The Economic and Social Council this afternoon discussed issues relating to mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system; women and development; and the advancement of women, and then adopted a series of resolutions and decisions on these themes.

In a resolution on mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system, adopted without a vote, the Economic and Social Council, called for further and continued efforts to mainstream a gender perspective into all policies and programmes of the United Nations in accordance with all relevant Economic and Social Council resolutions.

The Council adopted a number of resolutions and decisions contained in the report of the Commission on the Status of Women. On the future operation of the International Research and Training Institute for the advancement of women, adopted without a vote, the Council called for the diversification of funding resources, and in this regard invited Member States to continue to provide assistance and support to the Institute through voluntary contributions and substantive involvement in its projects and activities. It also urged the Secretary-General to appoint, as a matter of priority, the new director of the Institute.

Concerning the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women, adopted by a vote of 23 in favour, five against, and 16 abstentions, the Economic and Social Council demanded that Israel, the occupying Power, comply fully with the provisions and principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention IV of 18 October 1907, the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949, and all other relevant rules, principles and instruments of international law, including the international human rights Covenants, in order to protect the rights of Palestinian women and their families. It also called upon Israel to facilitate the return of all refugees and displaced Palestinian women and children to their homes and properties, in compliance with the relevant United Nations resolutions.

With regard to the future organization and methods of work of the Commission on the Status of Women, the Council adopted without a vote a resolution in which it decided that, following the review of the functioning of the revised methods of work of the Commission on the Status of Women, from its fifty-fourth session onwards, the Commission should maintain its current working methods, adopted by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 2006/9, and should continue to keep its working methods under review. It decided that in 2010, at its fifty-fourth session, the Commission would review the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly and its contribution to shaping a gender perspective towards the full realization of the Millennium Development Goals.

On the Working Group on Communications on the Status of Women of the Commission on the Status of Women, the Council adopted without a vote a resolution it which it decided that, in order to make the communications procedure of the Commission on the Status of Women more effective and efficient, the Commission, starting at its fifty-fourth session, should appoint the members of the Working Group on Communications on the Status of Women for a two-year period, and decided to remain seized of this matter, as necessary.

The Council also decided to take note of the report of the Commission on the Status of Women on its fifty-third session and approved the provisional agenda and documentation for the fifty-fourth session of the Commission. The Council took note of the agreed conclusions on the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS, as contained in the report of the Commission on the Status of Women.

In another decision on the commemoration of the fifteenth anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted without a vote, the Council recommended to the General Assembly that the Assembly hold a commemorative meeting during the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women in March 2010 to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action1.

In a decision on the participation of non-governmental organizations in the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, adopted without a vote, the Council urged that, in recognition of the importance of equitable geographical representation of non-governmental organizations in the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, relevant bodies of the United Nations system assist those non-governmental organizations, in particular non-governmental organizations from developing countries, including the least developed countries, and countries with economies in transition, that did not have the resources needed to participate in the fifty-fourth session of the Commission.

Before taking action on the above mentioned resolutions and decisions, Rachel Mayanja, Assistant Secretary-General and Special Advisor on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, introducing the report of the Secretary-General on mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system, said the Council's selection of implementing the internationally-agreed goals and commitments in regard to gender equality and empowerment of women for next year's Annual Ministerial Review further highlighted the centrality of gender equality and empowerment of women to the financial crisis and other competing demands. The report of the Secretary-General set out the United Nations system's commitment to mainstream gender, and outlined some of the efforts being undertaken to that end.

In the general discussion, speakers noted that the promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment was clearly a vital part of the United Nations mandate - improving gender equality strengthened respect for human rights, reduced poverty, stimulated economic growth and health, and proved to be essential for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. There should be efforts to address the gender dimension of the current financial crisis to ensure that achievements made since the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 were not reversed. The priority should be on advancing women in society and eliminating discrimination in the political and economic spheres. Effective gender mainstreaming depended, among others, firstly on the development of appropriate policies; the existence of gender specialists and focal points; and monitoring and evaluation. A speaker noted concern in the area of maternal mortality and stressed that efforts had to be redoubled in this area. Women were expected to increase the country’s gross domestic product, but development policy actors largely ignored the fundamental gender inequalities associated with the unpaid work in the household and the caring responsibilities on which society depended.

