United Nations Headquarters

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women.   NIWEP lead a delegation of over 30 women, which included its partners in the Peace by Piece programme – Training for Women Network, Women into Politics, Women’s Tec, Footprints Women’s Centre – to the 52^nd Session from 25 February to the 7 March.

This year’s session saw the Commission, in the context of its new working methods, begin its consideration of issue of financing for gender equality and the empowerment of women through three interactive activities and Following the interactive events in the first week of the Commission, Member States negotiated new policy recommendations (Agreed Conclusions) which are to accelerate implementation of existing commitments, including those in the Beijing Platform for Action.

Below are the themes and issues which were under discussion and up for negotiation by the Commission during the 52 session:

Priority Theme:

Financing for gender equality and the empowerment of womenAs decided in the revision of its working methods and programme of work in 2006 (ECOSOC 2006/9), during the 52nd session the Commission considered a priority theme and an emerging issue. In addition, the Commission also reviewed implementation of the agreed conclusions (recommendations) on a theme considered at an earlier session.

Emerging Issue:

Gender perspectives on climate change

The emerging issue was considered through an interactive expert panel. Five to six experts on the chosen theme provided information and insights based on experience from research and analysis, policy development and programme planning, implementation and monitoring. A brief discussion guide was provided in advance by the Division for the Advancement of Women.

Review Theme:

Women’s equal participation in conflict prevention, management and conflict resolution in post-conflict peace building

The review of the agreed conclusions on “Women’s equal participation in conflict prevention, management and conflict resolution and in post-conflict peace building”, adopted by the Commission at its 48th session in 2004, took the form of an interactive dialogue. Discussion was initiated by initial interventions by keynote speakers. A brief discussion guide was provided in advance by the Division for the Advancement of Women

Indicators on Violence against Women

This workshop is in response to the General Assembly resolution 61/143, on “Intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women”. The Commission organised a joint workshop with the Statistics Commission to consider the development of indicators on violence against women during the first week of the Commission.

Overview of the Agreed Conclusions

Financing for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

The Commission on the Status of Women wrapped up its fifty-second session adopting wide-ranging agreed conclusions on “financing for gender equality and women’s empowerment”. 

The Commission’s concrete recommendations, among others, urges Governments to integrate a gender perspective — and increase women’s participation — in the design, implementation and monitoring of economic plans and strategies, in a co-ordinated manner and across all policy areas, including in national development, social protection and poverty reduction.

Key Issues identified to be considered by Governments:

·           raising awareness about investing in women and girls as a vital component towards achieving sustainable development for all

·           providing an important input to the preparations for the Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to review implementation of the 2002 Monterrey Consensus, to be held in Doha, Qatar, next November

·           providing a significant step forward in advancing the global policy agenda on financing for gender equality and the empowerment of women. 

·           encouraging scaling up investment in gender equality and women’s empowerment through mainstreaming a gender perspective in resource allocation,

·           ensuring the necessary resources for targeted activities for gender equality and the document recommended ways for ensuring resource allocation in economic policy and public finance management, specifically noting that national plans for gender equality should be costed and their implementation adequately resourced.

·           detailing the role of national machineries for the advancement of women and of relevant governmental entities in financing gender equality.

·           draws out actions for strengthening institutional frameworks, accountability mechanisms, and capacity-building in order to systematically incorporate gender perspectives into budgetary policies and processes at all levels.  

·           recommends actions to strengthen the knowledge base, tools and methods for measuring progress in financing gender equality and gender-sensitive analysis of macroeconomic policies.

·           conclusions recommend that the differential impact of trade policies on women and men be addressed, and that the focus and impact of development assistance specifically targeting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls be strengthened.

Women’s Equal Participation in Conflict Prevention, Management and Conflict Resolution in Post-Conflict Peace Building

Key Issues Identified

·                     Participants confirmed that attention to gender equality issues and women’s full and effective participation in peace processes and peace building was crucial in the promotion of gender equality, as well as in ensuring the sustainable and effective reconstruction of political, social, economic and legal structures in countries emerging from conflict.

·                     Peace building and reconstruction efforts were windows of opportunity for accelerating the elimination of discrimination and violence against women

·                     Participants called for intensified efforts to integrate gender perspectives at every stage of conflict resolution and peace building, including resource mobilization and allocation, human resources development, research and data collection, communication strategies, knowledge management, capacity-building, and monitoring and evaluation efforts at local, national and international levels.

