Ecumenical Women at the United Nations

This morning, I attended ECOSOC’s special event, “Achieving the MDG’s and coping with the challenges of climage change.”  It was of course interesting, as I usually find most things related to climate change, but what I found particularly moving were the comments spoken by the delegate from Belgium (who did not speak on behalf of Belgium, but for the committee for CSW).  He outlined how climate change disproportionately and negatively affects women, and spoke about how women can acts as agents of change in the mitigation of global warming.

Of course, this year’s 52nd session of the CSW chose as it’s emerging issue “Gender perspectives on climate change“, where we learned that women’s lives are effected in large part due to their domestic responsibilities.  As the moderator’s summary stresses,

In Africa, for example, women have primary responsibility for food security, household water supply, and the provision of energy for cooking and heating. Conditions such as drought, deforestation and erratic rainfall have a disproportionate negative affect on their ability to carry out these duties. As climate change causes African women to work harder to secure these basic resources, they have less time to secure an education or earn an income. Girls are more likely than boys to drop out of school to help their mothers gather fuel, wood and water.

The unequal effects that climate change already has, and will likely continue to have, along the lines of gender, are rarely mentioned.  As we move towards mitigation and adaptation to climate change, we must do so with a lens that prioritizes women as the large majority of those greatly affected by climate change. 

Read the rest of this entry »

The 41st session of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) will be taking place at the United Nations in New York City, commencing on the 30th of June. CEDAW, an international human rights treaty for women, was first adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979. Since then, 185 nation states have become party to it, including Afghanistan, Chile, China, Iraq, and the Congo. Although the United States of America has not yet ratified the treaty, this has not prevented it from becoming one of the most highly ratified international human rights conventions.

During the upcoming 41st session, the CEDAW committee will review the reports submitted by Iceland, Finland, Lithuania, Nigeria, Slovakia, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, and Yemen. The Committee, upon considering the reports, will also present recommendations for each government and, under the statutes of the Optional Protocol to CEDAW, may further investigate into any countries whose reports they find inadequate due to contradictory or additional information.

The full text of the convention can be found at the International Women’s Rights Action Watch website, which also has good information about how NGOs can participate. Want a historical perspective? Consider ordering and reading “The Circle of Empowerment“, edited by Hanna Beate Schopp-Schilling.

To date, governments which have yet to ratify include Iran, Somalia, Sudan, and the United States of America.

The Women of the ELCA’s 7th Annual Triennial Gathering is set this year to be in Salt Lake City, Utah, from July 10-13. The theme, “Come to the Waters,” references the renewal and committment Christians experience in their baptism. With keynote speaker and author Sister Joan Chittister , upper-Manhattan Lutheran pastor Heidi Neumark speaking, and workshops on important social issues such as racism, activism, and politics, the gathering looks to be a faithful blend of personal spirituality and public action.

EW encourages the Women of the ELCA to go even further, and take up a strong interest in women’s rights on an international scale. While we applaud the good things the organization is already doing, we hope to see more of an investment in international activism around women’s and human rights. Are there any EW members out there heading to “Come to the Waters”? Take your knowledge and passion with you as you head to Salt Lake City!

The Women, Faith, and Development Alliance is launching their Breakthrough Summit this Sunday, April 13, in a move to end global poverty.  EW applauds many things about this historic alliance, such as a large networking event for faith-based women’s groups, the summit being open to the public, and free registration.  Obviously, getting lots of people together to make a gender-based statement against poverty from a(n inter)faith-based perspective is something EW can get behind! 

We do, however, wonder what purpose this summit will achieve.  The most we can find is that different organizations will be announcing their committments to support women and girls in the fight against poverty–and that’s great–but where are our Christian denominations in this picture?  Why isn’t the summit being broadcast over the internet?  EW is eager to learn where this alliance will go, and what documents will be put forth in response to the summit. 

Below is the European Union response to the CSW agreed conclusions. It is good that some form of disappointment has been placed on the record. I recommend reading it as they explain their position and stick up for the big picture that was once again lost in politicking… we will keep our ears open here for further implications.

