Thursday, February 27, 2014

Prostitution or Sex Work?


58th COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
March 10 - 21, 2014
 
Equality Now and the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women present:
 
Survivors Speak
Prostitution or Sex Work?
 
When Terminology and Legalization Collide with Human Rights
Thursday, March 13, 2:30pm
 
The Church Center of the United Nations, 2nd Floor, 777 United Nations Plaza
 
Panelists
Rachel Moran, SPACE International (Ireland)
Natasha Falle, SexTrade 101 (Canada)
Autumn Burris, Survivors for Solutions (USA)
Beatriz Elena Rodríguez Rengifo, ASOMUPCAR (Colombia)
 
Moderator
Vednita Carter, Founder and Executive Director, Breaking Free
The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women presents:
Strategizing to Prevent AIDS and Gender Violence:
Setting Goals to Advance Millennium Development
 
Friday, March 14, 2:30pm
The Church Center of the United Nations, Chapel, 777 United Nations Plaza
Panelists
 
Rachel Moran, SPACE International
Teresa Ulloa Ziáurriz, CATW - Latin America and the Caribbean
Nozizwe Routledge, Embrace Dignity
Aurora Javate-de Dios, CATW - Asia Pacific
Pierrette Pape, European Women's Lobby
Moderator
 
Taina Bien-Aimé, Executive Director, CATW International
First Come, First Seated.

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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

An interview with Saraswathi Menon, Director of the policy division at UN Women

UN-NGLS interviews Saraswathi Menon, Director of the Policy Division at UN Women
           
After the eighth meeting of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (OWG on SDGs) that addressed “Promoting equality, including social equity, gender equality and women’s empowerment” and in the lead-up to the 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW58), UN-NGLS interviewed Saraswathi Menon, Director of the Policy Division at UN Women. Dr. Menon reflected on the OWG discussions, provided insight on UN Women’s objectives moving forward, and offered advice to civil society organizations as they look towards CSW58 and the continued deliberations towards the post-2015 development agenda.
UN-NGLS: What were your impressions of the discussions on the theme “Promoting equality, including social equity, gender equality and women’s empowerment” held during the eighth session of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals?
Saraswathi Menon: We were very heartened by the recent discussions at the Open Working Group. There was a chorus of support across countries for addressing gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment as a priority in the SDGs as well as for clearly tackling different forms of inequalities in addition to gender inequality. Member States observed that people suffer from multiple inequalities and the resulting discrimination is more deeply entrenched and difficult to overcome as in the case of women who are disabled, or who are poor and live in remote areas.
Many speakers were keen on addressing the structural underpinning of gender inequality and mentioned issues such as ending violence against women and girls, sexual and reproductive health and rights, access to productive assets such as land and finance, and participation and voice in decision making in all arenas. The debate at the OWG reflected the recognition of human rights and the importance of achieving meaningful or substantive equality for women and girls.

UN-NGLS: From UN Women’s perspective, do you sense substantial support for the “twin-track” approach of a standalone goal on gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment and gender-specific targets under other relevant goals?

Saraswathi Menon: We certainly saw this at the OWG. There was widespread support for a single goal on gender equality and women’s rights that addressed essential structural issues and universal support for ensuring that all goals included targets and indicators that addressed the critical gender equality issues relevant to that goal. We must note, however, that in previous OWG thematic discussions there was not always adequate attention given to critical gender issues in the themes being discussed. There will need to be more discussion and expert advice on targets and indicators to zero in on those barriers to gender equality that hold back the achievement of other goals.
UN-NGLS: What are UN Women’s priorities for the negotiations phase of the OWG? What concepts would you expect to see reflected in the OWG draft report?

