Women
2000: A Symposium on
Future Directions for Human Rights
Sunday,
June 4, 2000 . 12:30PM-6:30PM
Alfred Lerner Hall, Columbia University, New York, USA
 |
The
Honorable Mary Robinson,
UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights, delivers her opening address. |
Organized
by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in collaboration with
many organizations from around the world.
Photos by Debra Liebowitz.
On
Sunday, June 4, 2000, the Center for Women's Global Leadership hosted
"Women 2000: A Symposium on Future Directions for Human Rights."
The Symposium was held at Alfred Lerner Hall at Columbia University
in the city of New York. Over 1000 people attended the event.
The
Symposium took place on the eve of the Special Session of the United
Nations General Assembly for the Beijing Plus Five Review Process
(B + 5). Drawing on the presence of women's human rights activists
from many countries, it was designed to provide an opportunity to
reflect on the work that has been done so far and to hear about
new and innovative organizing that is being carried out around the
world.
 |
Senator
Piedad Córdoba of Colombia
speaking on the economic rights of
women and the countries of the South. |
The
Symposium opened with speeches by United Nations
High Commissioner on Human Rights, the Honerable Mary Robinson
and Global Center Executive Director, Charlotte Bunch.
A panel
consisting of Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial,
Summary, and Arbitrary Executions; Piedad Córdoba, Colombian Senator
and President of the Human Rights Commission of the Colombian National
Congress; and Florence Butegwa, feminist lawyer and human activist
from Uganda, drew attention to the great deal of work that is yet
to be done if full human rights are to be achieved for all.
 |
| Abena
Busia reads her feminist poetry. |
Human
rights activists from ten countries spoke of the ways women are
organizing to address specific human rights issues. Examples ranged
from strategic alliances formed to confront overt human rights abuses,
to demonstrations of innovative approaches to human rights teaching
in the schools and the larger society. The spoken presentations
were highlighted by poetry and song shared by activists who use
art to communicate their human rights message.
Pierre
Sané, Secretary General of Amnesty International and Sunila Abeyesekera
of the Sri Lankan organization INFORM provided commentary on the
presentations that focused on the work being done from the perspective
of the international human rights framework.
The
Women 2000 Symposium was co-sponsored by the Center for the Study
of Human Rights, the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, the
Law and Policy Project at Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health,
Columbia University, MADRE, the Human Rights Institute of Columbia
Law School, and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
The Global Center wishes to thank all of the many people and organizations
who contributed to making the symposium a success by generously
sharing their time and expertise as well as the many organizations
around the world whose work inspired the event.
 |
 |
 |
| Joy
Butts of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union explains how
U.S. government policy violates the human rights of poor
people. |
Dus¹ka
Andic-Ruzicic of INFOTEKA talks about organizing against
violence against women in war-torn Bosnia. |
Nadera
Shaloub-Kevorkian of the Palestine-based Women's Center
for Legal Aid talks about the concept of femicide and her
organization's work with women who's lives are threatened
for perceived transgressions to the code of "family
honor." |
SPONSOR
Center
for Women's Global Leadership
HOST
Center for the Study of Human Rights,
Columbia University
CO-SPONSORS
The Center for Reproductive Law & Policy; the
Law and Policy Project at Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health,
Columbia University; MADRE; Human Rights Institute, Columbia Law
School; and United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
Slide show compliments of International Women's Tribune Centre
PROGRAM
|
Welcome
Elizabeth Thunder Bird Haile, Shinnecock/ Montauk
Tohanash Tarrant, Shinnecock/Hopi/Ho-Chunk
Greeting
Erhyu Yuan, Assistant Director, Center for the Study
of Human Rights
Introduction
Charlotte Bunch, Executive Director, Center for
Women's Global Leadership
Opening Speaker
Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights
|
Panelists
Asma Jahangir, United Nations Special Rapporteur on
Extrajudicial, Summary, and Arbitrary Executions
Piedad Córdoba, Senator, Colombia
Florence Butegwa, Feminist lawyer and human rights
activist from Uganda
Music
Ana Castro of "Claroscuro," Costa Rica |
Presentations
of Innovative Praxis
|
Moderator:
Raijeli Nicole
Fiji Women's Rights Movement
.
Sapana Pradha Malla (Nepal)
Using the Convention on the Elimination
of all Forms of Discrimination
Against Women to gain women's inheritance rights |
.
Sara
Mukasa (UK)
Akina Mama wa Afrika
Organizing for immigrants' rights |
.
Olga
Rivas (Guatemala)
GRUFE
Labor and economic rights in the work of the Central
American Maquila Workers' Support Network |
Poetry: Abena Busia (Ghana/US)
.
Joy Butts (USA)
Kensington Welfare Rights Union
Economic rights violations in the United States |
.