·          More secure funding was needed for gender equality issues in post

conflict reconstruction, including for institution-building, legal reform, women’s economic empowerment and basic services, and to bridge the gap between reconstruction interventions and development cooperation. Participants called for increased resources to strengthen women’s participation in peace processes and peace building, including increased core budgets, innovative funding measures and adequate funding for gender equality expertise, including in relevant departments of the Secretariat

A full report including papers can be found at www.niwep.org.uk

Peace by Piece – UN and EU Training

Northern Ireland’s Women’s European Platform recently provided a training package for a delegation travelling to the 52^nd Session of the Commission to the Status of Women at the United Nations in New York.  The Training included:

·               The role / structures of the United Nations

·               The work of the UN in promoting gender equality – its  international conventions and treaties

·               The work of the Committee to the Status of Women and the Committee to the Convention for all Forms of Discrimination

This course has now been ILM Accredited. 

Liz Law and Irene Miskimmon have begun a 3 day training programme with those participants of the peace by piece programme.  The first training session will include:

•          What is the E U?

•          Why was it set up?

•          Who can join?

•          How does it work?

Anyone wishing to find out more please contact Training for Women’s Network Tel:  028 90727975.

International Women’s Forum

The International Women’s Forum members in Northern Ireland are organising a Conference on the theme of “Women Building Peace” to take place on Saturday 19^th April, venue Holiday Inn, Belfast.

The Theme is a focus on what contribution women and women leaders can make to peace and stability in our countries and communities.  This is very much a theme which emerged as a critical area of concern in a report of the 4^th World Conference on Women Beijing 1995.

This is intended to be an event in which participation from the invited audience will bring many different perspectives and experiences to bear in developing ideas and sustaining and supporting those already working in this field.

There will be a roundtable discussion about the contributions that women can make from community level through to engagement with the democratic process and in their various fields of work.  The seminar will conclude with lunch at 12.30pm.

If interested in attending please contact Sharon.Brennan@publichealth.ie

Launch of the CEDAW Report

On International Women’s Day NIWEP, the Equality Commission Northern Ireland and the NI Human Rights Commission launched their commitment to preparing shadow CEDAW reports (Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women) for submission before the UK Government reports to the CEDAW Committee from June-July 2008.

Anyone requiring a copy of NIWEP’s report please contact niwep@btconnect.com  A summary is being produced and both report and summary will be available on the website.

Post Carbon Cities

Belfast City Council has teamed up with Action Renewables to host the seminar on Post Carbon Cities at the NI Science Park, on 2^nd April at 12.00.

The keynote speaker is Daniel Lerch, the author of Post Carbon Cities: Planning for Energy and Climate Uncertainty, the first major local authority guidebook on peak oil and global warming. A program manager with Post Carbon Institute, Lerch has worked on urban planning issues for over ten years in the public, private and non-profit sectors. He is also a co-founder of The City Repair Project, an award-winning non-profit organization working on community public space issues.

The registration will commence at 12 with a lunch and the seminar will last from 13 – 14h. If you are willing and able to attend please contact Julie Casson at Action Renewables, Julie.casson@actionrenewables.co.uk , or (028) 9073 7861.

Women: Stabilizing an Insecure World

International Conference on International Women’s Day

To celebrate International Women’s Day in Brussels on the 6 March Benita Ferrero-Waldner the European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy opened a conference with three main issues on the agenda:

·               How should the EU address the impact on women of the new threats to security, from climate change, environmental degradation, international crime, religious fundamentalism and terrorism?

·               What concrete steps can be taken to increase women’s contribution to human security at a local level and to expand that contribution to regional, national and international spheres?

·               How can the EU do more to tap into women’s contribution to conflict prevention and resolving crisis situations like in Palestine, Iraq and Sierra Leone? In today’s world good mediators are more vital than ever; we cannot afford to ignore this potential source of expertise. Women should be empowered to make their full contribution at the peace table and in post-conflict reconstruction. And how can we reinvigorate the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325?

Full details and outcome of the event can be found on http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/ferrero-waldner/women_en.htm

Vacancy for Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality

The post of Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality has been published on 14 March 2008 in the Official Journal of the European Union (C 69 A). An advertisement will also be published in a newspaper in each of the 27 Member States.

The vacancy notice and the application form to be completed by applicants are available on the Europa website at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/personnel_administration/working_senior_mgt_en.htm

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR)

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is carrying out a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and one of the first countries to be reviewed is the UK on the 10 April from 10am-1pm in Geneva. 