Speaking in the discussion were Iraq, Sweden on behalf of the European Union, Indonesia, Russian Federation, Kenya, Belarus, Thailand, China, Brazil and Congo. Also speaking were representatives of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Labour Organization, and the International Federation of University Women.


The Economic and Social Council will meet at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 29 July, to consider environmental and economic questions.


Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Policies and Programmes in the UN System; Women and Development; and Advancement of Women

Reports

The Economic and Social Council has before it the report of the Secretary-General on mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system (E/2009/71) in which the Secretary-General concludes that in order to ensure that United Nations entities strive to enhance progress in gender mainstreaming to close the gap between policy and practice, and that they do so with unified tools and approaches, the Council may wish to recommend that entities take the following actions: collaborate to establish specific accountability guidelines, tools and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming at the Headquarters, regional and country levels; further strengthen monitoring, reporting and evaluation of progress and identification of gaps, using common methods and indicators developed collaboratively, to allow assessment of progress across the system; substantially increase the use of electronic means to provide capacity development for managers and staff, including mandatory staff training in all entities; ensure that the provision of gender mainstreaming training is tailored to the needs of specific sectors and different categories of staff; further strengthen the role of gender specialists and focal points by ensuring that all field offices and Headquarters have gender focal points and specialists and by creating enabling environments that provide clear mandates, increased capacity development and resources to support them; ensure operationalization of the system-wide policy and strategy on gender mainstreaming and strengthening knowledge management and exchange, including through the use of electronic networks and databases, as applicable; use existing training institutions, especially the United Nations System Staff College, to assist entities in developing and applying unified training modules on gender mainstreaming; continue to use all avenues, including the Secretary-General’s campaign to end violence against women, to strengthen inter-agency collaboration for gender mainstreaming and for developing a coherent and unified approach towards gender equality and women’s empowerment; and in the light of the continued relevance of the priority theme, “Financing for gender equality and empowerment of women”, of the fifty-second session of the Commission on the Status of Women, and recognizing the gender dimensions of the current financial crisis, request
entities to routinely address the impact of the crisis on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The Council has before it the report of the Commission on the Status of Women on its fifty-third session, contained in (E/2009/27), which notes matters calling for action by the Economic and Social Council or brought to its attention, including agreed conclusions on the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS; the gender perspectives on global public health: implementing the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals; draft resolutions for adoption by the Council on future operation of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women; the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women; the future organization and methods of work of the Commission on the Status of Women; the Working Group on Communications on the Status of Women of the Commission on the Status of Women; a draft decision for adoption by the Council on the report of the Commission on the Status of Women on its fifty-third session and provisional agenda and documentation for the fifty-fourth session of the Commission; matters brought to the attention of the Council: resolution 53/1 on the preparations for the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women; resolution 53/2 on women, the girl child and HIV and AIDS; and decision 53/101 on documents considered by the Commission on the Status of Women. The report also notes the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and to the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”; communications concerning the status of women; follow-up to Economic and Social Council resolutions and decisions; the provisional agenda for the fifty-fourth session of the Commission; the adoption of the report of the Commission on its fifty-third session; organization of the session; agenda and organization of work; and the appointment of the members of the Working Group on Communications on the Status of Women.

Introduction of Report

RACHEL MAYANJA, Assistant Secretary-General, Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, introducing the report of the Secretary-General on mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system (E/2009/71), said in the midst of a global financial crisis that threatened progress in promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women, it was heartening that this session of the Council had clearly highlighted the particular challenges that women in various parts of the world continued to face, especially in their childbearing role. The Council's selection of implementing the internationally-agreed goals and commitments in regard to gender equality and empowerment of women for next year's Annual Ministerial Review further highlighted the centrality of gender equality and empowerment of women to the financial crisis and other competing demands. The report of the Secretary-General set out the United Nations system's commitment to mainstream gender, and outlined some of the efforts being undertaken to that end.