Saraswathi Menon:The post-2015 framework needs to be universal; it needs to be based on human rights; it needs to capture equality and sustainability in all its dimensions; and needs to be transformational. Only then will it address the structural causes of gender inequality. This is why we need a strong goal on gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment that covers critical areas such as violence, sexual and reproductive health and rights, valuing and sharing unpaid care work, capabilities and resources and voice and participation.
This also means that specific gender dimensions of other goals have to be addressed through indicators and targets. For example, a future goal on employment must include targets on women’s access to decent work and the gender pay gap; a sustainable energy goal should include targets on access to sustainable energy for women’s economic empowerment; an education goal should include targets that monitor girls’ completion of a quality education at all levels.
We would also like to see the concept of accountability addressed more fully in the negotiations. We would like to see the involvement of civil society, including women’s organisations, in any accountability mechanism; public access to information; and national ownership and understanding of targets and indicators so that citizens can see their aspirations reflected in progress.
UN-NGLS: How do you envision the upcoming 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW58) contributing to the ongoing discussions on the post-2015 development agenda? Are there interlinkages between the agreed conclusion of CSW57 and the “freedom from violence” target area of the UN Women proposal on a standalone goal?
Saraswathi Menon: By reflecting on the lessons learnt from the MDGs from a gender perspective, this year’s CSW is well placed to lay a strong foundation for the reflection of gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment in the post-2015 development agenda. The discussions will take stock of what worked well with the MDGs from a gender perspective and what are the remaining gaps and challenges, thus flagging the priorities for accelerating progress to achieve the MDGs in the short time left and the post-2015 development agenda.
Indeed there are strong linkages between last year’s CSW and the proposal to include freedom from violence in UN-Women’s proposal for a gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment goal. CSW57 focused on prevention and response to violence against women and girls and brought out what universal scourge violence continues to be. This was one of the critical missing elements in the MDGs. Today there is no excuse for leaving it out. And today with the advances made by the UN Statistical Commission we have standardized indicators to measure violence. Data is not yet available for all countries but the possibility is within reach. So no longer can it be said that violence against women and girls is too difficult to measure so it is best to leave it out. This is the approach that has to be taken with all critical issues. The UN Statistical Commission has now established 52 critical indicators on gender equality, including unpaid work, assets and other “difficult” areas. So now there is no excuse for not addressing gender equality centrally in the new framework.
UN-NGLS: What are your predictions for the political atmosphere at CSW58? What is your opinion on the zero draft of agreed conclusions?
Saraswathi Menon:The negotiations are yet to start and governments are currently reviewing the draft Agreed Conclusions distributed by the Bureau of CSW. All countries have lived with and through the MDGs. I think they are all well placed to learn the lessons of the MDGs, build on the positive and address the missing, structural pieces by drawing on their own experience.
UN-NGLS: What would be your advice to civil society organizations, particularly feminist groups, pushing for progressive language regarding women’s human rights and gender equality in both CSW58 and the SDGs/post-2015 process? What do you envision as being the most politically difficult issues in the upcoming processes, towards which civil society organizations should direct their attention?
Saraswathi Menon: Looking ahead to CSW 58 and the post-2015 development agenda, civil society organizations and feminist groups have a very important role in engaging with governments at home and during the negotiations. Many delegations to CSW include civil society organisations and they contribute directly to the negotiations. Even when they can only advise their delegations, they can make an important contribution to the effective participation of their governments in CSW by providing evidence, ideas and language that resonates with women in their countries. Civil society can also encourage dialogue and the alliance and bridge building across countries and regions.
On the politically difficult issues, it is important to stress that many issues are controversial and sensitive and issues that may seem non-controversial have the potential to become so very easily. It is important therefore that all of us focus on what is important to transform the lives of women and girls for the better.