Here is a reminder of the UPR objectives:

·               The improvement of the human rights situation on the ground;

·               The fulfilment of the State’s human rights obligations and commitments and assessment of positive developments and challenges  faced by the State;

·               The enhancement of the State’s capacity and of technical assistance, in consultation with, and with the consent of, the State concerned; The sharing of best practice among States and other stakeholders;

·               Support for cooperation in the promotion and protection of human rights;

·               The encouragement of full cooperation and engagement with the Council, other human rights bodies and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Northern Ireland Women’s European Platform submitted the permitted 5 page report which includes the need to fully implement UNSCR 1325.

Update on the reports and further information can be found on: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/

Empowering Women in West Africa

UNDP has joined forces with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in an effort to empower rural West African women with diesel engines, and, in doing so, boost their incomes. The centrepiece of the project is a diesel-run engine mounted on a chassis, called a multifunctional platform, or MFP, to which a variety of processing
equipment can be attached, including a cereal mill, husker, battery charger,
and joinery and carpentry equipment.

Women’s Reference Group

The establishment of the Women’s Reference Group with the purpose is to promote mutual understanding between the Northern Ireland Policing Board (the Board), PSNI and the Women’s Sector with the aim of achieving a safer and more equitable community for all.

The draft role of the Group has been identified as to:

• provide clarification around the dynamics, needs and issues within their communities in respect of policing.

• engage with the Board to enhance understanding of gender issues and will provide networking opportunities for the Board to meet and engage with the communities they represent.

• highlight priority issues from this sector which will be forwarded to the Board and PSNI for consideration in the development of the NI Policing Plan.

• provide opportunities to share information in respect of issues and potential solutions in relation to policing matters.

Irene Miskimmon is the representative to this group on behalf of NIWEP.  Terms of Reference, draft plans can be found on www.niwep.org.uk  website

Seeking New Members to the Board of Invest NI

Invest NI are seeking to appointment up to 8 new members to its Board.

The vacancies will be advertised in the Irish News, News Letter and Financial Times on Thursday 17 January 2008 and the Belfast Telegraph and Irish Times on Friday 18 January 2008. 

Details will also be posted on the DETI website (www.detini.gov.uk) or anyone wishing to receive an information pack can email pau@detini.gov.uk and one will automatically be issued

EU Proposal to Designate 2010 as the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion

It is estimated 78 million people are currently living at risk of poverty in the EU. Deep poverty continues to cause concern and the number of people suffering from absolute poverty has increased. The 2000 Lisbon Strategy calls upon the Commission to tackle policies that have a “decisive impact on the eradication of poverty” by 2010. In its 2005-2010 Social Agenda, the Commission announced a proposal to designate 2010 as the European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion to complement action being undertaking under the Open Method of Coordination.

There is a proposed Act for decision of the European Parliament and of the Council to designate 2010 as the European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion. The proposed budget is 17 million EUR over the period 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2010.

Four specific objectives are foreseen. They are:

·         recognition: recognising the rights of those living in poverty and social exclusion to live in dignity and to play a full part in society;

·         ownership: increasing public ownership of social inclusion policies and actions as well as emphasising everyone’s responsibility to tackle both poverty and marginalisation;

• cohesion: promoting a more cohesive society, by raising public awareness of the social benefits to eradicating poverty; and
• commitment: reiterating the EU’s commitment to fight poverty and social exclusion.

The year will focus on a number of themes including:

1. child poverty and the intergenerational transmission of poverty;
2. an inclusive labour market;
3. lack of access to education and training;
4. the gender dimension of poverty;
5. access to basic services;
6. overcoming discrimination and promoting the integration of immigrants and the social and labour market inclusion of ethnic minorities; and
7. addressing the needs of disabled people and other vulnerable groups

Full proposal can be found @ www.niwep.org.uk

Faster, Higher Stronger:

Preventing Human Trafficking at the 2010 Olympics

This report presents the findings from the 2006 Germany FIFA World Cup and the Athens Olympics, sharing an increase in numbers of trafficking cases and demands for prostitution.  The report makes recommendations regarding human trafficking prevention and preparation for the 2010 Olympics.

The report can be obtained at:

http://www.lastradainternational.org/lsidocs/342%20Preventing%20Human%20Trafficking%20at%20the%202010%20Olympics.pdf

European Commission’s New Social Agenda

The European Commission will launch its new Social Agenda and calls on NGOs and civil society to contribute to the vision of what this agenda should be. 