The Beijing Platform for Action remained relevant as the framework within which work on gender equality and women's empowerment at international, regional, sub-regional and national levels was being pursued. In this context, notable progress had occurred in narrowing the gender gap in access to basic education. An important area of success was the strengthening of women's networks and alliances. The United Nations entities were making progress in gender mainstreaming also at the country level. This was also a time of significant challenges and uncertainties. It was expected that women and girls in both developed and developing countries would be mostly affected by job cuts and loss of livelihood as a result of the current financial crisis and economic meltdown. Women in the developing world were facing a public health crisis that was already claiming too many lives, and would only worsen with the financial crisis, unless urgent action was taken and the necessary investment safeguarded. The persistence of violence against women in all regions of the world detracted from the progress that had been made in other areas of gender equality. Creative approaches were needed to equip women with the tools to deal with today's challenges and global crises. The challenge of ensuring gender equality and women's empowerment was a complex one, needing a comprehensive approach.

Discussion

ZINA A. AL-TAANI (Iraq) said the protection of the rights of women was a crucial and important issue at the global level, not only for organizations, but also for the heads of countries and communities. This was an important priority issue for Iraq. Iraq considered the Millennium Development Goals that focused on women to be of the utmost importance. Making women aware of the dangers that faced them and making them aware of their rights was also a priority. In Iraq, a number of protection centres had been set up for women who faced threats, such as female genital mutilation and honour crimes. The Government had also created projects to combat forced marriages, and prison sentences for such acts spanned three to five years. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Beijing Plan of Action, among others were examples of what measures the Government had taken to promote women’s rights. Despite the challenges facing Iraq in the past five years, women had portrayed their bravery by standing up to terrorism and violence, carrying out their responsibilities in the family and work, participated in elections and helping with the preparation of the new Constitution. Guaranteeing equality between genders and among citizens in Iraq was another priority. The Government was also working on increasing the number of women in parliament from 25 to 35 per cent. There were a number of laws in the books aimed at protecting women’s rights specifically. Terrorism was a world threat, and stood in the way of women moving towards a better future.

JOHAN RUTGERSSON (Sweden), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment was clearly a vital part of the United Nations mandate - improving gender equality strengthened respect for human rights, reduced poverty, stimulated economic growth and health, and proved to be essential for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The European Union recognised the vital importance of a strengthened United Nations gender architecture in advancing gender equality and women's rights. A strengthened United Nations architecture would enhance gender mainstreaming throughout the United Nations system, including at country level, and ensure more effective performance by the United Nations on gender issues. The United Nations system would be better equipped to support the capacity of Governments to implement national goals and strategies and assist women and girls around the world. Experience had shown that financial and economic crises impacted unequally on women and men. It was critical to consider gender perspectives in both short- and long-term responses to the current financial and economic crisis at all levels. Challenges, especially under the financial and economic crisis, were several and complex, but were not impossible to meet and overcome. There was clearly room for better progress on the foundation of earlier commitments. Now was the time for action. Some progress had been made in implementing some commitments, but much more needed to be done by all Member States if the international community were to ensure that women and men were equal in all spheres of life throughout the world and could enjoy fully and equally all human rights and freedoms.

INDAH N. SAVITRI (Indonesia) said Indonesia appreciated the highlights of these reports regarding lessons learned, best practices, as well as possible ways forward to enhance the implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action and other internationally agreed goals, particularly those related to women. The delegation of Indonesia took note that sustained and predictable human and financial resources remained the biggest limitation in the delivery of support for gender equality activities at the country level. As individuals who straddled the home and labour market, women had a unique perspective and could form part of the solution to the current global crises. Their role in development should continually be supported by the international community. There should be efforts to address the gender dimension of the current financial crisis to ensure that achievements made since the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 were not reversed. At the national level, Indonesia was committed to assuring the advancement of the rights of women. Since gender inequalities still existed in various spheres of society around the world, the deliberations should not only focus on the implementation of gender-related policies at the national level, but should also reflect on those regional and global commitments to support gender equality that had not been fully implemented.

ALEXEY GOLTHYAEV (Russian Federation) said the United Nations was continuing to pay attention to the whole range of gender-related questions as part of its work to achieve the gender-related Millennium Development Goals. This attention was more essential than ever given the global financial and economic crises, which had had an impact on the most vulnerable groups. The priority should be on advancing women in society and eliminating discrimination in the political and economic spheres. It was necessary to continue to advance the role of the United Nations Commission for the Advancement of Women in this regard. Women should fully enjoy their potential in combining their professional and family lives. Women were a politically, economically and domestic centre to society, and played a great role in society. Particular emphasis was made in Russia for a set of measures emphasising maternal and child care. Child subsidies were paid to non-working mothers, tantamount to a recognition by the Government that motherhood was a form of work. The guide to action in all parts of the gender sphere was the Beijing Declaration.

