UN Conference on Women
In September 1995, in Beijing, the fourth UN world conference on women will take place. It was preceded by conferences of the different "economic regions" of the UN. As has become usual, an NGO conterence will take place parallel to the official one. During the first three conferences, this type of forum brought together many women. Will this be the same this time, and what can be expected?
by Marie-Annick Vigan
Cahiers du Féminisme, Summer 1995
THE FIRST UN CONFERENCE ON WOMEN took place in Mexico, during the international year of the women, in 1975. This allowed the adoption, in 1979, of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women: of the 180 members of the United Nations, 138 are now signatories. The following conferences emphasised more strongly education, work, and health (in Copenhagen), promotion, liberation, and the use of their human rights (in Nairobi). This time the objectives defined are the following: to adopt a platform for action centred on some major problems that delay the promotion of women in the world: education, health, economic, social, and political life, women's image in the media, elimination of violence against them. The representatives of the whole world, from September 4 to 15, will attempt to agree on a platform of action in favour of the promotion of women, under the motto "Equality, Development, and Peace". In the light of the situation of women 20 vears after the first conference. one can only be very doubtful of such top-level summits. Ms. Mongella, secretary-general of the conference, has herself warned against a platform of action that would be a fictitious victory for women, if the financial means and the appropriate mechanisms where not set up for its implementation: "If the institutions... are not adopted and do not establish a mode of implementation, it will have no result. In institutional terms, there has been almost no follow-up to the Nairobi conference and... a lot of the lack of progress 6 International Viewpoint n° 269 — September 1995 comes from there." Today, more than ever, it is clear that women are a political, economic, and ideological issue, and "the interest of the state" come first. For France, for instance, a co-ordination mission has been set up in December 1993. Led by Hélene Gisserot, an national committee including representatives of the authorities, of federations of women's associations, of elected politicians, and of "experts" of various backgrounds, has drawn up a report: Les Femmes en France (Women in France) 1985 - 1995, addressed to the United Nations in July 1994. Though the description of the current situation of women is very interesting, the solutions suggested are a reflection of those proposed by the French government (see, in this issue, the article on the official report). They cannot satisfy us. OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS, religious propaganda has intensified, and many states with religious constitutions lead real lobby work against women. The pope and the imams of various affiliations are trying, often with success, to impose a reactionary discourse. Remember that the Vatican is often, officially, only an observer at such meetings, but that it does not abstain from exerting strong pressures, as we saw at the World Conference on Population in Cairo. Four regional conferences were held to prepare the conference in Beijing, followed by a synthesis meeting in New York, in April 1995. The four regions are Asia-Pacific,
Latin America and Middle-East, Africa, and Europe. The UN divisions may seem comical, when one knows that Europe includes both eastern Europe and north America (United States and Canada). The European conference was held in Vienna in October 1994. The French delegation was composed of Hélene Giserot and her administrative workers, four representatives of the federations of women's associations, the CLEF (Co-ordination of the European Women's Lobby), where some feminists gather but is dominated by the women's associations, the CNFF (National Council of French Women), an old organisation dating to the turn of the century, the CNIDFF (National Centre for Information and Documentation of Women and Families), a governmental institution, not particularly active in the defence of women's rights. In short, the women's representation was a reflection of what one could expect from the Balladur government, then in power. Some NGOs are entitled to attend governmental meetings, in France, for instance, the Alliance of Women for Democracy or Young Women (originally Protestant organisation). We already know that the few advances made in the writing of the final texts in Vienna were erased in New York. Decisions must be reached unanimously, which allowed the representative of Malta to put her veto on the proposition of a Swiss group to include the right to abortion as a fundamental human right. Many official organisation seem not to be willing to go beyond the text adopted in Cairo on population, according to which "the necessity of planing is part of the control of demography, an essential part of development". The final text, officially presented in Beijing, is not available to date; everything indicates that it will really be NGO forum: a platform for feminists? Can the NGO fora that precede all these conferences make up for these deficiencies, stand up to these decisions that are contrary to the interests of the majority of women? The majority of NGOs are not feminist organisations, some are even openly reactionary. It seems that the presence of religious fundamentalists (particularly in Latin America) has become stronger in some of these associations. However, the role of NGOs has grown in the last years, and the debate on their utility should be deepened. The non-governmental aspect of these organisations can be attacked, when one knows that 40 percent of the income of the rich country NGOs come from public subsidies. The ties with local or donating governments cannot be ignored. Many contradictions face them on political grounds, especially as far as women's status is concerned; poverty, a curse for women, is often the result of a political process, so the question arises for NGOs: should one only alleviate pain or should one actively participate in the transformation of society, should one select the medium term or the immediate for one's actions? The organisations of the South and the North are often very different. Perhaps the consequences of such conferences are greater for the developing countries. All this makes it possible to say that it is definitely interesting to have a confrontation with the representatives of these organisations that act in the field, but that we should not have any illusions about the possibilities of co-ordinated action on the scale of continents, in the context of a forum under the banner of the UN. Real political disagreements divide these organisations. The Europe conference shows that the limits are quickly attained. All organisations that had the means to pay for the trip could participate, and only a few eastern European orga-
CHINA * nisations had their costs refunded. Therefore, Vienna hosted groups that were more feminine than feminist, not very militant, and even less involved in the great struggles. One can imagine that in other, poorer regions, the selection by resources is stronger yet. Also, the feminists imagined organising a "train for Beijing", taking on more women in each station. The idea is seductive, but who can be away for so long, and who can afford such a trip? The supremacy of Anglo-Saxon and American organisations was also revealed in the choice of languages in the commissions: English, which will cause the protest of the Spanish participants in the plenary sessions. In this kind of forum, one finds the near-professional activists of the large American NGOs. Contradictions are nonetheless expressed. For instance, in the abortion workshop, the friends from CADAC (Co-ordination for the Right to Abortion and Contraception) had to fight hard to obtain the right to free abortion, as this is not very compatible with the American health system. The difficulty, for the 1,500 participants spread out among the many workshops, to possess a global vision and to control the final text makes the democratic process unpredictable, with the experienced ones basically making the decisions. One may wonder whether the NGO forum is not only there to channel and eliminate the demands that are too disturbing. Beijing: a disputable and disputed location Lastly, a new problem related to the choice of the country by the UN authorities has recently arisen. The government of Beijing is definitely very glad to benefit from the political and economic externalities of such an international conference, but is not willing to make the necessary commitments. The NGO forum is to be held at more than 60 km from Beijing, with almost no possibility of encountering the local women's organisation, with very little contact with the outside world. Less than 50 NGOs will be allowed, which strongly limits the possible exchanges. Already, many visas have been refused. Instead of the 30,000 women initially expected, it seems more likely that China will accept the entry of only 1,700. Straightforward bans await the Tibetan and Taiwanese organisations, as well as the lesbian organisations. It is now clear that feminists will be a minority in Beijing, even at the NGO conference. Other voices and opinions have to be expressed. Amnesty International has published a report on the plight of women in 75 countries, pointing to three situations that put them particularly in danger: wars and armed conflicts, repression of their militant activities, and sexist discrimination. Amnesty intends to collaborate with - independent - human rights organisations that have carried out grassroots activities. It would perhaps be more effective for feminists to all express their opinions similarly independently. It is utopian to imagine that feminist organisations can, on their own, organise such a meeting, but each country should make use of the media echo that such a conference will definitely have. To use the institutions without be absorbed is always a difficult project.
International Viewpoint n° 269 — September 1995 7
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