Subject: IWTC Women's Globalnet #127
From: lalamaziwa <lalamaziwa@jca.apc.org>
Date: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 11:53:07 +0900
Seq: 11
From: "iwtc@green.igc.org" <iwtc@igc.org> To: iwtc-womensglobalnet@igc.org Date: Thu, 05 Aug 1999 20:01:52 -0400 Subject: IWTC Women's Globalnet #127 -- IWTC WOMEN'S GLOBALNET #127 Women's Initiatives and Activities Worldwide by Anne S. Walker August 6, 1999 UPDATE ON BEIJING PLUS FIVE PLANS AND PREPARATIONS UN/CSW/PrepCom 2 Date Change: The UN Division for the Advancement of Women (UN/DAW) has announced that, due to a meeting conflict, the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)/Second Preparatory Committee for the GA Special Session on Beijing/Women 2000 (PrepCom 2) will now be held from February 28 to March 17, 2000, and not March 6 to 24 as previously reported. This means that the NGO Consultation will now be held on February 27, 2000, and not March 5, 2000. NGO Planning for Beijing Plus Five: An International NGO Committee is being set up to facilitate communication about the year-long process leading up to "Women 2000." Participants will include representatives of 1) CONGO (Conference of NGOs in Consultative Status with the UN) and the three NGO Committees on the Status of Women in New York, Vienna and Geneva; 2) regional NGOs; 3) large NGO networks; and 4) NGO issue-based caucuses. Ability to disseminate information broadly will be a crucial function of NGOs serving on the international committee. Further participation will include serving on a subcommittee to work on issues such as funding, the alternative global report, accreditation issues, and logistics. Participation on the International NGO Committee will be mainly through electronic media, with a meeting planned at the time of the CSW/PrepCom 2 in February/March 2000. The International NGO Committee will assemble a Coordinating Committee to coordinate the flow of communication, to facilitate discussion of issues as they arise, to track the UN process, and encourage the broad participation of NGOs in the Beijing+5 process. As part of an effort to keep all interested NGOs in contact with preparations for Beijing Plus Five, an Interim Working Group sent out a letter last month to more than 2,500 accredited NGOs worldwide. For further information, contact: Sudha Acharya, CONGO Beijing Plus Five Coordinator, <sacharya@netzero.net> or Rebecca Nichols, CONGO Executive Director <congongo@aol.com> Will There Be a UN World Conference on Women in 2005? 2010? Does the Platform for Action continue on after 2000? These are important questions facing women as we approach the Special Session in June 2000. To date, there has been no word >from the UN regarding any future world conferences. If NGOs believe that a world conference on women is needed to continue the momentum of the past 20 years towards improving the status of women worldwide, they should lobby and advocate for this within their own countries. Additionally, input from NGOs into a "Women 2000 Declaration" is encouraged. As the mandate for the Platform for Action runs out in the year 2000, many NGOs believe that it should be renewed and strongly reaffirmed at the Special Session in June 2000, and given a mandate that will take it through the next ten years. If you are interested in having input into this declaration, contact Koh Miyaoi at UN/DAW. <miyaoi@undp.org>. WomenAction 2000: At the time of PrepCom 1 (March 1999), a group of NGO information and communication network women met to discuss the setting up of a global communications network for Beijing Plus Five information. Out of these meetings came WomenAction 2000. A global website has now been established, beginning with a copy of IWTC's Preview 2000 #2, which outlines many of the plans and preparations coming out of the March PrepCom, along with contacts and resources for those interested in Beijing plus Five. You can find this at <http://www.womenaction.org/preview>. Linkages are planned to regional and issue-oriented websites, to WomenWatch (the UN Internet Gateway to information on women's and gender issues) and to websites such as Mapping the World, the IIAV/Netherlands site containing information on women's information and resource centres worldwide. Websites containing regional and national Beijing Plus Five information have already been set up in Asia/Pacific, Africa and Latin America, with future sites planned for Europe and North America. (See GlobalNet #126). For further information on WomenAction 2000, contact: <wimnet@gn.apc.org>. Additions/ Corrections to Beijing Plus Five Websites Listed in Women's Globalnet #126: A. Global web-sites: 1. <http://www.cwgl.rutgers.edu>. Center for Women's Global Leadership site, with special B + 5 section. 2. <http://www.iisd.ca/4wcw/43sess/index.html> International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). IISD is the producer of the well-known Earth Negotiations Bulletin, and this website contains coverage of the 43rd Session of CSW (March 1999) 3. <http://www.iisd.ca/vil14/enb1423e.html> Again IISD, containing the final report from Beijing Plus Five PrepCom 1 (March 1999) B. Africa: 1. <http://www.iwf-casablanca.org> International Women's Forum website, Morocco E. North America: 1. <http://www.freenet.mb.ca/unpac> United Nations Platform for Action Committee, Manitoba, Canada. Focuses on current and upcoming activities, conferences and events, local, Canadian and worldwide, related to follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing 1995. G. United Nations: 1. <http://www.unifem.undp.org> UNIFEM's website (UN Development Fund for Women) Electronic Dialogues Facilitated by the UN: Beginning in July 1999 and running through November 1999, electronic dialogues on the critical areas of concern from the Platform for Action are planned by Womenwatch, (the UN Internet Gateway to information on women's and gender issues). Information on these dialogues is available at <www.un.org/womenwatch/daw> by clicking on the Beijing+5 page. NGO Letter Re Registration for Women 2000: The UN Division for the Advancement of Women (UN/DAW) will be sending out a letter to accredited NGOs detailing the mechanics of NGO registration for Women 2000. For further information on this, contact: UN/DAW Information Officer at <miyaoi@undp.org> IWTC Women's GlobalNet is produced by: International Women's Tribune Centre 777 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017 Tel: (1-212) 687-8633 Fax: (1-212) 661-2704 e-mail: <iwtc@igc.apc.org>