Subject: [fem-women2000 163] WA2000 CSW: Daily News 1 - English - 29/02/00
From: j small <jsmall@gn.apc.org>
Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 20:53:17 -0100
Seq: 163

i am forwarding first issue of womenaction newsletter from 
CSW44/PrepCom2 for Women2000 meeting June 2000.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: CSW: Daily News 1 - English - 29/02/00
Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 18:59:15 -0100
To: b5ngonews@sn.apc.org

WomenAction
February 29th 2000 =96 New York CSW =96 Daily Bulletin Number 1
Co-ordinated by WomenAction  2000=96 http://www. womenaction.org =96
info@womenaction.org

Editorial
The 44th UN CSW meetings represent a last major opportunity for NGOs to
make their voices heard before June. The Special Session on Beijing +5
of the UN General Assembly will not be a World Conference on Women and
there will be no parallel NGO Forum. Like many other NGOs,
WomenAction2000 will be very active during the coming three weeks. One
of our activities is the Daily Bulletin, available Monday through Friday
at the Opening Session. Background information will be made available on
the WomenAction web site (http://www.womenaction.org). The information
we receive from you will be made available to a large global audience
through this resource. In addition to the Daily Bulletin, we will
produce the Weekly News: analyzing the progress of the meetings and the
main themes and emerging issues, covering events and promoting
NGO-sponsored activities.

Secondly, WomenAction invites you to visit the Internet Caf=e9 on the 12th
floor of the Church Center, co-organized by WomenAction and CONGO. Not
only can you link up with colleagues at home but you are encouraged
exploit this technology to enhance your participation at the CSW. From
March 6th to 10th we will link up with the Global Knowledge II
conference taking place in Kuala Lumpur. Finally, WomenAction 2000 will
play an active role in the NGO Media Caucus and will disseminate an
alternative assessment on Section J in the course of the first week.
WomenAction 2000

Appropriate ICTs
APC- Africa-Women is undertaking research on the changes in African
women=92s use of ICTs since the Fourth UNWCW. Colleen Lowe Morna is
conducting interviews at the CSW with African women NGO representatives.
The research will be launched at the B+5 Review in June. It forms part
of a holistic APC-A-W=92s program of activities related to the B+5 process
in Africa and internationally. The research will have a strong focus on
the practical impact and applications of ICT=92s using examples and case
studies wherever possible.

Methodologies include a literature review, drawing on online and offline
resources; participation in, and analyses of online discussion forums eg
Flamme; E Mail interviews as well as face to face and phone interviews.
More information at http://flamme.org.

Interview
"Reasonably satisfied"
Patricia Flor finished her term as Chair of the Commission on the Status
of Women today. Previously head of the German delegation, she had been
elected to the commission with a two year mandate. The most difficult
negotiation during this period was the additional protocol of CEDAW, the
agreement specifically combating discrimination against women. For
Patricia Flor =91it=92s the very greatest success of this period=92. CEDAW
represents a legal international tool, signed by almost 25 countries and
adopted by the UN General Assembly. It is a political victory,. The
problem remains that only the Security Council (male dominated =96 only 10
female delegates among its 189 members) can sanction countries that do
not comply to UN agreements. CSW is a =91political authority=92 that
verbally condemns certain practices or highlights specific negative
situations and as such is an active lobbying instrument to encourage
governments and United Nation to intervene. =91CSW creates the basis for
political actions from governments=92, she insists.

Throughout her term as Chair, =91CSW gained more prominence=92. Policy on
the advancement of the position of women was mainstreamed. More links
were developed with others committees, among others the Human Rights Commis=
sion and the Social and Economic Council. Because of its strategy of =91ope=
ning to a
larger audience=92 CSW earned visibility.

