Dusk approaches in Yangon, Myanmar. Credit: Unsplash/Alexander Schimmeck

By Noeleen Heyzer
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 27 2022 (IPS)

The political, human rights and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar continues to take a catastrophic toll on the people, with serious regional implications.

More than 13.2 million people are food insecure, about 40 percent of the population is living below the poverty line and 1.3 million are internally displaced. Military operations continue with disproportionate use of force including aerial bombings, burning of civilian structures, and the killing of civilians including children.

I condemn the indiscriminate airstrikes on a celebration in Kachin State that killed large numbers of civilians days ago. The People’s Defence Forces are also accused of targeting civilians.

The plight of the Rohingya people, along with other forcefully displaced communities, remains desperate, with many seeking refuge through dangerous land and sea journeys. The price of impunity is a grave reminder that accountability remains essential.

Since the release of the Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Myanmar, violence between the Arakan Army and the military in Rakhine has escalated to levels not seen since late 2020, with significant cross-border incursions, endangering all communities, harming conditions for durable return, and prolonging the burden on Bangladesh as host of about 1 million Rohingya refugees.

As the Myanmar crisis deepens, I continue to promote a coordinated international strategy, in line with my mandate, engaging all stakeholders for an inclusive Myanmar-led process to return to the democratic transition.

A child looks after his younger sibling in Myanmar. Credit: World Bank/Tom Cheatham

My first visit to Myanmar as Special Envoy in August to meet the military’s Commander-in-Chief was part of broader efforts by the UN to urgently support a return to civilian rule based on the will and needs of the people.

I made six requests during the visit: ending aerial bombing and burning of civilian infrastructure; delivery of humanitarian assistance without discrimination; the release of all children and political prisoners; a moratorium on executions; the well-being of and engagement with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

I also highlighted Myanmar’s responsibility for creating conducive conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees. Soon after, I visited Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar on the five-year anniversary of the Rohingya’s mass displacement, where I expressed the United Nations’ appreciation for Bangladesh’s generosity and heeded Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s statements that the current situation is unsustainable.

A highlight of the visit was my discussions with women and youth in the refugee camps. They made it clear that they need to be engaged directly in discussions and decisions about their future.

Their rights and protection, in particular their citizenship, freedom of movement and security, must be guaranteed, guided by the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. Going forward, I will continue to strengthen co-operation with ASEAN and engagement with all stakeholders.

While there is little room for the de-escalation of violence or for “talks about talks” in the present zero-sum situation, there are some concrete ways to reducing the suffering of the people. Recognizing that many more people will be forced to flee the violence,

I will continue to urge ASEAN to develop a regional protection framework for refugees and forcefully displaced persons. The recent forced return of Myanmar nationals, some of whom were detained on arrival, underlines the urgency of a coordinated ASEAN response to address shared regional challenges caused by the conflict.

Education and skills development are powerful tools to prepare Rohingya refugees for their return to Myanmar, which I continue to advocate, working closely with leaders of ASEAN and neighbouring countries as well as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Key Ethnic Armed Organizations and the National Unity Government have together appealed for me to convene an Inclusive Forum for engagement to facilitate protection and humanitarian assistance to ALL people in need, in observance of International Humanitarian Law.

I have also initiated a women, peace and security (WPS) platform on Myanmar with the Foreign Minister of Indonesia to amplify the needs of women affected by the conflict, and their leadership as agents of change.

To conclude, there is a new political reality in Myanmar: a people demanding change, no longer willing to accept military rule. I will continue to appeal to all governments and other key stakeholders to listen to the people and be guided by their will to prevent deeper catastrophe in the heart of Asia.

Noeleen Heyzer, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar, in her address to the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee 25 October 2022

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By Noeleen Heyzer and Anis Chowdhury
Bangkok and Sydney, Apr 24 2017 (IPS)

“The despised, the insulted, the hurt, the dispossessed—in short, the underdogs of the human race were meeting. … Who had thought of organizing such a meeting? And what had these nations in common? Nothing, it seemed to me, but what their past relationship to the Western world had made them feel. This meeting of the rejected was in itself a kind of judgment upon the Western world!.”

—Richard Wright, The Color Curtain [University Press of Mississippi, 1956].

This is how Richard Wright, a novelist saw the gathering of leaders from 29 African and Asian nations at Bandung (Indonesia) on 18-25 April, 1955 of 29.