The Social Agenda  tackles key issues that matter to ordinary men, women and children, e.g. poverty; pensions; health care; social security; the benefit trap; finding a job in a different Member State; health and safety at work; striking a balance between work and home life; the relationship between the different generations; the effects of company restructuring.

It aims at giving European citizens confidence in their ability to manage the challenges facing society as a result of globalisation, technological development and ageing populations. These challenges are also opportunities. This agenda sets out employment and social policies designed to help ordinary people take up these opportunities with confidence – in their skills, in the welfare system and, most importantly, in their ability to adapt.

Three important interlinked topics are addressed which are:

• Europe’s social reality
• Economic and social cohesion
• The EU Budget

Questions and answers on the new Social Agenda can be found on: 

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/05/41&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Responses to the European Commission’s Questionnaire can be found on http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/emplweb/news/news_en.cfm?id=324

The deadline for responses is 15 February 2008.

NGO Statements to the Secretary General

The 52^nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women gives NGOs with consultative status the opportunity to make written statements to the Secretary General of the United Nations and the Members of the Council.

The following statements can be viewed at  www.niwep.org.uk website

• National Alliance of Women Organisations (NAWO)
• Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
• Widows for Peace through Democracy (WPD)
• The Global Fund for Women

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights announces new Website Link For UN CEDAW Committee

It is hoped it will serve as a useful tool for information in advance of and during the sessions and pre-sessions of the Committee. The next session of the CEDAW Committee will take place in Geneva on 14 January to 1 February 2008.

Programme Manager – Africa

 WOMANKIND Worldwide

WOMANKIND Worldwide is a dynamic UK charity dedicated to improving women’s lives and promoting women’s rights across the world.

We are seeking to recruit a Programme Manager for Africa. The successful candidate will have previous experience of working in a development context and a proven track record of working on gender and/or women’s rights. The Programme Manager will be responsible for all aspects of programme development and management including: maintaining excellent relationships with partner organisations; facilitating and supporting monitoring and evaluation to enhance learning and organisational development; undertaking relevant policy and advocacy work, managing programme budgets and preparing funding proposals.

WOMANKIND is looking for candidates who are confident in communicating and influencing at different levels, ideally with specialist knowledge in one or more of the following thematic areas: rights-based approaches, violence against women or civil and political participation.

Salary:  Circa £26,760

Closing date for applications:       6^th February 2008

Dates for interviews:    20^th February 2008

For an application pack please download from our website at www.womankind.org.uk, email recruitment@womankind.org.uk or send an A4 60p stamped self-addressed envelope quoting Ref PMA to:  WOMANKIND WORLDWIDE, Development House, 56 – 64 Leonard Street, London, EC2A 4LT

Iraq Women MPs, activists call for more support for Widows and Divorced Women

Iraqi women parliamentarians and activists are pressing for a new law to help the increasing number of widows and divorced women in their war-torn country.

Nadira explained that there were no fewer than one million Iraqi widows who had lost their husbands in wars or as a result of internal violence over the past three decades.   She said only 800 billion Iraqi dinars (about US$664 million) is allocated in the 2008 budget to the country’s social protection programme. 

Created to cope with increasing social problems the social protection programme provides widows, divorced women, orphans, the handicapped and the unemployed with a monthly allowance of 50,000 Iraqi dinars each (about US$50).  “This is not enough. With the government’s food rations, these allowances only take such families up [to] near the poverty line,” Nadira said.

Challenge Grant to End Violence against Women

UN Foundation to donate $1 for every signature to UNIFEM
online campaign

The United Nations Foundation announced its support for the “Say NO to Violence against Women” campaign. The Foundation will donate $1 for each the first 100,000 signatures to the online campaign that is run by the UN Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM. The contributions will go to the UNIFEM-managed UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women.

This Trust Fund, managed by UNIFEM for the UN system, supports innovative initiatives by governments and non-governmental organisations to end violence against women. Since its establishment in 1996, it has helped fund some 250 initiatives in 120 countries.

People can sign on to the campaign at www.sayNOtoviolence.org.

Northern Ireland Women’s European Platform has recently received two requests from the Department of Environment and Department of Employment and Learning to promote the vacant positions of Governors of Further Education Colleges and the Historic Buildings Council.

1. Chairman of the Historic Buildings Council, DOE – An information pack including the application forms can be downloaded from www.doeni.gov.uk/epd
2. Governors of Further Education Colleges – www.delni.gov.uk or e-mail joyce.montgomery@delni.gov.uk for further information.