Saraswathi Menon is currently the Director of the Policy Division in UN Women, the new United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. She was formerly Director of the Evaluation Office in the United Nations Development Programme and the elected Chair of the United Nations Evaluations Group that brings together the heads of evaluation of all UN organizations. She was a member of the team of authors who wrote the first six Human Development Reports. Subsequently she worked on UNDP programmes as Deputy Chief of the Regional Programme in the Regional Bureau of Asia and the Pacific, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Nepal (1999-2000) and as UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Mongolia (2000-2003). Prior to joining UNDP she taught sociology in Madras University in India. She has a Ph.D. in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. Her Ph.D. dissertation was on caste and land control in Thanjavur district during the nineteenth century, and she continues to be interested in multi-dimensional issues of poverty.
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Monday, February 24, 2014

Peace Women Events Planned for CSW

Peace Women Events Planned for CSW

http://www.peacewomen.org/pages/csw

March
11


10:30
am - 12 pm

Chapel
of the United Nations Church Center
 


8:30
- 10 AM

Armenian
Convention Centre, Ballroom 1, 630 2nd Avenue, New York
 

March
12


10
am - TBC

United
Nations Church Center
 

March
13


10
am – 11:15 am

United
Nations Headquarters, Conference Room C
 


12
- 3 pm

Conference
Hall, Baha'i United Nations Office, 866 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY,
10017, USA
 


6
– 7:30 pm

CUNY
School of Law, Dave Fields Auditorium, 2 Courts Square, Long Island City,
USA
 

March
15


11:30AM
- 4:30PM

Fordham
Law School, New York

 
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Centre for Women's Global Leadership Announces Sessions taking place during CSW!

SAVE THE DATES!
Economic Rights, Gender-Based Violence, and Financing for Women's Rights
Panel Discussion

Join CWGL for a panel discussion on economic rights, gender-based violence, and financing women's rights, facilitated by Foundation for a Just Society director Rini Banerjee. Speakers include CWGL Executive Director Radhika Balakrishnan and Secretary General of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Madeleine Rees.
Date: Monday, March 10, 2014
Time: 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Location: Church Center for the United Nations, Chapel Room
777 1st Avenue, E 44th St
New York, NY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Making Unpaid Care Work Count in the Post-2015 Framework: Reflections from the UN Special Rapporteur's Report on Unpaid Care Work, Poverty and Women's Rights
Panel Discussion

Join the Center for Women's Global Leadership, ActionAid, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights as we discuss the key findings and recommendations from the UN Special Rapporteur's report on unpaid care work, poverty and human rights. CWGL's Executive Director Radhika Balakrishnan and representatives from UNWomen and the Institute of Development Studies will reflect on applications of the human rights framework of the report and its findings to the post-2015 framework and review theme on education and decent work.
Opens with a presentation of the report findings by Magdalena Sepulveda, UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights.
Discussion and Q&A to follow.
Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Time: 10:30am - 12:00pm
Location: Church Center for the United Nations, Boss Room
777 1st Avenue, E 44th St New York, NY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moving Beyond the MDGs for the Realization of Women's Rights and Gender Equality
Panel Discussion

Join CWGL as we discuss women's rights and gender equality beyond the MDG framework.
Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Time: 4:30pm - 6:00 pm
Location: Church Center for the United Nations, Chapel Room
777 1st Avenue, E 44th St New York, NY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Challenges and Achievements in the Implementation of the MDGs for Women and Girls
Panel Discussion

Join CWGL Executive Director Radhika Balakrishnan as she discusses the status of implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls on this panel.
Event sponsored by UNWomen
Date: Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Time: 10:00am - 1:00pm
Location: United Nations Headquarters, Conference Room 2
760 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY
RSVP: Niling Xia nailing.xia@unwomen.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An Integrated Approach to Peace and Security: Ensuring Women's Rights in Post-Conflict Syria
Panel Discussion

Join CWGL, MADRE and Women's League for International Peace and Freedom (WILPF) for a discussion on ensuring women's rights and security in the Syrian post-conflict context.
Date: Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Time: 10:30am - 12:00pm
Location: Church Center for the United Nations, Chapel Room
777 1st Avenue, E 44th St New York, NY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Women's Day Dance Party
Party
CWGL will be hosting the fifth annual International Women's Day Dance Party during the 58th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women!
Date: Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Time: 8:30pm - 11:30pm
Details TBD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Freedom from Want and Fear: Meeting the Challenges for Black Women and Women of Color for Gender Equality, Racial Justice and State Accountability in the Post-2015 Agenda
Panel Discussion

