Daily Graphic (pg 11) Tues. April 20/10
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE 54th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) held in New York in March, reviewed the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) after 15 years, and the outcome document of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, as well as their application for shaping a gender perspective towards the full realisation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
A five-point declaration made by representatives of governments who were present at the meeting reaffirmed the Beijing Declaration 15 years ago, the outcome document of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, and welcomed the progress made towards achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women. They also pledged to undertake further action to ensure the full and accelerated implementation of the decisions taken at the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly.
They also emphasised that the full and effective implementation of the BPfA was essential to achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the MDGs, and stressed the need to ensure the integration of a gender perspective in the high-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on accelerating s the achievement of all the MDGs by 2015.
They further recognised that the implementation of the BPfA and the fulfilment of the obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women were mutually reinforcing in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women.
The group also called upon the United Nations system, international and regional organisations, as well as all women and men, to fully commit themselves and to intensify their contributions to the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly.
However, at a post-CSW54 briefing on the outcomes of the 54th session and the BPfA review by the Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) in Accra at the weekend, Mrs Ruth Grant Antwi, the Programme Officer of NETRIGHT, indicated that the outcome document of the CSW’s 54th session failed to strengthen the commitments undertaken in Beijing, and added that it did not come out with concrete actions or measures that would ensure the full implementation of the platform.
She said the fact that effective implementation was still not achieved in key areas of life such as education and training, sexual and reproductive health rights for young women indicates that the MDGs cannot be achieved.
According to her, the CSW54 outcome document was adopted without due consultations with civil society saying that they did not get the opportunity to influence the conduct and outcome of the CSW meetings.
A joint statement issued by women’s groups which Mrs Antwi shared at the meeting, said the document was adopted without due negotiations with civil society organisations (CSOs) and that women’s groups present at the meeting were unhappy about the development.
She said a statement issued by the CSOs stressed that the lack of consultations with civil society, the absence of information on opportunities for civil society to influence the conduct and outcome of the CSW meetings, the declaration and poor logistics and facilities that have prevented women from participating effectively had significantly reduced spaces for influencing decision-making by women’s organisations at the Beijing+15 review.
The Executive Director of Women’s Initiative for Self Empowerment (WISE), Ms Adwoa Bame, who reported on the Ghana NGOs Beijing+15 Review, said Ghana’s shadow report dwelt on: Women and poverty; education and training of women; women and health; violence against women, women in armed conflict and women and the economy.
Other areas that were tackled were women in power and decision-making, institutional mechanism for the advancement of women, human rights of women, women and the media, women and the environment, and the girl-child.
The Convenor of the Women’s Manifesto, Mrs Hamida Harrison, who spoke of CSOs’ engagement with national, regional, and global institutions, said after 15 years of accepting the Beijing declarations, the world was still grappling with the issue of women empowerment and gender equity.
She said although much progress had been made, there were still many challenges to women empowerment and despite the fact that the CSOs were working hard to uplift the status of women across the globe, their impact was yet to be felt.
According to her, CSOs needed a permanent place in policy and decision-making positions so as to influence policy change at all levels.
No comments:
Post a Comment