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「北京＋10」(「国連女性の地位委員会」閣僚級会合)関連記事アーカイブ

updated 2005/04/28

Women Watch - United Nations

内閣府男女共同参画局

国際女性の地位協会 (Japanese Association of International Women's Rights)

日本国憲法第十四条第一項 　すべて国民は、法の下に平等であつて、人種、信条、性別、社会的身分又は門地により、政治的、経済的又は社会的関係において、差別されない。 同法第二十四条 　婚姻は、両性の合意のみに基いて成立し、夫婦が同等の権利を有することを基本として、相互の協力により、維持されなければならない。 配偶者の選択、財産権、相続、住居の選定、離婚並びに婚姻及び家族に関するその他の事項に関しては、法律は、個人の尊厳と両性の本質的平等に立脚して、制定されなければならない。 　（解釈の基準） 民法第二条　この法律は、個人の尊厳と両性の本質的平等を旨として、解釈しなければならない。 　（婚姻適齢） 同法第七百三十一条　男は、十八歳に、女は、十六歳にならなければ、婚姻をすることができない。 　（再婚禁止期間） 同法第七百三十三条　女は、前婚の解消又は取消しの日から六箇月を経過した後でなければ、再婚をすることができない。 ２　女が前婚の解消又は取消しの前から懐胎していた場合には、その出産の日から、前項の規定を適用しない。

正しい理解広めて　目黒上智大教授が報告　「北京＋１０」受け意見交換 (公明新聞 2005/04/28)

（写真）目黒教授（中央）から報告を受けた党女性委の会合

　公明党女性委員会（委員長＝浜四津敏子代表代行）は２７日、参院議員会館で、今年（２００５年）２月末から３月上旬にかけて国連本部で開催された第４９回国連婦人の地位委員会（通称「北京＋１０」）について、国連婦人の地位委員会日本代表の目黒依子・上智大学教授から報告を受け、意見交換した。

　目黒教授は「北京＋１０」について、男女平等と女性のエンパワーメント（能力開発や権利の付与）を目指す１９９５年の北京会議、続く２０００年の国連特別総会（北京＋５）の合意文書が「十分実施されていない」ことを受け、さらなる推進を確認したと報告。

　また、男女共同参画の流れに逆行する「バックラッシュ」の動きについて目黒教授は、「ジェンダー（社会的に形成される男女の差異）とは何か知らない人が多いため放任されている。『男女の差異を否定する』といった誤解を解くため、本来の意味を正しく伝えることが大切」と強調した。

　浜四津代表代行は、「性による不当な差別をなくすことは、人間らしい社会への第一歩。具体的に実践し、息長く、力を合わせて取り組みたい」と述べた。

男女平等めざす「北京行動綱領」　完全実施すみやかに　国連女性の地位委員会
新日本婦人の会中央本部国際部部長　平野恵美子さんのリポート (しんぶん赤旗 2005/04/05)

（写真）平野恵美子さん

　第四回世界女性会議（一九九五年、北京会議）から十年間のとりくみを評価・検討する第四十九回国連女性の地位委員会（ＣＳＷ）閣僚級会合がこのほどニューヨークの国連本部で開かれました。百六十五カ国から約千八百人の政府代表団と、二千六百人余のＮＧＯ（非政府組織）代表が参加。新日本婦人の会を代表して参加した平野恵美子さん（新婦人国際部部長）のリポートを紹介します。

「世界の女性は監視している」
はねのけた「政治宣言」への米国の圧力
実施を約束する「政治宣言」採択

　今回会合では、第四回世界女性会議で採択した北京行動綱領とそのさらなる実施を合意した二〇〇〇年国連女性特別総会の成果文書を、各国政府が再確認し「完全かつすみやかな実施」を約束する「政治宣言」を採択しました。

　「政治宣言」をめぐって中絶反対を公言するアメリカは、「（北京行動綱領は）中絶の権利を含まないことを再確認する」という文言を挿入せよという修正案を提出。会期（二月二十八日〜三月十一日）の前半は、これを許すかどうかが焦点になりました。

（写真）ＮＧＯの打ち合わせ

　キリスト教右派の“ＮＧＯ”も動員してアメリカは各国政府に圧力をかけました。私たちＮＧＯは「世界の女性は監視している、北京行動綱領の再確認を」とステッカーを胸に張るなどして反対しました。

　結局、圧力をかけられたイスラム諸国や保守的な国々も同調せず、アメリカは修正案を撤回しました。性の自己決定権を含むリプロダクティブ・ヘルス・ライツ（性と生殖にかかわる健康と権利）の立場が、男女平等の推進、ひいては国の発展にとって欠かせないとの認識が広がっていることを実感しました。

九条を守る運動などで交流深め

（写真）行動綱領の実施求め、約叙助助人の女性が国連ビル前で行動＝３月４日

　ＮＧＯは二百近くのワークショップ（分科会）で、経験交流や問題提起を行いました。地域や分野ごとにコーカスとよばれる活動グループを作り声明を発表したり、政府にはたらきかけたりしました。

　私は平和関連のワークショップに参加し、憲法九条を守る運動や被爆六十年のとりくみを紹介しました。また「平和をめざすカナダ女性の声」という団体の女性たちと、戦争のない世界をつくるために何をすべきかについて話し合いました。｢カナダ女性の声｣は核兵器廃絶にも積極的にとりくんでいます。トロントの市長が｢広島･長崎市長の緊急アピール」に賛同、五月のＮＰＴ（核不拡散条約）再検討会議への行動にも参加の意向だそうです。

　ＣＳＷに参加するＮＧＯの活動をサポートしているニューヨークの「ＮＧＯ・女性の地位委員会」はＮＧＯ世界リポートを作成しました。これに新婦人のリポートから何カ所も引用・掲載されました。

　男女平等問題でのバックラッシュ（揺り戻し）、「男女平等」を口実にした税制や社会保障制度の改悪問題、男女共同参画基本法や自治体の条例制定はすすんだが予算や人員配置が不十分なことなどです。

　平和の分野では、ＣＳＷへの日本政府の報告書が核兵器廃絶にまったくふれていないこと、日本政府が米ミサイル防衛計画に参加し、憲法九条を変えようとしていることなどです。

　私たちが重要だと考えていることが、国際的にも注目されているといえます。

実施の“コップ”完全に満たそう

　「（北京会議から）十年、北京宣言と北京行動綱領の実施はコップを完全に満たしたというには、ほど遠い状況です。次回委員会が検討を行うときには、確実にコップがいっぱいになったといえなければなりません」。ＣＳＷの閉会にあたり、カン・キョンファ議長は各国政府の責任を強調しました。

　日本女性の政治や経済への進出度は七十カ国中四十四位（国連開発計画）。各分野で要求にもとづく共同をすすめながら政府に具体的な政策を迫る運動がいっそう大切になっています。

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　北京行動綱領　一九九五年に北京で開催された第四回世界女性会議で採択した文書。「女性と男性の平等は人権問題で、社会正義への条件」などとのべ、女性と貧困、教育、健康、暴力、経済、人権など十二の重大関心領域の戦略目標と行動を提起。女性への暴力根絶や男女同一賃金、政策決定機関への平等な参加などを打ち出しています。

女性の１０年　振り返る　国連女性の地位委員会　就学・就職前進／エイズ深刻　中絶で横やりの米に批判 (しんぶん赤旗 2005/03/28)

（写真）国際女性デーでニューヨーク市内をデモ行進する人たち＝８日（山崎伸治撮影）

　一九九五年に北京で開催された第四回世界女性会議から十年。第四十九回「女性の地位委員会」（ＣＳＷ）閣僚級会合が二月二十八日から三月十一日までの二週間、ニューヨークの国連本部で開かれました。

　今回の会合の主要目的は、北京会議で採択された北京行動綱領の実施状況を検証し、課題を明らかにすることでした。百六十五の国連加盟国から約八十人の閣僚、千八百人の政府代表、七人のファーストレディー、二千六百人以上の非政府組織（ＮＧＯ）の代表が参加しました。

　各国の代表は、この十年間で前進した点として、女性の就学率や就職率、政治参加の増加、性差別的な法律の改定などを挙げました。

　深刻な課題も明らかになりました。国連「女性の地位向上部」のハナン部長は、女性に対する暴力の拡大、ＨＩＶ・エイズにかかる女性の増加、性と生殖に関する健康と権利の欠如、雇用の不平等などを指摘。多くの分野で男女平等がいまだに実現されていないと強調しました。

■政治宣言

　四日には、この会合の主要な合意文書である政治宣言が採択されました。宣言は五項目からなり、十年前の北京宣言と行動綱領を再確認する内容となっています。政治宣言の第二項目は「男女平等の実現に向けてこれまでに達成された前進を歓迎する」と同時に、北京宣言と行動綱領を実施していく上でなお課題が残されていることを強調。それを完全かつ速やかに実施するためにさらなる行動をとると約束しています。

　また、宣言の第四項目はこう強調しています。

　「北京宣言と行動綱領を実施し、女子差別撤廃条約に基づく義務を果たすことは、男女平等と女性のエンパワーメント（能力強化）の実現を相互に強化するものであることを認識する」

　北京行動綱領は、中絶をどう扱うかはそれぞれの国内法手続きによるとし、違法な中絶については刑罰の軽減などの見直しを検討するよう各国政府に求めています。

■宗教右派

　米国は政治宣言の採択前、北京行動綱領が「中絶の権利を含まないことを再確認する」とする修正案を提出。行動綱領の実行に弾みをつけることが緊急の課題だという一致が参加国間であるにもかかわらず、ブッシュ米政権に強い影響力を持つキリスト教右派の価値観を押し付けてきました。欧州各国やＮＧＯは強く反発しました。

　結局、米国は十分な賛同者を得られず修正案を撤回。政治宣言が採択されました。「会合はずっと前に合意された基準の細部の討議に時間を費やしすぎた。行動綱領は明快であり、隠れた意味など持っていない」―ニュージーランド政府代表は、会合に混乱をもたらした米国を正面から批判しました。

　ＣＳＷを構成する四十五カ国は最終日の十一日、各国から出された十本の決議案を採択しました。これらの決議は国連の経済社会理事会に提出されます。

■広く修正

　決議は、▽女性とＨＩＶ・エイズ▽津波など災害被災者の支援で女性への配慮▽女性と子どもの人身売買の根絶▽女性の経済的地位の向上▽パレスチナ女性への支援―など広い分野にわたっています。

　米国は人身売買についての決議案を提出しました。各国から「性産業だけに対象が絞られている」「被害者の保護と人権の向上に目を向けるべきだ」との意見が出されました。その結果、より幅広い文言に修正の上、採択されました。

　パレスチナ女性への支援に関する決議案は発展途上国からなる７７カ国グループ（Ｇ７７）と中国が提出。投票に付され賛成三十八、反対一（米国）、棄権二（カナダ、アイスランド）で採択されました。

　ＣＳＷのカン・キョンファ議長は、「われわれは最後まであきらめないという強い決意を改めて固め合った。われわれは北京宣言と行動綱領を速やかに全面実施する責任を持つ」とＣＳＷの成果を語っています。（中村美弥子）

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　北京宣言と行動綱領　中国・北京で一九九五年に開催された第四回世界女性会議で採択された文書。行動綱領は女性の地位向上のためのガイドラインを示したもの。女性への暴力の根絶、経済的独立の促進、政策決定への平等な参加など十二項目の「重大関心領域」を盛り込んでいます。

女性会議を終えて　日本の課題 (読売 2005/03/24〜26 朝刊)

3：　見えにくいＮＧＯの目標 (3/26) 2：　「国政参加」先進国で最低 (3/25) 1：　「１０代の中絶」対策が必要 (3/24)

女性会議に米の逆風　「北京」から10年　成果検証に国連で会合 (朝日 2005/03/22朝刊オピニオン面)

　北京の第４回国連世界女性会議から10年。北京で採択された行動綱領の成果を検証するため、国連本部で11日まで「第49回国連女性の地位委員会閣僚級会合（北京＋10会議）」が開かれた。保守化する米ブッシュ政権が、中絶問題をめぐり女性の権利を低下させかねない提案をするなど会議は逆風にさらされた。各国の連携で現状維持は確保したものの、今後は女性会議以外の多様な場でも、理念を具体化していく地道な活動が求められる。
（竹信三恵子）

　推進役、保守化で一転
　「中絶の権利」反発強める

　世界女性会議は国際婦人年（75年）の初回以降、５年か10年ごとに開かれてきた。だが、今回は毎年開かれる「女性の地位委員会（ＣＳＷ）」拡大版という変則形をとった。背景には、米ブッシュ政権が基盤とする保守的キリスト教団体などの存在がある。

　今回の会議が検証テーマに据えた北京行動綱領は、95年の北京女性会議で採択された。

　貧困、教育など12の重要分野で包括的な戦略目標を掲げ、行動計画策定も各国に義務づけ、画期的な内容と評価されてきた。女性の健康の観点から、中絶の安全性を高めることや、中絶した女性を処罰する法律の見直しを検討するよう求める条項を含んでいる。当時の米クリントン政権も推進役を果たした。

　米国の保守化は、中絶問題に象徴的に表れる。ブッシュ政権は中絶に触れた条項を「中絶を人権として認めかねない」と問題視。米国の動きを懸念した各国政府やＮＧＯ（非政府組織）には、今回の会議を「綱領を再確認する実務的なものに」との思いがあった。

