www.wougnet.org/WSIS/wsisgc.html Event: World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) - Gender Caucus The objective of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is to formulate a common vision and understanding of the global information society. It is expected to adopt a Declaration of Principles and an Action Plan to facilitate the effective growth of the Information Society and to help bridge the digital divide. It is also regarded as an effective means to assist the United Nations in fulfilling the goals of the Millennium Declaration. The Summit will be held in two phases: Geneva from December 10-12, 2003, and Tunis in 2005, preceded by preparatory meetings - the first of which will be held in Geneva from July 1-5, 2002.
After a long while we would like to inform you that both the Finnish Government and the NGOs in Finland are accelerating their efforts for the Fifth World Conference on Women.
It is well known that the Finnish NGOs have been campaigning for the Fifth World Conference on Women in 2005 since the beginning of the Beijing+5 process. This suggestion received broad support of the NGO Community already in ECE Regional Conference for Beijing+5 in January 2000. Since then it has been widely supported by the NGOs during the preparatory process for the 23rd General Assembly Special Session on Women 2000 as well as in the Special Session itself. It has also been discussed in innumerable NGO events and conferences in various places and during the CSW and ECOSOC sessions last year.
The Government taking firm steps
On the 31 May 2002 the Finnish Government has firmly decided to pursue an active policy for the Fifth UN World Conference on Women. It supports the efforts to develop further the substantive aims and forms of the Conference.
And it also works actively for achieving the widest possible support of other UN Member States to this goal, first with the particular emphases on the other Nordic governments and the governments of EU countries.
We also recall that the Governments adopted in the Special Session 2000 a Political Declaration where they agreed "to assess regularly further implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action with a view of bringing together all parties involved in 2005 to assess progress and consider new initiatives, as appropriate, ten years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action and twenty years after the adoption of the Nairobi forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women".
A new NGO Committee in Finland
The Finnish NGOs have now established a new national Committee for the Fifth World Conference on Women 2005 under the auspices of the Finnish UN Association. The purpose of this Committee is to continue the NGO Campaign for the World Conference, and cooperate and support the efforts of the Finnish Government for this goal.
We know that also many of you have been working in various ways for the Fifth World Conference on Women in 2005. Now we appeal to all of you that we join our efforts towards making this aim to become true. A particular task in every country is to persuade the national government to see the purpose and importance of having the UN World Conference on Women in 2005 and be prepared to support this issue when it comes to the decision table in the UN either in the 57th session of General Assembly this year or in the Commission on Status of Women next year.
In the spirit of Sisterhood and Cooperation for the common aim,
Helsinki, June 20, 2002.
The Report from ECOSOC/Geneva July 2001:
THE CALL FOR THE FIFTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN WAS BROUGHT TO ECOSOC
The United Nations Economic and Social Council, ECOSOC, held its substantive session in Geneva 2-27 July 2001. On the Agenda there was the issue on Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits. In this connection it was pertinent to submit the NGO initiative for the Fifth World Conference on Women in 2005 to the attention of the governments attending the ECOSOC session.
The Finnish NGO Coalition on Beijing+10 was asked to draft a Call to ECOSOC 2001 for the WCW in 2005 by a great number of NGOs convened in New York during the 45th Session of the CSW in March 2001. Thus it was drafted in Finland and sent to NGOs around the world through several e-mail networks in May. A number of important international, regional and national NGOs reconfirmed their support to this appeal.
In Geneva Leslie Wright and Conchita Poncini, the presidents of the NGO "Committees on the Status of Women" in New York and Geneva, organized together the Womens daily caucus held from 16-20 July. They helped fine tune the joint statement drafted by the NGO representatives present at the caucus for introducing the NGO Call to ECOSOC. The issue was also discussed in other occasions with NGOs which had not been involved with this before, and with some delegates.
The statement was delivered by Conchita PONCINI on 23 July at the Plenary of the ECOSOC session. The Call to ECOSOC for the Fifth World Conference on Women in 2005 was attached to the statement on paper and delivered to members of ECOSOC and other participants of the session, including to NGOs.
The speech was well received, and the task of conveying the NGO Call to ECOSOC was well taken care of. The statement made in the Plenary was critical and a very effective way to call the governments attention to the NGOs campaign which is actively continuing and will come up again in the General Assembly next autumn and during the 46th session of the CSW in March next year.
Where are we now?
The assessments of and follow up to the implementation of the World Conferences of 1990s are constantly discussed in ECOSOC documents and also in negotiations. The preparations for ten year review and appraisal of the Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in RIO in 1992, is in full swing for the Earth Summit to be held next year in Johannesburg.
On the other hand, the reviews and assessments of Vienna+10, Cairo+10, Copenhagen+10 are being handled independently. In fact, the procedure seems to be different with each one of the conferences. The definite mandate is given only for the appraisal of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Outcome document by the 23dth Special Session to bring together all parties involved in 2005 to assess progress and consider new initiatives 10 years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action and 20 years after the adoption of the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies.
It is obvious that the event in 2005 is not supposed to be merely an ordinary ten-year review and appraisal, but also to consider current challenges and forward-looking strategies for the advancement and empowerment of women and girls, as the Commission on Status of Women stated in its report to ECOSOC. This requires a process of careful and in depth preparation, which is not possible within the regular work programme of the CSW.
In addition, there is the obligation of mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system (Agreed Conclusion of ECOSOC 1997/2), which is a priority for the CSW, and should be monitored and assessed also within the reviews of the other world conferences and summits. Therefore the CSW proposed to this session of ECOSOC that it should establish a regular agenda item entitled "Mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes of the UN system" and also asked ECOSOC "to devote its coordination segment in 2003 to the review and appraisal of the system-wide implementation of mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes of the UN system.
Now it is up to us "to make it happen! "
So far all options are still open for the Fifth World Conference on Women in 2005. We have much to do everywhere in our respective countries, if we want to ensure that a high level, well prepared and adequately resourced World Conference on Women will take place in 2005. Any government individually or together with other ‘like minded' governments can take the initiative, to bring this issue up at the official level in the forthcoming 56th General Assembly Session or latest at the 46th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women next year.
The initiative for the International Women's Year in 1975 came from one international women's NGO in 1972. A government took this initiative as its own and proposed it to the CSW session. A representative of another government seconded the proposal and all members of the CSW together adopted it. It was so simple to start, and we have seen what has happened ever since!
Let's make it happen again! It is our turn now, it is up to us to keep the momentum and maintain the process - we cannot let it slow down!
It is up to us to make it happen!
So far all options are still open for the Fifth Conference on Women in 2005. We have much to do everywhere in our respective countries, if we want to ensure that a high level, well prepared and adequately resourced World Conference on Women will take place in 2005. Any government individually or together with other like minded governments can take the initiative, to bring this issue up at the official level in the forthcoming 56th General Assembly Session or latest at the 46th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women next year.
Transmis par SOS SEXISME (13 sept 2001)
Espace Offert par L'Annuaire au Féminin (TM)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|