EU Statement on the Agreed Conclusions: Financing for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. 52nd session of CSW - UN Commission on the Status of Women

Mr. Chairman,

I am taking the floor in order to explain the basis upon which the European Union has been able to join consensus today on the Agreed Conclusions entitled “Financing for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women”.

The European Union attaches great importance to accelerated achievement of the goal of gender equality and the empowerment of women. We believe that availability of necessary human and financial resources for the empowerment of women and the commitment for adequate funding identified and mobilized from all sources and across all sectors to achieve the goals of gender equality and the empowerment of women have to be made and fully met. The European Union also believes that remaining obstacles and challenges need to be exceeded effectively and in a holistic manner and therefore also through reinforcing national efforts to promote gender equality and women’s rights in reaching the goals and objectives of gender equality and empowerment of women, laid down in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Beijing follow-up process.

The Priority Theme of 52nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women “Financing for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women” has, in the view of the European Union, not been aptly addressed. Read the rest of this entry »

By Michel Ngoy Mulunda, EW delegate, as presented on panel: “A Dialogue Among Cultures; Iraq for All,” 3 March 2008

Photography by Kim Llerena.

We are grateful to the Al Hakim foundation for inviting us to this session of “A Dialogue between cultures: “Iraq for All”". The special invitation to me as one of the panelists to speak on the issue of Women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, marks our strong solidarity with the wrestle for the respect of women’s rights in Iraqi society.

We all know well that violence doesn’t have a specific form in the Congo or in Iraq, but we do agree to call for an end to that form of inhumanity. We hope that great progress will be achieved soon in this area despite reluctance encountered here and there. And we hope that our communities will play a leading role in becoming “the light of the world and the salt of the earth”. Read the rest of this entry »

After staying up until 4 am negotiating last Friday, the member states have finally presented us with the CSW Agreed Conclusions. This document serves as the outcome on the theme of Financing for Gender Equality and has important implications for the review of the financing for development meetings later this year.

Check back later for analysis from Ecumenical Women. In the mean time, please provide your feedback on the recent experience at CSW by taking this very brief survey. Ecumenical Women look forward to your recommendations and input to improve our effectiveness at next year’s CSW! 

My two week CSW experience is just coming to an end. This has been a great opportunity to witness the nations from across the globe come together around the issue of the status of the half of the world’s population - women. Read the rest of this entry »

by Sarah Strickland

As a first-time delegate to the CSW annual meetings, I can only describe my experience as “jumping into the deep-end of the pool.” I was blessed to be asked to be a delegate for the Women’s Intercultural Network by Jean Shinoda Bolen and Marilyn Fowler and I thank divine guidance for my leap of faith to say “yes!” My trade is strategic planning and co-creating “road-maps” that help people in organizations “see” where they want to go. I often find myself in a “midwife” role by helping bring an emerging idea or strategy into being. Recently, I have found myself drawing what I am seeing, hearing and understanding to be present about conversations I am in. The images flow through me and simply show up. It is my way of synthesizing and connecting many different elements into a picture-story. I was asked to share this with others. Please feel free to use it however you wish.

This picture emerged in the chapel at the Church building after I attended two days of meetings. Read the rest of this entry »

In light of International Women’s Day–which falls on a weekend this year, Saturday March 8–Ecumenical Women coalition members have been issueing articles and resources about women.  The United Methodist Board of Church and Society wrote an article on Women’s History Month in their eNewsletter, Faith in Action.  Episcopal Life Online released an article about financing for gender equity, the theme of this year’s CSW, while the ELCA Advocacy department made recommendations on how best to observe International Women’s Day.  Finally, the NCC’s program for women’s ministries also wrote an article honoring women’s history month, adding helpful resources and links at the bottom of the page. 

Apart from the ecumenical scene, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said today in the UN programme commemorating International Women’s Day, “I am deeply convinced that, in women, the world has at its dosposal the most significant and yet larglely untapped potential for development and peace… Women are still severly hampered by discrimination, lack of resources and economic opportunities, by limited access to decision-making and by gender-based violence.”  He called on everyone in the international community to increase investments in women and girls.

Ecumenical Women wishes you a fruitful and informative International Women’s Day!