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

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

ACNS 3956     |     ACO     |	  9 MARCH 2005

Statement of the Ecumenical Women 2000 Coalition

Delivered at the 49th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

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 4th 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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