CSW-44 Beijing +5 PrepCom, New York, Feb-March 2000

44th Session of the Commission on
the Status of Women (Beijing +5 PrepCom)
New York, 28 February - 17 March 2000

Highlights from Monday, 6 March
Delegates met in a morning Plenary session to hear a statement by Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and panel presentations on Gender Equality, Development and Peace Beyond the Year 2000, which was followed by dialogue. In the afternoon, delegates met briefly in the two Working Groups, but adjourned early to allow for consultations. (see below for photos and RealAudio of the panelists' presentations)

Mary Robinson, UNHCR
She described the review of the implementation of the Platform for Action as an opportuni ty to strengthen language and positions on women's human rights, and noted the importance of developing systematic performance standards to measure government progress toward implementation.

Yoriku Meguro, Japan, Sophia University, Tokyo, spoke on Population, fertility and development from a gender perspective

She defined gender equality as both an analytical and ideological concept, said current demographic changes offer good opportunities for engendering new social systems, and mentioned the lack of gender-disaggregated data as an obstacle to fully understanding the dimensions of women's lives.She identified two strategies for the empowerment of women: byproduct analyses, whereby non-gender policies contribute to the enhancement of gender equality; and identifying women's bargaining power to negotiate.

Rosa Alba Todaro Cavallero, Servicio Nacional de la Mujer, Santiago, Chile, spoke on Gender aspects of globalization and poverty

She pointed to misaligned macroeconomic formulas put forth by the World Bank, the IMF, and the WTO as being responsible for reductions in spending on health and social services. She emphasized that women are traditionally more vulnerable in spheres of labor and do not benefit equally from the advantages of globalization. In response, she called for compensatory policies to ensure that women do not suffer adverse effects from economic restructuring.

Carolyn McAskie, Emergency Relief Coordinator, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, discussed Gender, humanitarian assistance and conflict resolution

She underscored the lack of attention given to rape and its effects as a result of armed conflict. She called for, inter alia, increased input from female refugees in building structures to deal with problems faced by displaced people, vocational training for women in refugee camps, and equal gender representation in peace processes.

Krisztina Morvai, Eövos Lorand University, Budapest, discussed Gender and human rights in the context of democratic transition

Pointing out that most international agreements are signed by foreign ministries, and noting that gender equality is multisectoral, she called for stronger channels of communication within governments and clearer assignation of responsibilities. She emphasized examining context, as in the case of Eastern European resistance to gender equality as a holdover from the centralized approaches of socialist regimes.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo stated that the international community has overlooked the conflicts in Africa and called for supporting civil society efforts to promote peace and tolerance.

Poland noted market-oriented employment policies have maintained gender inequalities in the division of labor and wages and said the lack of responsibility-sharing is a serious constraint on the advancement of women in the public and political spheres.

The conference room is filled to capacity during the morning panel

ENB Summary of CSW-43
Linkages Coverage of the Fourth World Conference on Women
Linkages Coverage of CSW-43
Secretariat web site with official documents and information for NGO participants
ENB's Background Information on CSW-44
Other links (NGOs, research institutes, etc)