Noeleen Heyzer

“What can we do? We can do much! We can inject the voice of reason into world affairs. We can mobilize all the spiritual, all the moral, all the political strength of Asia and Africa on the side of peace. Yes, we! We, the peoples of Asia and Africa, …, we can mobilize what I have called the Moral Violence of Nations in favour of peace.

The Bandung declaration

The final communiqué expressed, “general desire for economic co-operation among the participating countries on the basis of mutual interest and respect for national sovereignty”; “agreed to provide technical assistance to one another”; “recognized the vital need for stabilizing commodity trade”; recommended that: “Asian-African countries should diversify their export trade by processing their raw material, wherever economically feasible, before export”; promote “intraregional trade”; and provide “facilities for transit trade of land-locked countries”.

The rise of the Third World and demand for a New International Economic Order

Anis Chowdhury

The NIEO declaration was, in effect, a call for shared and differentiated responsibility for equitable development.

Unfortunately, many aspects of the NIEO were never implemented. While the developing countries sought strategic integration with the global economy using trade and industry policies, they were advised to accept unfettered liberalization and privatization, which saw increased volatility and financial crises often disproportionately disadvantaging them. The aid conditionality of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank included straight-jacketed package of so-called “sound policies” that emphasized deregulation and a diminished role for the State. This drastically reduced state capability and developing countries’ policy space to deal with crises, pursue their developmental aspirations and achieve structural transformation.

Through the experience of the Latin American debt crisis in the 1980s and the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, the countries of the South have realized that they have to create their own policy space and craft out policies based on their own circumstances. Thus, they managed to grow steadily over the last two decades and were able to weather the 2008-2009 Great Recession remarkably well to anchor the global economic recovery.

The Global South is no longer a collection of “despised, the insulted, the hurt, the dispossessed—in short, the underdogs”; they are the drivers of global economy.

Global South’s fault-lines

However, the issues facing developing countries are more complex now. They are faced with issues of inequalities and insecurities which affect social cohesion; climate change and uneven competition in global markets when key global negotiations on trade and climate change have broken down. They also face the potential danger of weakening of solidarity as the members of the Global South seek different interests.

It does not help when governance failure occurs in a number of the developing countries; when some are ripped apart by violent internal or regional conflicts, or manipulated because of rising extremisms of many sorts. Corruptions, lack of accountability and trembling of human rights are affront to the aspirations of independence and hinder the fulfilment of development and dignity for all. The governance failures and divided societies within have also weakened the developing South’s ability to deal with issues of international governance in the globalizing world, and our common future even with “Rising Asia”.

Reclaiming the Bandung spirit

Time has come for the rising Global South to collectively work for the unfinished business of a new international economic order that today has to take a more integrated and universal approach for people, planet and prosperity as highlighted in the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development goals (SDGs); to stabilize commodity prices; to improve export incomes; to ensure food security; to demand improved access to markets in developed countries; to put a stop to siphoning off capital through dubious transfer pricing arrangements of multinational corporations and international tax havens; to eliminate the instability of the international monetary system; to ensue full and effective participation in all decision-making in all global bodies, including the IMF and the World Bank, and in formulating an equitable and durable monetary system.

However, the developing South must lead by putting its own house in order; improve democratic governance, respect human rights especially women’s human rights, and ensure wider freedom of its own citizen to re-establish legitimacy and trust through a new social contract that responds to the needs and hopes of all citizens, not just in form but in substance.

In the spirit of Bandung, they have to work together for the prosperity of their people and to protect humanity’s common good, especially our planet. They should recall the message, “All of us … are united by more important things than those which superficially divide us. … And we are united by a common determination to preserve and stabilize peace in the world. . . .”

It is time to come together and advance together to address the risks and challenges that confront our world and harness the opportunities to build a more inclusive and sustainable future of shared prosperity. Only then can we sing:

A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore! (Longfellow; from President Sukarno’s opening speech).

Excerpt:

By Marwaan Macan-Markar and Noeleen Heyzer
BANGKOK, Nov 20 2009 (IPS)

Nearly 15 years after a landmark international conference to advance the rights and freedoms of women, the picture in the Asia-Pacific region is mixed, says a leading women’s rights advocate and senior United Nations official.

While educated women and those with skills “can go as far as they want,” it is a different reality for those who come from Asia’s poorer millions. “There have never been cracks in the glass ceiling for many women in poor rural areas,” says Noeleen Heyzer, head of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), a U.N. regional body based in Bangkok.