CAROLINE MUGWE (Kenya) said gender mainstreaming had been globally acknowledged as the strategy for achieving gender equality and empowerment of women. These imperatives had been recognized, among others, in the Beijing Platform for Action, as well as the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly. In their view, and as clearly pointed out in the Secretary-General’s reports, effective gender mainstreaming depended, among others, firstly on the development of appropriate policies; while policies had been adopted to promote mainstreaming of gender, there remained a wide gap between policy and practice. Secondly, the existence of gender specialists and focal points, which were instrumental in promoting gender mainstreaming. Effective integration of gender perspectives in planning, policy and implementation was necessary for meaningful development. Thirdly, monitoring and evaluation - measuring progress in addressing gender mainstreaming was critical because it enhanced accountability and helped in policy formulation and planning. Furthermore, the role of technology in processing, accessing and sharing information was indisputable. Technology could be used to learn and share good practices, and build knowledge networks for gender mainstreaming.

VITALIY KORNEV (Belarus) said Belarus was carrying out a national policy to ensure gender equality, especially in education, employment, and expanding women's participation in decision-making policies. The aim was to combat gender-based discrimination, and create conditions for the most complete development and advancement of men and women in all spheres of life. Belarus was also implementing a programme to combat trafficking in women and children. The bodies in the United Nations system responsible for supporting States and medium-income countries in mainstreaming gender issues needed to be given greater support. Belarus agreed with the conclusions and recommendations of the Commission for the Advancement of Women.

CATALEYA PHATOOMROS (Thailand) said that the theme of this year’s ECOSOC High Level Segment, focusing on global public health, had a great bearing on the issues of gender equality and the advancement of women. This was especially the case in view of the current global economic and financial crises, which threatened to wipe out the gains they had made in terms of implementing international commitments and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. One of Thailand’s main concerns pertained to goal 5 of the Millennium Development Goals on improving maternal health, which had enjoyed the least progress so far. Their concern was that the present economic and financial crises had increased the risk of setting back whatever little progress they had made toward achieving this goal. In this regard, efforts had to be redoubled in the area of maternal health. Thailand therefore was pleased to have co-sponsored the resolution on Preventable Maternal Mortality and Morbidity and Human Rights, which was adopted at the eleventh session of the Human Rights Council in June this year. This resolution helped to highlight the human rights dimension of the issue. Thailand believed that a holistic approach was needed to address all dimensions of this problem, particularly the need to change societal attitudes, without which it would be difficult for all to make real progress.

CHU GUANG (China) said the international community now faced a double challenge in the field of economic and social development, namely the international financial and economic crises, and the wide spread of epidemics, which had seriously affected the achievement of Millennium Development Goals and the fundamental wellbeing of peoples of all nations. The Chinese Government supported the United Nations playing a bigger role in efforts to respond to the crisis properly and to promote gender equality, calling on the international community to work together in greater unity so as to overcome difficulties by developing policies and programmes that incorporated gender perspectives, increasing assistance for developing countries, reducing their debts, helping them maintain economic and social stability, and safeguarding the fundamental rights and interests of women and children. Promoting gender equality was a cardinal state policy of China. Over recent years, the Government had given great importance to social development that focused on improving the living conditions of the people. Next year marked the fifteenth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action and the theme for the high-level segment of ECOSOC's substantive session next year would be "current global and national trends and challenges and their impact on gender equality and empowerment of women”. The Government of China was ready to join the rest of the international community to seize the occasion to review past activities and share best practice with a view to continuing in good earnest the implementation of the Platform of Action and the outcome document of the special session of the General Assembly on women, promoting the achievement of gender equality and moving forward the cause for safeguarding the rights and interests of women.