The recommendations highlighted in the publication ‘No Place for a Woman’ should be applied to public appointments if they wish to increase the participation of women. ‘No Place for a Woman’ is available on the website www.niwep.org.uk

Government Publications

The OFMDFM has published a document – The Disability Discrimination (NI) Order: Consultation on Private Clubs, Premises, Functions of Public Authorities and Questions Procedure. The document can be accessed through

www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/disability

Calling all the Heroes

Do you know a group of volunteers who make a different in your community and who devote their time to helping others? The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is given to groups of two or more volunteers for outstanding achievement. You can download a nomination form and find out come information from the website at www.queensawardvoluntary.gov.uk and the deadline in 30 September.

Child Protection and New Technology

New Technology is extremely popular with children and young people – internet services, mobile phones and file sharing have increased communication abilities for children and young people. While clearly important in opening up new and exciting opportunities for information sharing, these forms of technology also raise child protection and safety issues. Volunteer Development Agency is holding a one day seminar to raise awareness of the links between new technology and safety of children on Friday 20 October 2006. Information can be found on www.volunteering-ni.org

Why Women? Campaign and Report

The Why Women? campaign is speaking up for women’s organisations, who do great work for women and society as a whole, but are under threat from lack of funding. We are calling on the government to put gender back on the agenda by:

• acknowledging the systematic disadvantage women face because of their gender, and
• publicly recognising the essential services and expertise the women’s sector provides to address this.

Information on this campaign can be found on http://www.niwep.org.uk/id4.html

The why women? is based on information from in-depth interviews with 44 women’s organisations. The research describes the issues and problems that women’s organisations work with, the range of services and activities they deliver to address these issues, the impact of their services and funding barriers threatening their sustainability.

why women? Executive Summary (word 388kb)
why women? Executive Summary (pdf 138kb)
why women? Full Report (word 4647kb)
why women? Full Report (pdf 1252kb)

European News

At the European Women’s Lobby Board of Administration meeting in May 2006 the EWL officially launched its “Who Cares?” campaign. This campaign focuses on the provision of affordable, accessible and high quality care services for all dependants, available to all women and men whatever their financial situation.

As part of the Care Campaign, EWL developed a Position Paper on Care,  which covers a range of issues related to care that need to be addressed in order to fully tackle this issue in European societies view a view to realising gender equality, including: 1) Gender stereotypes and care; 2) the Economics of care: provision of affordable care services; 3) Quality work and quality care services: care and the labour market; and 4) The case of domestic migrant care workers; and European Union policies and care.

During the EWL Care Campaign an e-petition was launched on the EWL website. The petition is available for signing until International Women’s Day (8th March) 2007 at http://www.womenlobby.org/site/form_3.asp

International News

A position paper on the UN reform prepared by Litha Musyimi-Ogana
Advisor: Gender, Parliamentary Affairs & Civil Society Organisations (CSO), South Africa can be found on http://www.niwep.org.uk/id4.html

In a secret ballot 181 of 183 States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women elected 12 of the 23 experts that serve on the Committee that monitors States’ compliance with the Convention, with experts from Bangladesh, Japan and Mauritius receiving the most votes.

The 12 experts, to serve in their individual capacities, would begin four-year terms on 1 January 2007, and would replace the 12 experts whose terms would expire on 31 December 2006

The experts would serve on the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which monitors implementation of the Convention in States that had ratified or acceded to it.  Under an Optional Protocol to the Convention, they would also be charged with considering complaints from individuals or groups of individuals of alleged violations of rights protected by the Convention.

The new Committee members are:  Ferdous Ara Begum (Bangladesh), Meriem Belmihoub-Zerdani (Algeria), Saisuree Chutikul (Thailand), Dorcas Ama Frema Coker-Appiah (Ghana), Cornelis Flinterman (Netherlands), Naela Gabr Mohamed Gabre Ali (Egypt), Ruth Halperin-Kaddari (Israel), Violeta Neubauer (Slovenia), Pramila Patten (Mauritius), Fumiko Saiga (Japan), Hazel Gumede Shelton (South Africa) and Dubravka Šimonović (Croatia).

The Committee members who will continue to serve until their terms expire on 31 December 2008 included:  Magalys Arocha Dominguez (Cuba), Mary Shanthi Dairiam (Malaysia), Françoise Gaspard (France), Tiziana Maiolo (Italy), Silvia Pimentel (Brazil), Hanna Beate Schöpp-Schilling (Germany), Heisoo Shin (Republic of Korea), Glenda P. Simms (Jamaica), Anamah Tan (Singapore), Maria Regina Tavares da Silva (Portugal) and Xiaoqiao Zou (China).