A similarly mixed picture appears with the push to strengthen the cause of women through the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), a U.N. treaty that has been ratified by 186 countries. While lawmakers and governments have embraced this international convention, culture and traditional beliefs have placed roadblocks.

Most disturbing for Heyzer is the region’s troubling record to slash the maternal mortality rates, the fifth goal in a set of eight development targets pledged by world leaders to be achieved by 2015. At a U.N. summit in 2000, the Millennium Development Goal for maternal mortality aimed to reduce by three-fourths the maternal mortality cases in 1990 by 2015.

Today, the Asia-Pacific region accounts for close to half of the nearly 500,000 maternal deaths recorded annually across the world.

“There is no reason why so many women have to die,” says Heyzer, who is also the former head of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) before her appointment two years ago to head ESCAP. “The figures are shocking, especially in a region where you have economic powerhouses.”

Heyzer spoke with IPS after the end of a three-day regional meeting here this week, where senior government officials, policy makers and activists met to review progress, highlight achievements and share stories in preparation for the 15-year review of the 1995 world conference on women held in Beijing

IPS: You have just finished a high-level meeting to review progress in the Asia and Pacific region nearly 15 years after the groundbreaking world conference in Beijing to advance the rights of women. Have all countries embraced this international policy shift and gone beyond empty promises? NOELEEN HEYZER: Very much so. Firstly we have all the countries in this region except four that have adopted CEDAW. What has also been very good is that countries have gone ahead to shape their own national action plans to combat violence against women. They are Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, the Philippines and Thailand. It is so different from 15 years ago when ending violence against women was not on anyone’s agenda. It was stigmatised. There was so much silence around it.

IPS: So there is more space today to discuss issues concerning women that you could not openly discuss in the mid-1990s? NH: Yes. The situation of rape as a weapon of war and sexual violence during conflicts are very much on the agenda today. But there is also recognition and acceptance that you need to invest in women when you are looking at peace building in post-conflict situations.

Women have to be at the peace table. It is not just about bringing warlords to the peace table, because women help to build communities and peace at the local level. Now women are part of the solution to help in the post-conflict recovery process.

IPS: But reaching this point has not been easy, as many women’s rights activists have admitted. In which area in this region have there been greater hurdles to secure the rights and greater freedoms for women—the political or cultural and social landscape? NH: The cultural landscape has been more challenging. There have been excuses on violence against women, where culture is used. This is why the (U.N.) secretary-general (Ban Ki-moon) has led the effort to launch a global campaign to end violence against women. He is calling for men to take on a strong role and to lead this effort.

IPS: How is this campaign playing out in Asia? NH: There are many countries where there is growing acceptance about redefining the role of masculinity and the role of culture. In Indonesia there are communities where the men are emerging to talk about how they prevent violence against women and how they increase their voices on this issue. But until laws are implemented and until there are resources, it will not be a full success.

IPS: But to turn your attention to politics, one of the goals that emerged out of the Beijing conference was to increase the representation of women in parliament. The benchmark was to have women make up 30 percent of legislative bodies in countries. But the record is far from that, somewhere around 18 percent. Why? NH: This region is not doing well in this area. There are only two countries – Nepal and New Zealand – which have parliaments where more than 30 percent of the representatives are women. There is still a lot to be done.

Many women are not that enthusiastic in participating in the political sphere; they prefer the economic sphere or other areas of life. And politics is not easy in the Asia-Pacific region. It is very much tied in with money, with networking, a demand on time.

As long as you have a division of labour where women do not have time, where women suffer from time poverty, not just income poverty, this target will be a challenge. And it is not so much governments but the culture of the political system and how society has constructed itself.

IPS: One of the Millennium Development Goals seeks to slash maternal mortality by 2015. But the figures in this region are troubling. Doesn’t this go against the spirit and hope of the Beijing women’s conference? NH: This is one of the saddest cases. There is no reason why so many women have to die. The figures are shocking, especially in a region where you have economic powerhouses. This is linked with the disparity in our region. This region is still home to the largest number of poor people, especially the rural poor.

The lack of investment in health care and in a social protection system is a factor. And even when you do have access to a health care system it is not easy for women to access them, because if there is insufficient income security when some of the poorest households have to make decisions involving the life of women, of a girl-child, it is the woman or the girl-child who gets sacrificed. The lack of health care systems reveals how a woman’s worth is undervalued.