　予想通り米国は「綱領が中絶の権利を含まないことを再確認する」などの文言を入れ、今回の会議の政治宣言案を修正するよう冒頭から要求。議場外では「中絶権の除外を書かないと米国の主権が侵害される」と主張する修道士ら中絶反対グループがビラ配りやロビー活動を活発化させた。

　一方、各国から集まった数千人のＮＧＯメンバーらは「米政権が女性の会議を乗っ取った」と批判を継り広げた。

　欧州連合（ＥＵ）各国は米国に強く反発し、南米諸国や日本も綱領を支持。結局、米国を最後まで明確に支持したのはバチカンだけで宣言は修正なく採択された。ただ、米国は「中絶椎は含まないと解釈する」と発言し、立場を貫いた。

　アジアのある政府代表は「南米では、貧困や社会不安から中絶せざるを得ない女性が激増している。米国は実態を無視し、経済協力を材料に無理押ししていると受け取られ、逆に反発を買った」と指摘する。

　米ニューヨーク・タイムズ紙も宣言採択の翌日、「男女平等推進で世界をリードすべき時に反中絶の熱狂に駆られ、各国閣僚やその他６千人の代表を疎外することを選んだ」と、ブッシュ政権の対応を酷評した。

　女性の安全な中絶を目指すＮＧＯ「全米中絶連盟」（本部・ワシントン）によると、米国にはレイプや命の危険がある場合、低所得者向け公的医燎保険「メディケイド」から手術代などの補助が出るが、恣意（しい）的に支給されない例も増えているという。

　保守的な土地柄のルイジアナ州の少女（13）はレイプで妊娠したが、州は支給を拒否。同連盟が他州での手術の資金を調達した。数年前には中絶クリニックへの放火なども相次ぎ、同連盟事務所も監視カメラつきの厳戒態勢をとる。ピッキー・サポルタ代表（51）は「人々のニーズと政策が大きくずれている」と、先行きを懸念する。

　米政権の保守的な対応は性全般に及び、援助に頼る途上国には「性教育などへの補助が打ち切られれば、ＨＩＶ（エイズ・ウイルス）がさらに広がりかねない」（フィリピンのＮＧＯ）との不安も広がる。

　「北京綱領」具体化カギ

　「米国を押し戻したことは大きな成果」。政治宣言採択後、ＮＧＯメンバーらはそう評価した。日本政府代表団の目黒依子・上智大教授は「イスラム諸国からの異論や南北対立など、従来の対立構造が今回は影をひそめた。北京綱領は10年かけて定着した」と話す。

　女性会議の命脈が保たれたとも言えるが、カギは「定着した綱領」の具体化だ。

　国際ＮＧＯ「女性環境開発機構（ＷＥＤＯ）」は会期中、１５０カ国以上のＮＧＯの回答をもとにまとめた報告書「裏切られた北京」を発表した。

　それによると、この10年で、世界の男女平等の基礎といわれる「女性差別撤廃条約」の批准国は１４６カ国から１７９カ国になった。国連安全保障理事会も00年、紛争防止や平和構築に女性の役割が重要とする決議を採択。議会での女性議員増や職場での性差別禁止、男性が育児・介護へかかわることの促進などを求める法律がある国も増え、初等教育を受けられる少女も増えた。

　枠組みは整ったが、米国は同撤廃条約をまだ批准しておらず、女性議員比率30％の目標を達成した国はまだ14カ国しかない。

　報告書は「各国政府の政策は小出しで、北京で約束された女性の社会的、経済的、政治的な変化を起こすには足りない」と批判。その障害として、�@01年９月の米同時多発テロ以降の軍事主義増大�A女性の貧困を深刻化させる維済の新自由主義や市場主義�B女性の自由を制限しようとする原理主義の横行――などを挙げる。

　日本では女性会議への期待が高く、今回も「次の世界女性会議は開かれるのか」との質問が目立った。ＮＧＯとして出かけた団体職員矢口真琴さん（27）は「同世代が政府へ働きかけ、議場で発言するのを目の当たりにした」と、会議から得た教訓を話す。

　国連婦人年を契機に女性会議がスタートして30年。会議は女性の地位向上を果たすため、世界の共通認識を醸成するなど重要な役割を果たしてきた。一方で、会議で掲げた理念をどう実現していくのかが問われる時期に入ってきた。

　「政府が本気で行動しなければ、綱領はカラ約束になる」。米ＮＧＯ「女性グローバル・リーダーシップセンター」のシャーロット・バンチ代表はこう指摘し、各国の予算措置を今年９月国連ミレニアム宣言に関する首脳会合で働きかけることや、国連改革の中での女性の発言力を強める組織づくりなどを呼びかける。

　米国の保守化などで女性会議が揺れている今、会議以外の多様な場での活動の重要性が増している。そのことが、大国の思惑に左右されず会議を継続させ、より実りある枠組みに育てることにもつながるだろう。

女性会議30年の歩み

（写真）国連本部前で北京行動綱領の再確認を訴えて集会を開く女性たち＝４日、米ニューヨークで

社説：女性の地位／「北京」から１０年が過ぎて (神戸新聞 2005/03/20朝刊)

　この十年間、女性の人権を守り、地位を引き上げる取り組みは本当に進んだのか。

　それを検証するための国連「女性の地位委員会」が、このほど、ニューヨークの国連本部で開かれた。

　一九九五年に北京で開かれた第四回世界女性会議で、「女性の教育と訓練」「健康」「女性に対する暴力」など十二領域にわたる国際的な政策基準を示した「北京行動綱領」が採択されてから、ちょうど十年になる。このため、同委員会を「北京＋１０」という閣僚級会合に拡大し、各国から進ちょく状況の報告を求めて議論した。

　約百カ国から政府代表やＮＧＯ（非政府組織）のメンバーら六千人近くが参加。今後も「北京行動綱領」を国際基準にすることが確認され、さらに、インド洋大津波の被災女性を支援することや、人身売買の撲滅など、十の緊急決議が採択された。

　とはいえ、国際的な注目度は低かった。七五年のメキシコ会議以来、五年または十年ごとに開催されてきた世界女性会議に代わる会合としては、あまりに寂しい。

　十年前の北京会議は、大規模なＮＧＯフォーラムが同時に開かれたこともあって、世界各地から約四万七千人が集まった。阪神・淡路大震災が起きた年でもあり、兵庫県内からも、災害時の女性の惨状を訴えようと、多くの人が参加した。

　中間年にあたる二〇〇〇年には、各国が行動綱領の実施状況を国連に報告したが、その際、日本でも、政府のリポートにＮＧＯが対案をぶつけるなど、活発な議論があった。しかし、今年は、政府の発表についてほとんど議論がなかった。かといって、問題点や課題がないわけではない。

　この十年、世界では貧富の差が広がり、紛争や災害も絶えない。その中で、女性に対する暴力や搾取、教育や就労の機会からの締め出しなどが、各地で起きている。

　女性の地位向上は、人口爆発や環境破壊を食い止める有効な手立てである。国連ミレニアム開発目標の中でも明示されたこの認識を、隅々まで浸透させたい。

　日本ではどうだろう。北京会議の後、「男女共同参画社会基本法」が制定され、内閣府内に担当部局もできた。ＤＶ（配偶者・恋人間の暴力）の防止法も施行され、一見、対策が進んだようにみえる。

　しかし、女性の社会進出度を示す国際指標は、七十八カ国中三十八位と低迷している。ＤＶ被害者は増え続け、人身売買でも取り組み不足との批判を海外から受けた。

　法制度ができたことに安心していてはいけない。息長い取り組みこそが大事だ。

EDITORIAL
A Misguided Anti-Vice Pledge (Los Angeles Times 2005/03/20)

Social conservatives in Congress, backed by the Catholic Church and the Christian right, are on a new foray to dictate sexual mores to the rest of the world, at the expense of public health. This time it's an oath being foisted on U.S. groups working to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic. They will soon be asked to comply with a 2-year-old law dictating that they have "a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking" before they will be considered for federal grants to provide health services overseas.

The pledge is reminiscent of other Bush administration efforts including the re-imposition of the so-called global gag rule, which bans international family planning groups that receive U.S. funds from performing or even discussing abortion. It is as unproductive as pushing the United Nations to withdraw support for needle-exchange programs. Such policies do little to stem HIV, and contribute to the deaths of women forced to seek illegal and unsafe abortions.

AIDS experts agree almost uniformly that the anti-prostitution pledge could have the opposite of its intended effect, making it tougher for aid groups to reach the women who most need their help -- and who play a major role in the spread of the disease.

The pledge has its origins in a law passed by Congress in 2003 but not used as a litmus test for funding until now. At stake is the entire $3.2 billion the Bush administration has asked Congress to set aside for global efforts to curb AIDS and HIV next year.

It's absurd to suppose that any of the groups working to combat HIV in the Third World -- like Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam -- are in favor of prostitution. But a big part of fighting HIV/AIDS necessarily involves working with prostitutes and building trust so that they're willing to seek treatment and counseling.

The pledge will not prevent groups from giving condoms or antiretroviral drugs to prostitutes. But it might stand in the way in other cases, with highly damaging effects.

For instance, aid workers in Bangladesh sometimes pass out shoes to brothel workers who are forced by local custom to go barefoot. That might not seem like a way to stem AIDS, but it helps gain their trust and gives them a measure of self-respect -- without which they are unlikely to change their behavior. Would these handouts, or counseling sessions for sex workers on personal hygiene, be considered a violation of the anti-prostitution pledge? Its vague wording leaves that unclear. What is apparent is that it could easily be used to deny funding to groups that legislators don't like.

Last year, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) helped delay efforts to apply the 2003 law to U.S. groups working overseas. This year he has stood on the sidelines. Frist -- who regularly travels to Africa to do pro bono work as a physician -- knows the situation on the ground far better than most of his colleagues. He should stand up to his fellow conservatives and speak out against the pledge. U.S. groups working overseas should also refuse to sign it. These groups fully understand why prostitution is a public health disaster in the developing world. They are working hard to give women better options, not through coercion or moralizing, but through venereal disease counseling, domestic violence prevention, literacy programs, job training and other social support. They shouldn't be forced to prove their sincerity by signing a pledge that could be used cavalierly against them.

If conservatives want to go after prostitution in the Third World, they can fund religious groups to proselytize against it. Interfering in the fight against HIV is a misguided policy that could cost lives.

女性政策対立　米が強硬な中絶否定論　北京綱領の後退警戒を（解説） (読売 2005/03/19朝刊)

　国連の「婦人の地位委員会」閣僚級会合で、女性政策を巡る新たな対立の構図が浮かび上がった。（生活情報部・月野美帆子）

　「米国からの修正要求が取り下げられたので、政治宣言の採択が出来ます」

　会合が開幕して５日目の今月４日、冒頭に康京和（カンキョンファ）議長が発言すると、国連本部の本会議場は割れんばかりの拍手に包まれた。一方で、米政府代表団がぶぜんとして静まり返る様子は、新たな対立を象徴していた。

　１か月ほど前から事前協議をしたにもかかわらず、政治宣言を巡り会議は紛糾した。原因は、米政府が開幕直前に提出した修正要求だった。

　政治宣言は、１９９５年の第４回世界女性会議（北京会議）で採択された女性政策の国際基準「北京行動綱領」の内容を再確認し、実行を推進するなど、５項目を掲げたシンプルなもの。これに対し米国は、「北京綱領は中絶の権利を含まない」の文言を盛り込むことにこだわった。

　米国の主張は、北京会議で獲得した「性と生殖の権利」に密接に絡んでいる。子どもをいつ何人産むか、または産まないか、について女性自らが決定権を持つという内容で、女性の地位向上を目指す上で欠かせない権利といえる。

　だがブッシュ政権の支持基盤でもあるキリスト教右派は、「中絶は殺人」として、この権利に否定的な立場をとる。本会議と並行して開かれた同グループの集会では、「女性の権利拡大運動が家族を解体し、社会を混乱させた」など、過激な論調も目立った。

　米国の行動に対し、ルクセンブルクの政府代表が「ＥＵ（欧州連合）は原案通りの採択を強く支持する」と発言するなど、反対姿勢を鮮明にする政府が相次いだ。

　北京会議の際の米国はクリントン政権で、女性政策で世界をリードし、バチカン（ローマ法王庁）やイスラム諸国など伝統や宗教を重んじる勢力と対立した。それが今回は、米国と大半の参加各国との対立という構図に変わった。

　米国は結局、採択予定日になって要求を取り下げた。エレン・ソーブレー米政府代表は「議長は米国の主張をわかってくれた」と述べたが、日本政府関係者は「米国案はほとんど支持されず、孤立していた。これ以上混乱させるのは得策でないと判断したのだろう」と分析する。

　今回、米国という大国の要求だからこそ会議は１週間近く混乱し、「北京会議で合意された女性の権利を後退させかねない」という危機感が広まった。各国政府やＮＧＯ（民間活動団体）はかえって結束を強め、最終的には、北京綱領の内容を守るという一応の“成果”につながった。

　とはいえ、対立が解消されたわけではない。日本をはじめ各国政府は、今後も、女性政策が後退することのないよう目を光らせる必要がある。
　
　写真＝米政府代表（左）に詰め寄るＮＧＯメンバー（月野撮影）