GUILHERME PATRIOTA (Brazil) said the Government of Brazil had adopted the second national plan for women, which deepened further the Government’s commitment to the rights of women based in the first national plan adopted in 2004. Going beyond the legal framework, Brazil had launched a plan to combat violence against women with a fund of $600 million for resources and programmes to help women in key areas. Efforts were taken to increase punishments for violators of violence against women; the Government created a hotline to offer help and guidance for women of which they received 124,000 calls in 2007 alone; measures to counter the feminization of HIV were also taken. In order to address the increasing vulnerability of women in this regard, access to medicines and products had been increased. Additionally the Government had been implementing measures to address the rights of women in prison systems, which including the reform of women’s correction facilities.

ADDU NGAPI CORNELIE GABRIELLE (Congo) said Congo echoed the Beijing Statement, and was carrying out a range of initiatives to ensure gender equality, which was constitutionally recognised. To make this concrete, it had ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and had submitted its periodic reports. Violence against women, the fundamental rights of women and girls, and the education of girls and women were of particular importance to Congo. As regarded health, Congo welcomed the stress in the reports on the reduction of maternal mortality and morbidity, and had drawn up a Road Map in this regard. There were some actions being taken in terms of taking care of the problem of obstetrical fistula in women. The programmes that were implemented with the support of the United Nations system were in both rural and urban areas. Congo was among the countries which had had conflict situations, and taking care of women in this context was a matter of great concern. Care was given to women and the girl-child affected by the conflict, whether financial, psychological or medical. There was also a programme to ensure the equality between genders, taking into account gender mainstreaming efforts within the country.

VERA KREMB, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said integral to the Federation’s work was the application and dissemination of humanitarian principles and values, and of the Fundamental Principles of their Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. As part of their operating framework, the Federation developed and signed what was now known as Pledge 101 at the thirtieth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in 2007. The Pledge concerned the prevention of power abuse and called for: the development of a new ‘Code of Conduct’ for all Red Cross Red Crescent staff in line with the UN zero tolerance policy; the inclusion of gender, child protection and/ or sexual violence prevention in all Red Cross and Red Crescent programmes; the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse training to be integrated into relevant policies, programmes and services of the Federation; and to carry out advocacy and fund-raising for programmes on gender, child protection, sexual violence prevention in conjunction with international, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations.

JANE HODGES, of International Labour Organization (ILO), said the ILO had much to offer to the United Nations system in terms of gender mainstreaming, as gender equality had been a constant goal in policies and programmes over the 90 years of its existence, and mainstreaming had been acknowledged as the principal tool to achieve it in the Decent Work Agenda. The ILO promoted gender mainstreaming as a strategy cutting across all the organization's strategic objectives, and as a shared responsibility for all units of the organization. The ILO followed a two-pronged mainstreaming approach: there should be a gender dimension in all programmes and policies, while at the same time sex-specific interventions were possible to redress longstanding inequalities. The ILO maintained a considerable knowledge-base of gender equality interventions in the world of work. The efficient management and expansion of the knowledge base was essential for continuously meeting diverse demands from ILO staff and constituents for guidance on how to design and implement relevant elements of gender mainstreaming strategies. What had been confirmed over the past decades was that gender mainstreaming as a process could bear results in relation to both economic efficiency and social justice. This two-pronged approach had visibly accelerated in the ILO, and a great part of this gain in momentum had been the contribution of technical cooperation projects to gender mainstreaming. When ongoing ILO work was coupled with specific human and financial resources to achieve the inclusion of gender issues, it gained strength and was welcomed by the implementing units and field offices.

HILLEVI PERRAUDIN, of the International Federation of University Women, speaking in a joint statement, recalled that in 1997, the Economic and Social Council had adopted a decision to integrate and mainstream gender equality in the UN system. While there had been progress in various UN agencies and programmes, gender mainstreaming had not been systematically implemented as a process as it was not well understood as a concept that was never neutral on account of society’s asymmetric gender relations. Direct and indirect discriminatory practices continued in all public and private socio-economic sectors and especially in the domestic sphere. The concept of gender equality remained a welfare concept although it was a basic human right that had to address the inequitable power relations shaping the economy. Many roots causes of discrimination, making women vulnerable, lay outside the labour market in socials norms which affected women throughout the economy. The aims of most economic policies were designed to protect those already in power which adversely affected women. Women were expected to increase the country’s gross domestic product, but development policy actors largely ignored the fundamental gender inequalities associated with the unpaid work in the household and the caring responsibilities on which society depended. They called on ECOSOC to include in its 2010 discussions the gaps in gender mainstreaming, especially when addressing development goals that had been detailed in the 12 critical areas of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Action on Resolutions on Mainstreaming a Gender Perspective in Policies and Programmes in the UN System; Women and Development; and Advancement of Women