IPS: Is this an urban phenomenon or one that affects rural communities? NH: The rural poor have not been a priority concern, and investment in the agriculture sector is low. But it is not just rural communities—there are indigenous communities, remote communities up in the mountains. The affected women come from areas that have been marginalised.

Excerpt:

By Thalif Deen and Noeleen Heyzer
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 12 2009 (IPS)

As the economic meltdown spreads to the far corners of the world, developing nations are increasingly strengthening their social and economic ties, bolstering the growing new concept of South-South cooperation – in trade, investment, transport, health care, education, climate change, communications and disaster reduction.

Noeleen Heyzer Credit: Willa Shalit

The current financial crisis has triggered increased regional and inter-regional cooperation both among developing nations and between developed and developing nations, says Under-Secretary-General Noeleen Heyzer, executive secretary of the Bangkok-based U.N. Economic and Social Comission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

"In my view," she said in an interview with U.N. Bureau Chief Thalif Deen, "the main thrust of South-South cooperation in the 21st century should be to address growing disparities within the region and within countries".

"The main potential for South-South cooperation in Asia-Pacific lies in effective policy measures to promote inclusive and equitable growth, and political commitment to achieve a fair distribution of the development benefits," said Heyzer, a national of Singapore and a former executive director of the U.N. Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

Excerpts from the interview follow.

IPS: The 10-member ASEAN, with a combined GDP of 1 trillion dollars and a market of 550 million people, is touted as one of the world's most successful regional organisations working towards social and economic integration. Are there any other Asian regional organisations that are set to follow in the footsteps of ASEAN? NH: Regional economic cooperation in the Asian and Pacific region is a relatively recent phenomenon, starting in 1967 with ASEAN where promoting peace was the key objective for the first 10 years. After the Bali Summit in 1976, the focus widened to include economic and social cooperation, including the creation of an ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.

The Pacific Islands Forum representing heads of governments of all independent and self- governing Pacific islands, was formed in 1971 to cooperate on political and economic concerns, with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat set up as a Trade Bureau that later expanded to cover a range of other development concerns.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established in December 1985 comprising seven countries, and its initial focus covered agriculture, rural development, telecommunications, meteorology and health and population activities, but these incrementally expanded to a number of other areas including trade.

In North and Central Asia, the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO), first established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, and was later expanded in 1991 to include seven new members from Central Asia that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. Its focus is on promoting economic cooperation.

The most recent is the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) founded in 2001 by six countries to deal with security-related concerns but also involved cooperation in a number of economic and social areas.

Among all the subregional organisations in Asia-Pacific, ASEAN has been making progress towards greater economic and social integration. The organisation recently adopted a new charter which outlines the core values and vision for the organisation. Even within ASEAN, greater economic and social integration has been challenged by the development disparities and gaps existing among its 10 member states.

Thus, unlike other regions Asia-Pacific has no regional architecture, and ESCAP is the only intergovernmental platform covering the entire Asia-Pacific region with a comprehensive and inclusive membership, and can play an important role in forging cooperation between the subregions for shared progress and prosperity in the region as a whole.

IPS: In what areas are the key success stories of South-South cooperation in the Asia- Pacific region? NH: The Asia-Pacific region has witnessed many success stories on South-South cooperation in the past decade. I would like to just highlight a few of them.

Trade and investment: We have seen expanded trade and increased capital flows within the region, along with various forms of South-to-South development assistance. A prime example of South-South cooperation in trade is the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), for which ESCAP serves as the secretariat. Formerly known as the Bangkok Agreement, it is the oldest regional trade agreement in Asia and the Pacific. It groups countries at different stages of development, which enhances the potential for trade between them. Current members are: Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, Sri Lanka and the Republic of Korea.

ESCAP also serves as the secretariat for the Asia-Pacific Research and training Network on Trade (ARTNet), which promotes the sharing of trade-related information and research findings among developing countries in the region.

Disaster risk reduction (DRR): The Asia-Pacific region is one of the most disaster-prone regions. Regional and subregional networks have been developed to facilitate South-South learning in disaster risk reduction. With support from ESCAP and the UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, a Regional South-South Cooperation Mechanism for DRR was established in late 2007 by 10 pilot countries. Indonesia serves as the interim secretariat for the regional mechanism.

