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R 211408Z MAR 07 ZDK
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
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INFO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0802
RUEHMR/AMEMBASSY MASERU 0026
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 0743
RUEHSN/AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR 0132
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2601
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000228 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SOCI KWMN UN CSW
SUBJECT: UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN 2007 SESSION 
 
REF: A. STATE 30182 
     ¶B. STATE 30271 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000228  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  The UN Commission on the Status of Women 
(CSW) held its 51st session from February 26 to March 9, 
¶2007.  Permanent Representative of El Salvador, Carmen Maria 
Gallardo Hernandez, chaired the session, whose main theme was 
"The Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination and Violence 
Against the Girl Child."  The US hosted a panel discussion on 
state-sanctioned rape in Sudan and Burma.  Discussions and 
panels considered, among other things, women's empowerment, 
creating stronger laws, and engaging men and boys to address 
the main theme of the session.  US priorities were the 
problems of forced and early marriage and prenatal 
sex-selection and female infanticide.  The Commission adopted 
resolutions on forced marriage of the girl child, female 
genital mutilation, HIV/AIDS, and Palestinian women.  The 
Commission also adopted Agreed Conclusions.  End Summary. 
 
Commission Adopts Four Resolutions and Agreed Conclusions 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶2. (U) The Commission's outcome was the adoption of Agreed 
Conclusions and four resolutions on February 9.  The USDel 
chaired negotiations of the resolution entitled "Forced 
Marriage of the Girl Child."  After week-long contentious 
discussions led to consensus on the text, the EU submitted an 
amendment from the floor reaffirming the Convention on the 
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 
(CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC), 
and The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.  In 
reaction to the EU amendments, the USDel withdrew 
co-sponsorship of the resolution (Ref A).  El Salvador, 
Panama, Cote D'Ivoire, Togo, Benin, Mali, Angola and Congo 
continued to co-sponsor the resolution, which was adopted by 
consensus.  A resolution co-sponsored by the USDel on 
"Prenatal Sex Selection and Female Infanticide" was withdrawn 
and language on these topics was incorporated in the Agreed 
Conclusions, as well as into the resolution on forced 
marriage. 
 
¶3. (U) Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 77 and China 
sponsored a resolution entitled "Situation of and Assistance 
to Palestinian Women."  US and Canada voted "no" on this 
resolution, which was adopted by a vote of 40-2(US)-0. 
Israel, Canada and the USDel made statements explaining that 
the resolution had unbalanced and negative political 
undertones.  The EU representative contended they could 
support the resolution because it was humanitarian in nature. 
 The Commission adopted other resolutions by consensus, 
including "Ending Female Genital Mutilation," sponsored by 
South Africa on behalf of the Africa Group, and "Women, the 
Girl Child and HIV/AIDS" sponsored by Lesotho on behalf of 
the Southern Africa Development Community. 
 
¶4. (U) The Commission adopted Agreed Conclusions after 
trimming a draft document, that at one time reached 30 pages, 
back down to a manageable length.  In the process, language 
on prenatal sex selection and female infanticide, introduced 
from the withdrawn US resolution, was reduced.  The EU 
blocked the reference to "sex-selective abortion" with 
support from New Zealand and Canada.  China did not block the 
"abortion" reference; their concern was to block language on 
the serious societal repercussions resulting from prenatal 
sex-selection and female infanticide.  Delegations agreed to 
the phrase "prenatal sex-selection" instead of sex-selective 
abortion and reduced the mentions of the social 
repercussions.  Several references to sexual and reproductive 
health remained, as did reaffirmation of the Beijing Platform 
for Action and a reference to "foreign occupation."  The 
USDel made an Explanation of Position on the Agreed 
Conclusions per Ref B. 
 
US Hosts Panel on Mass Rape 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) On February 8, the US hosted a well attended panel on 
State Sanctioned Mass Rape in Sudan and Burma.  Dr. Jennifer 
Leaning of the Harvard School of Public Health described how 
mass rape, used as a weapon of war, differs from other rape 
during conflicts in its systematic nature and its intention 
to humiliate, neutralize or exterminate a specific group of 
people.  Omer Ismail, from Sudan who is now a fellow at 
Harvard, confirmed that mass rape is being used to achieve 
political aims in Sudan.  Two representatives from Burmese 
NGOs described the situation in Burma and how the "Myanmar" 
junta continues to use acts of mass rape to systematically 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000228  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
oppress minority groups.  A representative of the Government 
of Sudan intervened and circulated a statement that warned, 
"Those in glass houses should not throw stones."  US 
Ambassador Grover Joseph Rees concluded the discussion by 
asserting that when countries stop allowing mass rape as a 
weapon of war, the US will stop hosting panels that highlight 
human rights abuses of specific countries. 
 
