Third-world Women's Issues Guide Cecil Marie Cancel covers progress for - and abuses of - women around the world.
Dateline: 6/1/00
In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing. That conference produced the The Beijing Platform for Action and was endorsed by delegates from 189 countries. The platform calls upon governments to take action in improving the status of women in 12 critical areas of concern: poverty, education and training, health, violence, armed conflict, economy, decision-making, institutional mechanisms, human rights, media, environment, and the girl-child.
Five years later, where are we? It's time to find out. During the week of June 5 - 9, the United Nations General Assembly is holding a Special Session at its headquarters in New York City to review the progress toward the goals laid out in the Beijing Platform for Action. The session, entitled "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-first Century" (also called Beijing + 5), will focus on examples of good practices, positive actions, lessons learned, obstacles and key challenges remaining. It will consider further actions and initiatives for achieving gender equality in the new millennium. At the end of the special session, Governments will issue a political declaration calling for recommitment to the Beijing Platform for Action.
In preparation for the Women 2000/Beijing+5 conference, the U.N. Division for the Advancement of Women sent a questionnaire to all Member States in October, 1998. This questionnaire was designed to gather information on the implementation of the Platform for Action in each State. The information supplied was then analyzed and compiled for the comprehensive review and assessment of the Member States, and a draft of the political declaration to be issued at the end of the session (also called the "outcome document") is being prepared.
Along with representatives of U.N. member governments, hundreds of "Non-Governmental Organizations" or NGO's will hold forums, symposia, and events during the week. Many NGO's have prepared their own assessment of their government's progress in implementing the Platform for Action. These alternative reports elaborate on (and in some instances correct) the information contained in the official government reports. A synthesis of these national, regional, and international alternative reports from NGOs worldwide will also be presented at the Special Session to assist the review process by supplementing the information given by governments. The Conference of Non-governmental Organizations (CONGO) has solicited, gathered and compiled these reports and made them available online at the WomenAction 2000 web site.
Your Guide would love to be there to report personally on the events! But, alas, I - like many of you - will have to rely on the media for coverage of the happenings at Women 2000 next week. I will add links to news media reports as I find them, and post the links in the forum as well, so check back often. If we can't be there, we can at least feel like we're a part of it all!Karen
Conference Coverage
Daily Highlights
Your Guide provides highlights from the official sessions, and keeps an eye on the media.
Human Rights Watch: Focus on Beijing+5
Coverage of Beijing+5 featuring the latest news and press releases about the conference from Human Rights Watch.
Live Webcast of Women 2000 / Beijing+5
Note: this requires an updated version of the RealPlayer program.
Pre-Conference Coverage:
United Nations and Women
6/4/00 - About.com Women's Issues - 3rd World
Although progress has been achieved in many areas, still: An estimated 2 million girls and women undergo female genital mutilation every year; in Yemen as many as 400 'honor' killings took place in 1997; more than 5,000 women are killed each year because their in-laws consider their dowries inadequate; and domestic violence is the leading cause of death for women worldwide.
Beijing+5: Symposium Coverage
6/4/00 - CNN.com
A handful of nations have not only failed to make significant progress on women's rights, they are trying to undo progress that has been made, rights activists and officials said during a symposium in New York sponsored by Rutgers University's Center for Global Women's Leadership. States such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Vatican were criticized on those grounds during the symposium Sunday in New York.
Press Briefing with Donna Shalala
5/31/00 - U.S. Department of State
Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Linda Tarr-Whalen, US Ambassador to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, preview the Beijing +5 session, and discuss U.S. progress on the Beijing Platform For Action.
Conference Facts
Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (CONGO) Beijing+5
The official website of the CONGO delegation to Beijing+5
NGO Events
A complete listing of NGO and NGO host committee sponsored events.
U.N. Division for the Advancement of Women
The official website of the DAW includes links to participating NGOs, the draft version of the "outcome document" and a provisional list of speakers.
Draft Political Statement
First draft of the Political Declaration submitted by the Chairperson of the Preparatory Committee on Feb. 28, 2000.
Working Document
The draft Political Declaration, updated daily as negotiations continue. Note: this document is in .pdf format and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Background & More Information
Beijing Platform For Action
The Beijing Platform for Action shifted the focus of global women's concerns from helping individual women to empowering all women to become equal participants in policy and political decisions.
Country Reports
Links to Government Reports, Alternative Reports, and Reponses to the DAW Questionnaire are listed against countries in alphabetical order.
Historical Perspective: Four Global Women's Conferences
A review of the previous four Global Women's Conferences: 1975, Mexico City; 1980, Copenhagen; 1985, Nairobi; and 1995, Beijing.
Human Rights Watch: Beijing +5 Background
Human Rights Watch, using its own research into violence against women across the globe, provides a summary of the problems that still exist, and lists several specific reforms governments should undertake immediately to end impunity for and tolerance of violence against women.
USA Response to the DAW Questionnaire
The US response primarily focuses on the work of the President's Interagency Council on Women, Chaired by Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright.
Women's Issues - 3rd World
Third-world Women's Issues Guide Cecil Marie Cancel covers progress for - and abuses of - women around the world.
Women's Rights
Human Rights Guide Kevin Reid's comprehensive collection of links to organizations concerned with international women's rights.