Recently, ESCAP brought together a number of countries in Asia to share experiences and good practices learnt from dealing with the Asian Tsunami, cyclones as well earthquakes within the region to assist Myanmar in dealing with the recovery and reconstruction needs in the areas devastated by Cyclone Nargis.

Transport: ESCAP facilitated the intergovernmental agreements on the Asian Highway Network and the Trans-Asian Railway Network. These two transport networks are expected to contribute to reduction of poverty and disparity through improved access to socioeconomic opportunities and services, including basic health and education, market and employment.

Social policy development and social protection: Many countries in the ESCAP region have been leaders in according primacy to social development, including through social protection and universal health-care coverage, even in times of slow economic growth.

This allowed them to build a strong base for equitable and inclusive economic progress. ESCAP serves as a forum for sharing these regional experiences and good practices for the benefit of other countries in the region. The need for strong public policies and social protection systems has been further highlighted by the current financial and economic crisis where millions have lost their jobs and livelihoods in the real economy.

ESCAP has also played an important role in building the capacity of member states to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), by using the experiences of "on-track" countries to benefit "off-track" countries, especially in the areas of health, education and livelihoods.

Excerpt:

By Noeleen Heyzer and - -
NEW YORK, Aug 16 2007 (IPS)

The lengthy prison terms for war crimes and crimes against humanity handed down by the Special Court for Sierra Leone on 19 July have been greeted with widespread praise; two senior members of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council were sentenced to 50 years in prison and another to 45 years for atrocities committed during the country\’s civil war, including rape, writes Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director, United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). In this article, the author writes that calling senior military leaders to account for sexual crimes against women is a historic achievement that reaffirms the recognition that rape is among the gravest violations of international law, on par with acts of mass murder and terrorism. It is hoped these sentences will help bolster the capacity of local courts to convict the thousands of lower-ranking rapists who walk free. This is indeed the best hope for resurrecting the rule of law in a war-ravaged nation. Regrettably, international support for the rehabilitation of justice systems and the rule of law has not prioritised women\’s access to justice, which has generally been sidelined in favor of market-oriented reform, such as revising corporate laws to improve the investment climate. We must act urgently ensure that laws on paper are matched by action.

Calling senior military leaders to account for sexual crimes against women is a historic achievement. These sentences reaffirm the recognition that rape is among the gravest violations of international law, on par with acts of mass murder and terrorism. The precedent set by the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, as well as the investigations into Central African Republic and Darfur being conducted by International Criminal Court, suggests that post-conflict justice for sexual violence may at last be becoming the rule rather than the exception.

Yet during the 11 years of brutal civil war in Sierra Leone, more than 50 percent of the country’s women and girls suffered sexual violence. Five years later, only eleven suspects have been indicted. This means that thousands of women will never see their rapists brought to justice. Instead, they will continue to see them in the streets, parks, and marketplaces of their communities. For these women, there is no closure to the trauma of war-time rape. Peace brings no peace of mind. And there is no equality before the law.

The women of Sierra Leone look to the Special Court as an emblem of hope for ending impunity. But beyond the high-profile cases that the Court is mandated to take on, it is also hoped that these sentences will help bolster the capacity of local courts to convict the thousands of lower-ranking rapists who walk free. This is indeed the best hope for resurrecting the rule of law in a war-ravaged nation.

Regrettably, international support for the rehabilitation of justice systems and the rule of law has not prioritised women’s access to justice, which has generally been sidelined in favor of market-oriented reform, such as revising corporate laws to improve the investment climate. Such an approach overlooks the fact that age-old social and economic inequalities – including those between women and men – are often the root causes of conflict, instability, or economic stagnation. So while provisions for prosecuting rape are firmly established in international law, a lack of political will and financial support leads to foot-dragging. For women living in the midst of their tormentors, justice delayed is more than justice denied; it is terror continued.

We must act urgently ensure that laws on paper are matched by action. Appalled by reports from clinics in war-torn countries of genital injuries caused by rape and aware of the need for global action, twelve UN organisations, including UNIFEM, have come together in the UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict. Alongside women’s groups and NGOs worldwide we are working to break the silence surrounding sexual abuse, build communities that say no to violence against women, and enhance women’s access to justice.

