiretroviral treatment and nutritional support. The conclusions also
called on governments to incorporate the value and cost of unpaid work to
society in policies, strategies and budgets across relevant sectors; ensure
that women and men have access to maternity and paternity leave; increase
access to public infrastructure, such as transportation, to reduce the care
burden on households; develop strategies to eliminate gender stereotypes;
collect sex-disaggregated data to inform policymaking; adopt measures to
overcome the negative impacts of the economic and financial crisis; and
allocate financial resources at the international level for the
implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, among other
instruments. Access the conclusions, at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw53/AC%20adopted%2013%20March%20advance%20unedited%20version.pdf 2.
COMMUNICATIONS
PROCEDURE REVISITED For the first time since
2004, CSW delegates entered in to discussions regarding a review of the
Communications Procedure and the working group that oversees this mechanism.
This procedure allows individuals, non-governmental organizations, groups or
networks to submit complaints, appeals or petitions, to the commission, about
violations of women’s human rights in any country in the world. These
submissions are then used, by this working group, to identify emerging trends
and patterns of injustice and discriminatory practices against women for
purposes of policy formulation and the development of strategies for the
promotion of gender equality. The
five-member working group, made up of representatives from each world region,
presents a report of substantiated allegations to the commission, along with
the responses made by governments. While the procedure has
been largely ineffective, member states have postponed discussions on its
repair and rejuvenation, each year since the 48th CSW session in
2004 when it was addressed in addendums to a report from the Secretary-General,
which reviewed the functioning of the working group and the procedure, and
proposed recommendations for its improvement. While postponing the discussion
on the procedure last year, the commission requested the Secretary-General to
update the 2004 addendums with additional or updated views from member
states. Nine states (Azerbaijan,
France, on behalf of the European Union, Egypt, Lebanon, Madagascar, Morocco,
the Russian Federation, Switzerland and Thailand) responded to the Secretary
General’s requests for information, and their views were presented in a
report: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N08/627/82/PDF/N0862782.pdf?OpenElement Several delegations made
numerous comments on the report and the procedure, including observations on
its limitations, suggestions on strengthening it, as well as ideas for an
additional mechanism that would better capture the situation of women around
the world. In addition, the
commission appointed Hoh Sang-Wook (Asian States Group) to the Working Group
on Communications but decided to defer naming remaining members till the
session next year. To find out more about the discussions on this issue at
the CSW, go to: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2009/wom1726.doc.htm To read more about the
procedure itself, go to: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/communications_procedure.html#where To submit a written
complaint for consideration during CSW 2010, write before August 26, 2009 to:
CSW Communications Procedure, Women's Rights Section, Division for the
Advancement of Women, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United
Nations, DC2, 12th floor, New York, New York, 10017; Fax: (212) 963 3463 or
send an e-mail message to: csw-cp@un.org 3.
RESOLUTION ON ASSISTANCE TO PALESTINIAN WOMEN Member states also
considered a resolution that addressed the difficult situation of women in
Palestine and called for the protection of the human rights of Palestinian
women and girls and for the intensification of measures to improve the
conditions faced by Palestinian women. Further, it reaffirms that Israel’s
occupation “remains a major obstacle for Palestinian women with regard to
their advancement, self-reliance and integration in the development of their society…”
and demands that Israel comply with international declarations and
conventions that protect the rights of Palestinian women, among other
provisions. Though the resolution was
passed by the commission (with some abstentions and some votes against it),
it caused some controversy. In particular, the representative from Israel
raised the point that it omitted all references to the contributions of ‘Hamas’ and ‘terrorists’ to the continued
plight of Palestinian women, and therefore did not present an accurate
picture of the situation there. The US explained that while they were deeply
concerned about the situation in Palestine, they voted against the resolution
as it presented an ‘unbalanced’ view of the situation and politicized the
commission. The UK, which also voted against the resolution, raised similar
objections. For more detailed coverage
of the proceedings, go to: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2009/wom1728.doc.htm Access the complete
resolution: http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/5ba47a5c6cef541b802563e000493b8c/695631d2afcc1bf88525757800604801!OpenDocument 4. GENDER
ARCHITECTURE REFORM AT CSW The issue of the gender
architecture reform process was vigorously discussed by government delegates
and NGOs alike. The basis for much of
this discussion was the recently released report “Institutional Options for Strengthening the Institutional
Arrangements for Support to Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.” This paper outlines funding, governance
structure, and staffing issues for the four institutional options (see IWTC’s GlobalNet #341 http://www.iwtc.org/gnets/341.html)
with an emphasis on the fourth option, the composite entity. The composite entity would bring together
the four existing women-specific agencies within the UN, i.e. the UN
Development Fund for Women, Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues,
the Division for the Advancement of Women, and the International Research and
Training Institute for Women. This
report can be accessed at http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/letters/swcgenderequality.pdf Government delegates
addressed this issue in the Agreed Conclusions. In particular, paragraphs 14
and 15h of the outcome document support the process moving forward and
acknowledge the need to address under-resourcing for gender equality in the
UN system. Although there is not
complete agreement among Member States, a growing number of States are
favoring the composite entity. NGOs have been a strong
force in keeping discussion of the gender architecture reform process alive
and on track. More than 300
organizations have become part of a global campaign known as the GEAR campaign which is
spearheaded by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership and WEDO —that has been working with women
in every world region to pressure governments for action. The GEAR campaign
supports the creation of a composite entity that would be led by an
Under-Secretary General, be “ambitiously funded” and which would include
meaningful participation of civil society.
During the CSW, the GEAR
organizers convened workshops and strategy sessions in addition to launching
a petition to be signed by individuals that calls for the creation of a new
women’s entity at the UN and for significant civil society participation to
be integrated into all stages of its development and functioning. To sign the
petition, visit http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/GEAR. To keep current on
progress on the gender architecture reform process and to access information
from the GEAR site, contact gearcampaign@gmail.com
with your organizational affiliation to request an invitation to the website.
. To become an active
member of the GEAR campaign in your country, contact your regional focal for
information. Regional focal points
are: - Africa: African's Women Development and
Communication Network (FEMNET), - Asia: Asia Pacific Women’s Watch (APWW) , - Latin America: Foundation for Studies and Research on
Women (FEIM), - South Asia: South
Asian Campaign for Gender Equality (SACGE)/SAATHI, and - Europe: European Women’s Lobby: Globalising Gender
Equality and Social Justice. For a complete list of
the WG see http://gear.collectivex.com/uploads/files/x/000/017 |
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