Subject: [fem-women2000 775] Women's GlobalNet #188: CSW Report
From: iwtc <iwtc@iwtc.org>
Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 22:15:23 +0000
Seq: 775

IWTC WOMEN'S GLOBALNET #188
Initiatives and Activities of Women Worldwide
By Anne S. Walker 

March 26, 2002

REPORT FROM THE 46TH SESSION OF THE UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN 
(UN/CSW)

BACKGROUND:
The UN/CSW met in New York from March 4-15, 2002. The Commission, which 
began in 1947 with 15 members, now consists of 45 members elected by the 
Economic and Social Council for a period of four years. Members, who are 
appointed by Governments, are elected on the following basis: thirteen 
from African states; eleven from Asian states; four from Eastern 
European states; nine from Latin American and Caribbean states; and 
eight from Western European and Other states. 

2002 UN/CSW BUREAU:
For the 46th Session of the CSW, the Bureau was made up of the following 
members: Mrs. Dubravka Smonovic (Croatia), Chairperson; Mrs. Kirsten 
Geelan (Denmark), Vice-Chairperson; Ms. Atsuko Nishimura (Japan), 
Vice-Chairperson; Ms. Loreto Leyton (Chile), Vice-Chairperson; and Mr. 
Mankeur Ndiaye (Senegal), Vice-Chairperson.

2002 UN/CSW MEMBERSHIP;
Argentina, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, 
Burundi, Chile, China, Croatia, Cuba, Democratic People專 Republic of 
Korea, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Gabon, Germany, Guatemala, 
Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Malawi, 
Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, 
Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, 
Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic 
of Tanzania, United States.

Representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and 
Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the International Fund for 
Agricultural Development (IFAD), as well as many non-governmental 
organizations, also participated in the session.    

ADOPTION OF AGREED CONCLUSIONS:
The Commission adjourned with the consensus adoption of draft agreed 
conclusions on its themes for the session: 1) the eradication of 
poverty, including through women's empowerment; and 2) incorporating the 
gender perspective in the mitigation of natural disasters. It also 
adopted without vote a draft resolution on women and children hostages 
in armed conflicts. The Commission was not, however, able to complete 
the remainder of its work  the adoption of a draft resolution on women 
and girls in Afghanistan -by the 6 p.m. meeting deadline recently set 
by the Secretariat. 

1. The Eradication of Poverty: The Commission recognized that 
globalization had left many women marginalized and deprived of basic 
social protections and that special attention must be given to women and 
children who often bore the greatest burden of extreme poverty. It 
affirmed gender equality and women專 empowerment as important strategies 
to eradicate poverty. Governments and relevant UN funds and programmes, 
civil society, international financial institutions, and the private 
sector were urged to take action to accelerate implementation of 
strategic objectives to address the needs of all women. Those actions 
included taking all appropriate measures to address obstacles to the 
empowerment of women and to the full enjoyment of their human rights and 
fundamental freedoms throughout their life cycle, with a view to 
eradicating poverty.  Global actors and other stakeholders were further 
urged to ensure that both women and men are involved in decision-making, 
political agenda-setting and in allocation of resources.
 
Further, the Commission urged governments and relevant UN funds and 
programmes, civil society, international financial institutions, and the 
private sector to undertake socio-economic policies that promote 
sustainable development and support and ensure poverty eradication 
programmes -- especially for women -- by providing, among other things, 
skill training, equal access to and control over resources, credit 
including micro-credit, information and technology, and equal access to 
markets to benefit women of all ages, in particular those living in 
poverty and marginalized women, including rural women, indigenous women 
and female-headed households. 

2. Environmental Management and the Mitigation of Natural Disasters: The 
Commission recognized that women played a vital role in disaster 
reduction, response and recovery and in natural resources management, 
and that some women faced particular vulnerabilities during disaster 
situations. 
 
Recalling that the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 
recognized that environmental degradation and disasters often have a 
more direct impact on women, the Commission invited governments, the 
United Nations system, civil society and the private sector to take 
action on 22 issues to accelerate implementation of strategic objectives 
to address the needs of all women, such as: To pursue gender equality 
and gender-sensitive environmental management and disaster reduction, 
response and recovery as an integral part of sustainable development.
 
Global actors were further urged to develop and implement gender 
sensitive laws, policies and programmes, including on land-use, 
environmental management and integrated water resources management, to 
provide opportunities to prevent and mitigate damage; and to include, at 
the design stage of all relevant development programmes and projects, 
gender analysis and methods of mapping hazards and vulnerabilities in 
order to improve the effectiveness of disaster risk management, 
involving women and men equally.
 
In a resolution approved on the final evening,  the Commission requested 
that ECOSOC  condemn violent acts in contravention of international 
humanitarian law against civilian populations and call for an effective 
response to such acts, in particular, the immediate release of women and 
children taken hostage or subsequently imprisoned. ECOSOC was also 
requested to condemn the consequences of hostage-taking, in particular, 
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, 
as well as rape, slavery and trafficking in women and children for the 
purpose of their sexual exploitation, forced labour or services.

For the full text of the Agreed Conclusions, please go to the web-site 
of the Division for the Advancement of Women at: 
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/46sess.htm

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