An Update on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women Beijing + 10 Meetings
March 3, 2005
The Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) is coordinating the participation of 23 funded delegates from a variety of non-governnmental organizations at the United Nations meetings of Beijing + 10 in New York (February 28 - March 11). For a list of the funded organizations participating in these meetings (the resources for which came from Status of Women Canada), please see www.fafia-afai.org.
Organizations range from the Riverdale Immigrant Women’s Centre, the Native Women’s Association of Canada, the National Anti-Poverty Organization, la Fédération des femmes du Québec, to the Congress of Black Women, the Yukon Status of Women, the National Association of Women and the Law, among others.
Many more women from organizations in Canada are also here for this event, including the Voice of Women, McGill Women’s Law Caucus, International Anglican Women’s Network, The Canadian Labour Congress, and the Assembly of First Nations women’s council.
Aside from the formal proceedings at the United Nations, there are hundreds of side events, including some organized by Canadian NGOs.
Here are some highlights:
On March 1, the Voice of Women put ‘war on trial’. Joan Russo, law caucus, Janis Alton, Janet Eaton and Marion Pape participated in the preparations and/or unveiling of this mock trial.
On Thursday, March 3, the Native Women’s Association of Canada will be hosting a side event on the Sisters in Spirit campaign in Canada. This campaign seeks to bring attention to and justice for the families of over 500 hundred Aboriginal women whose disappearances and deaths have gone unnoticed, and unsolved. For more information, see http://www.sistersinspirit.caThe Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women has partnered with the Women’s International Coalition for Economic Justice (WICEJ), INTERCEDE, the International Indigenous Women’s Forum, among others, to deliver a workshop on: The Unfinished Beijing Agenda: Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Class, Sexuality… This workshop will provide a hands on opportunity to consider the inter-linking problems women face.
The Women?s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) will launch this week its global assessment of countries’ progress on the Beijing commitments. It is entitled Beijing Betrayed. The chapter on Canada, written by FAFIA, focuses on the realities of Aboriginal women in Canada. See http://www.wedo.org for more information.
Next Wednesday (March 9), FAFIA will host a side event on women and political participation, with a special examination on quotas. Jackie Steele, doctoral student at the University of Ottawa and member of the FAFIA delegation, will link draw upon the experiences of India and South Africa which have both attained a critical mass (defined as a minimum of 30%) of women in their legislatures.
NGO Forum Update
The NGO Committee on the Status of Women held a NGO forum at Barnard College on Sunday, February 27th entitled from Mexico City to Beijing and Beyond: Realizing the Vision. Representatives from over 700 organizations (including 13 delegates from Canada) attended jam-packed plenaries and workshops. The overwhelming majority of presenters, who represented a range of countries, reported that progress had not come quickly enough. However, significant gains have been made in a few countries in the global south and Central and Eastern Europe which have succeeded in establishing Ministries for the Status of Women for the first time, or including equality clauses in the constitution or national legal framework.
At this event, the NGO CSW committee also released its report Ten Years After Beijing: Still More Promises than Progress 1995-2005: Review and Appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. This report was based upon NGO shadow reports that were submitted to the committee in response to a UN Questionnaire.
Canada rates low on NGO Scorecard
Notably, in an NGO Scorecard for the 12 Areas of Critical Concerns, Canada was rated a 2 out of 4 in the areas of poverty and human rights (1 = poor and 4 = very good). Canada was also accorded a 1 in the area of women’s political participation. The NGO CSW committee accorded Canada a 3 (= good) in the areas of violence, economy, and the environment.
In the section devoted to emerging issues, Canada was also rated a 2 in regards to Indigenous women, and older women. Unfortunately, this report is not yet available on-line but you can check out the UN Commission on the Status of Women NGO Committee in NY by going to: http://www.ngocongo.org/ngosubs/stwomny-news.htm
Political Declaration on the Re-Affirmation of the Beijing Platform for Action
The UN Commission on the Status of Women is asking countries to re-affirm the Beijing Platform for Action through a political declaration (see attached pdf file). Late last week, the United States proposed an amendment to the draft political declaration being considered by state parties (countries) who signed the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995.
The text of the amendment is the following:
Re-affirm the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action adopted at the 4th world conference on women and the outcome of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly while re-affirming that they do not create any new international human rights, and that they do not include the right to abortion.
Only a very few countries (no more than two) have demonstrated support for this amendment to date and there is wide speculation that the United States will drop this amendment before the end of the week. Canada is not supporting the US on this amendment. If you want to express your support for Canada’s current position, you can call or email Canada’s permanent mission to the United Nations by email at Canada@un.int.