女性の視点からの災害対策求めた決議採択　ＣＳＷ閉会 (朝日 2005/03/12)

　「北京＋１０会議」として米ニューヨークで開かれていた第４９回国連女性の地位委員会（ＣＳＷ）は、女性の視点からの災害対策を求めた「津波など災害復興」決議などを採択し、１１日閉会した。各国から提案された１０決議案はすべて採択された。

　採択されたのは災害復興のほか、「女性とＨＩＶ／エイズ」「女性の経済的地位の向上」「国の政策への女性の視点の主流化」などの決議。

　新しいテーマとして提案された「災害復興」決議は、女性と子どもの被害が大きかった昨年暮れのスマトラ沖地震がきっかけ。津波や災害後に起きがちな性暴力から女性を保護する措置、これらの暴力から女性を保護するシェルターの設置など、復興策に女性の視点が必要であることが盛りこまれた。

　今回米国は、人身売買問題についての決議案を提案したが「性産業に対象が絞られ、被害女性の保護や強制労働にほとんどふれていない」などの不満が出て紛糾、より幅広い文言に修正されて採択された。

国連：女性の地位向上委員会　影落とす米保守主義 (毎日 2005/03/12朝刊)

　国連本部で開かれた「女性の地位向上委員会（ＣＳＷ）」閣僚級会合は、保守化が進む米国の影響を強く受けた会議となった。１０年前の第４回世界女性会議（北京会議）で採択された北京行動綱領を再確認した政治宣言を採択し、１１日に閉幕する。各国の代表団、国連幹部、ＮＧＯ（非政府組織）が口をそろえて「後退しないことが前進」と話したこの会議とは、いったい何だったのか。【ニューヨーク國枝すみれ】

　◇「中絶反対」拡大狙う−−ＮＧＯ代表「振り子、右に振れた」

　採択された政治宣言は紙１枚、５項目。それでも会議はもめた。

　宣言採択の後、米国代表が「北京綱領が中絶など新たな女性の権利を認めたものではなく、性と生殖に関する女性の決定権に中絶する権利は含まれない、という国際理解が（今回の宣言で）できたと考える」と発言し、激しいブーイングを浴びた。

　会議を傍聴していたメキシコのＮＧＯメンバー、ニルバラ・ゴンサレスさんは「新しい人権を認めてこそ、人類は進歩するのに」と話した。議場の扉の外でも、約２０人の女性が「原理主義に反対」と書かれた唇の形の紙マスクを付けて、米国に対する無言の抗議を行った。

　ナイジェリアのベネット・マグナグさんは「世界は米国の脅しに屈しなかった。米国は再び孤立した」と採択を喜んだ。

　宗教右派を支持基盤に持ち、妊娠中絶に反対するブッシュ政権は、２月中旬に始まった地位向上委員会の非公式会議から北京綱領の修正を要求し始めた。カタール、エジプトなど数カ国を除くすべての国が反対しているにもかかわらず、政治宣言が採択された４日朝まで、修正に固執した。

　メディアの関心は米国代表団の動きに集中し、ＮＧＯからは「米国は会議をハイジャックした」「１週間も無駄にされた。ほかの重要な議論ができなかった」などの批判が続出した。

　９５年の北京会議では、女性の性や生殖に関する自己決定権を認め、「中絶した女性を罰すべきではない」という点で合意した。ところがその後、「振り子が右に振れ始めた」（メキシコのＮＧＯ）。

　ブッシュ政権は、妊娠中絶反対の動きを世界に拡大することを狙っている。

　北京会議から１０年で１５カ国が中絶手術を合法化したが、米国を含む５カ国は逆に規制を厳しくした。米国では、妊娠後期の中絶方法の一部を禁止する「部分出産中絶禁止法」が０３年に成立。８７％の郡で、中絶手術を施す病院が存在しない。ポーランドでも９３年、中絶手術が事実上非合法化され、今では年に１５０件しか行われない。

　スウェーデン代表団員は「原理主義的な宗教勢力が、女性の権利を押し戻そうとしている。今、重要なことは北京綱領を死守し、バックラッシュ（揺り戻し）に抵抗することだ。女性の地位向上は、２歩進んで１歩下がることの繰り返し。今年は１歩も後退しないことが、前進なのです」と説明した。

　世界規模のバックラッシュが、北京会議以降、正式な女性会議が開かれなかった原因だ。アジア地区の代表団は「いま新たな政治綱領を作ったら、北京綱領よりも内容が後退する可能性があった」と打ち明けた。

　◇マータイさんとメンチュウさん、団結呼びかける

　ノーベル平和賞を受賞したケニア副環境相、ワンガリ・マータイさん（６４）と、グアテマラの先住民族指導者、リゴベルタ・メンチュウさん（４６）が４日、国連女性の地位向上委員会で演説した。２人は７５年に初めてメキシコで国連の世界女性会議が開催されてから３０年間の女性の権利運動を評価するとともに、差別や貧困を解決し、平和を維持するために、女性の団結と行動を呼びかけた。

　マータイさんは、自身が創設した植林活動「グリーンベルト運動」が、メキシコの世界女性会議に向け、ケニアの女性たちが抱える問題を話し合う過程で生まれたと説明。「女性たちがこの３０年間に成し遂げたことを祝いましょう。だが、やらなければならないことは、まだたくさんある。貧困と闘い、地球温暖化を防止し、森林破壊をやめさせることだ」と訴えた。さらに「女性にも男性と同等に能力を生かす場や機会が与えられるべきだということを政府に分からせなければならない。政策決定の場に女性が参加するのは、贈り物ではなく権利だ」と述べた。

　一方、メンチュウさんは「女性は人種や性別による差別や排斥などの社会システムを変える希望の光とならなければならない」と述べた。さらに、「この３０年間、国際的に声明や約束ごとがたくさんできた。あとは行動だ。女性たちが団結して前に進もう」と訴えた。マータイさんは昨年、メンチュウさんは９２年にノーベル平和賞を受賞した。【ニューヨークで足立旬子】

　◆北京会議から１０年

　◇差別的法律、なお多く−−自由市場化が貧困を加速

　北京会議から１０年たち、女性を取り巻く状況はどう変化したのか。国連の調査機関やＮＧＯの報告によれば、就学率や就職率は伸びたが、逆に金、土地、権力からは遠ざけられた女性像が浮かび上がる。

　ＮＧＯ「イクオリティー・ナウ」が調査した４５カ国のうち、北京綱領に従ってすべての差別的法律を撤廃した国はわずか１３カ国。多くの国に差別的法律が残る。

　例えば、ナイジェリアの刑法は、夫が妻を罰するために暴力を振るうことを許している。パキスタン法は、女性がレイプ被害を法廷で立証する場合、「４人のイスラム教信者の男性の証言が必要」と定める。同団体のジェシカ・ニューワース代表は「法律が不平等では差別を受けた女性を救済する手段がない」と批判する。

　国連社会開発研究所（ＵＮＲＩＳＤ）によると、国会議員に占める女性の割合は９５年の平均約９％から約１６％（今年２月発表）に上昇したが、北京会議で目標とした３０％に届いた国はスウェーデン、ルワンダなど１６カ国だけ。一方で、共産主義政権崩壊後の旧ソ連圏で女性議員が激減した。一定の議席を女性に割り当てる制度もなくなったためだ。

　女性の労働市場への進出は増えたが、男性がフルタイム、女性がパートタイムで働く場合が多く、また同じフルタイムの場合でも、男女の賃金格差は拡大している。女性が所有している土地は全体の２％しかない。

　同研究所のシャーラ・ラザビ主席研究員は「世界規模で進む市場の自由化、規制緩和は、予想されたほど経済成長に貢献していない。経済危機の発生や政府予算の削減につながり、貧しい女性がより困窮する原因となっている」と警告した。

　アジアの通貨危機では女性が真っ先に解雇された。アフリカでは予算削減の結果、看護師、教師など公的サービスに従事する人口が激減し、貧しい女性がしわ寄せを受けている。

　女性環境開発機構（ＷＥＤＯ）は今月、「裏切られた北京」と題した報告書を発行し、旧ソ連圏の女性や子どもが西欧諸国に移送され、強制的に売春などの労働につかされるケースが急増していると警告した。

　◇「戦略立て直し急務」−−国連経済社会局・ハナン部長

　国連経済社会局のキャロリン・ハナン女性の地位向上部長（５７）は、女性の地位向上のため、世界は「戦略を立て直す必要がある」と強調した。

　−−女性の地位向上委員会（ＣＳＷ）で採択した政治宣言は１０年前の北京行動綱領を再確認しただけ。今会議の意義は何ですか。

　◆北京綱領は女性への差別を解消する上で素晴らしい青写真だが、十分に実行されていない。新しい綱領が必要なのでなく、北京綱領の内容を再確認し、各国で実行に移すことが大切なのだ。ＣＳＷには閣僚８０人、ファーストレディー７人、２５００以上のＮＧＯが参加した。北京綱領、ミレニアム開発目標、女性差別撤廃条約の実行推進への弾みをつける意義があった。

　−−米国が反中絶アジェンダを導入しようとしました。

　◆各国代表は「新しい問題を提起しない」という約束をしていた。１国に対してドアを開けたら、すべての国がドアを開けようとするだろう。

　−−最も深刻な問題は何だと考えますか。

　◆女性への暴力だ。全世界平均で、５人に１人の女性が一生涯のうちに未遂を含むレイプ被害に遭っている。紛争地では女性に対する暴力が、戦争の道具として行われている。また、政策決定過程への参加も遅れている。国会議員に占める女性の数は１０年で９％から１６％に上がっただけ。

　−−何が女性の地位向上の障害になっているのか。

　◆多くの国で性差別を禁じる法律や政策、女性省や女性局など行政組織は整備されたが、実行が伴っていない。原因は、資金不足と、官僚と国民の間に存在する女性に対するステレオタイプ的な見方だ。男性の態度を変えないと、女性への暴力や差別は終わらない。女性だけが性差別の問題に興味を持つという発想を打破しなくてはいけない。我々は戦略を練り直すべきだ。女性の活用がもたらす経済発展をもっと強調すべきだ。

　◇拘束力ない北京綱領

　国連の「女性の地位向上委員会（ＣＳＷ）」は毎年、ニューヨークの国連本部で開催されているが、今年は９５年の第４回女性会議（北京会議）から１０年たつことを機に、各国から閣僚を招いてＣＳＷ閣僚級会合とした。「北京プラス１０」とも呼ばれる。

　北京会議では、１８９カ国が女性への暴力の根絶、教育への平等なアクセス、経済的独立の増進など１２項目を含む北京行動綱領を採択した。その後、女性会議は開かれていない。

　北京行動綱領も、今回の政治宣言も、国際条約でないため、採択国への法的拘束力はない。もちろん内容を実行しない国に対する罰則もない。そのため、今会議でも「北京行動綱領の実行を義務付けるため、新しいメカニズムの導入が必要」という意見が出た。

　一方、国際条約である女性差別撤廃条約は拘束力があり、日本を含む１７９カ国が締結している。しかし、米国はまだ批准していない。

---

女性地位向上委：１０の決議採択、閉幕　国連本部 (毎日 2005/03/12)

　【ニューヨーク國枝すみれ】国連本部の「女性の地位向上委員会」は１１日、１０の決議を採択して閉幕した。

　決議は、▽女性や子どもの人身売買の根絶▽女性に急増しているＨＩＶ感染の拡大防止▽パレスチナ女性とアフガニスタン女性への支援▽女性の経済機会の増大と所得格差の縮小−−など。津波被害者の支援対策にジェンダーの視点を導入するという決議も含まれている。

　これらの決議は今後、国連の経済社会理事会に提出され採択される見込み。

婦人の地位委、人身売買の撲滅強化など採択し閉幕 (読売 2005/03/12)

　【ニューヨーク＝月野美帆子】ニューヨークの国連本部で開催されている「婦人の地位委員会」閣僚級会合は１１日夕（日本時間１２日）、被災地の女性に対する支援の充実、人身売買撲滅への取り組み強化、経済的地位向上など、女性をめぐる緊急課題１０項目の決議を採択、閉幕した。

　この決議をもとに各国政府は女性政策を進める。

　決議では、インドネシア・スマトラ島沖地震など自然災害の被災地で性的虐待や暴力から女性を守るために、各国政府、国連機関、民間活動団体（ＮＧＯ）が行動を起こすよう呼びかけ、また各国政府に、災害下の様々な施策の意思決定に女性を組み込むよう求めた。

　国際的に大きな問題となっている人身売買については、犯罪であり、同時に人権侵害でもあるということを強調した。さらに観光業界やインターネットプロバイダーに、人身売買を誘発する幼児買春ツアーや性産業の宣伝などを撲滅するための協力を要請した。

　人身売買をめぐっては、米国務省がまとめた２００４年版「人権報告書」で、日本は「（管理売春を目的とした）女性や少女の人身売買が問題として依然残っている」と指摘されている。

　決議ではそのほか、「国内政策や制度で男女平等を推し進める」「エイズ対策をさらに強力に進める」などの課題を挙げた。

　米国が提案した「経済的な地位向上」の決議案をめぐっては、起業支援など先進国の女性に照準をあてた内容となったため、途上国の貧困層への対策についての記述が不十分であるとして、各国から修正要求が相次ぎ、最後まで調整が続いた。

　今回の会議は、１９９５年の「第４回世界女性会議（北京会議）」で採択された女性政策の国際規範「北京行動綱領」以降の各国の取り組み状況を検証するとともに、同綱領に基づいて今後も女性政策を進めていくことを再確認することが目的。今月４日には同綱領の内容を再確認し、実行を推進する「政治宣言」が採択された。

　日本政府代表団首席代表の西銘順志郎・内閣府大臣政務官は「北京行動綱領のさらなる実施に向けて行動とイニシアチブを明確にする」と表明している。

　会議には、日本をはじめ、世界から約１００か国の閣僚など政府代表のほか、ＮＧＯなど約６０００人が参加した。

Countries adopt resolutions to press fight for women's equality (AP 2005/03/12)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The final day of a meeting to press for women's equality took an odd turn Friday when countries adopted a resolution pushing for the economic advancement of women _ over the objections of its chief sponsor, the United States.

