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IN THE CORRIDORS

NGOs report progress on having a number of their proposals included in the draft document, although most amendments remain in brackets. A proposal from the Women's Linkage Caucus for the appointment of a gender "ombudswoman" (or High-Level Post) in the Secretary-General's office was tabled Saturday by the US. Additional topics, including education, environment, disability and migrant women, have had similar success. Despite these advances, NGOs are concerned about the outcome of other issues, especially in light of positions expressed by delegates during the first reading. The EU's input on macroeconomic impacts (e.g. SAPs) on women and the consistency of delegates' positions on integrating women's interests into the post-Vienna human rights agenda, are among their areas of concern.

NGOs also remain interested in the outcome of the closed working group on NGO accreditation. Discussions are reported to be continuing on the question of FWCW accreditation for a number of NGOs, including Tibet support groups, the Red Thread in Guyana, the Ain O Salis Kendra of Bangladesh, and the Catholic pro-life group, Campaign for America.