Negotiations on Women's Human Rights
A representative from the Human Rights Caucus reported on the developments in the negotiations on the sections of the Outcome Document directly related to women's human rights. Concern was expressed over the trend to diminish the recognition of the human rights of women as a focal issue of the BPFA. The focus on national accountability and sovereignty in the negotiations has undermined the importance and value of international monitoring and international accountability, specifically in the issue women's human rights. It was further reported that there is hardly any language on references to all the human rights agreements, treaties and conventions in the Outcome Document. The Outcome Document hardly refers to CEDAW and the Optional Protocol, two legally binding agreements on women's human rights. The BPFA is not a legally-binding document.
Making the World Bank Accountable to Women
The NGO Coordinating Committee has announced that it will draft a letter to the World Bank to be presented to the WB president who will be at the UNGASS by the end of the week. The letter will urge the WB to commit to the following by 2005:
- all resources allocated to structural adjustment programmes must be reduced to 50%, without any negative effects on women
- there must be a significant increase in allocation for poor and marginalised women
- the WB must take gender issues in its agenda and staff, systematically