The resolution capped a contentious two week meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women that ended much as it began, with the United States at odds with much of the rest of the world on issues of reproductive health and abortion.

The United States had originally intended that the document on economic advancement focus on entrepreneurship, but South Africa proposed an amendment saying that "the neglect of women's reproductive rights severely limits their opportunities in public and private life.''

A Cuban amendment on the downside of globalization was also added.

Unhappy with those changes, the United States withdrew its backing.

The vote went ahead anyway and the document was adopted by consensus.

"There are some good things in there so I think we have to take heart that we did get some of our entrepreneurship language ... but it really is kind of the kitchen sink right now,'' U.S. Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey said.

"It's the enabling environment that we started with and so much additional that it really lost any focus.''

There was also a minor embarrassment for the Americans - Sauerbrey tried to withdraw the document from consideration entirely because of the changes, but did not realise the rules prohibited her from doing so because amendments had been made.

Nine other resolutions were passed Friday without such fireworks, including documents calling for more action to eliminate sex trafficking and help women reverse the AIDS pandemic.

The two-week gathering was to reaffirm the platform for action adopted at the 1995 U.N. women's conference in Beijing to achieve equality for women.

While only 45 nations voted on the resolutions, 165 countries sent 1,800 delegates including many ministers.

Some 2,600 representatives of human rights, women's and other advocacy groups also attended.

Friday's debate was similar to one that had raged the first week, the United States had tried to amend a document reaffirming the Beijing platform to say it did not create any new human rights, including a global right to abortion.

In the face of stiff opposition, Sauerbrey had withdrawn that amendment after delegations assured Washington the Beijing platform created no such thing.

Kyung-wha Kang, head of the Commission on the Status of Women which organized the meeting, highlighted the "powerful'' declaration adopted at the end of the first week.

She called it "an unqualified and unconditional reaffirmation'' of the 150-page Beijing platform and an accompanying declaration.

The declaration, which urges governments to ensure the "full and accelerated implementation'' of the two documents, was eventually adopted by consensus.

An AIDS resolution passed Friday emphasizes that "the advancement of women and girls is key to reversing the pandemic'' and urged governments "to take all necessary measures to empower women and strengthen their economic independence ... to enable them to protect themselves from HIV infection.''

A text on trafficking demands governments take measures to eliminate the demand for trafficked women and girls "for all forms of exploitation.''

It also asks nations to raise awareness of the consequences of sex trafficking, including its links to commercial sexual exploitation.

That was a victory for the United States, which had wanted to make the link to prostitution in the text.

Several women's advocacy groups praised the outcome of the two-week conference and the delegates' "united stance'' against the efforts of President George W. Bush's administration's, which they said were "intended to play to domestic political audiences.''

"What we proved here is that the United States can't bully the world when it comes to women's human rights,'' said June Zeitlin, executive director of the Women's Environment and Development Organization.

"We must be vigilant about any future attempts to roll back women's rights at home and abroad.''

US challenged on reproductive rights (Reuters 2005/03/12)

A UN women's conference approved an American-drafted resolution on economic equality that the United States ended up opposing because of an amendment on "reproductive rights".

"This amendment is not acceptable to the United States," said US delegate Ellen Sauerbrey on the final day of the two-week meeting. "We worked very hard during the course of negotiations to arrive at language that was broad and was acceptable to most delegations."
After Cuba successfully amended the resolution with a reference to a possible negative impact on women from globalisation, Ms Sauerbrey offered to withdraw the text.

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But the 45-member Commission on the Status of Women, which organised the conference, approved the resolution today anyway, including language from South Africa saying that the "neglect of women's reproductive rights severely limits their opportunities in public and private life".

Ms Sauerbrey repeatedly stressed Washington's opposition to abortion and sexual rights. She also said that abstinence was "the healthiest" and "most responsible choice" for adolescents and parents had the primary responsibility for sex education.

The two-week meeting was organised to review advances and setbacks 10 years after a landmark conference on women in Beijing, which broke new ground on women's sexuality and agreed on the need for access to family planning. It did not advocate abortion.

While only 45 nations voted on resolutions, 165 countries sent 1800 delegates to the session, including 80 ministers and 3000 advocates of women, human rights and health groups.

Other resolutions included AIDS prevention, the neglect of indigenous women, victims of Asia's Tsunami and rights for Afghan and Palestinian women.

A measure on trafficking and sex tourism, also sponsored by the United States, had to be modified to accommodate other delegations, who favoured legal prostitution.

The AIDS resolution urged governments to help women fight the pandemic "principally through the provision of health care and health services, including for sexual and reproductive health and through preventive education".

While many resolutions and debates did not involve a conservative US stance, delegates complained that going over old ground, particularly on abortion, hindered the conference.

Kerry Flanagan, head of Australia's Office for Women, said the proliferation of resolutions preventing the meeting from being "relevant, practical and forward looking" and turned it into a "giant drafting committee".

Ms Sauerbrey has generally backed the Beijing platform but used little of its wording in statements and resolutions. While abortion and contraceptives are legal in the United States, government funding has been reduced for family planning for the poor at home and abroad.

"The US government is much more conservative than the US public at large and right now it is more conservative than most governments in the world - not all, but most," said Charlotte Bunch, director of the the Centre for Women's Global Leadership at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Moreover, she said the UN Commission on the Status of Women was understaffed and underfunded.

"This is not a high priority in the UN system," Ms Bunch said.

The conservative Heritage Foundation said the United Nations too often bowed to radical feminists by putting more emphasis on "access to sexual and reproductive health" services rather than on a healthy family life, which would help women overcome the ill effects of poverty.

The problem at the UN is not national quotas
Ramesh Thakur (International Herald Tribune 2005/03/12)

Who runs the United Nations?

TOKYO It is sometimes said that there is a human-resources crisis in the United Nations, and that national quotas in making senior appointments is one major cause. This is a myth. Senior appointments at the United Nations are more a mix of power and money than quota politics.
.
The success of the pressure from governments for their nominees to be appointed is directly proportional to the location of the countries in the international hierarchy of power and wealth, and to a lesser extent to their numbers in UN geographical groups.
.
The quota system serves as a scapegoat for the failings of mainly Western senior managers. Almost all the powerful and big-budget posts in the UN Secretariat and in the broader UN system are filled by Westerners, including peacekeeping, political affairs, management, development and environment programs, children's fund, human rights and refugees.
.
Viewed from Asia, the top of the UN looks decidedly Atlantic. A senior former Asian ambassador to the UN commented at a regional seminar last year that it was difficult for Asians to connect with the UN when its senior officials dealing with Asia were non-Asians. Other ambassadors and ministers concurred.
.
Asians contribute about half the UN's total peacekeepers and one-quarter of its regular and peacekeeping budget (almost three-quarters just from Japan). Asians have also suffered about one-quarter of total UN peacekeeping fatalities. Yet a year ago, there was not a single Asian (and just one African) in the senior ranks of the peacekeeping department. Two-thirds of senior staff in the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations are Westerners.
.
In the UN Secretariat overall, Asians comprise a mere 17 percent of senior UN staff at the grades of director and above. Much attention is focussed on promoting women to senior posts, yet they fare better than Asians: 35 percent.
.
It is worth slaying another myth, that the UN is top-heavy. Of 2,500 professional staff in the Secretariat a year ago, 13 percent were in the senior ranks. Of the senior staff, almost one third are from the five permanent members of the Security Council - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France. Between them, Canada (9) and the United States (47), which have 5 percent of the world's population, have the same number of senior staff in the Secretariat as all of Asia, which accounts for 60 percent of the world's people.
.
The underrepresentation of Asians in the UN system is at best a curiosity that needs an explanation and at worst a scandal reflecting the fact that Asians are the least united and cohesive of all the regional groups there.
.
Making a public fuss is alien to the Asian way. But in the context of a culture of self-serving and self-advancing arguments at the United Nations, the result is a failure by Asian government representatives to promote the interests of their people. They should be more assertive in proposing professionally competent Asian names for suitable senior posts, and then lobbying for them.
.
Maybe the United Nations has not been very effective at rebutting charges against it. Perhaps the organization needs to revamp its grievance procedures so that genuine whistle-blowers and victims are protected from the wrath of vengeful or lecherous bosses, managers are protected from mischievous charges laid against them by disgruntled employees, and staff as well as the world at large are given prompt and satisfactory accounts of action taken.
.
But whatever faults there may be at senior levels of the UN, the blame for them does not lie in quota appointments. They are not the source of the problem; they might provide a solution.
.
(Ramesh Thakur is senior vice rector of the United Nations University in Tokyo. His new book, ‘‘The United Nations and the Changing Peace and Security Agenda,’’ will be published by Cambridge University Press.)
.
See more of the world that matters - click here for home delivery of the International Herald Tribune.
.
Who runs the United Nations?

TOKYO It is sometimes said that there is a human-resources crisis in the United Nations, and that national quotas in making senior appointments is one major cause. This is a myth. Senior appointments at the United Nations are more a mix of power and money than quota politics.
.
The success of the pressure from governments for their nominees to be appointed is directly proportional to the location of the countries in the international hierarchy of power and wealth, and to a lesser extent to their numbers in UN geographical groups.
.
The quota system serves as a scapegoat for the failings of mainly Western senior managers. Almost all the powerful and big-budget posts in the UN Secretariat and in the broader UN system are filled by Westerners, including peacekeeping, political affairs, management, development and environment programs, children's fund, human rights and refugees.
.
Viewed from Asia, the top of the UN looks decidedly Atlantic. A senior former Asian ambassador to the UN commented at a regional seminar last year that it was difficult for Asians to connect with the UN when its senior officials dealing with Asia were non-Asians. Other ambassadors and ministers concurred.
.
Asians contribute about half the UN's total peacekeepers and one-quarter of its regular and peacekeeping budget (almost three-quarters just from Japan). Asians have also suffered about one-quarter of total UN peacekeeping fatalities. Yet a year ago, there was not a single Asian (and just one African) in the senior ranks of the peacekeeping department. Two-thirds of senior staff in the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations are Westerners.
.
In the UN Secretariat overall, Asians comprise a mere 17 percent of senior UN staff at the grades of director and above. Much attention is focussed on promoting women to senior posts, yet they fare better than Asians: 35 percent.
.
It is worth slaying another myth, that the UN is top-heavy. Of 2,500 professional staff in the Secretariat a year ago, 13 percent were in the senior ranks. Of the senior staff, almost one third are from the five permanent members of the Security Council - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France. Between them, Canada (9) and the United States (47), which have 5 percent of the world's population, have the same number of senior staff in the Secretariat as all of Asia, which accounts for 60 percent of the world's people.
.
The underrepresentation of Asians in the UN system is at best a curiosity that needs an explanation and at worst a scandal reflecting the fact that Asians are the least united and cohesive of all the regional groups there.
.
Making a public fuss is alien to the Asian way. But in the context of a culture of self-serving and self-advancing arguments at the United Nations, the result is a failure by Asian government representatives to promote the interests of their people. They should be more assertive in proposing professionally competent Asian names for suitable senior posts, and then lobbying for them.
.
Maybe the United Nations has not been very effective at rebutting charges against it. Perhaps the organization needs to revamp its grievance procedures so that genuine whistle-blowers and victims are protected from the wrath of vengeful or lecherous bosses, managers are protected from mischievous charges laid against them by disgruntled employees, and staff as well as the world at large are given prompt and satisfactory accounts of action taken.
.
But whatever faults there may be at senior levels of the UN, the blame for them does not lie in quota appointments. They are not the source of the problem; they might provide a solution.
.
(Ramesh Thakur is senior vice rector of the United Nations University in Tokyo. His new book, ‘‘The United Nations and the Changing Peace and Security Agenda,’’ will be published by Cambridge University Press.)

UN report urges judicial reform for women (Xinhua 2005/03/12)

www.chinaview.cn 2005-03-12 08:28:02


UNITED NATIONS, March 11 (Xinhuanet) -- War breaks out in certain countries because of a perception of a lack of justice by large segments of the population and women feel that burden of injustice even more keenly than men both before and after the conflict, saida UN report released on Friday.

The vulnerabilities of women are dramatically increased during conflict and, more than that, their rights are seriously violated,or largely ignored, said the report, entitled "Peace Needs Women and Women Need Justice."

