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The Socialist International
Women, SIW, was established in 1907. The founding of SIW stemmed
from the need to mobilise for the fight for women's political participation,
namely the right to vote, which at the time was denied to virtually
all women.
At the first conference, the founders of SIW adopted a resolution
demanding women's suffrage. Nowadays, in most countries, women have
gained the right to vote, but as SIW grew from a mainly European
organisation to a global organisation, it became clear that political
participation was just a first step in achieving gender equality
and that much more work was needed if women were to enjoy equal
rights as men. As a result, SIW gradually extended its political,
economical and social work to incorporate all areas affecting women
worldwide, from the elimination of poverty, to adequate healthcare
and education for all, to sustainable environment. SIW also joined
forces with other women's organisations and non-governmental organisations
in order to have a greater impact in promoting the rights of women.
In 1993, the United Nations held its World Conference on Human Rights
in Vienna, Austria, and declared in its Programme of Action that
women's rights are human rights. In 1995, the 4th World Conference
on Women in Beijing adopted the Platform for Action which dealt
with all aspects of women's rights. To follow in the work of both
conferences and to mark this years' celebration of the 60th anniversary
of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
overall theme of the XIX Congress of the SIW is 'Women's Rights
are Human Rights' and the sub-themes are:
EQUALITY AND SHARED POWER
Equality between women and men is still not a reality in any country.
Women continue to have less access to decision-making. The introduction
of a quota system for women in political parties over the years
and laws of quotas have gradually increased the number of elected
women politicians, but with only a mere 18% of women in national
parliaments worldwide according to the latest figures of the Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU), gender equality is far from being achieved. Without
the equal participation of women and men in decision-making and
political power, there is no real democracy and women cannot have
an effective say in areas affecting their lives. Active equality
policies must not be restricted to the political level. Also in
companies, instruments are needed which strengthen and empower women
and thus lead to equal status of women and men in all areas of society.
Pay gaps between women and men differ regionally but are a reality
everywhere. Women in leadership positions in the economy are unfortunately
still rare.
SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT
Climate change affects women and men in different ways, but it is
the women who are the most threatened and who carry the burden of
dealing with its effects and dangers. Yet, women are the key actors
in protecting the environment and ensuring effective use of the
natural resources. Women who live in an unsafe and unhealthy environment
or lack access to clean water, do not enjoy their fundamental human
rights to a life of dignity and to an adequate standard of living.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Poverty and hunger are an urgent and critical issue affecting the
daily lives of millions of people in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
And where there is poverty, women and children are the most affected.
Women who face a lack of access to food, adequate housing, or health
care - their human rights as well as those of their children are
violated.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
Globalization, natural disasters, and civil wars are some of the
causes forcing women to migrate and leave their families and communities.
When women reach the region or country of destination, they face
multiple discrimination being a women and a migrant.
PEACE
War and armed conflict have a devastating effect on the lives of
women, as well as on the health and educational services which play
a key role to the development of women. Yet women are hardly involved
in the process of conflict resolution and peace building, despite
the fact that they are the most active in peace movements and community
dialogue.
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE
HEALTH
Women in many countries lack access to sexual and reproductive health
services, information and safe abortion. Complications of labour
and delivery as well as unsafe abortion remain the leading causes
of death and illness among women aged 15 to 49 worldwide. The Rome
Statute recognises that violations against women's reproductive
self-determination are very serious crimes under humanitarian international
laws.
EDUCATION
Education is the key to gender equality and an essential tool for
women to achieve their full potential. However, in many countries
women have overtaken men in the field of education but have not
advanced to the top jobs and they face several forms of discrimination.
According to the World Bank, education is the single most important
factor contributing to national economic growth. Furthermore, education
is essential to overcome traditional gender role stereotypes. Women
and girls who are educated will have fewer children and those they
have are more likely to survive and thrive.
SECURITY
In a fast changing world, economic and physical security for women
are becoming more important than ever. Terrorism linked to fundamentalism,
xenophobia, homophobia, domestic violence and trafficking in women
and children are a certain and present danger. A safe and secure
environment is vital for women to develop their full potential.
Socialist International
Women therefore calls upon governments and the member parties of
the Socialist International to:
Ensure that the promotion
of gender equality in all areas is actively pursued while at the
same time gender mainstreaming is observed and implemented and to
encourage companies to take measures of promoting women in order
to close the pay gap between women and men and to break the glass
ceiling;
Place climate change
at the top of the political agenda, to recognise that a sustainable
environment is a matter of social justice and to ensure that adequate
measures are taken to protect those most at risk of the effects
of climate change;
Take urgent and concerted action in order to achieve the UN Millennium
Development Goals at the 2015 target date;
Enhance employment opportunities and access to education for migrant
women and ratify and monitor all international legal instruments
that promote and protect the rights of migrant women;
Ensure that in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1325
on 'Women, Peace and Security' women are fully integrated in all
efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security.
It is therefore essential that women be included in the analysis,
policy making and negotiations;
Develop public policies which safeguard the exercise of women's
sexual and reproductive rights and to promote and support specific
research into the effects of medical treatment and medication for
women. Implement public policies to prevent and combat the trafficking
in human beings especially women and children, to ensure the protection
of the victims and to safeguard their rights;
Allocate resources to make education and training accessible to
all women, including women and girls in rural areas and with disabilities,
and to ensure that the education system provides equal access for
women to higher technical education and universities;
Ensure that no human right is used to curtail or deny women's rights
and that religion and cultural traditions are respected as long
as they do not violate human rights;
Ensure that the CEDAW Convention and its Optional Protocol are signed,
ratified and widely published - in the language/s spoken nationally
- in order for women and women's organisations to make full use
of the legal provisions contained in these documents.
Socialist International Women calls upon its member organisations
to:
Form alliances with other women's organisations and Non-governmental
Organisations with a view to act as pressure groups for achieving
the above-listed demands;
Lobby their national governments to respond positively to the above-listed
demands.
Finally, Socialist International Women calls upon the member parties
of the Socialist International to:
Build its own women's organisation, in order to grant women the
necessary platform for political action;
Support their women's organisations and guarantee financial and
human resources whilst respecting their right to independent political
action;
To develop an action plan for the Socialist International on Gender
Equality and to set targets within a specific time frame for power
sharing.
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