CWGL and PCN present a panel of women leaders, activists and scholars who will present testimonies and discussion on strategies to achieve equality for Black women and women of color within the social and political contexts of gender-based violence, impunity, racism, patriarchy, and neoliberal development schemes. Look for CWGL's Gender-Based Violence Program Coordinator Zarin Hamid speaking at this event.
Date: Thursday, March 13, 2014
Time: 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Location: Church Center for the United Nations, 10th Floor
777 1st Avenue, E 44th St New York, NY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From Bosnia to Syria - Women Organizing for Peace, Rights and Accountability
Panel Discussion
Honoring Madeleine Rees, Secretary General of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
Join us as we honor Madeleine's long legacy of fighting for women's human rights in conflict contexts. Learn about how she is applying hard lessons from Bosnia to the Syrian context to promote women's rights and justice in peace negotiations and any future transitional justice process. Speakers include CWGL Executive Director Radhika Balakrishnan and Under-Secretary-General, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy.
Co-sponsored by CWGL, MADRE, WILPF, CUNY School of Law, and Kvinna till Kvinna

Date: Thursday, March 13, 2014
Time: 6:00pm - 7:30pm (Doors open at 5:30pm)
Location: Dave Fields Auditorium CUNY School of Law
2 Court Square Long Island City, NY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Building Strategic Alliances for Women Workers' Rights Post-2015
Panel Discussion
Join CWGL, AWID, Education International, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and Public Services International for a panel discussion exploring coalition-building around women workers' rights in the post-2015 agenda. Hear from CWGL's Associate Director Savi Bisnath on this strategic framework.

Date: Friday, March 14, 2014
Time: 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Location: Salvation Army Auditorium
221 East 52nd St New York, NY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Human Rights & 21st Century Challenges: 20+ Years After the UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna
Panel Discussion

Join CWGL Executive Director Radhika Balakrishnan as she speaks on this panel on human rights challenges in the 21st century context.
Event sponsored by Women's Learning Partnership (WLP) in collaboration with The New School
Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Time: 3:00pm - 7:30pm
Location: Alvin Johnson/J.M. Kaplan Hall at The New School
66 West 12th Street New York, NY
Link: http://www.learningpartnership.org/lib/human-rights-csw-2014
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information on CWGL activities at CSW58, please visit: http://cwgl.rutgers.edu/program-areas-151/coalition-building/csw58
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A link to the listing of all the Side Events at the upcoming CSW now available!

The link to the listing of the Side Event

Calendar of Side Events NGOs with valid UN grounds passes need not indicate prior interest in attending events unless specified by event sponsors. Side events on UN premises are not ticketed this year unless they are by invitation only. -

http://www.unwomen.org/en/csw/csw58-2014/side-events/calendar-of-side-events
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Official Docments