The report, which has been submitted to the Security Council, was prepared jointly by the UN Fund for Women and a Stockholm-based lawyers' group. It was based on results of a three-day international conference on women held in Stockholm last December.

The report called for the establishment of a high-level mechanism to determine what issues and recommendations raised at the conference require follow-up action by the UN system as a whole, as well as by its member States, regional organizations, non-governmental organizations and other relevant actors.

It urged joint action by the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council to support the establishment of that mechanism, which could then address the needfor a "dedicated structure" in the UN to coordinate assistance forjustice systems, with an agreed methodology.

The Stockholm conference was attended by women from such areas of pre-independence or continuing conflict as Afghanistan, Burundi,the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Kosovo, Liberia, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Timor-Leste. Enditem

Reviewing Beijing documents on women’s rights, UN commission calls for more action (United Nations News Centre 2005/03/11)


11 March 2005 - Delegates to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), ending a two-week review of the implementation of policies and plans produced by the last major UN conference on women 10 years ago in Beijing, today called on Governments to take action to meet the remaining gaps and challenges.

“Worldwide consensus has built around the idea that empowering women is the most effective tool for development and poverty reduction, and that remaining obstacles to gender equality can be overcome,” said Rachel Mayanja, Special Adviser to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women at the “Beijing+10” review.

Organizers from the UN Department for the Advancement of Women (DAW) said Governmental participants at the Commission’s 49th session included about 80 cabinet ministers, more than 1,800 delegates from 165 UN Member States and seven First Ladies. Representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) numbered 2,600 of the 6,000 registered.

“Ten years after Beijing, this review called attention to the many areas where women’s equality is still not a reality ? continuing high rates of violence against women in all parts of the world including in armed conflict, increasing incidence of HIV/AIDS among women, gender inequality in employment, lack of sexual and reproductive health rights and a lack of equal access under the law to land and property, to name a few,” DAW Director Carolyn Hannan said.

Delegates exchanged experiences and ideas on the struggle for equality. They ranged from campaigning for greater participation in making public policy, to organizing pro-woman caucuses, to appointing high-level commissioners to spotlight inequities and to forming inter-departmental task forces. They also approved relevant resolutions.

Roundtables discussed making data collection and analysis more relevant, including in assessing Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), recognizing the impact of socio-economic policies on women and implementing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), commonly thought of as a Bill of Rights for women.

At the end of the first week, delegates adopted a declaration re-affirming the commitments made in the Declaration and Plan of Action issued by the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and urged governments to facilitate the advancement of women.

“This concise and powerful declaration is an unqualified and unconditional reaffirmation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and a pledge of further action for full and accelerated implementation of Beijing,” said CSW Chair Kyung-wha Kang of the Republic of Korea.

Ms. Kang was charged with transmitting the declaration, through the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), to the 60th session of the General Assembly, including the Assembly’s high-level review of the Millennium Declaration in September.

A high point of the CSW fortnight was a special 30th anniversary celebration of the First World Conference on Women in Mexico City, with messages from the UN Assistant Secretaries-General who served as secretaries-general of that and subsequent UN conferences on women.

The messages came from Helvi Sipila of Finland (Mexico City, 1975), Lucille Mair of Jamaica (Copenhagen, 1980), Leticia Shahani of the Philippines (Nairobi, 1985) and Gertrude Mongella of Tanzania (Beijing, 1995).

Governments pledge to accelerate efforts to achieve gender equality

www.chinaview.cn 2005-03-12 04:30:48


　UNITED NATIONS, March 11 (Xinhuanet) -- A two-week meeting to review progress made since a major women's conference in Beijing ten years ago concluded on Friday by underscoring the need for governments to do more to achieve gender equality and facilitate the advancement of women.

A Declaration reaffirming the commitments made ten years ago inBeijing and calling for further action from governments was adopted at the end of the first week. This was the most significant outcome of the meeting, which was held as part of the 49th session of the Commission on the Status of Women from Feb.28 to March 11 at UN Headquarters in New York.

"This concise and powerful declaration is an unqualified and unconditional reaffirmation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and a pledge of further action for full and accelerated implementation of Beijing," said Kyung-wha Kang, Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said at the opening that no other policy is as likely to raise economic productivity, or to reduce infant and maternal mortality, no other policy is as sure to improve nutrition and promote health, including the prevention of HIV/AIDS, and no other policy is as powerful in increasing the chances of education for the next generation.

"And I would also venture that no policy is more important in preventing conflict, or in achieving reconciliation after a conflict has ended," he stressed.

Delegates at the high-level plenary session detailed the progress that has been made in the status of the world's women over the last decade, including improvements in girls' education, the economic advancement of women and increased political participation, as well as reforms to eliminate discriminatory laws.

"Worldwide consensus has built around the idea that empowering women is the most effective tool for development and poverty reduction, and that remaining obstacles to gender equality can be overcome," said Rachel Mayanja, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women.

The extraordinary level of participation included approximately80 Ministers, over 1800 government delegates from 165 Member States, seven First Ladies (from Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic, Mali, Mexico, Panama, South Africa and Suriname), and more than 2,600 nongovernmental representatives from all regions of the world.

This level of attendance clearly signaled the large amount of interest and high expectations related to the ten-year review.

Delegates discussed best practices and shared experiences and recommended innovative ways of promoting gender equality that ranged from appointing high-level commissioners on gender issues and establishing interdepartmental task forces, to organizing women's caucuses and campaigns to encourage greater participation in decision-making.

A series of round tables focused on such areas as the Millennium Development Goals and the Convention on the Eliminationof All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Other topics covered included upgrading data collection and analysis and recognizing the impact of economic policies on women.

"Ten years after Beijing, this review called attention to the many areas where women's equality is still not a reality - continuing high rates of violence against women in all parts of the world including in armed conflict, increasing incidence of HIV/AIDS among women, gender inequality in employment, lack of sexual and reproductive health rights and a lack of equal access under the law to land and property, to name a few," said Carolyn Hannan,Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women.

A highlight of the meeting was an observance on March 4 to celebrate 30 years since the first world conference on women was held in Mexico City. The tribute brought participants to their feet as they applauded distinguished speakers including Nobel laureates Rigoberta Mench and Wangari Maathai and speeches presented by former Secretaries-General of the four World Conferences on Women.

Another key aspect of the meeting was the quantity and diversity of parallel events organized mainly by the nongovernmental community, as well as by Member States and UN agencies.

On topics ranging from the plight of women in Afghanistan, Iraq,the Sudan and other conflict zones to women in post-tsunami reconstruction efforts, youth and perceptions of gender roles, inheritance rights, trafficking, and women's health issues, including HIV/AIDS, the events underlined the critical role of civil society in efforts to bring about gender equality. Enditem

RIGHTS:
World's Women Stand Together for Equality
Niko Kyriakou (Inter Press Service 2005/03/11)

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 11 (IPS) - The Fifth World Conference on Women drew to a close today with a reaffirmation by the 80 ministers, 1,800 government delegates, seven first ladies and 2,600 non-governmental representatives from around the world who attended that ”women's rights are human rights”.

The two-week session reviewed progress on gender equality over the past decade. Goals for the advancement of women set 10 years ago at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing were reaffirmed here in a Declaration adopted at the end of the first week.

”This concise and powerful declaration is an unqualified and unconditional reaffirmation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and a pledge of further action for full and accelerated implementation of Beijing,” said Kyung-wha-Kang, chair of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

Commitments made in Beijing include the right of women to control their sexuality free from coercion, discrimination or violence, and the application of international law equally to men and women.

For many who attended the conference however, ”reaffirmation” was not enough.

”It is an important victory that governments worldwide reaffirmed that 'women's rights are human rights' as a central message of the Beijing Platform for Action,” said Charlotte Bunch, executive director of the Center for Women's Global Leadership.

”But these commitments will only be empty promises unless governments turn them into concrete actions aimed at improving the daily lives of women.”

In 2000, at a review meeting called Beijing Plus Five, women demanded action on lagging reforms and governments pledged to invest more in medicines for epidemics, sex education for adolescents, and in getting men and women to practice safe sex.

Now, five years later, the Beijing platform still hasn't been implemented, says June Zeitlin, executive director of the Women's Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO).

”We've made some gains on the level of policy and law but it hasn't translated into improvements in women's lives,” she said.

WEDO has produced a report entitled, ”Beijing Betrayed” which interviews women from some 150 countries. The core of the women's critique, the report says, is that ”governments worldwide have adopted a piecemeal and incremental approach to implementation that cannot achieve the economic, social and political transformation underlying the promises and vision of Beijing.”

”Women came here to talk about implementation,” Zeitlin says, ”yet we've been diverted again and again by the narrow agenda of the United States.”

During the first week of the conference, the U.S. threatened not to reaffirm the Platform of Action unless text was added saying that the Platform provides no new international human rights, including no right to abortion.

When all but Egypt and Qatar refused to support the idea, the U.S. backed down and granted its support for the Declaration. But not before many hours of debate were lost.

”What we proved here is that the United States can't bully the world when it comes to women's human rights,” Zeitlin said. ”While we are pleased that the United States ultimately rejoined the global consensus on women's rights at this meeting, we will continue to monitor their actions to implement a women's human rights agenda.”

”We must be vigilant about any future attempts to roll back women's rights at home and abroad,” she added.

NGOs such as Equality Now and the Center for Women's Global Leadership complained that the deadlock over reproductive rights prevented important issues from reaching the ears of high-level government officials, who were only in attendance the first week of the conference.

Zeitlin suspects that U.S. delays were ”deliberate” and says that the George W. Bush administration seems to be against any international laws relating to abortion. Because of hold-ups in the meeting she said, a wider discussion about why much of the Beijing platform hasn't been implemented also never occurred.

Explanations, she says, range from changes of conditions in countries to changes in the global environment since 1995, including those stemming from the forces of globalisation, widening inequalities for women, increased military expenditures and a religious fundamentalist backlash.

NGOs, governments, and individuals seeking more solid commitments from the U.N. spent the second week of the conference pushing forward new resolutions, numbering 10 in all, that call for new efforts in a number of areas.

These include HIV/AIDS, assistance for Afghan and Palestinian women, the involvement of indigenous women in carrying out U.N. commitments, economic advancement for women, the creation of a special rapporteur on laws that discriminate against women, the elimination of the root causes of the trafficking of women, and the inclusion of gender perspectives in government policies and disaster response.

Consensus was reached on eight of the resolutions Friday. The ninth and tenth, regarding the creation of a special rapporteur on reforming discriminatory laws, and on economic advancement for women, were passed by a vote, with only the U.S. dissenting.

Many delegates at the conference focused on positive gains and detailed the progress that has been made over the past decade in girl's education, the economic advancement of women, increased political participation and the reform of discriminatory laws in 14 countries.

”Worldwide consensus has built around the idea that empowering women is the most effective tool for development and poverty reduction, and that remaining obstacles to gender equality can be overcome,” said Rachel Mayanja, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women.

This coming September, at the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, the final Declaration will become part of the U.N.'s High-Level Millennium Review, where further steps towards implementation may be called for. (END/2005)

World Marks International Women's Day (AP 2005/03/09)

Leaders of the fight for women's equality say there is no going back on the revolution that began 30 years ago, though the challenges ahead are immense.

The comments came at a U.N. meeting to evaluate the world's progress toward gender equality. Now in its second and final week, the gathering has drawn delegates from 130 countries and 6,000 representatives from women's and human rights organizations.

Commemorating Tuesday's International Women's Day, Rachel Mayanja, the secretary-general's top adviser on women, warned that "the task ahead is not going to be any less difficult than it has been during the past decades."

She stressed that world leaders cannot view poverty, armed conflict and violence in isolation.

"The eradication of poverty and disease is as important as dealing with the criminal networks that traffic in women and children," she said.

Nafis Sadik, a special adviser on AIDS to Secretary-General Kofi Annan and former head of the U.N. Population Fund, said governments spend more than $900 billion on the military while the world's richest countries spend less than $70 billion on development assistance _ and only about $3 billion of that amount goes to gender equality programs.

"What contributes more to security, $3 billion invested in women or the $900 billion squandered on weapons?" Sadik said to loud applause. "It is time for political leaders to stop talking about peace and really start investing in it."

At a commemoration held Friday before most of the ministers and VIPs left, two Nobel Peace Prize winners and the heads of the four U.N. conferences on women since 1975 spoke of progress and challenges ahead. The four conferences built the global women's movement.

Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai, last year's Nobel laureate, said women must celebrate their achievements, including her prize, but must fight poverty by championing debt relief and open markets, and tackle climate change and deforestation.

"It is us who will eventually have to convince our governments that women need to be given equal space, to be given an opportunity to exploit their potential, and that it is not a gift for women to participate in decision-making _ it is a right," Maathai said.

Rigoberta Menchu, the Indian rights activist from Guatemala who won the peace prize in 1992, said women should be "a beacon of hope" to change systems promoting racism, discrimination, exclusion and the lack of economic opportunity.

"We women have to give the example of being inclusive, of fighting exclusion, of fighting racism," she said. "That is why I'm here."

Helvi Sipila, secretary-general of the first U.N. women's conference in Mexico City in 1975, said in a video message from her home in Finland that women have made "considerable strides toward gender equality" but not enough has been done to advance peace.

