UNIFEM []CURRENTS
THE ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER OF
THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT FUND
FOR WOMEN (UNIFEM)
ACTIVITIES
AUGUST 2002
________________________________________________________________________
NEWS IN BRIEF:
1. SECURITY COUNCIL DEBATES WOMEN AND WAR
2. UNIFEM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR VISITS RWANDA TO ASSESS SITUATION OF WOMEN
3. EMPHASIS ON SAFE SEX NEGOTIATING SKILLS AT BARCELONA AIDS CONFERENCE
4. LATIN AMERICA'S GROUND-BREAKING QUOTA LAW IN JEOPARDY
5. ECUADOR'S CAPITAL CITY COMMITS TO GENDER-SENSITIVE BUDGETS
6. MANUAL ON ARAB WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND CEDAW TO BE TESTED IN SIX COUNTRIES
7. TWENTY-THOUSAND WOMEN MARCH FOR PEACE IN COLOMBIA
8. RESCUE AND REHABILITATION OF TRAFFICKING VICTIMS ON THE RISE IN SOUTH ASIA
9. UNIFEM'S EFFORTS TO EMPOWER MIGRANT WOMEN WORKERS IN JORDAN ACKNOWLEDGED
10. UNIFEM DISCUSSES CEDAW IMPLEMENTATION IN SAUDI ARABIA
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FULL STORY:
1. SECURITY COUNCIL DEBATES WOMEN AND WAR
UNIFEM Executive Director, Noeleen Heyzer, addressed the Security Council
open debate on Conflict, Peacekeeping and Gender on 24 July. Heyzer called
on the Council to make sure that women, peace and security becomes a
regular item on the political agenda, in thematic debates, and every time
country situations are addressed. Following the adoption of Security
Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security in 2000, which
requested the Secretary-General to carry out a study on women, peace and
security, UNIFEM appointed two Independent Experts, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
and Elisabeth Rehn, to compliment this effort through a global, field-based
assessment on the impact of armed conflict on women and women's role in
peace-building. Together with the Secretary-General's report, a
comprehensive agenda for action will be proposed.
Over the past year, the Independent Experts traveled to fourteen conflict
areas. Their full findings and recommendations will be launched in October
2002 to mark the two-year anniversary of Resolution 1325. Principal
findings and recommendations are as follows:
1. Prevention: Information from and about women in conflict situations has
not informed preventive actions.
2. Protection: The glaring gaps in women's protection must be addressed.
Impunity prevails for these widespread crimes against women in war.
3. HIV/AIDS: Wherever a woman lives with conflict and upheaval, the threat
of HIV/AIDS and its effects are multiplied.
4. Peace processes: Formal negotiations that exclude half the population
from the political process have little hope of popular support.
5. Peace Operations: The Experts found that a gender perspective is not
sufficiently incorporated into peace operations. Women's protection and
participation should be central to the design and reform of law enforcement
institutions and policies.
6. Codes of Conduct: The Experts were alarmed at reports of violations
committed by peacekeepers, United Nations and other humanitarian
personnel. They recommend stronger oversight, investigative, and
disciplinary mechanisms.
7. Regional organizations play an important role in protecting women and
supporting their participation in peace-building.
8. Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR): The beneficiaries
of these programmes must not be limited to male combatants. Female
combatants, the wives, widows and other dependents of ex-fighters must be
included explicitly.
For more information, contact Sumie Nakaya, Adviser on Peace-building at
UNIFEM, at sumie.nakaya@undp.org
2. UNIFEM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR VISITS RWANDA TO ASSESS SITUATION OF WOMEN
UNIFEM Executive Director Noeleen Heyzer visited the Republic of Rwanda, at
the invitation of the Government, to assess the situation of women as the
country moves from post-conflict reconstruction to development. During the
four-day visit from 16-20 July, she met with the President of the Republic,
H.E. Paul Kagame, Minister of Gender and Women's Development, Minister of
Finance and Economic Planning, Minister of Justice and the Minister of
Education. She congratulated the President and his Ministers on their
political will in promoting women's empowerment and gender equality and
their dedication to mainstreaming gender in all policies, programmes and
institutions. She also requested the President to be the champion of
women's rights and gender equality among other heads of state in Africa,
which he accepted.
