September 2, 2005, New York, NY - The Gender Monitoring Group of the World Summit - an alliance of three leading non-governmental women's rights and development organizations - Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), The Center for Women's Global Leadership and the Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)- sent a letter to Secretary General Kofi Annan and President of the General Assembly, Ambassador Jean Ping urging them and their colleagues "to stand firm on the commitments to the human rights of women and girls, as outlined in the August 5 draft Outcome Document for the World Summit."
The organizations, which represent and work with women from around the world, have been actively involved over the past six months in advocacy on behalf of women and children in preparation for the World Summit. The Summit will run from September 14-16. The letter which was delivered to the Secretary General Annan and Ambassador Pings' offices late yesterday was signed by hundreds of international organizations including: Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) and International Planned Parenthood Federation.
The letter reads in part: "As we enter the final days of consultations, and no matter what form the final text takes, we urge you to maintain the language on gender equality and women's empowerment included in the August 5 draft. In particular, we urge you to maintain the full content of paragraph 36 on gender equality, paragraph 35 on health and HIV/AIDS and paragraph 2 on reaffirming the outcomes of past UN world conferences."
The letter comes at a difficult time for the World Summit. At the eleventh hour US Ambassador John Bolton is proposing last minute changes to the draft plan, which would undermine the draft Outcome Document. Bolton's proposed changes would weaken proposals for development, debt relief, Official Development Assistance (ODA), disarmament, and the environment. The Gender Monitoring Group argues that the United States' demands for line-by-line negotiations on the whole text, or alternatively, a short summary text, will in fact inhibit a successful outcome at this late stage, and could even unravel the entire Summit process.
What's at stake for women are all the promises of equality, empowerment and women's human rights contained in CEDAW (the "Women's Rights" treaty), the Beijing Platform for Action, Cairo Programme of Action and other government agreements of the 1990s. Women are concerned that their voices will not be fully heard and their perspectives will not be fully incorporated into the proposals that come out of the World Summit.
For more information please visit: http://www.beijingandbeyond.org/
September 1, 2005
Dear Secretary General,
On behalf of the undersigned civil society organizations, we want to convey our appreciation for your recent remarks in support of accelerated implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.
Our organizations have been actively involved in the process leading to the World Summit on September 14-16. We share your concern that the Summit produce a successful outcome that revitalizes the United Nations, advances women's human rights, fosters peace, and accelerates progress on the Millennium Development Goals.
As we enter the final days of consultations, and no matter what form the final text takes, we urge you to publicly support the human rights of women and girls, as outlined in the August 5 draft Outcome Document for the World Summit. We also urge you to highlight the need for strengthened language on civil society participation throughout the text. As you stated previously, the successful June 2005 hearings were only a first step to a strengthened partnership between the United Nations and civil society.
Women's organizations worldwide are mobilized and watching, and hope we can count on your leadership.