"Today ... we must ask ourselves more seriously and with greater determination than ever what we can do in order to end violence, to enhance national and international understanding, and to secure world peace," said Sipila, 89.

Gertrude Mongella, secretary-general of the 1995 Beijing conference and now president of the Pan-African Parliament, recalled that in her final speech in Beijing she said: "A revolution has begun and there's no going back."

Ten years later, she said, women are more visible, gender equality "has become a working concept worldwide," and "women and men are now mobilized to see women's issues as societal issues, whether they like it or not."

"We are here to set a new speed," Mongella said. "We are here to remove the remaining obstacles. ... We are on the right track of our revolution. There is no going back."

Former U.N. assistant secretary-general Angela King, who was Annan's top adviser on women and organized the 2000 U.N. conference that reviewed Beijing, said the challenges of five years ago are the challenges of today.

She said an increasing number of women live in poverty, lag behind in economic advancement, are hurt by globalization, are contracting HIV/AIDS in greater numbers and are increasingly subject to violence in armed conflicts and through trafficking, she said.

King noted there are only four women prime ministers of independent countries and few women are at peace tables, citing them as the difficulty in changing stereotypes of women's limited roles.

"In 1975, the Mexico conference ignited a spark of awareness among women of their shared hopes and common problems," King said. "With each successive conference, the spark grew.

"Let us pledge today as the United Nations community, as governments, regions and individuals, that the flame for women's freedom and equality become a shining beacon for action to fully realize gender equality, development and peace."

Ambassador wrong for women's rights
BONNIE ERBE
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST (Seattle Post-Intelligencer 2005/03/09)

How embarrassing! The U.S. delegation to a United Nations conference on women's rights acted a bit too much like every man's nightmarish version of a woman commandeered by a PMS hissy fit.

These doddering dollies made us appear as even bigger dolts than the international community already envisions us to be. Perhaps the delegation leader, Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey, figured the United States isn't yet isolated enough. Perhaps in her view we should nuke our borders with Mexico and Canada and sail off as one huge cut-loose island into the middle of the South Pacific.

I'm talking about the U.S. delegation's behavior at the U.N. Conference on the Status of Women's Rights (aka Beijing + 10). It began last month in New York and runs until mid-March.

Sauerbrey is a two-time loser. Her primary qualification for the prestigious U.N. post is that she ran for the Maryland governorship in 1998 and 2002 as the Republican candidate.

She made and lost a totally unnecessary and hideously denigrating motion to roll back women's rights, as delegates from the rest of the globe observed with derision. This was conservative politics at its nadir.

Let's remember: The purpose of the U.N. convocation is to review progress for and by women made around the world in the decade since these same nations met in Beijing. The United Nations-sponsored World Conference on Women in 1995 set so-called millennium goals. The first was to cut global poverty in half by 2015 (a goal still so distant it's hardly recognizable).

The next was to eliminate laws that discriminate against women (an area in which the world has made some discernible progress the past 10 years).

The rest included universal access to primary education for girls, promotion of gender equality, reduction of infant mortality and improving women's health.

But Sauerbrey paid not a whit of attention to any of these issues and instead campaigned for a fiasco of a U.N. declaration that there exists no international right to abortion. Fiasco? Yes, because no one has ever proposed such a right under international law anyway and, therefore, none exists. Add to that the reality international law is something most countries flout with impunity.

Sauerbrey steered the United States into what she knew would be a mountain of international resistance apparently just for fun.

Then, tail between legs and under intense pressure from other nations and women's advocates at home and abroad, she dropped her predictably outrageous and superfluous demand. As one international news agency reported, "There appeared to be no support even for the watered-down (version of Sauerbrey's) amendment. In one speech after another, delegates from the European Union, the African Union and South America's Mercosur bloc insisted on leaving the declaration untouched."

My question: Why did she bother? If I've heard one conservative say it, I've heard it billions of times: Liberal women are too preoccupied with abortion and most people just don't care about the issue that much. Well, here's an example of a conservative woman losing her sense of reason in the name of an anti-abortion agenda. The topic simply did not appear on the U.N. agenda, but Sauerbrey put it there.

I can just imagine her thought process:

"Let's not worry about the fact women still can't vote in some countries, or that girls are denied equal educational opportunities in many others. Let's forget, for the moment, that African American women are the fastest-growing group of new AIDS patients in this country and that poor women, worldwide, have little or no access to even primitive forms of health care. Let's abandon the reality that 20 million women lived below the poverty level in the United States last year. Give up on all those substantive issues to squabble over trying to prove a negative."

Makes sense to me! Get centered, Ambassador Sauerbrey. Get a life. And then go away and get a real job.

Bonnie Erbe is a TV host and writes this column for Scripps Howard News Service. E-mail bonnieerbe@CompuServe.com.

Anti-torture group decries increased violence against women (AFP 2005/03/08)

GENEVA (AFP) - The World Organisation Against Torture has voiced its concern over the increasing violence against women worldwide.

The worlds largest coalition of non-governmental organisations fighting against arbitrary detention, torture, summary and extrajudicial executions, issued its report to coincide with Tuesday's International Women's Day,

"Gender plays a major role on the type of torture used, the circumstances in which torture is used, the consequences and the availability and access to justice," the group said in its report.

The anti-torture group in particular denounced the fact that women continue to be denied legal protection against the flaunting of national and international rights, with the effect of offering impunity to the transgressors.

Last year, the World Organisation Against Torture (WOAT) denounced the rape, and other violence against women and girls, perpetrated in Bangladesh, Colombia, Greece, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Sudan.

"In none of these documented cases, were the perpetrators punished. In most of these cases, the perpetrators were not even arrested and in many cases no enquiry was opened," the group said in the report.

WOAT also noted the many victims of sexual abuse who do not report the crimes due to shame and fear of reprisals. In some societies the victims of sexual violence are threatened with expulsion from their home and community, or even risk being killed or subjected to further violence by members of their own family or community. Some are even forced into marriage with the rapist.

In some countries rape victims run the risk of being accused of adultery.

Penalties including flogging and stoning, particularly prevalent under religious law systems are applied in a disproportionate manner against women, principally under laws outlawing adultery and sexual relations outside marriage, according to the report.

The group also denounced forms of violence against women in the home, including domestic violence, marital rape, honour killings, and female genital mutilation.

The "honour" crimes often go unpunished, the group said.

Global march for equal rights begins on Women's day (AFP 2005/03/08)

PARIS (AFP) - Women's groups were to embark on a global march for equal rights, International Women's Day, amid fresh reports which paint a fairly grim picture of their plight in many parts of the world.

The world tour for a charter for equal rights gets underway in Sao Paulo, Brazil and will come to an end in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in October after passing through over 50 countries in between.

The Women's Global Charter for Humanity was adopted by women's rights groups in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, in December.

Organisers expect 30,000 women to attend Tuesday's start of the tour. Ouagadougou, the Burkina Faso capital, was chosen as the final destination because of its poverty and low level of protection for women.

The charter proposes "to build another world where exploitation, oppression, intolerance and exclusion no longer exist, and where integrity, diversity and the rights and freedoms of all are respected."

The Montreal-based World March of Women which authored the document "views patriarchy as the system oppressing women and capitalism as the system that enables a minority to exploit the vast majority of women and men".

Some of the worst problems experienced by women around the world were highlighted in a new report by the World Organisation Against Torture, published to coincide with Women's Day.

"Gender plays a major role on the type of torture used, the circumstances in which torture is used, the consequences and the availability and access to justice," the worlds largest coalition of non-governmental organisations fighting against arbitrary detention, torture, summary and extrajudicial executions, said in its report.

The anti-torture group in particular denounced the fact that women continue to be denied legal protection against the flaunting of national and international rights, with the effect of offering impunity to the transgressors.

The World Organisation Against Torture (WOAT) denounced the rape, and other violence against women and girls, perpetrated in Bangladesh, Colombia, Greece, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Sudan.

Meanwhile the UN food agency said Tuesday it was committed to reducing additional burdens often put on women in developing countries, as children have a better chance of growing up well-nourished when women are in control of food.

"While women's access to food is all important, it is vital that we minimize the impact of the additional burden that this may create," said James Morris, executive director of the World Food Programme.

Practice had shown that ensuring women's control over food often adds to an already heavy burden of responsibility, the agency said.

Women are also increasingly in the line of fire from the multi-billion-dollar international trade in small arms, according to a report released on Monday by Amnesty International, Oxfam and a third group.

In South Africa, a woman is shot dead by a current or former partner every 18 hours, while in the United States, two out of every three women killed by their husbands are shot, said the report released on the eve of International Women's Day.

"Women are silent sufferers in the proliferation of small arms. This is the scandal against the human race," said Judy Bassingthwaite, a representative of the South African-based International Action Network on Small Arms which also authored the report entitled: "The Impact of Guns on Women's Lives".

In Asia, women trail well behind their male counterparts in terms of social-economic advancement although the gap is closing in some countries, a regional survey released Monday said.

The inaugural MasterIndex of Women's Advancement measuring the social-economic success of women in 13 regional economies, MasterCard International said.

A score below 100 indicated gender inequality in favor of men.

It used four key indicators -- labor force, tertiary education, managerial positions and median income. Of the 13 markets surveyed, gender inequality was highest in South Korea with a score of 45.5 followed by Indonesia at 52.5 and Japan at 54.5.

Women in Thailand fared best with scores of 92.3 followed by Malaysia at 86.2, China at 68.4 and Australia at 67.6.

It's not all bad news for women, however.

A new women's political party is set to emerge in Sweden, a country already considered a world-leader in women's rights.

And in Kuwait on Monday the parliament agreed to a government request to speed up moves to look into a bill that would grant women political rights, but did not set a date for the proposed debate.

However the European Union voiced shock and concern at the "disproportionate" use of force by Turkish police to clamp down on a demonstration in Istanbul ahead of International Women's Day.

burs/pvh/jz

GLOBE EDITORIAL
Still unequal (Boston Globe 2005/03/08)

TEN YEARS ago in Beijing, a United Nations summit established a set of goals for ending discrimination against women around the world.

Among other things, that meant equality for women in education and health care, greater representation of women in government and other decision-making positions, and promotion of human rights, including an end to sex trafficking, coerced marriage, and domestic violence. The conference was notable for establishing that equality for women is not a Western construct foisted upon traditional societies but a universal human right to be observed by every one of the 184 governments that signed the Beijing document.

In the 10 years since, progress has surely been made. Life expectancy has gone up and fertility rates have gone down. But though governments have come to accept their obligations toward equality for women and girls, actually implementing these policies in the face of entrenched customs has not been easy.

In education, for example, girls still account for 54 percent of the 120 million children not in school; two-thirds of the world's illiterate are women. Yet girls who complete secondary school are more likely to have smaller, healthier families and to contribute to the economic growth of their communities.

Closing the gender gap in education is not just a matter of simple equity, in other words, but a crucial investment in the long-term health and development of the world.

Education must also include comprehensive sex education. Women need information both about family planning and protection against sexually transmitted diseases. Some of the highest rates of new HIV infections are among women, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. And 500 million women still die every year from pregnancy-related causes.

Last week the United States withdrew its obstructionist insistence that the Beijing agreement include a statement that it did not create a new universal right to abortion. The document already makes that clear. But the US delegation at the UN's Beijing-plus-10 conference did reaffirm its commitment to abstinence. This is not a realistic option in the countries that are most affected by HIV-AIDS, where thousands of young women are coerced into sex or get HIV infections from their husbands. Still, the Bush administration blindly directs fully a third of the prevention funds in its international AIDS relief initiative toward abstinence-only education.

Women are the bellwethers of a society's development; where women are healthy and well-educated, families, communities, and nations are as well. These are values worth promoting, on International Women's Day and every day.

Gender equality 'still a problem' (AP 2005/03/08)

STRASBOURG, France (AP) -- Male attitudes must change for Europe to achieve gender equality, European Parliament President Josep Borrell said Tuesday as the legislature marked International Women's Day.

"Equality between the sexes can't become effective until male attitudes change radically," Borrell said. "Inequality of women is not a problem of women but for women."

Borrell called on EU member states to grant equal wages to women and arrange for "real advantages aimed at making their lives easier."

A recent EU report found that, while gender employment and education gaps were narrowing, men earn on average about 15 percent more than women across the 25-nation bloc.

"Unfortunately, pay inequality is a reality, and the Commission will recommend to the member states to work harder on eradicating that gap," Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner Vladimir Spidla told the legislature.

The European Parliament devoted parts of Tuesday's session to marking the 10th anniversary of the United Nations' fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, during which a blueprint to achieve equality between the sexes was adopted by 189 nations.

A seminar on combating violence against women featuring female rights activists, including Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an advocate for Muslim immigrant women's rights, was scheduled for later in the day.

One of five women in the EU claims to be abused, and Borrell called on EU member states to introduce harsher penalties for crimes against women.

"Every day, thousands of women are victims of discrimination on grounds of gender," Borrell said. "They still suffer from psychological, physical and economic violence."

Borrell joined calls for establishing a Europe-wide gender institute dealing with women's issues and reiterated the Parliament's resolve to focus on safeguarding the equality between the sexes on all levels.

Socialist MEP Lissy Groener called on EU member states to introduce quotas to ensure women become more involved in decision-making processes, a call echoed by other women's rights activists in the Parliament.