In the draft resolution entitled mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system (E/2009/L.20), adopted without a vote, the Economic and Social Council calls for further and continued efforts to mainstream a gender perspective into all policies and programmes of the United Nations in accordance with all relevant Economic and Social Council resolutions; requests the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality to continue to provide practical support to its members in gender mainstreaming; and requests the Secretary-General to submit a detailed report to the Economic and Social Council at its substantive session of 2010 on progress made by United Nations entities in mainstreaming a gender perspective in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all policies and programmes; and in capacity development, including through mandatory training for all staff and personnel and specific training for senior managers, as a critical means of raising their awareness, knowledge, commitment and competencies, as well as with regard to collaborative efforts to ensure effective gender mainstreaming in the United Nations system.

HELEN KALJULATE (Estonia) said following the consensus adoption of resolution L.20, the agreement reached on the resolution ought to reflect a shared aim of Member States to continue to build on the progress achieved with regards to gender-mainstreaming in all United Nations programmes and policies.

KEITH MORRILL (Canada) said Canada was disappointed that a more substantive text, which would build on earlier texts, was not possible. Gender mainstreaming was an essential requirement for the United Nations programmes and policies. However, it was satisfying that the Council's operational activities resolution recognised some of the progress made. Canada urged the Council to take a similar approach to this resolution next year, and would continue to build upon all elements of resolution 2008/32.

The Economic and Social Council adopted without a vote a resolution contained in the report of the Commission on the Status of Women (E/2009/27) entitled, Future operation of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, in which the Council requests the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, within its mandate, to continue to assist countries in promoting and supporting the political participation and economic and social advancement of women through training programmes; calls for the diversification of funding resources, and in this regard invites Member States to continue to provide assistance and support to the Institute through voluntary contributions and substantive involvement in its projects and activities; and looks forward to the enhanced implementation of the strategic plan of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women under the leadership of the new director, and, in this regard, urges the Secretary-General to appoint, as a matter of priority, its new director.

The Economic and Social Council adopted a resolution contained in the report of the Commission on the Status of Women (E/2009/27) entitled situation of and assistance to Palestinian women, by a vote with 23 in favour, five against, and 16 abstaining, in which the Council urges the international community to continue to give special attention to the promotion and protection of the human rights of Palestinian women and girls and to intensify its measures to improve the difficult conditions being faced by Palestinian women and their families living under Israeli occupation; demands that Israel, the occupying Power, comply fully with the provisions and principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Regulations annexed to the Hague Convention IV of 18 October 1907, the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949, and all other relevant rules, principles and instruments of international law, including the international human rights Covenants, in order to protect the rights of Palestinian women and their families; calls upon Israel to facilitate the return of all refugees and displaced Palestinian women and children to their homes and properties, in compliance with the relevant United Nations resolutions; calls upon the international community to continue to provide urgently needed assistance, especially emergency assistance, and services in an effort to alleviate the dire humanitarian crisis being faced by Palestinian women and their families and to help in the reconstruction of relevant Palestinian institutions, with the integration of a gender perspective into all of its international assistance programmes; requests the Commission on the Status of Women to continue to monitor and take action with regard to the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, in particular paragraph 260 concerning Palestinian women and children, the Beijing Platform for Action8 and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly entitled “Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century”; requests the Secretary-General to continue to review the situation, to assist Palestinian women by all available means, including those set out in the report of the Secretary-General on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women, and to submit to the Commission on the Status of Women at its fifty-fourth session a report, including information provided by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, on the progress made in the implementation of the present resolution.

JOHN SAMMIS (United States) said the United States went to the meeting on the Commission of the Status of Women this year, and repealed the Mexico City Fund and supported the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which were just a few examples of the United States commitment to women’s rights. They were faced, however, with another debate on an unbalanced resolution on assistance to Palestinian women. The United States would continue to play a role in providing assistance to the Palestinian people. The United States donated $900,000 for support to the people in Gaza including to the United Nations consolidated fund. The focus of the international community should be about the shared progress of both the Israelis and Palestinians towards viable peace. The draft did not provide a balanced perspective and for that reason the United States would not vote in favour of the draft resolution and called on States to join them in this move.

