IPJ Delegates to Attend the 51st Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations

  

No Excuses: Defending Women’s and
Children’s Rights in Times of Terror

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

12 – 1:45 p.m.

Church Center, 10th Floor

Commission on the Status of Women

United Nations, New York

The IPJ is a nongovernmental organization with special consultative status to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations and sent a delegation to the 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nations. CSW is a functional commission of ECOSOC, dedicated exclusively to gender equality and the advancement of women. Every year, representatives of Member States gather at the UN headquarters in New York to evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards, and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide.  This year, topics centered on the girl child and included gender-based violence, HIV/AIDS, religious extremism, political and legal protection, and poverty as well as:

• Trafficking (1.2 million children annually)
• Sexual exploitation (1.8 million children annually)
• Child soldiers (300,000 girls and boys currently)
• Education (77 million not in school, 70% girls)
• Female genital cutting (as many as 3 million girls annually)

This year, the IPJ and the United Nations Association – San Diego co-convened a parallel event session, “No excuses: Defending Women’s and Children’s Rights in Times of Terror” to address that fact that despite international tools and protocols on gender inclusion, when the debate turns to “security” women and children, their rights and their contributions, are forgotten or ignored.  This trend occurs across social, political and legal spheres.  This bias must be reversed – in order to fully realize peace and security, women’s and girl’s rights must be integrally included and implemented.  This parallel event explored grass-roots and international examples of how women have gotten a seat at the table and advanced their agenda of rights and human security.  Elahe Amani of the Stop Stoning Forever campaign stated that the IPJ panel not only presented the issues, but also shared a message of hope and courage through inspiring stories about the struggle of millions of women all over the world for gender equality and peace.  This session also served as the launch for the 2006 Who's making policy? What Difference does it make? Final Report on the findings and outcomes of the IPJ Women PeaceMakers international working conference on gender-inclusive decision-making for peace with justice. Click here to download the pdf of the report.

Key points articulated at the Commission were how much worse human rights abuses become during times of conflict, channels for action and the importance of remembering that culture is never static, that culture changes as people change.  In addition to outstanding panels, several excellent resources were launched, such as the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) “10 Country Study of Violence Against Women” and the “International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics [iKNOW Politics.]”

Perhaps the most compelling voice at the Commission, however, was that of the girl-child herself.  Moving testimonies from girls from all over the world who attended and told their stories of personal suffering, struggle, and abuse were among the most powerful presentations.  “We are not only the subject of the conference, but we are also the voice of this conference,” said 16-year-old Jordana Alter Confino from New Jersey, one of the founders of Girls Learn International, a campaign to achieve universal girls’ education.  Presentations included that of an HIV-positive rape victim from Zambia, a child-laborer from Nepal, and a 15-year-old former child soldier from the DRC who recounted her experience fighting on the front lines of the civil war in the jungles of Eastern Congo.  Their stories helped to not only give a face to the issues discussed at the Commission, but also to inspire others engaged in the struggle for women’s rights with their strength and courage.