World Marks International Women's Day
By EDITH M. LEDERER (AP 2005/03/08)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Leaders of the fight for women's equality say there is no going back on the revolution that began 30 years ago though the challenges ahead are immense.

The comments came at a U.N. meeting to evaluate the world's progress toward gender equality. Now in its second and final week, the gathering has drawn delegates from 130 countries and 6,000 representatives from women's and human rights organizations.

On Tuesday, they will observe International Women's Day with a panel discussion on gender equality beyond 2005.

But there was an early commemoration on Friday, before most of the ministers and VIPs left, that included two Nobel Peace Prize winners and the heads of the four U.N. conferences since 1975 that built the global women's movement.

Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai, who was last year's Nobel laureate, said women must celebrate their achievements but there is still much to do. She urged women to fight poverty by championing debt relief and open markets, and to tackle climate change and deforestation, she said.

``It is us who will eventually have to convince our governments that women need to be given equal space, to be given an opportunity to exploit their potential, and that it is not a gift for women to participate in decision-making - it is a right,'' Maathai said to loud applause.

Rigoberta Menchu, the Indian rights activist from Guatemala who won the Peace Prize in 1992, said women should be ``a beacon of hope'' to those fighting racism, discrimination, exclusion, and the lack of economic opportunity.

``We women have to give the example of being inclusive, of fighting exclusion, of fighting racism,'' she said. ``That is why I'm here.''

Helvi Sipila, secretary-general of the first U.N. women's conference in Mexico City in 1975, said in a video message from her home in Finland that women have made ``considerable strides towards gender equality,'' and ``every day is an opportunity for actions, not just words.''

``We must ask ourselves more seriously and with greater determination than ever what we can do in order to end violence, to enhance national and international understanding, and to secure world peace,'' said Sipila, 89.

Gertrude Mongella, secretary-general of the Beijing conference and now president of the Pan-African Parliament, recalled that in her final speech in at the 1995 Beijing conference she said: ``A revolution has begun and there's no going back.''

Ten years later, she said, women are more visible, gender equality ``has become a working concept worldwide,'' and ``women and men are now mobilized to see women's issues as societal issues, whether they like it or not.''

Former U.N. assistant secretary-general Angela King, who was Secretary-General Kofi Annan's top adviser on women and organized the 2000 U.N. women's conference, said the challenges of five years ago are the challenges of today.

A growing number of women live in poverty, women are lagging behind in economic advancement, globalization is hurting many women, the incidence of HIV/AIDS is rising among young women and violence against women is increasing in armed conflict, at home and through trafficking, she said.

King said progress is slow for a host of reasons - no budgets for gender programs, only four female prime ministers of independent countries and the difficulty in changing stereotypes of women's limited roles.

``In 1975, the Mexico conference ignited a spark of awareness among women of their shared hopes and common problems,'' King said. ``With each successive conference, the spark grew until it became a living flame in Beijing.''

``Let us pledge today as the United Nations community, as governments, regions and individuals, that the flame for women's freedom and equality become a shining beacon for action to fully realize gender equality, development and peace,'' she said.

Women worldwide face effects of Bush's gag rule
- Dian Harrison (San Francisco Chronicle 2005/03/07)

Tuesday is International Women's Day, a worldwide celebration of women's fight for equality and human rights. In light of this commemoration, it is especially disappointing that the Bush administration is working so hard to restrict women's rights.

Ten years ago, a landmark U.N. conference in Beijing adopted a platform seeking to establish global equality for women. Along with recommendations on issues such as domestic violence and education, the platform states women should be able to "decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality ... free of coercion, discrimination and violence." It also asserts that abortion should be safe in places where it is legal and criminal charges should not be filed against women who undergo illegal abortion.

On Feb. 28, more than 100 countries and 6,000 advocates for women came together for a follow-up meeting to that conference. At the meeting, participants had planned to review progress made on women's rights. They had hoped to focus on pressing issues like political participation, sex trafficking and HIV/AIDS. Instead, they have been focused on the Bush administration's attempts to derail progress toward gender equality.

A week before the conference, the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women asked participating countries to reaffirm their commitment to the original conference platform. In a nod to their conservative base, representatives from the Bush administration in the U.S. delegation said the United States would not sign on because they don't believe women should be guaranteed the right to abortion. This is despite the fact that the platform does not guarantee abortion rights.

The U.S. delegation was also concerned that the ability to "decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality ... free of coercion, discrimination and violence" constitutes "sexual rights" for women, which according to the chief of the delegation, "not all member states accept." Additionally, Bush administration representatives demanded an amendment stating that a commitment to "reproductive health services" does not guarantee abortion rights. Egypt and Qatar were the only countries that have indicated support for the amendment. Only after intense pressure from other member countries did the United States withdraw the demand for an amendment.

Now, member states wish to move forward to address the fact that 10 years after the original conference, women are still second-class citizens in much of the world.

Ethiopia is a perfect example. Women have few rights. Laws and traditions prevent them from owning property, so they remain dependent on husbands and sons. In some instances, girls as young as 9 are married off to older men. According to the United Nations' WomenWatch, most Ethiopian women have their first child by 17 and are prevented from pursuing an education. Seventy-five percent are illiterate.

Only 8 percent of women in Ethiopia have access to contraception, according to Population Action International. They have little or no control over when or whether they will have sex and repeatedly face unplanned pregnancies. They bear, on average, seven children. The maternal mortality rate is among the worst in the world. Rates of sexually transmitted infections are extremely high. The World Bank reports that more than 2 million Ethiopian women have HIV/AIDS.

Those rates are worsening because of the Bush administration's position on women. In 2001, President Bush reinstated the global gag rule restricting funding for family planning. Under the gag rule, family planning agencies that receive U.S. money may not offer abortion counsel or refer women to abortion providers, or lobby to make or keep abortion legal in their own country, even if they use separate funds not provided by the United States. Providers are forced to make a cruel choice: Give up vital assistance and try to afford to continue to counsel women on all pregnancy options, or withhold critically important information.

The gag rule restricts the simplest ways to improve the status of women: funding birth-control supplies so they can avoid unintended pregnancies and care for children they already have. In Ethiopia, abortion is illegal. Because most nongovernmental organizations that provide family planning have refused to abide by the gag rule, the resulting lack of U.S. funds has restricted the contraceptive supply, which means that abortion is also very common. Women take their lives into their own hands when faced with an unplanned pregnancy. If they cannot adequately care for another child, they try to end pregnancies with herbs, poisons or wire. Complications from unsafe abortions are the second leading cause of death for women, after tuberculosis, in Ethiopia.

As long as the Bush administration restricts women's rights by blocking access to contraception with the gag rule, unintended pregnancies will occur. So will abortion. The Bush administration's global gag rule and political posturing last week only exacerbate the situation. Women in all countries should have the right to make responsible decisions without coercion, discrimination or violence. They should have access to comprehensive information and health care. They should be able to own property, pursue an education, decide who and when to marry, and whether and when to have children.

The situation in Ethiopia, however, is endemic around the world. Traditions and laws inextricably link sexual rights to education, employment, property rights and political participation. The rights the U.S. delegation was lobbying against last week are the very rights that would improve the status of women and their children. Rather than taking into account the harsh realities of women's lives and working to provide real solutions for women and girls, the Bush administration is playing politics with women's lives.

Dian Harrison is president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Golden Gate (www.ppgg.org), which has a family-planning partnership with the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. Together, the organizations provide health education, birth control and safe-pregnancy care to 3.5 million in the South-Central region of Ethiopia.

ヒラリー議員が中絶巡り発言「各国、権利の推進者に」 (読売 2005/03/07)

　【ニューヨーク＝月野美帆子】ヒラリー・クリントン米上院議員は６日（日本時間７日）、ニューヨーク市内で開かれた民間活動団体主催の女性と人権に関するシンポジウムで演説し、現在開会中の国連の「婦人の地位委員会」閣僚級会合で論争になっている「中絶の権利」について言及した。

　ヒラリー議員は「女性の健康や家族計画に関する情報・サービスを制限することは、望まない妊娠や中絶を減らすことにならない」と述べた。さらに「各国政府や指導者は、こうした女性の権利の推進者にならなければならない」と語った。

US drops call for abortion clause
By Mark Turner (Financial Times 2005/03/07)

The US abandoned its demand that a United Nations declaration reaffirming efforts to achieve women's equality include language stressing that the 1995 Beijing women's conference did not create new human rights, including the right to abortion.

Ellen Sauerbrey, the US delegation head, withdrew the amendment amid global opposition, but claimed Washington's effort had been successful in clarifying the situation.

"Our goals in coming here with the amendment were to clarify language that has been troublesome. While we don't have an amendment to the declaration itself, that was far less important to us than ending this week with a clear understanding by states that this is not a binding document," she said.

"It has broad policy goals that we support, but it does not create any new international human rights, including a human right to abortion." Mark Turner, United Nations

Editorial: Bush's abortion misstep (New York Times 2005/03/07)

At a moment when the United States should be leading the world on advancing women's equality, the Bush administration chose instead to alienate government ministers and 6,000 other delegates at an important United Nations conference on that issue last week with a burst of antiabortion zealotry.

The two-week session is being held to reinvigorate efforts to improve women's lives a decade after a landmark UN conference in Beijing. The organizers had hoped to keep a tight focus on urgent challenges like sexual trafficking, educational inequities and the spread of AIDS.

The first order of business was to be quick approval of a simple statement reaffirming the Beijing meeting's closing declaration. But on Monday, the Americans created turmoil by announcing that the United States would not join an otherwise universal consensus unless the document was amended to say that it did not create "any new international human rights" or "include the right to abortion."

This was shabby and mischievous. For one thing, the Beijing statement was nonbinding. For another, the Beijing negotiators had tried to anticipate controversy by recognizing unsafe abortions as a serious public health issue while leaving the question of legality up to each nation.

Specifically, the platform established at the Beijing meeting says that abortion should be safe where it is legal, and that criminal action should not be taken against any woman who has an abortion. All of this seemed clear enough, but the Bush team apparently could not resist an opportunity to press its antiabortion agenda.

By Thursday evening, the American delegation had agreed to drop the explicit antiabortion clause from its proposed amendment, and on Friday it finally withdrew the amendment entirely. But the damage had been done.

An apology is due from the United States delegation for the weeklong disruption it caused. So is a fresh spirit of cooperation and a less rigid insistence on dictating global strategy.

WOMEN'S DAY
Suu Kyi gets award for battling for democracy (Bangkok Post 2005/03/07)

The United Nations Gender and Religious department will today mark International Women's Day by presenting an award to Burmese opposition leader and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi for her tireless struggle for democracy in her homeland, according to the exiled National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB).

The award will be presented to San San, an elected member of parliament in exile of the National League for Democracy (NLD), by Swiss ambassador Hans-Peter Erismann, NCUB secretary-general Maung Maung said. Now 74 years old, San San left Burma on May 30, 2003, when the junta clashed with Mrs Suu Kyi and members of the NLD during a campaign in northern Burma. Jailed twice in Rangoon, she is now secretary of the Members of Parliament Union and a senior NCUB member. Ms Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since May 2003 despite international calls for her unconditional release.

Hillary Rodham Clinton criticizes Bush abortion stance (AP 2005/03/06)

NEW YORK -- The Bush administration's policy of withholding aid from overseas groups that perform abortions is hurting women and forcing clinics to close, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday.

Clinton, speaking at a New York University forum to mark the 10th anniversary of the United Nations' fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, said 20 million women worldwide risk unsafe abortions every year, 68,000 die and many more are injured.

"Many of these deaths and these injuries can be prevented by providing women with the information and means to choose the size and spacing of their own families, and yet I regret that the government of my own country is making it more difficult for women in these situations to receive safe medical care," said Clinton, D-N.Y. "It is unfair for governments and people in developed countries who have access to the full range of reproductive and family health services to deny those to women in other countries around the world."

Under the so-called global gag rule, which President Bush reinstituted when he took office, overseas non-governmental organizations that perform abortions or advocate the legalization of abortion are ineligible for U.S government money.

At a U.N. meeting last week marking the anniversary of the Beijing conference, the United States joined nations around the world in reaffirming a blueprint to achieve equality for women after backing down on a proposed anti-abortion amendment.

U.S. Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey said Washington abandoned the effort after receiving assurances the goals adopted at the 1995 conference did not create a new global right to abortion.

Bush opposes abortion except in cases of rape or incest or when pregnancy endangers a woman's life.

UN women's rights text adopted after US withdraws proposed amendment on abortion (UN News Centre 2005/03/05)

5 March 2005 -- A United Nations women's rights committee has adopted a declaration reaffirming priorities set ten years ago at an international conference in Beijing after the United States delegation withdrew a proposed amendment to the text.

The announcement by Washington at Friday morning's meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women drew applause from delegates in the crowded conference room.

The declaration, adopted at the afternoon session, reaffirmed the relevance of the Beijing Platform for Action, a wide-ranging blueprint for promoting and protecting the rights of women and girls.

Although that action plan contains only one reference to abortion, the issue was contentious enough to prompt the proposed amendment by the United States, whose delegate said she accepted the declaration reaffirming the Beijing document only on the understanding that neither was legally binding. She stressed that the United States did not recognize abortion as a method of family planning, and did not support abortion in its reproductive health assistance.

