COMMISSION
ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN (CSW) ACTING AS THE PREPARATORY COMMITTEE (PREPCOM)
FOR THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ENTITLED "WOMEN 2000:
GENDER EQUALITY, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY"
(18 MARCH, 1999)
The CSW met for
its third meeting at 11:30 am, continuing its informal discussions
from the previous evening on the draft text for a resolution on agenda
item 2. Several proposals were made on paragraphs 10, 12 and 15 by
the EU, JUSCANNZ, the G-77/CHINA and other delegates. At 1:00 pm the
meeting adjourned to reconvene in the afternoon.
The fourth meeting
of the CSW began at 3:00 pm with statements from NGOs. The following
NGO representatives addressed the PrepCom (speeches are available
in RealAudio):
- Phobe
Jones-Schellenberg, representing the International Women Count Network,
emphasized the need for quantification of women's work in the economy
and the burden that women discharge that is unrecognized in the
economic structure of society and its rewards pattern. This inequity
needs to be addressed urgently and both the civil society and governments
have a major role to play;
- Kicki
Nordstrom, speaking on behalf of World Blind Union and Disabled
People's International, drew attention to the lessons learned
after Beijing. She said that through using their combined strength
and making use of what was agreed at Beijing, the world could be
changed. However, efforts have to be made to strengthen and support
women in mainstream NGOs to achieve a fair and equal share of the
decision-making power and responsibility. She stated that it was
time for women to mainstream in the NGO community, as the NGO community
has been, since the beginning of the CSW, the powerhouse for advancement
of women;
- Esther
Camac, representing the Commission of Churches of International
Affairs and the Indigenous Women's Caucus, spoke
on behalf of the Indigenous Women's Caucus. She stated that during
the Beijing follow-up indigenous women had not seen any significant
advances in the condition of their lives, in the eradication of
violence, of poverty, in the improvement of health, in education
or in access to the resources and the decision-making processes.
She called for Beijing+5 to be relevant for indigenous women by
taking huge steps in their favor;
- Fleurette
Osborne, speaking on behalf of the South-North Women of Color Caucus,
pointed out that the Secretary-General's report was a means to carry
out an audit of governments' actions and bring into focus the issue
of racism and integrate it fully into the Platform for Action (POA)
as a main cross-cutting theme which impacts the lives of women;
and
- Fatoumata
Sire Diakite, speaking on behalf of the African NGOs Caucus,
emphasized the need for mainstreaming gender issues into major development
issues in order to make the concern effective and timely. Following
the NGO presentations the CSW adjourned to meet tomorrow, 19 March
at 10:00 am to conclude its work for the session. The meeting will
begin by taking action on the draft resolution. Following this,
the PrepCom will consider its agenda for the next session and then
adopt its report for the current session. At 5:00 pm delegates met
to continue informal consultations from the morning session regarding
the draft text for a resolution on agenda item 2.
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