For centuries, women have borne the guilt and taint of rape in the absence of any formal attribution of liability. Now, the prospect of consistent, expedient justice according to law places this burden squarely where it belongs: with the perpetrators. The sentences in Sierra Leone remind us that by calling for the effective prosecution of every perpetrator regardless of rank, we can all contribute to making rape a rule of law priority in national and international courts, in times of war and peace. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS)

Excerpt:

By Noeleen Heyzer and - -
NEW YORK, Nov 20 2006 (IPS)

Violence against women during conflict has become an international scandal, writes Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM), on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, November 25. In this article, the author writes that violence against women is not limited to conflict and post-conflict situations; it is a daily reality for millions of women, in all ranks of life, in every country in the world. This violence, because it is so ordinary, does not provoke the same response–either at the international, the national or the local level. To make matters worse, in many cases, women no longer trust the courts and police to help deal with this violence because their experience with legal and law enforcement institutions has shown them that the gender bias and indifference which gives rise to such violence simply runs too deep. What women have learned in almost two decades of work to end violence against women is that change is possible. It requires engaging men in transforming power relationships and working at multiple levels and across sectors to address the social and economic causes of gender violence and the links between violence, poverty, and conflict.

But violence against women is not limited to conflict and post-conflict situations; it is a daily reality for millions of women, in all ranks of life, in every country in the world. This violence, because it is so ordinary, does not provoke the same response, either at the international, the national, or the local level. To make matters worse, in many cases, women no longer trust the courts and police to help deal with this violence because their experience with legal and law enforcement institutions has shown them that the gender bias and indifference which gives rise to such violence simply runs too deep.

In mid-November, after years of struggle, women’s rights activists in Pakistan succeeded in getting rape laws amended to eliminate the need for four male witnesses, so that women can bring such charges to court without themselves being charged with adultery. It may take years more for women to feel safe in doing so, however, wherever they may live. In some countries, women who have been raped are stoned or beaten or even killed so that family ‘honour’ can be avenged, community vengeance enacted, social harmony restored. In many more, violence against women by husbands or partners is regarded as normal, and women who report such violence are subject to further abuse from those they appeal to. Without support from police or judicial officials, community or religious leaders, where can they turn?

Gender-based violence –and the failure to stop it– reflects deeply-rooted patterns of gender inequality and discrimination that run throughout the political, economic, and social norms and institutions of society and permeate the attitudes of communities and families. For this reason, it sometimes seems that the multiple forms of violence that women face, both during conflict and in times of peace, will continue with no end in sight.

The truth is that the end is already in sight. What women have learned in almost two decades of work to end violence against women is that change is possible. It requires engaging men in transforming power relationships and working at multiple levels and across sectors to address the social and economic causes of gender violence and the links between violence, poverty, and conflict. The UN Trust Fund to Eliminate Violence against Women, which UNIFEM manages, supports coordinated strategies for on-the-ground implementation of the legislative provisions against domestic violence that now exist in 89 countries. These include campaigns to raise awareness of existing laws and to align these with human rights principles; analysing budgets and ensuring allocations needed to implement laws; working with judicial, law enforcement, and health officials to facilitate the creation of women-friendly legal and law enforcement systems; and supporting women’s rights advocates to maintain a watching brief on the extent to which laws and policies are making a difference.

For example, in Rwanda, UNIFEM’s support for women leaders has helped to promote women’s perspectives in government policies and within parliament, the judiciary and the police-letting them know that violence is unacceptable. Years of advocacy by women parliamentarians and civil society groups resulted in the passage of a measure to outlaw gender-based violence, with penalties for those found guilty. Local court judges were sensitised to the gender power relations that make it difficult for women to meet demands for witnesses to rape and sexual violence so that women are able to access justice under this law.

A genuine end to ongoing violence against women lies in constitutions with strong and clear guarantees of gender equality. It is to be found in legal reforms that ensure equality in marriage and family relations, in property ownership, and in equal access to secure employment and livelihoods. It depends on women being supported to participate in elections as voters and candidates and in ensuring their equal representation in all facets of government. It relies on judicial processes that fully ensure and protect women’s entitlements on a basis of equality with men. And it requires bringing to justice those who violate women’s human rights so that women can begin to trust the institutions of justice and law enforcement that have too often let them down.

