From DEBRA@OLN.comlink.apc.orgThu Sep 21 09:11:38 1995 Date: Wed, 20 Sep 1995 08:39:00 +0100 From: Debra Guzman Reply to: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org To: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org Subject: WCW: CND-Global, September 18, 1995 [The following text is in the "ISO-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly] ## author : cnd-editor@cnd.org ## date : 18.09.95 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ C h i n a N e w s D i g e s t +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ (News Global) Monday, September 18, 1995 Final Notes on the UN's Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995: The Platform for Action and Government Pledges ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [CND, 09/16/95] BEIJING -- A historic three weeks drew to a close Friday in Beijing as the UN's Fourth World Conference on Women concluded its deliberations with a consensual blueprint for change and promises from many participating governments, AP reported Saturday. The conference hosted some 5,000 delegates from 189 countries. Participating countries included 181 UN member states and eight additional countries not belonging to the UN or its agencies. Grenada and Saudi Arabia were the only two states to stay home, and Somalia, Serbia and Montenegro were not invited. The UN conference oversaw two weeks of debate on sensitive and controversial issues. Predominately Catholic countries often joined forces with Islamic states to oppose provisions they felt might encourage homosexuality or other perceived forms of immorality. The Vatican maintained a powerful behind-the-scenes presence, and described the conference's Platform as "anti- family," strongly criticizing the Platform's approach to health issues. In fact, about two dozen countries indicated they would lodge objections to parts of the Platform, which is non-binding. Controversy and objections notwithstanding, the participating states finally mustered sufficient consensus to produce two documents: a solemn declaration and the massive document entitled "A Platform for Action". This key document proposes wide-ranging measures for improving the status of women over the next decade, until the next UN World Conference on Women is held. The issues the Platform addresses are wide-ranging and run the gamut from general statements on human and sexual rights, illegal abortion and discrimination, to provisions regarding landmines and non-sexist textbooks. The 150-page document deplores violence against women, the systematic use of rape in war, trafficking in women, genital mutilation, on-the-job harassment and pressure to have sex. It supports a more active role for women in decision making, a better balance between children's and parents' rights, and equal inheritance rights for women. The Platform describes the family as the basic unit of society, but declares that "various forms of the family exist," a statement that has drawn fire from conservatives, who worry that the phrase condones homosexual unions, single-parent families, and commonlaw arrangements. The Platform further urges that the family be strengthened, protected and supported. Lesbian rights were discussed but deleted from the final document. Support for lesbian rights came from the United States and some European countries; opposition came from Islamic states and the Vatican. The Platform makes it clear that the international women's movement has maintained the consensus it achieved at last year's Cairo International Conference on Population and Development regarding women's control over reproductive issues. The Platform is accompanied by various pledges by participating governments. It was difficult to put a dollar value on the measures that need to be taken, as many issues straddle more than one area. Calls for new and additional funding were made by China and by more than 130 developing countries in the so-called Group of 77. These calls got a cool reception from Western donors, however, who are dealing with domestic budget problems. In fact, the European Union, Canada, Japan and the United States angered developing countries by opposing any new funding for educating girls. The conference came at a time when many Western donors are considering reducing their commitment to foreign aid. The United States contends that two-thirds of the costs for improving nutrition, health care and education can be borne by developing countries themselves and urged that the $55-$66 billion spent on development be used more effectively. The United States also urged governments to adopt legislation that would make it easier for women to participate in their economies as equals. The conference finally settled for calls for an "adequate mobilization of resources," to be augmented by "new and additional resources to the developing countries." In a new departure, the conference asked for help from international organizations and the private sector. Pledges to implement provisions in the platform were made by about a third of the governments present; 100 countries made no commitments. Concerns were raised that too few key players, such as finance and treasury ministers, attended the conference. There were however many acts of commitment. World Bank President James Wolfensohn offered about $900 million a year for girls' education. The World Bank is intending to spend about $5 billion of its $20 billion annual lending to assist women, and also intends to increase this amount. Mini-loans will be getting more attention also as the Bank has earmarked $200 million to help women start businesses. The concept of "micro-credit" was one of the hottest topics at the conference. A number of governments stepped forward. Here are some examples: Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori pledged to defy the powerful Roman Catholic Church and launch a family-planning program; The United States announced it will fight domestic violence; Cambodia promised that half of its negotiators will be women; Tanzania promised to repeal laws that discriminate against women; and India pledged to spend more on education for girls. Some organizers spoke of fears over a possible conservative backlash over the conference's outcome. Despite the praise showered on the government in official Chinese media reports, China did not get the admiration it was seeking when it agreed to host the women's conference. It has been criticized for policing participants and subjecting conferees to intrusive security measures. Security was often clumsy and overbearing. Reporters were hindered in their efforts to report the conference. In addition, some of China's most prominent feminists were barred from the conference; instead, handpicked government representatives were sent. In the meantime, the Chinese government has owned up to some mistakes, admitting that it lacks experience in hosting major conferences and that it would try to do better next time. The official UN conference was preceded by a week-long Forum for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The series of seminars held in tents at Huairou, 50 kilometers (35 miles) from Beijing. It brought together over 20,000 participants from 181 countries, making it one of the largest conferences ever staged by the UN. The importance of the NGO Forum and its achievements, one participant noted, were not widely reported by the media. One such achievement, for instance, was the establishment of the new Global Congress of Women in Politics. One of the few major figures to comment on the importance of the Forum was Hillary Clinton, who spoke of the crucial role NGOs will play in holding governments accountable to the non-binding pledges they made in the main UN conference that followed. The Forum was marked by a series of protests. (Heather FERGUSON, Jian LIU/Daluo JIA)