The declaration called on the international community to intensify contributions aimed at implementing the Beijing plan as well as a five-year review document adopted by the General Assembly in 2000.

While numerous speakers took the floor to debate the abortion question during the session, others said that issue was overshadowing more pressing concerns faced by the world's women, who too often find themselves trapped in poverty or falling victim to violence. New Zealand's representative, speaking also for Canada and Australia, said the Commission had spent too much time debating shades of meaning when the international community needed to focus its energy on tackling real challenges.

The Platform for Action addresses 12 critical areas of concern: poverty, education, health, violence, armed and other conflicts, economic participation, power-sharing and decision-making, national and international machineries, human rights, mass media, environment and development, and the needs of girls.

In 1995, after the action plan was adopted, a representative of the United States called it “the strongest policy statement promoting women's empowerment ever made by the international community."

At Friday's session of the Commission, delegates also commemorated International Women's Day, traditionally observed on 8 March.

Among the high-level participants were two Nobel Peace Prize Laureates: Rigoberta Menchu Tum of Guatemala, who said women must go way beyond legal challenges to implement international principles on their rights, and Wangari Maathai of Kenya, who said she symbolized the efforts of all women to promote gender equality.

「北京綱領」を再確認
国連女性地位委　政治宣言を採択
米、修正案取り下げ (朝日 2005/03/05夕刊)

　【ニューヨーク＝竹信三恵子】米ニューヨークの国連本部で「北京＋10会議」として開かれている第49回女性の地位委員会（ＣＳＷ）は４日、95年の第４回国連世界女性会議で採択された「北京行動綱領」を再確認する内容の政治宣言を原案通り採択した。「中絶の権利が含まれないことの再確認」を挿入する修正案を出していた米国政府は、採択の期限とされていた同日、取り下げた。

　宣言には、男女平等を世界各国で実現するための包括的な対策をまとめた「北京行動綱領」と00年の国連特別総会「２０００年女性会議」の成果文書の再確認などが盛りこまれた。

　これらが中絶を「リプロダクティブ・ヘルス／ライツ（性と生殖についての健康と権利）」にかかわるものとし、違法中絶などの危険な中絶などは女性の健康を損なうと位置づけていることに対し、米国政府は、中絶の権利などの拡大に利用されると反対。宣言に「いかなる新しい国際的人権も創設しないこと、中絶の権利を含まないことを再確認する」との文言を挿入するよう要求していた。

　だが、バチカンを除き、参加各国が反発。会議は紛糾し、投票に持ち込まれる懸念も出ていたが、米国は、綱領などでいう人権には中絶の権利は含まれないものと解釈する、として、修正案を取り下げた。

　会議は今後、津波対策や女性の経済的地位向上などをテーマとした決議を採択、11日に閉会する。

Women Reaffirm U.N. Equality Blueprint
By EDITH M. LEDERER (AP 2005/03/05)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The United States joined nations around the world in reaffirming a U.N. blueprint to achieve equality for women, though the counties refused to go along with Washington's proposed anti-abortion amendment, saying it was a distraction from real issues.

U.S. Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey said Washington abandoned the effort after receiving assurances the goals adopted at a 1995 U.N. conference in Beijing did not create a new global right to abortion.

``We have heard from countries that our interpretation is their interpretation,'' Sauerbrey told reporters. ``So the amendment, we recognize, is really redundant, but it has accomplished its goals.''

The proposed amendment angered many of the governments and advocates at this week's meeting marking the 10th anniversary of the Beijing conference. They had hoped to focus on economic, political and educational obstacles to women's equality - not on abortion.

Some 6,000 representatives of women's and human rights organizations are participating in the gathering, which continues next week.

Hours after the United States backed down, the 45-member U.N. Commission on the Status of Women unanimously adopted the declaration with U.S. support. Commission chair Kyung-wha Kang said she was particularly grateful to the United States for joining consensus in ``the spirit of cooperation.''

In the one-page declaration, nations reaffirm the Beijing platform and a declaration adopted with it, welcome progress toward achieving gender equality, stress that challenges remain, and ``pledge to undertake further action to ensure their full and accelerated implementation.''

Sauerbrey said the United States sought to amend the declaration because of concerns that advocacy groups were attempting to hijack the term ``reproductive health services'' and define it in a way that guarantees the right to abortion.

In a speech after the vote, she reiterated that U.S. consultations with other countries had reaffirmed that the Beijing documents do not endorse abortion in any way.

Sauerbrey said the United States also ``understands that there is international consensus that the terms 'reproductive health services' and 'reproductive rights' do not include abortion or constitute support, endorsement, or promotion of abortion.''

There were jeers and cheers from some activists when Sauerbrey emphasized the U.S. promotion of abstinence for adolescents, and its ABC approach to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS - abstinence, be faithful, and consistent condom use.

In arguing for the amendment, the United States found itself virtually alone. Nations from Africa, Europe, Latin America and Asia all opposed opening up the document drafted by the commission, which organized the meeting.

The Vatican, which has observer status at the United Nations, strongly backed the U.S. amendments. Like Sauerbrey, its representative was both cheered and booed by representatives of some advocacy organizations when she said the Holy See would have preferred that the declaration state clearly that Beijing ``did not create new human rights, including the right to abortion.''

Charlotte Bunch, executive director of the Center for Women's Global Leadership, said the U.S. amendment was unnecessary, a distraction from the real issues, and ``an effort to inject U.S. politics into a broad international consensus.''

``They are declaring victory and going home, as in Vietnam,'' she said. ``The reality is that they heard loud and clear the voices of 6,000 women here saying `No,' echoing millions of other women worldwide.''

Adrienne Germain, president of the International Women's Health Coalition, expressed hope that the United States ``will continue in a spirit of consensus-building'' next week when other contentious issues come up. These include proposed U.S. resolutions on economic advancement for women and trafficking, which would urge governments to criminalize prostitution, she said.

国連女性会議：米国妥協し、政治宣言採択 (毎日 2005/03/05)

　【ニューヨーク國枝すみれ】ニューヨークの国連本部で開かれている「国連婦人の地位向上委員会」は４日、９５年の北京会議で決めた北京行動綱領の内容を再確認し、実行推進を求める政治宣言を採択した。米ブッシュ政権は北京綱領が「妊娠中絶を容認するもの」と批判し、修正要求していたが、各国の反発を受けて妥協。原案通りの採択となった。

　しかし、米国代表は採択後も「北京綱領が中絶の権利など新しい人権を認めるものでなく、性と生殖に関する女性の決定権に中絶は含まれない、という国際理解ができたと考える。この発言を記録に留めて欲しい」と発言し、最後まで自論を展開した。

北京行動綱領を再確認　国連女性委が政治宣言 (共同 2005/03/05)

　女性の地位向上を目指しニューヨークの国連本部で開会中の「女性の地位委員会」閣僚級会合は４日、女性の人権保護促進などをうたった１９９５年の「北京行動綱領」を国際的な基準として再確認するとの政治宣言を採択した。

　会合では、中絶禁止問題をめぐり、宣言に盛り込みたい米国と、出産するかどうかを女性が判断すべきだとして反対する国や団体が鋭く対立したが、米側が主張を取り下げ、北京行動綱領に修正を加えないことで採択への合意が成立した。会合は１１日まで続く。

　宣言は「行動綱領の全面的で効果的な履行が、２０００年の国連総会で採択された『ミレニアム宣言』の開発目標達成に不可欠」と強調。同宣言の達成状況を見直す「今年９月の国連特別首脳会合でも（行動綱領を）確認する必要性を訴える」とした。

　行動綱領は（１）伝統や宗教を口実にした暴力や人身売買を防止する法律制定（２）女性の地位向上に関する責任を政府の高いレベルに負わせる（３）女性の人権を保護し促進するための国内機関の創設−などが柱。

「もったいない」世界に響け　ノーベル賞マータイさん　国連で日本語紹介 (産経 2005/03/05)

　【ニューヨーク＝長戸雅子】女性の地位向上などについて討議している国連の「女性の地位委員会」閣僚級会合で四日、ノーベル平和賞受賞者でケニア環境副大臣のワンガリ・マータイさんが演説し、日本語の「もったいない」を環境保護の合言葉として紹介し、会議の参加者とともに唱和した。

　マータイさんは二月に来日した際、「もったいない」という言葉を知って感銘を受け、世界に広めることを決意したという。

　この日の演説では「『もったいない』は消費削減（リデュース）、再使用（リユース）、資源再利用（リサイクル）、修理（リペア）の四つの『Ｒ』を表している」と解説、「ＭＯＴＴＡＩＮＡＩ」と書かれたＴシャツを手に「さあ、みんなで『もったいない』を言いましょう」と呼びかけ、会場を埋めた政府代表者や非政府組織（ＮＧＯ）の参加者とともに唱和した。さらにマータイさんは「限りある資源を有効に使い、みなで公平に分担すべきだ。そうすれば、資源をめぐる争いである戦争は起きない」と主張した。

北京綱領後退せず…婦人の地位委員会が政治宣言採択 (読売 2005/03/05)

　【ニューヨーク＝月野美帆子】ニューヨークの国連本部で開かれている「婦人の地位委員会」閣僚級会合は４日午後（日本時間５日）、１９９５年の北京会議で決めた北京行動綱領の内容を再確認し、実行を推進する「政治宣言」を採択した。女性の人権を前面に打ち出し世界の女性政策の指針となった北京行動綱領からの後退を許さないとする各国と、女性の中絶の権利を認めない立場の米国政府との間で対立が続いていたが、北京行動綱領は後退することなく再確認された。

　政治宣言は、「男女が対等な立場で協力できる社会づくりを今後一層推進するため、国連、各国政府、ＮＧＯが全力を尽くす」などとしている。

　政治宣言案をめぐっては、米国政府が「（北京行動綱領は）中絶の権利を認めるものではない」との内容を盛り込むことを要求。これに対しルクセンブルク、フランスなど欧州連合（ＥＵ）諸国などは「北京行動綱領を支持する」との立場を相次いで表明した。

　日本政府代表団首席代表の西銘順志郎・内閣府大臣政務官も「北京行動綱領のさらなる実施に向けて行動とイニシアチブを明確にする」と表明している。

　各国政府代表による調整が直前まで続けられた結果、米国政府が４日までに要求を取り下げた。

　会期後半では、人身売買や女性の経済的地位向上についての問題など重要テーマについて個別に協議し、最終日の１１日に問題解決への戦略を盛り込んだ「決議」としてまとめる。

　◆国連婦人の地位委員会＝国連が女性の地位向上に取り組む上で中核的な役割を果たしている委員会。１９４６年、国連の１組織として設置された。政治、社会、教育などにおける女性の地位向上について、経済社会理事会に対して勧告や報告、提案などを行う。

国連で「もったいない」唱和＝ノーベル賞のマータイさん (時事 2005/03/05)

　【ニューヨーク４日時事】「さあ、皆さんもご一緒に。もったいない！」−。ノーベル平和賞受賞者のワンガリ・マータイさんは４日、女性の地位向上を討議する国連の「女性の地位委員会」で演説し、環境保護の合言葉として日本語の「もったいない」を紹介、会場の参加者と唱和し、笑いと拍手を誘った。

　マータイさんは、「もったいない」とは、消費削減（リデュース）、物資の再使用（リユース）、資源再利用（リサイクル）、修理（リペア）の「４つのＲ」を実践することだと説明。一人ひとりの身近な努力を訴えた。

　マータイさんは先の来日の際、「もったいない」という言葉に感銘を受け、世界に広げると約束していた。

マータイさん：国連女性会議で「もったいない」を奨励 (毎日 2005/03/05)

（写真） 「もったいない」とＴシャツを掲げるマータイさん＝ニューヨーク国連本部で4日、本田理写す

　【ニューヨーク足立旬子、國枝すみれ】環境分野で初のノーベル平和賞を受賞したケニア副環境相、ワンガリ・マータイさん（６４）が４日、ニューヨークの国連本部で開かれている「国連婦人の地位向上委員会」で演説した。毎日新聞社の招きで２月に来日した際に日本語の「もったいない」という言葉を知ったと話し、これをキーワードに「女性たちによる世界的『もったいない』キャンペーンを展開し、資源を効率良く利用しましょう」と訴えた。

　紫色の民族衣装で登場したマータイさんは、ノーベル平和賞受賞について「私たち女性全員に贈られたものだと考えている」とした後、日本政府がリデュース（ごみの減量）▽リユース（再使用）▽リサイクル（再利用）の３Ｒ運動に取り組んでいることを紹介。ローマ字で「ＭＯＴＴＡＩＮＡＩ」と書かれたＴシャツを手に、「日本ではこれらを『もったいない』の一言で表します」と説明した。

　マータイさんは日本から帰国後に、ケニア・ナイロビに本部を置く国連環境計画（ＵＮＥＰ）のテプファー事務局長と会談し、３Ｒにリペア（修繕する）を加えた４Ｒを「もったいない」運動としてはどうかと言われたという。演説でも「４Ｒ運動で持続可能な開発を実現し、限りある資源を有効利用し、公平に分配すれば、資源をめぐる紛争は起きない」と訴えた。

　マータイさんが「みんなで『もったいない』と言いましょう」と呼びかけると、各地から参加している政府の代表やＮＧＯ（非政府組織）の女