Sincerely yours,
Bene Madunagu, General Coordinator Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN)
June Zeitlin, Executive Director Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO)
Charlotte Bunch, Founder and Executive Director The Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL)
Jill Sheffield, President Family Care International
Vina Nadjibulla, UN Representative United Methodist UN Office
This letter has been endorsed by the following organizations:
ACFED/SAHEL (Appui Conseil Femmes, Environnement Développement au Sahel), Burkina Faso
Action Canada for Population and Development, Canada
ADEDPCOCA, Bolivia
ADEUEM (Association of University Specialists on Women Studies), Argentina
Advocates for Youth, USA
Armenian International Women's Association, USA
Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID), Canada
ASTRA - Central and Eastern European Women's Network for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
Australian Marriage Equality
Australian Reproductive Health Alliance, Australia
Business and Professional Women (BPW), The Netherlands
Business and Professional Women (BPW) International
CHOICE, for youth and sexuality, The Netherlands
Catolicas pelo Direito de Decidir - Brazil
Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir, Argentina
Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir, Bolivia
Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC), USA
Católicas por el derecho a Decidir A.C., Mexico
Campaña 28 de septiembre, Día por la Despenalización del Aborto en America Latina y Caribe, Latin America and the Caribbean
Centro Cultural "Paqailla", Bolivia
Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), USA
Centro de Investigacion para la Accion Femenina (CIPAF), Dominican Republic
Center for Reproductive Rights, USA
The Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL), USA
Centro Mujeres, AC, México
Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Tristán, Peru
Chirapaq, Centro de Culturas Indígenas del Perú, Peru
Closet de Sor Juana, A. C., Mexico
CNSmujeres, women's network, Uruguay
Costa Rican Demographic Association, Costa Rica
Colectivo Juvenil DECIDE, Bolivia
Comité de Articulación de la Campaña pòr el Derecho al Aborto, Argentina
Decidir. Coalición de Jóvenes por la Ciudadanía Sexual Mexico
Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN)
Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Egypt
Emprendiendo Bolivia, Bolivia
Environmental & Human Systems Management, USA
Enlace Continental de Mujeres Indígenas Región Sudamérica, Peru
Espacio Autónomo, AC, Mexico
Family Care International, USA
FemJoven, Costa Rica
Federation for Women and Family Planning, Poland
Foro Político Nacional de Mujeres, Bolivia
Fundación Más Vida (HIV/AIDS), Bolivia
Gender Action, USA
Gender&Rights, Denmark
Fundación para la Promoción y el Desarrollo de la Mujer (PRODEMU), Chile.
Grupo de Mujeres de San Cristobal de las Casas, AC, Mexico
Huairou Commission
Hurriyat Khassa (Private Liberties), Lebanon
Irdana, The Netherlands
ICDA/International Coalition for Development Action
International Planned Parenthood federation
International Women's Health Coalition, USA
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, USA
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, USA
Ipas, USA
Irish Family Planning Association, Ireland
Interamerican Concertation of Women´s Human Rights, (CIMA), Costa Rica
KARAT Coalition (CEE/CIS women's NGOs coalition), Poland
Korean Women's Environmental Network (KWEN), Korea
KULU-Women and Development, Denmark
Latin American Consortium for Emergency Contraception (LACEC), Chile
Latin American and Caribbean Women's Health Network (LACWHN).
Liberal Society Institute, Ukraine
LIFE e.V./Women's Environmental Network, Germany
Marie Stopes International, UK
MADRE, USA
Medical Missions Sisters, UK
MODEMMUJER, Red de Comunicacion electronica, Mexico
MYSU (Mujer y Salud en Uruguay), Uruguay
Netherlands Council of Women, The Netherlands
Pacific Institute for Women's Health, USA
Population Action International, USA
Population and Sustainability Network, UK
Potohar Organization for Development Advocacy (PODA), Pakistan
Red Internacional de Género y Comercio, Latin America
Red Nacional Milenio Feminista, Mexico
Red para la Salud Integral de las Mujeres en Puerto Rico (Red SIeMPRe), Puerto Rico
Red Thread Women's Development Collective, Guyana
Red Nacional de Promotoras y Asesoras Rurales (RED PAR), Mexico
Red de Educacion Popular entre Mujeres de America Latina y el Caribe (REPEM)
RELACAHUPAN, Red Latinoamericana por la Humanizacion del parto y del Nacimiento, Uruguay
Red de Catolicas por el Derecho a Decidir -Latin America
Salud y Género A.C., Mexico
Servicios Integrales para la Mujer - SI MUJER - Nicaragua
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS), USA
Simbiosis, Bolivia
Sociedad Humanista Ética Argentina "Deodoro Roca", Argentina
United Methodist UN Office
WIDE, Globalising Gender Equality and Social Justice, Europe
Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (WOCAN), USA
Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Trust. Mozambique
Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), USA
Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF), Germany
Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF), Tajikistan-Denmark
Women for Water Partnership, The Netherlands
Women for peace and ecology, Germany
Women for Women's Human Rights - NEW WAYS, Turkey
World Population Foundation, The Netherlands
YouAct, European Youth Network on Sexual and Reproductive Rights
Youth Latinamerican Net for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (Andean Region), Bolivia
Youth Coalition
