Skip to main content

There are Agreed Conclusions!

Last night around midnight we received the news: there are Agreed Conclusions for CSW55!
Through our e-mail list-serve we heard that one of the more progressive delegates described the outcome of the cumbersome negotiations as a relative 'happy end'. The Agreed Conclusions are adopted, even though content wise not ideal. From her point of view there is nothing in it which would fall behind Beijing or open the Beijing Platform for Action and the wording of gender, gender stereotypes etc. could be held. Furthermore, all of the following are in the text: 'life skills and sex education', 'sexual and reproductive health', equal sharing of responsibilities of ‘daily life and care work’ and 'multiple discrimination'. They said that there is still no "clean text" because it still needs to be re-read with a clearer mind. In their first assessment they estimate that worse could be avoided and that there might even be some useful language in it. Also the atmosphere in the end was definitely better than in the past few days.
We can now say we look forward to the full text, which we will make sure to post when it is available. Though the outcomes of CSW55 are a relief, the tense negotiations that preceded it indicate that vigilance is required. This year's CSW was at first considered a relatively unimportant and predictable one, and then turned out to be a manifestation of seems to be a larger trend: conservative voices that fear progress. They seem to want to limit the rights of the individual, and people's right to make well-informed choices.
On the other hand, the outcome of the negotiations shows that there is a majority of countries that do not accept such a step back from past achievements. These countries did a great job in standing strong during the CSW negotiations. The many organisations and governments that recognize the importance of gender equality, with a broad interpretation of 'gender', should not rest on their laurels. We have to continue working together to give a positive answer to the feelings of fear and discomfort that conservatives are spreading. Because we stand for a world wherein diversity is appreciated and celebrated.
Today we leave New York and fly back to the Netherlands. Thank you for reading our blogs! We'll post the CSW55 outcome document as soon as it's available to us.
Labels:

Comments

Unknown said…
It makes you feel like the best you can hope for is ...no change, at least not at the UN. It just means we have to work even harder as soon as you girls get back home to bring change into the real world. Great job and happy women's day!
March 8, 2011 at 2:58 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Women’s Rights Caucus Statement – Protect Women and Girls by upholding the Beijing Declaration

  The Women’s Rights Caucus, representing over 900 feminist advocates from around the world, urges you to oppose the proposed US draft resolution entitled  “Protection of women and girls through appropriate terminology.” Despite the title, we do not feel protected nor represented by this initiative. Download this statement as pdf.   Download this statement in Spanish.   On the heels of the first-ever recorded vote on the agreed conclusions of the annual meetings of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and in complete disregard of the significant opposition their proposal got in the negotiation room, the United States has circulated a new resolution proposal which attempts to falsely state that the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action agreed that  “gender” was defined as “men and women”. It attributes to annex IV of the Report of the Fourth World Conference of Women a meaning that was never agreed by Member States, effectively rewriting th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Blog van ngo-vertegenwoordiger Joyce Brummelman: de onderhandelingen

Ngo-vertegenwoordiger Joyce Brummelman met Benjamin Nolan van de PV in de VN Deze week was het eindelijk zover: mijn reis naar de Verenigde Naties om van dichtbij te volgen hoe de afspraken en onderhandelingen rondom de Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) steeds meer vorm krijgen. Access to justice – toegang tot het recht – klinkt misschien als één thema, maar in werkelijkheid bestaat het uit talloze dimensies. Elk land heeft een andere juridische werkelijkheid, andere barrières, andere verhalen. Als NGO vertegenwoordiger mocht ik deze discussies mede volgen en luisteren naar wat landen, experts en activisten hierover te zeggen hebben.   Ondanks de sneeuwstorm landde ik dinsdagmiddag in New York en ging ik direct door naar de Nederlandse Vertegenwoordiging van de Verenigde Naties. Daar hoorde ik hoe Nederland werkt aan een zo sterk mogelijke uitkomst van de CSW: ambitieus, principieel en met oog voor de realiteit van vrouwen en meisjes wereldwijd. De aftrap: landen in gesprek o...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Beat back the radicals!"

“We will beat back the radicals and we will fight all their falsehoods and we will help as best we can all the faithful UN delegations trying to help the unborn child. But, the Friday Fax and our presence at UN headquarters is not free. In fact, it is terribly expensive. Would you be able to make a sacrificial donation to our work of $500? $100? $50?” This quote is from a newsletter of an American based organization working to stop any agreement at the UN that might possibly be understood to mean that women can have a choice in their  reproduction. It is quite ironic to see the violence in the language, beat back the radicals, from a group who are working at the UN meeting devoted to ending Violence Against Women. Being here at the UN makes you feel in your body and soul that maintaining and advancing freedom of choice for women (and men) is a battle and not everyone fights fair. Some of our Dutch civil society friends attended a panel in which the two main speakers where ...
4 comments
Read more