From DEBRA@oln.comlink.apc.orgSat Sep 2 11:04:56 1995 Date: Fri, 01 Sep 1995 21:19:00 +0100 From: Debra Guzman Reply to: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org To: beijing-conf@tristram.edc.org Subject: WCW: Sept 1, Global Tribunal [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 : gagliajn@netcom.com ## date : 31.08.95 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- For immediate release Contact: Mallika Dutt or Niamh Reilly 1908/932-8782 Center for Women s Global Leadership Global Tribunal on Accountability for Women s Human Rights September 1, 1995 1:00-7:00p.m Huairou International Convention Center The Center for Women s Global Leadership will convene the Global Tribunal on Accountability for Women s Human Rights in collaboration with many organizations around the world at the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Forum at the IV World Conference on Women in Beijing. The Tribunal will take place on Friday, September 1, the third day of the Forum, from about 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. in the Huairou Cinema. Simultaneous translation will be provided in all conference languages. The Tribunal will feature the testimonies of 22 women about human rights abuses they have suffered, often firsthand, in a wide range of issue areas. In addition, the testimonies will highlight concrete strategies they have taken for redress. The accounts will range from a case of domestic violence in which a woman from the U.S. killed her husband in self-defense to the story of gender-based discrimination against a Dalit woman (the so-called untouchables ) in India. Testimony will be given about a Ugandan girl forced into sexual slavery in wartime and a Mexican woman will describe the abuse of women workers in maquiladoras. Other cases will involve the personal and environmental destruction wrought by nuclear testing in Kazakhstan, the persecution of a young lesbian woman in the U.S. who was institutionalized for gender identity disorder, the damaging effects of structural-adjustment economic programs in countries like Tanzania and violations of women s bodily integrity, civil, political, social and economic rights in Chile, Ireland, the United States, Algeria and Bangladesh as a result of fundamentalist forces in these countries. Tribunal speakers will utilize video footage, slides and photos to convey their messages. A panel of eminent judges will comment on the testimonies and make recommendations to be presented to the UN to promote accountability for women s human rights into the 21st century. Hanan Ashrawi of Palestine has agreed to sit on the panel. Others invited include Charlayne Hunter-Gault ( Rights and Wrongs Human Rights TV, USA), and Anna Balletbo i Puig (Member of Parliament, Spain). The Tribunal aims to build on the success of the Global Campaign for Women s Human Rights at recent UN conferences -- the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993), the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994), and the World Summit on Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995) -- in establishing an understanding that women s rights are human rights. The first Tribunal took place in Vienna at the UN World Conference on Human Rights in June, 1993. The goals for the Beijing Tribunal include moving UN awareness of violations of women s human rights forward to build and define greater accountability for such violations on the part of the UN, its member states and private actors. This tribunal, like others, will provide a high-profile public venue for women s voices to be heard and for women s human rights to become more visible. It also provides a method of documenting violations and a means of fostering a political climate where such abuse will no longer be tolerated. Sponsoring organizations include: Asian Women s Human Rights Council, Asian Women s Forum on Military Sexual Slavery, DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era), Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women, ISIS International (Chile), International Women s Rights Action Watch, Women in Law, Development in Africa, Women Living Under Muslim Laws and UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women). ## To arrange to interview representatives of the Center for Women s Global Leadership, please contact Mallika Dutt or Niamh Reilly at 908/932-8782.