BRIEFING for Thursday, 18 March

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.