To preside over the fourteenth Meeting of States Parties, the Committee elected Andreas Mavroyiannis (Cyprus) as Chairperson, as well as the following three Vice-Chairpersons:  Meshak Kitchen (Zimbabwe), from the group of African States; Birute Abraitiene (Lithuania), from the group of Eastern European States; and Sean McDonald (Ireland), from the group of Western European and other States.

2007 European Year on Equal Opportunities for All

The European Commission has designated 2007 as ‘European Year of Equal Opportunities for All’.

Activities during the Year are based on Article 13 of the Treaty and will concern equality and non-discrimination for all, including women. An article on gender mainstreaming was included in the draft decision, which should oblige all actors to take gender equality into account.

The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) is a member of the NGOs Advisory Group concerning the Year and the European Commission agreed that gender equality would be fully mainstreamed into activities. The EWL stressed the importance of this issue.

The majority of activities will be carried out at a national level by national co-ordinating bodies and in most cases will not be bodies created but will be located in ministries. 

A number of countries have already nominated their national coordinating body: Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Slovakia and Sweden. Contact details of those as well as nominations of the ones missing are available on the following website as soon as they are made public: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/equality2007/nb_en.htm

The national bodies have a very short time to prepare their national action plans and the list of activities they want to fund approximately 3 or 4 months at the most to define estimate starting from the end of June.   The EWL is encouraging its members to get in touch with the national bodies and enquire about funding and how and when possible projects will be selected at national level.  The Platform will be making enquiries as soon as possible.

Consultation on UN Reform

The UN High -Level Coherence Panel consultations with civil society on UN Reform was held in Geneva on July 2, 2006. About 60 civil society representatives from around the world are expected to participate in the discussion on the cross-cutting themes of gender equality, human rights and the environment.  The Geneva consultations with civil society represent an important opportunity for women’s rights groups to lay out the organisational and systemic problems associated with the gender equality architecture throughout the UN, both at the national and global levels.

Prior to the Panel consultations women’s groups have met to strategise on overall messages for the hearings.  It will be a chance for women’s groups to get together to explore strategies and make more concrete recommendations about the structural changes that ought to happen in order to turn gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment goals into reality. 

These discussions will also constitute the basis of women’s longer-term advocacy efforts leading to the 61st session of the UN General Assembly that will begin on September 12, 2006 in New York. Member states will negotiate the panel’s recommended reforms to the current architecture, or at least recommended processes on UN reform during the General Assembly in September.

The UN High -Level Coherence Panel will complete its work in August 2006 and its recommendations will be presented to the General Assembly in September 2006.

IN BRIEF

Women and Health in the EU

• The European Commission has outlined plans to plans to produce a report on women’s health in the EU for publication during 2007

UN Publications

• Information on the Secretary General of the United Nations report on violence against women presented at the sixtieth session of the General Assembly can be found on www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/vaw
• The publication Women 2000 and Beyond: Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women through ICT can be downloaded from www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/public/w2000-09.05-ict-e

Campaign for General Secretary to UN

• In the 60 years since the UN was founded it has not once elected a woman as its leader.  Send a free message asking the UN Security Council members to elect a woman leader in 2006 to: www.freechoicesaveslives.org/campaign/UN

New Human Rights Organisation

• A new human rights organisation dedicated to putting the power of the internet to work for the human rights community.  FACE Human Rights will be a truly multilingual internet portal for global grassroots human rights organisers and organisations. The site will appear in dozens of languages, and provide a searchable online database of grassroots human rights organisations.  Contact: www.facehumanrights.org

UN Vacancy Announcements

For requirements, eligibility and application deadlines, please visit
the United Nations website at UN Human Resources ‘Galaxy’ e-Staffing Systemat http://jobs.un.org.  The system provides instructions on application procedures. Kindly be aware that online applications are strongly encouraged to enable the UN to place your CV into a permanent database. Newsletters

The European Commission launched a new initiative on gender equality at a meeting for government and NGO representatives in Brussels on 4-5 May 2006. The EC distributed its “roadmap for equality between men and women 2006-2010”; the document identifies Commission activities in six priorities:

• Equal economic independence for men and women
• Reconciliation between professional life and private life
• Equal representation in decision-making
• Ending all forms of violence and trafficking in human beings based on gender
• Removal of gender stereotypes within society
• Promotion of equality between the sexes outside the EU