A Long List of the Official Documents for the upcoming CSW
Links to documents will be published as they become available.
  • E/CN.6/2014/1
    Provisional agenda and annotations
  • E/CN.6/2014/1/Add.1
    Proposed organization of work
  • E/CN.6/2014/2
    Normative aspects of the work of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Report of the Under-Secretary-General/Executive Director
  • E/CN.6/2014/3
    Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls. Report of the Secretary-General
  • E/CN.6/2014/4
    Progress in mainstreaming a gender perspective in the development, implementation and evaluation of national policies and programmes, with a particular focus on the priority theme. Report of the Secretary-General
  • E/CN.6/2014/5
    Discussion guide for the high-level round table on the priority theme. Note by the Secretariat
  • E/CN.6/2014/6
    The situation of, and assistance to, Palestinian women. Report of the Secretary-General
  • E/CN.6/2014/7
    Release of women and children taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned, in armed conflicts. Report of the Secretary-General
  • E/CN.6/2014/8 • A/HRC/26/17
    Report of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women on the activities of the United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women
  • E/CN.6/2014/9
    Letter from the President of the Economic and Social Council to the Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women
  • E/CN.6/2014/10
    Input to the 2014 ECOSOC high-level segment. Note by the Secretary-General
  • E/CN.6/2014/11
    Eliminating maternal mortality and morbidity through the empowerment of women. Report of the Secretary-General
  • E/CN.6/2014/12
    Women, the girl child and HIV and AIDS. Report of the Secretary-General
  • E/CN.6/2014/13
    Gender equality and the empowerment of women in natural disasters. Report of the Secretary-General
  • E/CN.6/2014/14
    Ways and means to further enhance the impact of the work of the Commission on the Status of Women. Report of the Secretary-General

NGO statements

Links to documents will be published as they become available.
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Thursday, February 20, 2014

Side event for CSW 58

 

The MDGs, Post-2015 and Beijing+ 20-regional perspectives:
North America/Europe


(“Women and the economy, health and political participation”)

Co-sponsored by Permanent missions of Latvia, Poland and NGO CSW Forum 2014

Monday, 10 March
Conference room 2 (CB) 6:30 pm to 7:45 pm
United Nations, New York

Panelists
 
John HendraAssistant Secretary-General
and UN Women's Deputy Executive Director for Policy and Programme

Ieva Jaunzeme
State Secretary of Ministry of Welfare of Latvia

Agnieszka Kozłowska-Rajewicz
Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment of Poland

Shana Narula
 NCD Alliance and Framework Convention Alliance

Prof. Drude Dahlerup
 UN Women Civil Society Global Advisory Group


Moderated by Viviane Teitelbaum, Member of the Brussels Parliament and President of the European Women’s Lobby.

To register contact: Sideevent10March@ngocsw.org.
 This event will be recorded

 

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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

NGO Consultation Day with Youth Poet Laureate Ramya Ramana

PRESS RELEASE February 18,2014 – New York, NY –  

NGO CSW/NY ANNOUNCES: Consultation Day 2014 Performance by NYC Youth Poet Laureate Ramya Ramana
Ramya Ramana was named the 2014 NYC Youth Poet Laureate at the 5th Annual Youth Voter Poetry Slam Finals held at Lincoln Center. She performed an original poem entitled “New York City: Dedicated to Mayor Bill de Blasio” at the 2014 Inauguration.
Ramya will perform at the NGO/CSW/NY Consultation Day on 9 March at the Great Hall of the Cooper Union (7 East 7th Street, NY, NY). Registration for Consultation Day is still open.

As Youth Poet Laureate, Ramya will work with the CFB's voter education campaign, NYC Votes, to reach young voters across the five boroughs, promoting voting and civic engagement at public events, programs and peer-to-peer engagement activities. Over its five-year history, the YPL program has delivered a positive voting message to tens of thousands of young New Yorkers through performances, speeches, voter registration drives, and neighborhood outreach." As a youth activist, poet and writer she has won the New York Knicks Poetry Slam that awarded her with a full scholarship to St. John's University, where she is studying Philosophy and Government and Politics. Ramya gives back to her community through various service projects and plans to pursue a career as a community organizer and activist advocating for human rights and social justice.

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Monday, February 17, 2014

Growing Inequality Mars 20 Years of Women’s Progress

The following article is a reprint from IPS (Inter Press Services) and give a review of MDGs- Note:  Dr.  Osotimehin indicated that while the global average likelihood of a woman dying in childbirth is one in 1,300, this increases to one in 39 when evaluating developing nations specifically
 
By Jonathan RozenReprint |                                                                                             
Sex education is expelled from Egyptian schools. Credit: Victoria Hazou/IPS
Sex education is expelled from Egyptian schools. Credit: Victoria Hazou/IPS
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 14 2014 (IPS) -

As the world moves closer to the 2015 end mark of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a new U.N. report illuminates how far global society has come, but also how far it still must travel to achieve its objectives.

