VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGV #0988/01 3101315
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061315Z NOV 09 ZDK
FM USMISSION GENEVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0057
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3173

UNCLAS GENEVA 000988 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR IO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM SOCI KWMN UNECE
SUBJECT:  ECE - Beijing+15 Regional Review Meeting 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY.  The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe 
(ECE) convened its "Beijing+15 Regional Review" meeting, November 
2-3, 2009, in Geneva.  The meeting will feed into next year's 
session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), to be 
held at UN headquarters on March 1-12, 2010.  The 2010 CSW will 
undertake as part of its work a fifteen-year review of the 
implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 
adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW), in 1995 
(Beijing+15 commemoration).  The main purpose of the ECE meeting was 
to take stock of the progress made in the region on gender equality 
and women's empowerment and to address the major challenges ahead. 
END SUMMARY. 
¶2.  France chaired the ECE Beijing+15 meeting, with Albania, Norway, 
and Ukraine serving as vice-chairs.  Jan Kubis, Executive Secretary 
of the ECE, and Carolyn Hannan, Director of the UN Division for the 
Advancement of Women, made opening remarks.  ECE members and 
representatives of accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) 
were invited to participate.  It should be noted that NGOs 
participated actively, and made several formal and informal 
statements.  The Beijing+15 review process includes the submission 
of national reports by UN member states, which are subsequently 
posted on the websites of the respective UN regional commissions. 
The U.S. report has been drafted and will be submitted to the ECE in 
the very near future. 
 
Remarks by Carolyn Hannan, Director, UN Division for the Advancement 
of Women 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶3.  In her opening remarks, Carolyn Hannan, speaking on behalf of 
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, highlighted significant events that 
will take place in 2010.  In addition to the CSW (March 1-12, at UN 
headquarters), there are the following: 
 
-- The Annual Ministerial Review of ECOSOC, in July, will focus on 
"Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in 
regard to gender equality and empowerment of women." 
-- The UN General Assembly will include a high-level event on women, 
in September. 
-- The 10th anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325 on 
Women, Peace, and Security, will occur in October. 
-- The 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Elimination of 
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the 10th 
anniversary of its Optional Protocol will occur in December. 
 
¶4.  Hannan highlighted progress in the UN over the last five years: 
-- In October 2006, the Secretary General's in-depth study on all 
forms of violence against women was launched in the UN General 
Assembly. 
-- In 2008, the Secretary General launched his UNiTE to end violence 
against women campaign, and has reached out to involve male 
organizations. 
-- In 2008 and 2009, Security Council Resolutions 1820, 1888, and 
1889 were adopted. 
-- In March 2009, the Secretary General launched his database on 
violence against women.  81 countries have provided input. 
-- The Interagency Task Force on violence against women has pilot 
projects in ten countries. 
-- The UN Trust Fund on violence against women continues to attract 
contributions. 
-- More states continue to ratify CEDAW and its Optional Protocol. 
-- Recent CSW Agreed Conclusions have contained concrete 
recommendations at the global and regional levels. 
-- Active women's groups and networks continue to be formed. 
 
¶5.  Hannan said further progress is needed in the following areas: 
 
-- combating violence against women in conflict and post-conflict 
situations; 
-- improving maternal health (MDG 5); 
-- increasing women's participation in decision-making, including 
increasing women's representation in national parliaments; 
-- increasing women's participation in economic decision-making, and 
their access to economic and financial resources, including land, 
property, and housing; 
-- lifting women out of poverty, as women are disproportionately 
represented in the informal sector or perform unpaid work. 
 
¶6.  Hannan also commented on the new composite gender entity, noting 
that a three-year process led to the adoption of UNGA Resolution 
63/311 on "System-Wide Coherence."  She reported that the Secretary 
General wants to move quickly on setting up a composite entity.  He 
looks to member states for decisions on the details of the entity by 
the 2010 CSW.  These would include specifics on the entity's 
staffing, funding, governance, and reporting lines. 
 
Statements by ECE members 
------------------------- 
 
¶7.  Statements by the ECE members highlighted advancements made and 
challenges remaining. 
 
Achievements mentioned by delegates included:  women's participation 
in the labor market; women's political participation at local 
levels; new or strengthened legislation on gender-based violence; 
and the creation or strengthening of institutional mechanisms on 
gender equality and women's empowerment. 
 
Remaining challenges included:  the gap between legislation and 
implementation; decent work for women and labor market segregation; 
the gender pay gap; the situation of migrant women and women 
belonging to minority groups; the persistence of gender stereotypes; 
the lack of sex-disaggregated quantitative and qualitative data; and 
the inclusion of men in advancing gender equality, including through 
better sharing of family responsibilities. 
 
U.S. Statement 
-------------- 
 
¶8.  The U.S. statement addressed recent trends, ongoing challenges, 
and areas on which we believe the United Nations and member states 
should focus:  violence against women in armed conflict and recent 
actions in the UN Security Council to counteract it; the growing 
realization that empowering women makes good economic sense and the 
need to strengthen public-private partnerships; the increasing 
realization of the need to involve "non-traditional" 
allies-including men and religious leaders-in combating violence 
against women; the need not only to adopt laws on women's equality 
but also to vigorously implement them; and the need for all 
countries to muster up political will.  The U.S. statement will be 
available on the U.S. Mission Geneva website, www.us-mission.ch, as 
well as on the ECE website www.unece.org. 
 
¶9.  In addition to statements by governmental and NGO participants, 
the ECE meeting contained panel discussions on three topics:  (1) 
gender-sensitive economic policies in the context of the economic 
and financial crisis; (2) gender and the corporate sector; and (3) 
new partnerships, networks, and alliances for gender equality. 
 
Outcome 
------- 
 
¶10.  The outcome of the meeting was a non-negotiated document 
entitled "Chairperson's Conclusions" that presented the Chair's 
summary of the discussions along with his recommendations for 
further action.  His recommendations included:  enforcing 
legislation against gender-based violence; defending the rights of 
women migrant workers and those working in the informal sector; 
engaging a wide range of actors, including NGOs and the private 
sector; reconciling work and family responsibilities; and promoting 
a gender-sensitive analysis of the impact of the financial crisis. 
Several delegations, including the United States, suggested minor 
revisions to the Chair's text (most of which were accepted).  The 
ECE member states joined consensus on this document.  The Chair 
clarified that the document reflected the discussion and 
recommendations put forth during the session, but that not all the 
ECE member states agreed with all the proposals put forward.  The 
Chairperson's Conclusions will also be available on the ECE website. 
 
 
¶11.  The U.S. delegation to the ECE Beijing+15 Regional Review 
Meeting cleared this report. 
GRIFFITHS #