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>


Return to Index
Return to fem-women2000 HOME