The Commission reported that it would help set up the European Institute for Gender Equality, to be operational on 1 January 2007 (although no site has been decided for the Institute) and to have a budget of 50 million euros up to 2013. Other Commission commitments included:

• Regular progress reports on gender equality
• Political follow-up with meetings of ministers with responsibility for gender equality
• Draft a new composite indicator of equality between men and women by 2007
• Develop new indicators for the 12 critical fields of the Beijing Platform by 2010

“This is a very positive time for the advancement of gender equality in the European Union, as the political will at the highest level has renewed its strong commitment to equality between women and men,” stated Kirsti Kolthoff, President of European Women’s Lobby (EWL) “this was essential considering that commitments to support female employment and to realise gender equality were underdeveloped in the National Reform Programmes.”

An important precursor to the launch was the presentation of EWL’s  “Gender Equality Road Map for the European Community 2006-2010”, which EWL presented to the Commission in November 2005.  The priority areas of the EC document are essentially the same as in EWL’s Road Map, although activities and targets in the EC’s version are significantly less ambitious.  One significant milestone in the EC’s Roadmap is the recognition that trafficking is gendered and that demand needs to be curbed.  Previously, the EC had essentially a single, legal focus on the issue; the new document provides the first formal recognition of the links to violence against women and of the need for more protection for women from trafficking.

The EC roadmap can be downloaded (PDF version) from: http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/emplweb/news/news_en.cfm?id=136, and the EWL’s Road Map can be downloaded from http://www.womenlobby.org under Policies.

CEDAW – Women’s Rights on the International Stage

During the last two weeks of May, United Nations headquarters played host to the 35th session of the Committee to Eliminate Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). A major focus of this year’s meeting had to do with ongoing UN reform efforts.   Since the Committee has worked closely in the past with the UN Commission on Human Rights, recently taken over by the newly created Human Rights Council, the opening speaker stressed the importance of developing a strong relationship with the new council in the months ahead.

“Women’s rights had received significant attention in the agenda and work of the Commission on Human Rights,” said Rachel Mayanja, Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women. “And women expect, as a minimum, a comparable degree of attention from the new Council. My office and the Division for the Advancement of Women will continue to work with the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights to strengthen attention of the Council to the human rights of women and to the gender perspectives in its work.”

Other major agenda items of the May session included the Committee’s role in recent reform work at the UN, such as increasing coherence throughout the agency and gender mainstreaming. The latter is an approach that places gender equality in the context of all governmental activities.

Feminist Art and Social Change

Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society are currently planning a Comparative Perspectives Symposium on Feminist Art and Social Change.  They would like to recruit 4 to 8 artists, art critics, curators, or scholars from Africa, Asia, Australia, the
Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, New Zealand, and Newly Independent
States, who would contribute short essays (1250-1500 words) that discuss
how feminism surfaces in the arts (visual arts, dance, music, literature, theatre, architecture, new media) and with what effects in their region.

Those interested in contributing to the symposium should contact Karen
Alexander KAlexander@signs.rutgers.edu   by August 15, 2006. Completed
essays must be submitted by November 1, 2006.

Wilton Park Event

Bronagh Hinds represented Northern Ireland Women’s European Platform at the recent UN Resolution 1325 – Women, Peace and Security at Wilton Park on May 30. President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf co-author of the Independent Assessment report Women War Peace (commissioned by UNIFEM) delivered one of the opening remarks at the conference. Her Excellency focused on what are the challenges to implementing UNSCR 1325.   The event also saw the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) release the UK Action Plan on UNSCR 1325.  Copies of both the opening speeches and the UK Action Plan can be obtained by contact niwep@btconnect.com

NIWEP is at present preparing a series of events around UNSCR 1325 over the next months so keep your eyes open for an opportunity to participate.

UN General Assembly to be headed by its Third-Ever Woman President

The Legal Counsel to the Royal Family of Bahrain, pioneering lawyer Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, has been elected President of the 61st General Assembly session, becoming only the third woman who will hold that post and the first one elected since 1969.

Welcoming the election, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was “particularly pleased” that a woman would occupy the post. Ms. Al-Khalifa was one of the first two women admitted to the practice of law in her country. She said she had witnessed several instances where women were harshly treated and their suffering had driven her to find suitable solutions to reduce their pain and uphold the principles of the UN Charter, with its emphasis on respect for human rights.

“The future of coming generations depends on the way we address contemporary problems,” she said. “We should work towards preserving humanitarianism and ensuring that our planet is a safer and more suitable place to live in.”