SAMAH ATOUT (Palestine) said Palestine wished to recall the substantive discussions at the Commission on the Status of Women with regards to the situation of Palestinian women. Women had borne disproportionate amounts of suffering, and the Palestinian prospects for development would only be possible if the special needs and circumstances of Palestinian women were recognised and met. The resolution just adopted by the Council reflected this.

TONY FAUTUA (New Zealand) said New Zealand was deeply concerned by the plight of Palestinian women, which had been unjustly exacerbated by the recent conflict. Israel had to meet its commitments with regards to Palestinian civilians, including women and children. However, Israeli women were also suffering from the conflict - a more balanced resolution would call on all parties to make sustained steps towards peace. The Commission on the Status of Women and the Economic and Social Council were not the right fora for this resolution - it was more a subject fit for the General Assembly.

The Council also adopted without a vote a resolution contained in the report of the Commission on the Status of Women (E/2009/27) entitled future organization and methods of work of the Commission on the Status of Women, in which the Council, decides that, following the review of the functioning of the revised methods of work of the Commission on the Status of Women, from its fifty-fourth session onwards, the Commission should maintain its current working methods, adopted by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 2006/9, and should continue to keep its working methods under review; decides that in 2010, at its fifty-fourth session, the Commission will review the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly and its contribution to shaping a gender perspective towards the full realization of the Millennium Development Goals; in 2011, at its fifty-fifth session, the priority theme will be “Access and participation of women and girls to education, training, science and technology, including for the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work” and progress will be evaluated in the implementation of the agreed conclusions from the fifty-first session on “The elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child”; in 2012, at its fifty-sixth session, the priority theme will be “The empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges” and progress will be evaluated in the implementation of the agreed conclusions from the fifty-second session on “Financing gender equality and the empowerment of women”; in 2013, at its fifty-seventh session, the priority theme will be “Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls” and progress will be evaluated in the implementation of the agreed conclusions from the fifty-third session on “The equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS”; in 2014, at its fifty-eighth session, the priority theme will be “Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls” and progress will be evaluated in the implementation of the agreed conclusions from the fifty-fifth session on “Access and participation of women and girls to education, training, science and technology, including for the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work”; and also decides that, at its fifty-seventh session in 2013, the Commission will discuss the possibility of conducting a review and appraisal of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly in 2015 and decide on priority themes for future sessions.

The Council adopted without a vote a resolution contained in the report of the Commission on the Status of Women (E/2009/27) entitled Working Group on Communications on the Status of Women of the Commission on the Status of Women, in which the Council decides, in order to make the communications procedure of the Commission on the Status of Women more effective and efficient, that the Commission, starting at its fifty-fourth session, should appoint the members of the Working Group on Communications on the Status of Women for a two-year period; reiterates its decision to continue to raise awareness of the existing mandate of the communications mechanism of the Commission, as appropriate; and decides to remain seized of this matter, as necessary.

The Council adopted without a vote a decision contained in the report of the Commission on the Status of Women (E/2009/27) in which the Council takes note of the report of the Commission on the Status of Women on its fifty-third session and approves the provisional agenda and documentation for the fifty-fourth session of the Commission.

The Council adopted without a vote a decision on the commemoration of the fifteenth anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (E/2009/L.16), in which the Council recommends to the General Assembly that the Assembly hold a commemorative meeting during the fifty-fourth session of the Commission in March 2010; and decides to hold the commemorative meeting to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action1 during the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

The Council adopted without a vote a decision on the participation of non-governmental organizations in the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, in which the Council decides, on an exceptional basis, to invite those non-governmental organizations that were accredited either to the Fourth World Conference on Women or to the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly to attend the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women and, in this context, requests that the list of those non-governmental organizations to be invited be circulated to Member States by the end of August 2009; and urges that, in recognition of the importance of equitable geographical representation of non-governmental organizations in the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, relevant bodies of the United Nations system assist those non-governmental organizations, in particular non-governmental organizations from developing countries, including the least developed countries, and countries with economies in transition, that do not have the resources needed to participate in the fifty-fourth session of the Commission.


For use of the information media; not an official record


ECOSOC09034E