UN
Commission on the Status of Women
50th Session • 27 February - 10 March 2006
United Nations pays lip service to gender equality say women's advocates at the UN Commission on the Status of Women
March 6, 2006, United Nations, New York: Women’s organizations at the 50th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women have expressed disappointment and outrage that the women’s equality agenda and women’s machineries are not being addressed as a central part of the UN reform program. In an Open Letter to the Secretary General and Member States, the Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL), UN Committee on the Status of Women, Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom repeated a call they made at the 2005 World Summit for UN systems and mechanisms to be significantly strengthened, upgraded and resourced in order to advance gender equality at international and country levels.
The Open Letter has been endorsed by more than 240 women from over 50 countries and by numerous international and regional organizations.
Noting that this letter was drafted and circulated before the announcement that Mark Malloch Brown would replace Louise Frechette as Deputy Secretary General, June Zeitlin, WEDO’s Executive Director, said, “We already knew that only lip service was being given to gender parity. The UN is going in the wrong direction. We need new and innovative leadership and the way to get that is by ensuring we reach 50/50 women and men in all decision-making positions.”
Charlotte Bunch, CWGL Executive Director, said, “The UN must make it a priority to strengthen the bodies that work for women’s rights. What is being called the UN ‘gender architecture’ is more like a shack. Women need a bigger global house if equality is ever to become a reality.”
An Open Letter on Women & UN Reform to the Secretary General and Member States from NGOs present at the 50th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (English, Spanish, French)
News coverage:
CWGL
Co-Sponsored Activities
- MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2006 (5:30-6:30pm), Conference Room C: Linkage Caucus, sponsored by Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), NGO Committee on the Status of Women and the Center for Women's Global Leadership.
- WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006 (1:30-2:50pm), Church Center, 12th Floor, DHL Room: Violence Against Indigenous Women, sponsored by MADRE, FIMI, the Center for Women’s Global Leadership and the Secretariat of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Speakers: Elsa Stamatopoulou, Chief of the Secretariat of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; Charlotte Bunch, Executive Director, Center for Women's Global Leadership; Carolyn Hannan, Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women; Rose Cunningham, Coordinator of Wangki Tangni; and Rebecca Lolosoli, Chair of the Umoja Waso Women Group, Kenya. Click here for flyer (PDF).
- WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006 (5:30-6:30pm), Conference Room C: Linkage Caucus, sponsored by Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), NGO Committee on the Status of Women and the Center for Women's Global Leadership
- FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2006 (5:30-6:30pm), Conference Room C: Linkage Caucus, sponsored by Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), NGO Committee on the Status of Women and the Center for Women's Global Leadership
- MONDAY, MARCH 6, 2006 (1:15-2:45pm), Church Center, 8th Floor: Women Human Rights Defenders, sponsored by Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law, and Development (APWLD), Center for Women's Global Leadership, Amnesty International, and Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML).
- MONDAY, MARCH 6, 2006 (5:30-6:30pm), Conference Room C: Linkage Caucus, sponsored by Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), NGO Committee on the Status of Women and the Center for Women's Global Leadership
- WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2006 (5:30-6:30pm), Conference Room C: Linkage Caucus, sponsored by Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), NGO Committee on the Status of Women and the Center for Women's Global Leadership
- WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2006 (7:30-9:30pm), St. Bart’s Episcopal Church, New York: International Women’s Day 2006, sponsored by The Hunger Project, St. Bart’s and the World, MADRE, Women’s eNews, the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, and the Center for Women's Global Leadership. Location: Between 50-51st Streets, NY, NY. Participants: Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen, lecturer and author; Gloria Feldt, immediate past president of the Planned Parenthood Federation and author; Dr. Speciosa Kazibwe, former Vice President of Uganda; Bianca Jagger, women's rights activist and winner of the 2004 Right Livelihood Award; Rev. Catherine S. Roskam, Episcopal Bishop Suffragan; Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of UNIFEM; Charlotte Bunch, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers; Vivian Stromberg, Executive Director, MADRE; entertainment by top musicians.
- FRIDAY, MARCH 10, 2006 (5:30-6:30pm), Conference Room C: Linkage Caucus, sponsored by Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO), NGO Committee on the Status of Women and the Center for Women's Global Leadership.
Charlotte Bunch Speaking Engagements
- WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006 (1:30-2:50pm), Church Center, 12th Floor, DHL Room: Violence Against Indigenous Women, sponsored by MADRE, FIMI, the Center for Women’s Global Leadership and the Secretariat of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Speakers: Elsa Stamatopoulou, Chief of the Secretariat of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; Charlotte Bunch, Executive Director, Center for Women's Global Leadership; Carolyn Hannan, Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women; Rose Cunningham, Coordinator of Wangki Tangni; Rebecca Lolosoli, Chair of the Umoja Waso Women Group, Kenya.
- FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2006 (1:15-2:45pm), United Nations Building, Conference Room A: UN Special Rapporteurs, the Human Rights Council & NGO Networking, sponsored by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and the Women's United Nations Report Network (WUNRUN). Speakers: Martin Okay Ejidke, Human Rights Officer, NY Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; Dr. Yakin Erturk, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. Moderator: Denise Scotto, Esq., International Federation of Women Lawyers & Vice-Chair, NGO Committee on the Status of Women. Respondents: Honorable Fatoumata Dembele Diarra, J., the International Criminal Court & the International Federation of Women in Legal Careers; Lois A. Herman, Coordinator, WUNRN; Charlotte Bunch, Executive Director, Center for Women's Global Leadership.
- SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 2006 (8:30am- 4:45pm), New York County Lawyers’ Association (NYCLA): Violence Against Women: From Critical Concern to Collective Action, sponsored by the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, 14 Vesey Street in Lower Manhattan, New York.
- WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2006 (7:30-9:30pm), St. Bart’s Episcopal Church, New York: International Women’s Day 2006, sponsored by The Hunger Project, St. Bart’s and the World, MADRE, Women’s eNews, the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, and the Center for Women's Global Leadership. Location: Between 50-51st Streets, NY, NY. Participants: Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen, lecturer and author; Gloria Feldt, immediate past president of the Planned Parenthood Federation and author; Dr. Speciosa Kazibwe, former Vice President of Uganda; Bianca Jagger, women's rights activist and winner of the 2004 Right Livelihood Award; Rev. Catherine S. Roskam, Episcopal Bishop Suffragan; Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of UNIFEM; Charlotte Bunch, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers; Vivian Stromberg, Executive Director, MADRE; entertainment by top musicians.
Other Events
- MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2006 (6-8pm), Church Center: 1000 Women Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize Exhibit, the reception celebrates the opening of the United Nation’s Commission on the Status of Women with an exhibit that features the work and stories of the 1,000 women worldwide nominated in 2005 for the Nobel Peace Prize (Men very welcome!). The exhibit will be on display for two weeks. *Charlotte Bunch was one of the 1,000 women nominated.
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