While the Beijing Platform for Action proved difficult to survey and
implement, the CSW developed as a concrete new working instrument.
Patricia Flor will continue to work as PrepCom vice-Chair until the
Beijing+5 Conference in June, after which she will return to her
previous job in the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Berlin. =91The
task of PrepCom isn=92t easy. We have to attend to new trends, identify
obstacles=92. But the biggest point is what to do after June. Are there
new topics to define? Are there new ways of working to invent?
=91Everything must be clarified inside the UN system=92, she says. The
future of the CSW resides in how it justifies its existence: through
mainstreaming and through gender expertise.
Joelle Palmieri, WomenAction 2000

NGO Caucus
"Women and the media"
The Caucus on Women and Media met on February 27, with the objective of
formulating consensus proposals and integrating them in the CSW meeting
which began today at the UN. The Caucus will discuss issues such as the
cultural and geo-economic divisions which limit women=92s access to
technology, and the common obstacles that all women in media face
throughout the world in their efforts to promote women in
decision-making in media, to counteract the stereotypes of women=92s
images in media and to give women a voice.  It will also discuss
strategies to generate resources for development of projects for women
in media and women-owned media and legislation needed for women to have
access to the airwaves in radio and television. It will design and
implement strategies to influence the official documents of  the
evaluation process of the PFA, including implementation and expansion of
Chapter J, and inclusion of media as an overarching issue in Part IV of
the Outcomes Document entitled, =93Actions and Initiatives to Overcome
Obstacles and to Achieve the Full and Accelerated Implementation of the
Beijing PFA=94.  The Caucus will continue to meet daily at 2pm, 3rd floor,
Church Center.

Armed Conflict Caucus
Armed Conflict Caucus will prepare an NGO statement for 28th February
Plenary to be circulated by morning of Tuesday for incorporation in
their intervention through the Asia-Pacific Regional Caucus. (see
http://www.womenaction.org). Comments for the draft accepted during
morning of 28th. A small drafting group will look into L-1/Rev.1 for
line-by-line input. The Caucus will meet everyday from 2:15 - 3:00pm,
and the room to be posted in Room B.

Youth Caucus
Youth caucus was chaired by Shireen Lee (shireen_lee@yahoo.com), about
20 women attended. It was agreed to prepare a rather general statement
for NGO intervention on Tuesday 29th to indicate why young women need to
be addressed specifically. Working group prepares statement and decides
on spokesperson. Platform to address young women=92s issues to be
formulated next Monday March 6th.  Youth caucus will meet every day this
week at 1:30 p.m., same place (conference room 1).

Poverty Caucus
Caucus agreed to keep meeting at 3.15pm but place of meeting will be
changed. Please check notice posted in conference room B for new place.
Caucus participants began sharing of grassroots women=92s programs and
strategies.

NGO Activities
NGO-speaker for Italian delegation
28 February 2000 =96 The Italian NGO representative Barbara Terenzi
Calamai of AIDOS delivered today on behalf of the Italian delegation a
speech in the session =93Comprehensive Review and Appraisal of the
Implementation of the Platform for Action=94.  This year the NGO
representation was expanded to include a larger number of NGOs as Italy
recognizes the importance of the role played by civil society in the
implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.

The Italian NGOs have been working in emergency situations in Bosnia,
Albania, Kosovo, Palestine, Somalia and Central America. They have
fostered North-South co-operation, have set up empowerment initiatives
by and for immigrant women, they have developed capacity-building
courses for women who wish to be involved in politics.She called for
wider NGO participation in the Special Session and the convening of a
5th World Conference on Women as a natural forum for innovative
partnerships between governments and civil society.

Resources
WomenAction for Alternative National Reports
The following alternative national reports are available on the European
WomenAction 2000 website (www.iiav.nl/european-womenaction-2000)
Albania; Austria; Belgium; Bulgaria; Canada; Czech Republic; Denmark;
Finland; Germany; Ireland; Moldova; Netherlands; Poland; Portugal;
Romania; Russian Federation; Slovak  Republic; Spain; Sweden;
Switzerland; The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Ukraine; United
Kingdom; United States (through US Women Connect site); Yugoslavia
(Serbia and Montenegro).

WA 2000 Team
Women Action Daily News production team: K. Banks, V. Berroa, B. Finke,
I. Leon, S. Masters, Y. Matsumoto, J. Palmieri, L. Pugh, J. Small.
WomenAction is a global information, communication and media network
that enables NGOs to actively engage in the Beijing+5 review process
with the long term goal of women's empowerment, with a special focus on
women and media.

This newsletter is made possible through generous financial support from
WomenWatch, the Swiss Development Agency and the Shaler Adams
Foundation.

You will find the Daily News at
http://www.womenaction.org/csw44/news.html
You will find the full texts of the documents at
http://www.womenaction.org/csw44/resources.html


Return to Index
Return to fem-women2000 HOME