wfn.org | [ENS] Statement of the Ecumenical Women 2000 Coalition

["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@mail.epicom.org>]

Wednesday, March 9, 2005

Statement of the Ecumenical Women 2000 Coalition

Delivered at the 49th Session of the U.N. Commission on the Status of
Women

ENS 030905-2

[ENS] Ecumenical Women 2000 is a coalition of Christian denominations
and
ecumenical organizations at the United Nations focusing on the global
intersections of religions, human rights and gender. As a delegation of
seventy-five women of faith representing all regions of the world, we
unequivocally support the Political Declaration unanimously adopted last
Friday March 4 that reaffirms the Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action and calls for its full and effective implementation.

The Ecumenical Women 2000 coalition strongly supports the realization of
the
human rights goals of gender equality, development and peace which is
the
basis of the Beijing Platform. We affirm and encourage the continuing
efforts to advance the human rights, dignity and status of all women
around
the globe, especially those who face discrimination in the
inter-sectionality of gender with race, class, ethnicity, age, and
sexual
orientation.

Our faith traditions have a shared commitment and history for social
justice, peace-building, and respect for dignity of all people, the
integrity of creation and fullness of life. An example of this
commitment is
our involvement in the Decade to Overcome Violence (2001-2010), an
initiative of the World Council of Churches that strives for unity and
peace
in a broken world.

Our churches, like many institutions, struggle with patriarchy and
political
processes that exclude and marginalize women. Furthermore, our churches
have
been slow to adequately respond to urgent issues such as the HIV/AIDS
pandemic, racism, environmental degradation and sexism among others.
This
underscores the churches' need to strengthen our own commitment to the
implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome of the
23rd Special Session of the General Assembly.

Ten years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform, women and girls
around
the world continue to suffer much of the burden of war, poverty, all
forms
of violence and discrimination, and economic injustice. In the last ten
years increased militarization, trafficking in persons, the rise of all
forms of fundamentalisms, negative effects of globalization and
neo-liberal
economic policies have had a disproportionate harmful impact on women
and
girls.

Now, more than ever, we call on governments to:

* Fully and effectively implement the Beijing Platform for Action;
* Ensure full participation of women at all levels of decision-making;
* Guarantee women's health care, sexual and reproductive rights and
services

* Dedicate sufficient resources to address poverty and unemployment,
especially among young people
* Reduce military expenditures, arms trade, investment for arms
production
and acquisition and reallocate resources to social and economic
development,
poverty alleviation, promotion of human security and the advancement of
women.

Finally, we would like to stress that gender equality, protection of
women's
human rights and empowerment of women are essential in achieving the
internationally agreed development goals contained in the Millennium
Declaration. The Beijing Platform as a general framework and the
Millennium
Development Goals as a strategy offer hope and help us to move forward
in
empowering the most vulnerable women and girls in all regions.

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