Commission
on the Status of Women
Fifty-second session
25 February-07 March 2008
|
* E/CN.6/2007/1 |
Item 3 (a) of the provisional
agenda*
Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on
Women
and to the special session of the General Assembly
entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development
and peace for the twenty-first century”: implementation of
strategic objectives and action in critical areas of concern
and further actions and initiatives: the
elimination of all
forms of discrimination and violence against
the girl child.
Statement submitted by Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
The Secretary-General has received the following statement, which
is being circulated in accordance with paragraphs 36 and 37 of Economic and
Social Council resolution 1996/31 of 25 July 1996.
Statement
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), among
the first group of non-governmental organizations to receive consultative
status with the United Nations, has monitored every session of the Commission
on the Status of Women (CSW). The 52nd Session offers an opportunity
for Member States to demonstrate their commitment to the goals of women’s
empowerment, human rights and gender equality, goals WILPF has continually
worked towards since its inception in 1915 as part of its ongoing work to
prevent armed conflict and to establish the conditions for sustainable peace on
a global scale.
WILPF recognizes the many commitments expressed by Member States and
applauds the concrete achievements by governments and the UN system towards
realizing equality between women and men as outlined in the preamble of the
Charter. Unfortunately a significant gap between policy and practice still
remains. We look forward to the Commission addressing the persistent gaps in
implementing policy commitments, particularly to the role played by the failure
to allocate adequate human and economic resources to implementation of gender
equality goals.
WILPF looks forward to
In the work of the Peacebuilding Commission, it is unclear whether
commitments to include women in peacebuilding have made a practical difference
on the ground. While there is a lack of demonstrated political will to ensure
women’s participation, more tangible still is the poor commitment of resources
to these issues. This despite agreement in the 48th Session to
“continue to make resources available nationally and internationally for
prevention of conflict and ensure women’s participation in the elaboration and
implementation of strategies for preventing conflict.”
WILPF thus welcomes the Commission’s consideration of the important
theme of Financing for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. In developing
policy in this area, it is critical that clear and strong connections be drawn
between this and the realization of all other commitments to development and
gender equality made by the Commission and Member States; including commitments
to women’s full and equal participation. It is not simply that women have the
right to participate as equals. It is also that without women’s participation
and empowerment and without gender equality, sustainable peace, sustainable
development and true human security are unattainable.
As then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan articulated:
“study after study has
taught us that there is no tool for development more effective than the
empowerment of women …. And I would also venture that no policy is more important
in preventing conflict, or in achieving reconciliation after a conflict has
ended.”[1][1]
WILPF welcomed the recognition of the links between participation,
equality and development in the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document. In
particular WILPF welcomed the recognition that the full and effective
implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and outcome of the 23rd
Special Session of the General Assembly “is an essential contribution to
achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including those
contained in the Millennium Declaration.” This contribution is not possible
without resources and gender-centered financing policy. The failure to finance
gender equality is the failure to finance development and human security.
The consideration of Financing for Gender Equality and Women’s
Empowerment requires providing direct, sustained and increased financial and
human resources to discrete budget lines, and support to women’s groups and
organizations. It is, however, critical also to look beyond this level and type
of support. Financing for Gender Equality is not just about adding more
resources to existing efforts. It is also about how resources are spent by government
in the economy as a whole. WILPF welcomes the work done by some governments to
engage in gender responsive budgeting and calls on all governments to do so and
to enhance these efforts. This involves not only analyzing the differential
impact of government spending on men and women but also offers a means to
critically reflect on government spending priorities and to prioritize human
security and gender equality.
WILPF finds it unacceptable that despite the many commitments made to
gender equality and women’s empowerment the figures tell a different story:
-
Women make up 70 percent of the world’s poor and 67%
of the world’s illiterate. They own just one per cent of assets worldwide;[2][2]
-
According to a 1995 UNDP study, more than two-thirds
of the world’s unpaid work is done by women – the equivalent of $11 trillion
(approximately half of the world’s GDP);
-
Out of $69 billion of overseas development assistance
in 2003, only $2.5 billion or 3.6% was earmarked for gender equality as a
significant or principal objective.[3][3] Yet, in the three year period from 2002 to 2004,
-
Of $20 billion in bilateral aid in 2001-2005, an OECD
DAC study reports only $5 billion was allocated to projects promoting gender
equality; the cost of approximately 2 weeks of the occupation of
-
The combined budgets of the UN women’s entities is
only $65 million[6][6] only 0.005% of world military expenditure of $1204 billion in 2006;[7][7]
-
The entire budget of the only operational women’s
entity – UNIFEM – in 2006 was only $57 million, only 2 % of the $2.34 billion
budget of UNICEF for the same period;[8][8]
-
The World Bank estimates the cost of interventions to
promote gender equality under MDG 3 is $7-13 per capita. The world’s military
expenditure in 2006 amounted to $184 per capita.[9][9]
What is clear is that in scales that matter, commitments to gender
equality are not yet real. No amount of policy will make a difference unless:
gender equality is seen as a critical part of public finance management; is
factored into macroeconomic policy and development financing; and is seen as
more important than weapons.
WILPF calls on Member
States:
-
To invest in human security, equality and sustainable
peace and to end the prioritization of war and military spending and the
impunity enjoyed by war and weapons profiteers.[10][10]
-
To strengthen the development and human rights work of
the United Nations by strengthening and better resourcing its gender equality
architecture as a critical aspect of financing for gender equality.
- To include women as senior decision makers in economic and trade policy
including through ensuring their input in the decision making of supra-national
institutions such as the World Trade Organization and Bretton Woods
Institutions. WILPF calls on Member States to provide mechanisms by which women
are guaranteed an opportunity to input into the decision-making processes of
these institutions at a local level and that these take account of the needs of
gender equality and women’s empowerment.
-
To pressure the Security Council to
implement Article 26 of the United Nations Charter, which charges it with
formulating a system to regulate armaments and reduce military expenditures, in
order to promote international peace and security and free up human and
economic resources for development.
-
To participate in the UN Register of
Conventional Arms in order to enhance transparency of international arms
transfers, procurement through national production, holdings, and relevant
policies, and in the UN Instrument for Reporting Military Expenditures to
enhance transparency of spending on military personnel, operations,
maintenance, procurement, construction, research, and development.
WILPF looks forward to the development of policy during this 52nd
CSW that will ensure a gender-perspective in the 2008 follow-up to the
Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development in Qatar and the follow-up to
the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness in Ghana.
As a 92-year old organization,
WILPF continues to work toward collective human security and sustainable peace
and away from militarism and economic violence, in collaboration with civil
society, governmental and international actors, including within the UN system.
We look forward to working with others from around the world to dismantle the
prevailing culture of militarism and create a culture of peace in which gender
inequality, racism and discrimination, economic injustice, violence and
oppression are absent and in which women are full and equal participants.
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