United Nations Fifth World Conference on Women in 2015

JOINT ANNOUNCEMENT

BY SECRETARY GENERAL AND PRESIDENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY CALLS FOR 5WCW

Convening A 5th World Conference On Women (5WCW):

Vision Statement Urging the General Assembly Resolution

 

“The Fastest Way to Change Society is to Mobilize the Women of The World.”  Charles Malik, former President of the United Nations General Assembly

 

“If ever the world sees a time when women shall come together purely and simply for the benefit of mankind, it will be a power such as the world has never known.”  Matthew Arnold, 19th Century philosopher

March 8, 2012: On International Women’s Day, the President of the UN General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser and the Secretary-General of the United Nations H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon jointly proposed the convening of a United Nations Fifth World Conference on women in 2015, twenty years after the last women’s summit in Beijing.

Given that women compose the half of humanity and the inherent importance and relevance of women issues for the global progress, it is high time that such a world conference is convened, more so as the world is going through enormous changes in all fronts having both positive and other implications for women.

The President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General hope that the international community in general would welcome this joint initiative. They also hope that the Member-States who have the final authority to convene the proposed conference would take the necessary step in that regard during the on-going 66th session of the General Assembly.

For entire Joint Statement: http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=5904

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Send messages to heads of governments and UN ambassadors who can act on this. There is time (though short) before the General Assembly ends this summer for a General Assembly resolution. Mobilize individuals and organizations with power and influence to be heard by decision-makers.

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”

MOMENTUM GROWS FOR A UN 21ST CENTURY WOMEN’S CONFERENCE (5WCW)

March 6, 2012: Growing support for a UN 5th World Conference on Women (5WCW) was evident in the numbers of NGO delegates wearing large blue 5WCW buttons, and in speeches and panels during meetings of the 56th Commission on the Status of Women (February 27-March 9, 2012).

This grassroots campaign for begun in 2002, led by activist-author Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD, backed by four prominent ECOSOC Consultative Status NGOs, was joined by Ambassador Gertrude I. Mongella, Secretary-General of the Beijing Conference and first president of the Pan-African Parliament who came to New York specifically as a 5WCW advocate, and in the address by Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, former president of the Security Council, whose efforts led to the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325, the Women, Peace, and Security resolution.

Both respected leaders emphasized that new issues deeply concerning women have arisen since 1995: the rise of terrorism, climate change, food scarcity, lack of safe water, economic recession and its effect on women and girls. And that fears for undoing the Beijing Platform for Action, some of whose goals have been opposed by fundamentalist religious leaders should not stand in the way of all the benefits: inspiring a new generation of women leaders, energize the global women’s movement, reach people worldwide through technology to raise awareness of problems to women, new and available solutions.

With love, hope, optimism, perseverance and gratitude,

for a U.N. Sponsored 5th World Conference on Women

See 5WCW information and documents: http://5wcw.org