The report tracks the last two decades of progress on issues such as universal access to family planning, sexual and reproductive health services and reproductive rights, and equal access to education for girls. 
"This report gives us the leverage to take things to the next level, where women, girls and young people will be central to the next development agenda.” -- Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin

“We must work with governments to address issues of inequality, which is I think the greatest determinate in terms of the MDGs,” Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), told IPS.

“We expect that as we move into the post-2015 conversation, the evidence we have today will ensure that member states will see that if they are going to make progress…we must put people at the centre of development.”

Since 1994, the year of the landmark International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo when 179 governments committed to a 20-year Programme of Action to deliver human rights-based development, UNFPA has identified significant achievements with regard to women’s rights and effective family planning, but also a dramatic increase in inequality.

Maternal mortality has dropped by almost 50 percent and more women than ever before have access to both contraception and family planning mechanisms, supporting a decrease in child mortality. Furthermore, women are increasingly accessing education, participating in the work force and engaged in the political process.

Nevertheless, a gross disparity remains between the developed and developing worlds. In a press conference, Dr.  Osotimehin indicated that while the global average likelihood of a woman dying in childbirth is one in 1,300, this increases to one in 39 when evaluating developing nations specifically.

The report also notes that 53 percent of the world’s income gains have gone to the top one percent of the global population, and that none of these gains have gone to the bottom 10 percent.

It focuses on root factors of these problems and the central influences on women and girls’ ability to make choices about their lives. Child marriage and education are two main factors in this respect.

Source: UNFPA
Source: UNFPA

“It is important to underscore the fact that once girls don’t go to school, once they are married too early and once they have children as children, they cannot be equal to men, and they cannot have the same political and economic power as men,” explained Dr. Babatunde.

The effect of these factors is not limited to the success of the individual. They are also important for the development of nations as a whole.

“Education and access to health, if they are properly planned, allow people to live longer, and add value to the development of the country,” Dr. Osotimehin told IPS.

UNFPA does not work alone on these issues. Other organisations also collect information and cooperate to address problems associated with population and development.

“The report is very important for us because it both reflects what we have done and suggests a way forward that we like to think we have helped to inform,” Suzanne Petroni, senior director of gender, population and development at the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), an organisation which works to identify the contributions and barriers facing women across the world, told IPS.

In 2000, all U.N. member states at the time signed on to the MDGs, all of which are directly addressed in the second ICPD report. They are to be succeeded by the SDGs – the Sustainable Development Goals. The 1994 Programme of Action was not limited to women’s rights. It also sought to address the individual, social and economic impact of urbanisation and migration, as well as support sustainable development and address environmental issues associated with population changes.
 
“Ensuring that we have a monitoring mechanism for the implementation of what governments have committed to…that is actually the most important thing going forward,” Dr. Osotimehin stressed to IPS. “We now need to make the commitments count on the ground.”

A key theme in the report is that in areas like South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, where 90 percent of the world’s youth are located, there is a massive opportunity for societies to capitalise on their resources and accelerate their development.

But governments must invest in their populations through education, healthcare, access to entrepreneurial opportunities and political participation.
“Civil society, the media, young people and women’s groups can actually work to, in a very positive way, see what [governments] are doing right, and point out where things are not going well…we are seeing that happen around the world,” said Dr. Osotimehin.

“This report gives us the leverage to take things to the next level, where women, girls and young people will be central to the next development agenda.”
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Thursday, February 13, 2014

Inequality and the exclusion of women, young people, and the poor, in contrast, undermine health, wellbeing and economic growth.