We owe it to women everywhere to adopt these strategies on a scale that can bring the vision of a life free of violence for all women within dazzlingly plain sight.(END/COPYRIGHT IPS)

Excerpt:

By Noeleen Heyzer and - -
NEW YORK, Sep 9 2005 (IPS)

The 2005 World Summit confronts us with a challenge: world leaders must either find the will to work together to make the vision of the Millennium Declaration a reality for people everywhere, or millions of people will be left to live in deprivation and fear, writes Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). In this analysis, Heyzer writes that UNIFEM focuses a spotlight on the links between poverty and gender inequality and the role of employment in reducing or perpetuating both. In the developing world, with the exception of North Africa, women are not only concentrated in informal employment, but also in the more precarious forms of informal employment, where earnings are meagre and highly unreliable. Not achieving these goals is unthinkable. Widening gaps between rich and poor, and between women and men, can only contribute to greater insecurity and violence in the world. Above all else, economic priorities must be re-ordered to focus on employment rather than simply growth, looking at the needs of women as workers, not only as citizens or members of a vulnerable group.

The 2005 World Summit confronts us with a challenge: world leaders must either find the will to work together to make the vision of the Millennium Declaration a reality for people everywhere, or millions of people will be left to live in deprivation and fear.

At the same time, however, the Summit provides an opportunity to show that these problems can be successfully tackled and people’s lives changed. We know what needs to be done. Over the last five years, governments, scholars, and civil society have agreed on strategies and priorities to achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). They have recognised, along with the Millennium Declaration, that central to their success is achieving gender equality, which is a key pathway to reducing poverty and hunger and stimulating sustainable development. The critical need is for implementation and action.

This month, in line with the renewed commitment to poverty elimination, UNIFEM focuses a spotlight on the links between poverty and gender inequality and the role of employment in reducing or perpetuating both. Progress of the World’s Women 2005: Women, Work and Poverty, the third in a biennial series that tracks commitments to gender equality, looks in particular at the issue of informal employment, a widespread and persistent feature of today’s global economy, and argues that unless the precariousness of informal employment, particularly for women, is recognised and addressed, efforts to achieve gender equality and eliminate poverty will not succeed.

Informal employment includes wage employees who lack formal contracts, worker benefits, or social protection in formal and informal enterprises (temporary, contract, casual, or seasonal workers; industrial outworkers; paid domestic workers), own-account workers in informal enterprises and unpaid workers in family businesses. It accounts for 50-80 percent of all non-agricultural employment throughout the developing world. If agriculture were included, as it is in some countries, the figures would be even higher.

Rather than informal work becoming formalised as economies grow, work is moving from regulated to unregulated, with workers losing job security along with medical and other benefits.

For poor working women, the situation is especially critical. In the developing world, with the exception of North Africa, women are not only concentrated in informal employment, but also in the more precarious forms of informal employment, where earnings are meagre and highly unreliable. While in some instances their income can be important in helping families to move out of poverty, this is true only if the family has more than one earner.

Yet not achieving these goals is unthinkable. Widening gaps between rich and poor, and between women and men, can only contribute to greater insecurity and violence in the world. Work is a basic human right, one that we can make a reality for all working people. Above all else, economic priorities must be re-ordered to focus on employment rather than simply growth, looking at the needs of women as workers, not only as citizens or members of a vulnerable group.

Moreover, organisations of workers in the informal economy, especially women, must be strengthened and supported– in order to hold all players accountable to implementing their commitments to ending poverty and achieving gender equality.

Finally, however, the vision outlined in the Millennium Declaration can never become a reality for everyone so long as violence against women continues unchecked. Women in all countries face the fear of gender-based violence, in every income bracket and all population groups. While estimates vary from country to country, the Millennium Project Task Force on Education Gender Equality reports that between 10 and 69 percent of women worldwide report having experienced domestic violence. The UN Trust Fund to Eliminate Violence Against Women, managed by UNIFEM, has supported innovative solutions in over 100 countries since it was established in 1997. These solutions work because they address multiple levels and multiple sectors simultaneously, transforming power relationships and strengthening women’s organising to address the social and economic causes of gender violence. They focus on community ownership and they include men as partners. They must be up-scaled and invested in.

As the Millennium Project Task Force concludes, high-level support for ending violence against women represents a quick win for the UN system in realising the vision of the Millennium Declaration.

Women everywhere want to see that the MDGs are not just a set of targets and indicators, but rather a set of principles and commitments that put a priority on achieving a world free of poverty, inequality and violence. We must move forward now on implementation, accountability, and adequate resources to bring about a world in which all people can live free of want and free of fear. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS)

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