Subject: [fem-women2000 383] IWTC Women's GlobalNet #151
From: lalamaziwa <lalamaziwa@jca.apc.org>
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 06:45:43 -0500
Seq: 383
Forwarded by lalamaziwa <lalamaziwa@jca.apc.org> ---------------- Original message follows ---------------- From: iwtc <iwtc@iwtc.org> To: iwtc-womensglobalnet@igc.topica.com Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 05:18:00 -0700 Subject: Women's GlobalNet #151 -- IWTC Women's GlobalNet #151 Activities and Initiatives of Women Worldwide by Anne S. Walker This special edition has been produced by the Isis International- Manila Global Media Team in New York for the Special Session June 6, 2000 UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY SPECIAL SESSION OPENS IN NEW YORK NEW YORK - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said today that while there has been progress on the goal for women=92s equality since the 4th National Conference on Women held in Beijing five years ago, "much remains to be done." Addressing the opening of the five-day United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Women 2000, Annan noted that women still earn less, have higher unemployment rates,are more often unemployed, generally poorer than men, and that most countries have yet to pass laws in favor of women=92s rights to own land and other property. The UN Secretary General also noted that even while these old challenges have yet to be met, new ones have already emerged. He cited the spread of AIDS particularly in southern Africa "where 40 per cent of pregnant women are HIV-positive and more than one child in 10 has lost its mother to AIDS. " Another problem is the trafficking of women and children which he said has now become a "worldwide plague." He cited, however, the following progress for women: -Violence against women is now illegal almost everywhere. - There is a worldwide mobilization against harmful traditional practices such as "honor killings" or "shame killings." -New health strategies have helped saved thousands of women=92s lives, and more couples now use family planning than ever before. -A record number of women have become leaders and decision makers in both the government and private sectors. Above all, he said, "more countries have understood that women=92s equality is a pre-requisite for development. Annan called for the full implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, which was passed by 189 member states during the Fourth International Conference on Women in 1995. "I believe that implementing the Beijing Platform will be crucial in achieving all the Millennium goals I have asked the world=92s leaders to adopt on behalf of all the world=92s peoples," he said. The Beijing Platform for Action contains the agenda for women=92s empowerment, spelling out the strategic objectives and actions to be taken by the year 2000 by governments, the international community, NGOs and the private sector for removing existing obstacles to women=92s advancement. The Beijing document identified twelve critical areas of concern, considered to represent the main obstacles in achieving the goal of women=92s advancement - women and poverty, education and training for women, women and health, violence against women, women and armed conflict, women and the economy, women in power and decision making, institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women, human rights of women, women and the media, women and the environment and the girl child. Theo Ben Gurirab, Foreign Minister of Namibia, who was unanimously elected as President of the General Assembly, stressed the importance of the five-day conference. "We are charged with the sense of a new beginning," he said. "This Special Session must try to live up to expectations of millions of women all over the world." Entitled "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace in the 21st Century" or Beijing +5 Review, the special session of the GA will review the progress made in the implementation of the Beijing platform. "The 23rd Special Session gives us the ideal opportunity to assess how far member-states have come to address problems, face new challenges and reaffirm new commitments," said Gurirab in his opening speech. "The General Assembly can then move forward to achieve women=92s goal of equality and empowerment in all walks of life." Gurirab praised the participation of the nongovernment organizations in the deliberations leading to the current session, also known as Beijing Plus 5. Last Saturday, folowing the NGO Working Session at the UN, the NGO sector submitted its own report titled Alternative Global Report for consideration by Member States which Gurirab acknowledged in his speech. The Beijing Conference was considered a "watershed event" as it resulted in a new international commitment to achieve gender equality and development and the general advancement of women into the 21st century. This conference had one of the biggest delegations, with some 17,000 representatives from government and civil society and another 30,000 attending the parallel NGO forums. (Isis International/Manila - Global Women=92s Media Team) IWTC Women's GlobalNet is a production of: International Women's Tribune Centre 777 United Nations Plaza 3rd Floor New York, NY 10017, USA Tel: (1-212) 687-8633 Fax: (1-212) 661-2704 Email: <iwtc@iwtc.org> You can subscribe to this list at any time by sending a blank message to iw= tc-womensglobalnet-subscribe@igc.topica.com You can unsubscribe to this list at any time by sending a blank message to iwtc-womensglobalnet-unsubscribe@igc.topica.com WOMEN, INK. For quality, cutting-edge publications on women and development by, for and= about women worldwide, see Women, Ink's catalogue at our web site: <http:/= /www.womenink.org>. Or contact Women, Ink. at 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA= . Tel: Yasna Uberoi (1-212) 687-8633 ext 212 or Mary Wong (1-212) 687-863= 3 ext 204. Fax: (1-212) 661-2704. Women, Ink. is a project of IWTC ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics _________________________________________________________________________ fem-Women2000@jca.apc.org for Women 2000, UN Special Session on Beijing+5 Searcheable Archive http://www.jca.apc.org/fem/news/women2000/index.shtml visit fem-net HomePage for other mailing lists http://www.jca.apc.org/fem