Press
Release ECE/GEN/00/1
Geneva, 14 January 2000
WOMEN
AND THE ECONOMY, WOMEN AND VIOLENCE,
WOMEN IN POWER, THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN
5 years after Beijing – The situation
in the UN/ECE region
From 19 to 21 January
2000, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) organizes, in the Palais
des Nations at Geneva, a Regional Preparatory Meeting on the 2000 Review of the
Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. This Conference will gather more than
600 participants – a number of ministers, senior government officials and experts,
representatives of international organizations and NGOs - from countries of all around the
UN/ECE region.
The Council of Europe, the European
Commission, UNDP and UNIFEM are partners in the preparation of this meeting. The UN/ECE
secretariat also worked in close co-operation with the Division for the Advancement of
Women in order to ensure the link between this regional review and the global review
process.
After the opening session, which will be
addressed by Mr. Yves Berthelot, UN/ECE Executive Secretary, and heads of delegations of
the partner institutions, the Conference will discuss four substantive issues: women and
the economy; women and violence; women in power and decision-making; and institutional
mechanisms for the advancement of women (see dates and hours in the draft agenda below).
A panel will introduce each substantive
issue. Based on the substantive documents prepared for the meeting and the introductory
statements by the panellists, the meeting will discuss the major problems, which have
emerged since Beijing. It will consider good practices and draw lessons therefrom, and
make action-oriented proposals to achieve positive changes.
Women and the economy
The panel will include Ms. Sheila
REGEHR, Economic Policy Coordinator, Status of Women, Canada; Ms. Eva ZIMNY,
Associate Professor, Warsaw School of Economics, Poland; Ms. Oksana KISSELYOVA,
"Mama’ 86", Ukraine.
The discussions will mainly focus on:
women’s access to employment; equal employment opportunities and equal treatment, the
situation of women migrant workers, social measures for compatibility between work and
family responsibility; women’s income across a lifetime, including issues of concern
to ageing women; the role of the State in anti-poverty schemes for women and in the
provision of social benefits; the access to resources and entrepreneurship.
Women and violence
The panel will include Ms. Ruth
DREIFUSS, Federal Counsellor, Interior Federal Department, Switzerland; Mr. Göran
LINDBERG, Chief Commissioner of the Uppsala County Police Department, Expert Adviser
on Gender Equality for the Government of Sweden; Ms. Charlotte BUNCH, President of
the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership, United States.
A second panel will focus on women and
girls in war/conflict situations and include: Ms. Laura BALBO, Minister of
Equal Opportunities, Italy; Ms. Marijana GRANDITS, Former MP, Political
Scientist, Consultant, Austria; Ms. Jadranka MILICEVIC, Member of Managing
Board, Zene Zenama and Women in Black, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The discussions will mainly focus on:
trafficking of women and violence against women and girls in war/conflict situations.
Women in power and decision-making
The panel will include: Ms.
Françoise GASPARD, Former Parliamentarian, Representative of France to the Commission
on the Status of Women, France; Ms. Joanna REGULSKA, Professor at the Rutgers
University, United States; Ms. Galina SILLASTE, President of
International Association "Women and Development", Russian Federation; Ms.
Katia IVANISEVIC, Speaker, Chamber of Counties, Republic of Croatia.
The discussions will mainly focus on women
in public life and women’s participation in decision-making and gender mainstreaming.
Institutional mechanisms for the
advancement of women
The panel will include Ms. Vera
KOSMIK, Director, Women’s Policy Office of the Government of the Republic of
Slovenia; Ms. Mieke VERLOO, Professor of Women’s Studies, Faculty of Policy
Sciences, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Ms. Annette LAWSON, Chair,
National Alliance of Women Organization, United Kingdom.
The discussions will mainly focus on:
national machineries and action plans for gender equality and the advancement of women;
gender mainstreaming across governmental structure; gender indicators and benchmarks,
including best practices and lessons learned.
The outcome of the Meeting is expected to
open new avenues for further action on gender equality. It will constitute the input of
the UN/ECE region to the global review which will culminate in the Special Session of the
General Assembly on "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the
Twenty-first Century" next June in New York.
Prior to the regional preparatory meeting,
NGO workshops will be held on 17 and 18 January 2000. This would allow NGOs to first
meet among themselves, discuss relevant issues and select representative NGOs to present
their conclusions to the meeting and to participate in the debate. It would also create
the most favourable conditions for an effective dialogue in which both governmental and
non-governmental representatives can be engaged in a balanced manner.
For further information please
contact:
Information Unit
United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UN/ECE)
Palais des Nations, Room 356
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel: +(41 22) 917 44 44
Fax: +(41 22) 917 05 05
E-mail: [email protected]
PROGRAMME OF THE MEETING
Wednesday, 19 January
10 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Item 1 Opening session
Address by the ECE Executive Secretary and heads of
delegations of the partner institutions
Item 2 Election of officers
Item 3 Adoption of the agenda and organization of work
11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Item 4 Women and the economy
3 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Item 4 (continued)
Thursday, 20 January
10 a.m. - 12 noon
Item 5 Women and violence
(a) Trafficking in women
12 noon - 1 p.m.
Item 5 Women and violence
(b) Violence against women in war/conflict situations
3 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Item 5(b) (continued)
4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Item 6 Women in power and decision-making
Friday, 21 January
10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Item 7 Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of
women
4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Item 8 Adoption of the agreed conclusions and
recommendations
Closing session