Keynote Speaker Acknowledges Progress and Challenges 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶6. (U) UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro 
(Tanzania) delivered the keynote address to the 51st Session 
of CSW on February 26.  Migiro stressed that CEDAW and the 
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action provide important 
groundwork for the progress of gender equality.  To address 
continuing violence against women and girls, Migiro called 
for rejection of violence, implementation of legal norms, 
prosecution of perpetrators, dedication of sufficient 
resources and full engagement of men and boys.  She concluded 
by affirming the Secretary-General's commitment to replace 
several current structures with one UN entity focused on 
gender equality and women's empowerment. 
 
General Discussion Commences with Empowerment of Women 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶7. (U) On February 28, the Commission discussed the crucial 
role of women's empowerment in reducing poverty, disease and 
discrimination.  The Special Adviser to the Secretary-General 
on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women reported that 
violence against women and girls is increasing.  The 
Executive Director of the UN Development Fund for Women 
(UNIFEM) argued that normative standards needed institutional 
support and resources to be effectively implemented and 
monitored.  The Director of the United Nations International 
Research and Training Institute of Women (INSTRAW) noted that 
women must have access to education and financial resources 
and must be included in government and community 
decision-making.  A representative of the UN Permanent Forum 
on Indigenous Issues made the case that more disaggregated 
data is necessary to adequately understand the situation of 
violence and discrimination against girls. 
 
Commission Considers Legal Strategies to Combat Violence 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶8. (U) On March 1, the Commission discussed how a robust set 
of laws would bolster the well-being of girls.  Since 
discrimination and violence against girls can take many 
forms, legislative action must cover a variety of areas such 
as combating trafficking, registering offenders, 
rehabilitating victims and criminalizing the exchange of 
exploitative images of children on the internet.  The 
Director of the Institute for Gender, Law and Development 
pointed out recent legislative advances in Latin America that 
further protect women, expand the definition of 
discrimination, punish perpetrators and enhance victims' 
assistance and prevention schemes.  Participants called for a 
unified global strategy regarding international issues like 
trafficking in persons.  Finally, the Executive Director of 
UNIFEM described the discrepancy between need and funding by 
stating that requests in 2006 totaled $119 million but only 
$2.5 million was available to fund programs combating 
violence against women. 
 
Commission Calls for Engagement of Men and Boys 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶9. (U) The Commission had a general debate and panel 
discussion March 2 on the issue of involving males in 
fighting discrimination and violence against women and girls. 
 Many speakers stressed that discrimination was not innate 
but learned and that ending discrimination would require 
teaching boys at an early age to respect women and girls. 
Gender sensitivity in school curricula has not been taken 
seriously enough, but efforts to encourage responsible sexual 
behavior have successfully increased the use of contraception 
and voluntary testing for sexually transmitted infections. 
Although partnerships with men have proven to be fruitful, 
challenges remain regarding incorporation of men because male 
peers, at times, can ridicule men who stand up for women's 
rights. 
 
Secretary-General Recognizes International Women's Day 
 
SIPDIS 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000228  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶10. (U) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the 
Commission on International Women's Day, March 8.  While he 
acknowledged that there are international standards and laws 
to help eliminate violence against women, the SG urged a move 
towards concrete actions.  He encouraged partnerships aimed 
at promoting greater access to education, closer adherence of 
practice to laws, deepened understanding of violence, 
incorporation of all parts of society and allocation of 
adequate resources.  The SG concluded by outlining tangible 
steps the UN can take to combat violence against women, such 
as the General Assembly devoting an annual agenda item to 
women and the Security Council establishing a mechanism to 
monitor such violence. 
 
General Assembly Convenes Women's Empowerment Session 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶11. (U) In the same spirit of the CSW, which is a commission 
of ECOSOC, the GA held a separate event on March 6 and 7 that 
included a high-level debate and panel discussions regarding 
women's empowerment, including microfinance and political 
participation.  Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the 
session by stating that only by fully empowering and engaging 
women is it possible to surmount current global challenges. 
US Under-Secretary Paula Dobriansky stressed the important 
role of women in building a prosperous and peaceful future 
and highlighted tangible progress like the Africa Education 
Initiative and the Middle East Partnership Initiative.  US 
Ambassador Shirin Tahir-Kheli, Senior Advisor to the 
Secretary of State for Women's Empowerment, also participated 
 
SIPDIS 
in the debate. 
WOLFF