Draft Statement

62nd Session of the UN Economic Commission for Europe

Geneva-April 25-27, 2007

Statement by Ms Sylvie Perret International Council of Women ICW/CIF

Convenor of the UN NGO Working Group on Women for the ECE Region

 

Item 3: Issues calling for action by the Commission

 

Mr Chairman,

Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen

 

I am speaking as the Convenor of the UN NGO Working Group on Women for the ECE Region which is part of a network of women’s NGOs throughout Western Europe, North America, Central Asia and the Caucasus. Our organisations had the pleasure and the great satisfaction to work in close collaboration with the UNECE Secretariat for the two previous Reviews in 2000 and 2004 of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action and the MDGs’ process. We were glad to be considered as real partners on these two occasions and that our conclusions were included in the 2004 final report. Those Meetings have allowed our organisations to assess the constantly raising awareness of the member States in mainstreaming gender into economic policies. Gender friendly budgeting, salary, pensions and fiscal policies are no more wishful words but are becoming realities in a growing number of countries and make good economic sense. They have also presented fruitful opportunities of exchanging views, suggestions and examples of best practices between NGOs delegates and Governments.

 

We welcome the fact that the UNECE Reform confirmed the importance of gender issues as part of its mission. We are therefore strongly in favour of organizing a meeting in 2008-2009 to review the progress of women and economy in the Implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action. We think it is also important concerning the MDGs. As you are fully aware, item 1 of the MDGs:  Eradicating Extreme Poverty is still a long way from its goal and Promoting gender equality and empowering women (MDG 3) still needs stronger support and political will as it is one of the surest tools to promote economic growth. We are ready to collaborate and raise the supports of our organizations.

 

In that sense, the new SPECA Working Group on Gender and Economy mainstreaming gender into economic cooperation in Central Asia seems to us a promising way to bring creative practices for the future.  We have appreciated the work of the statistical Division and its recent studies and methodology on gender specific data as reflected in the Statistical Journal.

 

Let me say Mr. Chairman that we are grateful that the agenda of the present session conscious of those urgent callings for actions has devoted one segment of item 8 to the matter of “The Economic of Gender in the European Economy” and the UNECE working Group on Women for the UNECE Region will follow this part of the Session with great interest.  

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Thank you Mr. Chairman