Ayesha Imam (Nigeria)
BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights
Human rights education campaigns in schools |
|
Moderator:
Roxanna Carrillo
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
.
Elizabeth
Khaxas (Namibia)
Sister Namibia
The Namibian Women's Manifesto and organizing for sexual
rights |
.
Ivonne Macassi (Peru)
Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Tristan
Reproductive rights and the right to respectful conditions
in health care |
.
Nadera Shaloub-Kevorkian (Palestine)
Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counseling
Redefining and confronting honor killings as femicide |
Poetry: Bojana Blagojevic (Bosnia)
.
Dus¹ka
Andric-Ruzicic (Bosnia)
INFOTEKA
Confronting domestic violence and violence against women
in war and conflict |
.
Indai
Lourdes Sajor (Philippines)
Asian Center for Women's Human Rights
(ASCENT)
Recognition of rape and sexual violence as a war crime
and the Tokyo Tribunal for Asian comfort women
|
|
VIDEO
Mallika Dutt (India)
Breakthrough
Commentators
Moderator: Mahnaz Afkhami, Women's
Learning Partnership
Pierre Sané
Secretary General, Amnesty International
Sunila Abeyesekera
Executive Director, INFORM
CLOSING
COLLABORATING
ORGANIZATIONS
Akina Mama wa Afrika-London Women's Centre;
Alliances for Africa; Amnesty International; Amnesty International/USA;
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development; Asian
Centre for Women's Human Rights; Asian Women's Human Rights
Council; Assembly of First Nations; B.a.B.e; BAOBAB for
Women's Human Rights; Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Tristan;
Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era; Equality
Now; Feminist Majority Foundation; Fiji Women's Crisis Centre;
FXB Center for Health and Human Rights; Human Rights Watch/Women's
Rights Division; INFORM; International Alert; The International
Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission; International Human
Rights Law Group; International Women's Health Coalition;
International Women's Human Rights Law Clinic- CUNY Law
School; International Women's Rights Action Watch; International
Women's Rights Action Watch-Asia Pacific; International
Women's Tribune Centre; ISIS International Manila; ISIS-
Women's International Cross-Cultural Exchange; ISIS Internacional
Santiago; Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement
of Human Rights; Kensington Welfare Rights Union; Latin
American and Caribbean Women's Health Network; Masimanyane
Women's Support Centre; The National Women's Information
Center- OSKA; Profamilia - Colombia; Research, Action &
Information Network; Sister Namibia; United Methodist Office
at the UN; WILD for Women's Human Rights; Women's Caucus
for Gender Justice; Women's Environment & Development
Organization; Women, Ink.; Women's International League
for Peace and Freedom; Women in Law and Development in Africa;
Women's Learning Partnership; Women and Media Collective;
Women Living Under Muslim Laws; Women for Women's Human
Rights/Kadinin Insan Haklari Projesi.
STAFF
Co-Producers: Cynthia Mellon and Linda
Posluszny.
Charlotte Bunch; Lisa Clarke; Jewel N. Daney; Diana Gerace;
Claudia Hinojosa; elmira Nazombe; Mia Roman; Lucy Vidal.
Interns: Amy Bain; Isabelle Barker; Jessica Bates; Jacqueline
Emery; Katie McGivern.
|
INTERNATIONAL
ADVISORY COMMITTEE*
Elena Arengo, MADRE; A. Widney Brown, Human
Rights Watch/Women's Rights Division; Roxanna Carrillo,
UNIFEM; Bisi Adeleye Fayemi, Akina Mama wa Afrika; Kathy
Hall Martinez, Center for Reproductive Law and Policy; Lynn
Freedman, the Law and Policy Project at Joseph L. Mailman
School of Public Health; Ilana Landsberg-Lewis, UNIFEM;
Ali Miller, Law and Policy Project, Joseph L. Mailman School
of Public Health, Columbia University; Madeleine Rees, Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; Cynthia Rothschild,
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission; Donna
Sullivan NYU School of Law.
*Organizational affiliation is listed for identification
purposes only.
OTHER
SUPPORT AND SPECIAL THANKS
Mónica Alemán; Edna Aquino; Bojana Blagojevic;
Abena Busia; Anoki Casey; Karen Cervas; Jenny Drezin;
Jill Earick; Dora Espinosa; Susana T. Fried; Maria Gouamba;
Johanne Labriere; Sandra Lanman; Alice Lida; Debra Liebowitz;
Fred Michael; Danica Piché, Catherine Powell; Shanthi
Dairiam; Elsa Stamatapoulou; Erhyu Yuan.
The Global Center acknowledges the financial/in-kind support
of The Ford Foundation; The Gaea Foundation; The John
D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; The Moriah Fund;
Open Society Institute; The Ruben and Elisabeth Rausing
Trust; Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; The
San Francisco Fund; Shaler Adams Foundation; UNFPA; UNIFEM.
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