During her visit, Heyzer addressed the Transitional National Assembly and
met representatives of other new institutions, including the Legal and
Constitutional Commission, National Unity and Reconciliation Commission,
Human Rights Commission and Electoral Commission. She noted with
appreciation the support given by UNIFEM to the Gender Desk and its
assistance to the Women's Forum of the Transitional National Assembly in
the successful campaign for a new inheritance law guaranteeing women's
rights to land.At the request of President Kagame, Heyzer promised UNIFEM
support to women's entrepreneurship and information technology as a way to
reduce women's poverty. She also held extensive discussions with women at
all levels, including politicians and academics, grassroots and
professional groups, women who had survived the recent genocide and women
living with HIV/AIDS.
Two days after returning from Rwanda, Heyzer delivered a message entrusted
to her by women in Rwanda to the Security Council during its open Debate on
Conflict, Peacekeeping and Gender. "Women seeking justice need protection
and look to the standards set by the International Criminal Court," said
Heyzer. "They ask for witness protection, counseling and security. They ask
for legal support. They ask for a separate chamber and female judges to
hear cases of women survivors of sexual violence. And they ask for
sanctions against tribunal staff that do not respect the rights of
witnesses. The women of Rwanda know that the Security Council can take
practical steps to make a difference."
For more information, contact Baudouine Kamatari, UNIFEM Gender Advisor in
Rwanda, at baudouine.kamatari@undp.org or visit see UNIFEM's press release
at www.unifem.undp.org/speaks/020725_security_council.html
3. EMPHASIS ON SAFE SEX NEGOTIATING SKILLS AT BARCELONA AIDS CONFERENCE
One of the strong messages that came out of the XIVth International AIDS
Conference, held last month in Barcelona, was that the empowerment of women
is essential to reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS. A theme that was picked
up in many panels as critical to stemming the epidemic was the need for
women to be able to negotiate safe sex and say "no" to unwanted sex. UNIFEM
was able to translate this into action by conducting a skills-building
workshop for participants. The workshop introduced UNIFEM's innovative
approach of training women in negotiating safe sex based on accepted
negotiating techniques, which emerged out of a UNIFEM project in
Senegal. The workshop included components on self-esteem development,
assertiveness and negotiation. The overwhelming response to the workshop
confirmed the need for such an approach, which UNIFEM plans to build into
many of its country-based initiatives on gender and HIV/AIDS.
UNIFEM, together with ILO, also held a satellite meeting on "The Care
Economy, HIV/AIDS and The World of Work," the theme of a collaboration
between the two organizations. The panel addressed the way in which
women's work in the unpaid care economy within the household has had, as a
result of AIDS, serious implications for the informal and formal
economies. In addition, a poster session was held where UNIFEM presented
the findings of its community-based research on "Myths and Sexual
Practices: A Gender approach to the Analysis of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in
Senegal".
For more information, contact Nazneen Damji, Programme Specialist, Gender
and HIV/AIDS, at nazneen.damji@undp.org
4. LATIN AMERICA'S GROUND-BREAKING QUOTA LAW IN JEOPARDY
Just months away from national elections, the president of Ecuador's
electoral tribunal called for the reform of Latin America's most advanced
quota law. Under such threat, Ecuador's women's movement mobilized the
project "Red Alert!" and UNIFEM immediately partnered with them. As of
June 7th, the quota law's reform proposal was under discussion in the
reviewing commission and was awaiting presentation to the national Parliament.
In 1998, Ecuador became the leader in Latin America for promoting women's
participation in political decision-making positions. Although some other
Latin American countries have quota laws, Ecuador has been considered the
most advanced as it is the only one that requires electoral candidacy lists
to include women sequentially and in alternation with men until the quota
has been fulfilled. The quota began in 1998 at 30% and is required to
increase by 5% in each election until the goal of 50% is achieved.
For more information, contact Jennifer Myles, UNIFEM Ecuador office, at
unifem.ecuador@undp.org
5. ECUADOR'S CAPITAL CITY COMMITS TO GENDER-SENSITIVE BUDGETS
The mayor of Quito, Ecuador's capital city, made a firm commitment to
institutionalizing gender-sensitivity in the city's budget. This commitment
came after he received the results of the gender-sensitive budget analysis,
carried out as part of UNIFEM's pilot initiatives in the Andean region. The
mayor committed to increasing the city's budget to support projects that
explicitly promote gender equity up to 15% for 2003. In addition, he also
proposed to develop a guide to transversalizing gender in the city's budget
as a permanent tool for civil servants in his administration and in those
of mayors to come.
Among the various pilot initiatives carried out by UNIFEM, the case of
Quito is a good example of the importance of political will to carry out
recommendations from a gender-sensitive budget analysis.