Article by Tarja Halonen, the former President of Finland, co-chairs the High-Level Task Force for ICPD (International Conference on Population and Development). She has also served in numerous capacities in international forums, including as co-chair of both the Millennium Summit and the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability.


OP-ED: We Need Everyone to Build a More Sustainable World
By Tarja HalonenReprint |   |   
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 13 2014 (IPS) -

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, an annual event that deals with a subject that is very close to my heart.  The summit gathered together amazing people: Nobel Prize winners, thought leaders, heads of state, corporate innovators, and academicians to deal with the paramount challenges of the 21st Century all focused on three pressing dimensions of sustainability:  food, water and energy.
Credit: Todd France Photography, 2012
Credit: Todd France Photography, 2012
Clearly these will are critical to the future of humanity. Right now, about one in eight of the human beings with whom we share this planet lives without adequate drinking water. Almost that many lack food security.  And nearly one in five people manage without the additional power and options that electricity affords.

How to meet current needs, without compromising the prospects of generations who will follow, is a very complicated issue.

It was encouraging to see so many  brilliant and committed scientists, economists and development specialists working so hard on the innovations and ideas that can help us produce, distribute and use precious resources more efficiently and equitably.

Their work is essential because it will take all of us working with our unique capacities to solve the really difficult challenges ahead.

But from my perspective, it is also critically important to empower the very people who grapple with these issues every day: the girls who dream of a better future as they carry water over long distances, the women who toil over inefficient and polluting cookstoves, and the small farmers who manage to produce 70 percent of the world’s food far more sustainably than larger concerns.

We need to stay focused on solutions that keep these people at the forefront of our decision-making —  because it is their individual choices that will ultimately have a pivotal role in how our common future unfolds. When individual rights are fully respected, and when people are placed at the center of development, solutions have an inherent sustainability.

Something learned from my own country and our Nordic sisters is that healthy and productive societies generate a self-sustaining circle of greater well-being and productivity. Inequality and the exclusion of women, young people, and the poor, in contrast, undermine health, wellbeing and economic growth.

Although we need everyone’s contributions to solve the global problems we face, the full talents and capabilities of women remain untapped in many countries.  It’s not that women aren’t working hard. Indeed, they are working overtime as food producers, preparers, sellers and consumers, as mothers and nurturers, as water bearers and as custodians of family hygiene.

And this is often without the benefit of time-efficient technologies and energy services – or modern forms of contraception, for that matter. This means that women are often overburdened in terms of reproduction as well as production.
The sad fact is that women work more hours than men and produce half of the world’s food. Yet they earn only a fraction of the world’s income and own a small share of the world’s property.

Women are managing to ensure food for so many. Therefore they need proper  training, equipment and rights to land.  They need to be able to participate in the economy and they most definitely need access to sexual and reproductive health services, as related health issues disproportionately affect women – from complications of pregnancy and childbearing to the HIV epidemic.

Gender-based violence takes another huge toll. What if the full potential and power of women were unleashed?  Imagine what they could accomplish.

We need to invest in the empowerment of women to achieve the kind of transformations that can sustain economic growth, preserve the environment, foster resilience and leave no one behind. And we need to invest in sexual and reproductive rights for all, including for the next generations, if we are to achieve truly sustainable development.

Women are keenly attuned to the requirements of sustainability. When they have control and freedoms over their own sexual and reproductive lives, women tend to choose healthier and smaller families that can be more resilient to crises, displacement or environmental challenges, and can relieve local population pressures on limited resources and fragile ecosystems.

That’s why it’s critically important that the next framework for international development – the global agenda that will replace the Millennium Development Goals after 2015 – deals squarely with gender equality and sexual and reproductive rights for all.  These issues go right to the heart of sustainability.  I remain committed to making sure they are not overlooked.

Tarja Halonen, the former President of Finland, co-chairs the High-Level Task Force for ICPD (International Conference on Population and Development). She has also served in numerous capacities in international forums, including as co-chair of both the Millennium Summit and the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability.

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