Prostitution and Sex Trafficking

A new publication entitled “The Links between Prostitution and Sex Trafficking: a Briefing Handbook”, is part of the Joint project coordinated by European Women’s Lobby (EWL) and the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) on Promoting preventative measures to combat trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation. A useful resource for research and lobbying, the handbook is available upon request to niwep@btconnect.com or from the EWL’s website:
ewl.horus.be/SiteResources/data/MediaArchive/Violence%20Centre/News/handbook

Job Vacancies

Amnesty International (Belfast) are currently seeking a Communications Officer and an Education Officer (both part-time) and based in Belfast.  For further information contact Amnesty International (Belfast) on 028 9064 3000

2 Programme and Policy Managers

WOMANKIND Worldwide is a dynamic UK agency committed to women’s rights and the creation of a just, equitable and peaceful world, in which women are equal partners with men in determining the values, direction and governance of their societies and are seeking to recruit two Programme & Policy Managers with at least 5 years experience of working in a development context with a proven track record on working on gender and/or women’s rights.
WOMANKIND is looking for candidates who are confident in communicating and influencing at different levels and with specialist knowledge in one or more of the following thematic areas: rights-based approaches, gender in a conflict / post-conflict and or humanitarian context.  One post will be responsible for WOMANKIND’s work in South America and requires the candidate to be a fluent Spanish speaker. The countries in WOMANKIND’s current portfolio include Peru, Bolivia and Colombia. The other post will be responsible for our work in Asia, which currently includes Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Up to 2 months may be spent overseas each year.
Starting salary:  £25,500 – £26,500 plus 7% employer’s pension contribution.  Closing date for applications:  28 June 2006      Dates for interviews: 3 & 4 July 2006
For an application pack, download from our website at www.womankind.org.uk or email sarahh@womankind.org.uk

The EWL European Observatory on Violence against Women was set up in 1977 with experts from all EU countries; it shares best practice and identifies emerging policy issues in Europe. It will meet in Budapest for 3 days in May with new experts coming from new Member States and neighbouring countries, to map legislation, policies and NGOs participation on VAW and to discuss what could be considered common standards for good practice. The UK Joint Committee for Women of which NIWEP is a member will be attending.

Against Domestic Violence Against Women for 2007: The Council of Europe is preparing a pan-European Parliamentary campaign against domestic violence against women for 2007. At an EU level, the Economic and Social Committee just adopted an Opinion on domestic violence against women and the European Parliament is discussing the new DAPHNE proposals, firmly requesting to separate the actions on drugs prevention and the actions on violence against women, youth and children.

Road Map on Gender Equality 2006-2010: One of the key promising steps forward from the European Commission’s Road Map on Gender Equality 2006-2010, as it includes actions to support Member States and NGOs to eradicate Violence Against Women, including by encouraging Member States to establish national action plans. The European Women’s Lobby is invited to participate in the Commission Conference on European gender equality policies on May 4-5, stresses the importance of mechanisms to monitor the implementation of commitments and of human rights standards, to ensure that the root causes and consequences of violence against women are tackled at all levels, from the private sphere to the international level.

Call for signatures on reproductive rights: The declaration adopted during the hearing on Reproductive Health and Sexual Education organised by the European United Left/Nordic Green Left group in the European Parliament on International Women’s Day, calls for greater respect for sexual and reproductive rights as well as comprehensive sexual education, easy access to information, guidance and family planning, safe abortion and the abolition of restrictive clause on reproductive rights in the legislations of all EU Member States. The organisers of the hearing ask for support and signing of the declaration which is available in 21 languages on: www.guengl.org

Portraying Politics: project to challenge the media to put women in the picture: A toolkit was launched in April 2006 by the European Federation of Journalists. This initiative follows the Global Media Monitoring project 2005 which pointed out that although women represent 25% of politicians in Europe only 10% of politicians in the European news are women. The toolkit consists of a DVS and companying text that raises issues and questions for journalists, trainers and programme makers. The aim is to encourage media professionals to re-think the gender perspective in their work. More information: www.portrayingpolitics.org

Gender Equality in Schools: This Oxfam paper discusses the content and delivery of education and how it can reflect and reproduce gender inequalities. Girls’ and Boys’ learning and interaction with each other, and the teacher, are influenced by ways of teaching, the content of the curriculum, and relations within the classroom. The paper considers these aspects of education provision and recommends changes needed to ensure that education provision will promote gender equality. The paper can be found on www.oxfam.org.uk