For more information, contact Jennifer Myles, UNIFEM Ecuador office, at
unifem.ecuador@undp.org
6. MANUAL ON ARAB WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND CEDAW TO BE TESTED IN SIX COUNTRIES
The 'Training of Trainers Manual on Arab Women's Rights in the Context of
CEDAW,' will be tested in six Arab countries, and will form the cornerstone
of UNIFEM's efforts to promote women's human rights in the Arab Region.
Regional experts from various Arab countries gathered to share views and
inputs on the first draft of the Manual at the 'Third Expert Meeting on the
Women Human Rights Programme in the Context of CEDAW,' which was held from
17-19 June in Tunisia. The meeting was organized by UNIFEM and the Center
of Arab Women for Training and Research (CAWTAR).
For more information please contact Shatha Amin, UNIFEM/Cisco Project
Coordinator, at shatha@unifem.org.jo
7. TWENTY-THOUSAND WOMEN MARCH FOR PEACE IN COLOMBIA
On 25 July, approximately 20,000 women marched on Colombia's capital city
of Bogotá, calling for a politically-negotiated end to the armed conflict
in Colombia. There were several statements made by well-known women leaders
of the organizations and networks involved in the march. The statements,
many of which were directed to the new government that will take office
shortly, called for women to be taken into consideration in the negotiating
tables to put an end to the armed conflict. Many women also called for the
demilitarization of civilians, the protection of displaced women and for
the government to respond to the basic needs of the displaced women.
UNIFEM participated in the march alongside women who had travelled from all
regions of Colombia and who, in a number of cases, took on the risk of
persecution upon returning to their homes for having made such statements.
For more information, contact Jennifer Myles, UNIFEM Ecuador office, at
unifem.ecuador@undp.org
8. RESCUE AND REHABILITATION OF TRAFFICKING VICTIMS ON THE RISE IN SOUTH ASIA
In the last few years, there has been a great increase in the number of
rescue operations undertaken for victims of human trafficking. This has
been largely due to active advocacy and lobbying done on the issue of human
trafficking by NGO partners. UNIFEM's regional anti- trafficking program
has played a key role in this process.
In South Asia, survivors of trafficking, NGOs working to end trafficking,
representatives of sex-workers networks, lawyers and police officers came
together at the first South Asian regional consultation on the issue of
rescue and rehabilitation for trafficked persons, which was held from 24-25
July in New Delhi. They reviewed existing rescue and rehabilitation
programmes and highlighted best practices for possible replication in the
region. The consultation highlighted the need for a comprehensive human
rights-based rescue and rehabilitation policy addressing all trafficked
persons. The consultation agreed to form a small core group from amongst
itself who would look into framing a policy guideline for rescue and
rehabilitation of trafficking victims.
For more information, contact Suneeta Dhar, National Programme Officer at
UNIFEM South Asia Regional Office, at suneeta.dhar@undp.org
9. UNIFEM'S EFFORTS TO EMPOWER MIGRANT WOMEN WORKERS IN JORDAN ACKNOWLEDGED
UNIFEM was acknowledged for its efforts in empowering migrant women workers
in Jordan, at the 104th Anniversary celebration of the Independence of the
Philippines, held on 9 June in Amman, Jordan. The Filipino Ambassador to
Jordan, Mr. Ruperto Dizon, thanked UNIFEM for its effective role in
improving the conditions of the migrant workers through the Project
"Empowering Migrant Women Workers in Jordan," and conferred certificates of
appreciation to UNIFEM's Human Rights team.
The Filipino Independence Day celebration was a special occasion this year
for it coincided with Filipino Migrant Workers Day Worldwide, which
commemorates the signing into law of the Migrant Workers and Overseas
Filipinos Act of 1995.
For more information please contact Shatha Amin, UNIFEM/Cisco Project
Coordinator, at shatha@unifem.org.jo
10. UNIFEM DISCUSSES CEDAW IMPLEMENTATION IN SAUDI ARABIA
In a recent visit to Riyadh, UNIFEM and the government of Saudi Arabia
discussed follow-up to CEDAW, which was signed by the Government of Saudi
Arabia two years ago, but has not yet been ratified.
As part of this effort, UNIFEM conducted a seminar on CEDAW and Islamic
Shari'a law, at which participants recommended the preparation of a concept
paper on 'evaluation of the status of Saudi women.' The concept paper will
include a time frame, work plan and propose a task force that will identify
the main areas of concern of Saudi women and elaborate concrete projects
based on the identification undertaken. UNIFEM and UNDP will prepare the
outline of the concept paper and discussions will be held with the
government of Saudi Arabia for their approval.
For more information, contact Haifa Abu-Ghazaleh, UNIFEM Regional Programme
Director for the Arab States, at amman@unifem.org.jo
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