Delegates from over 190 governments meeting at the UN-led Commission on the Status of Women this week in New York have the chance to take a critical step against the global scourge of violence against women, said international aid agency Oxfam. The agency said the two-week conference must go beyond discussing agreements made some 20 years ago at the landmark women’s rights conference in Beijing in 1995.
The Commission is the principal policy-making body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. This year, for its 57th session, representatives of Member States, UN officials and Non-governmental representatives could finally give teeth to the global agreement on women’s right that it made in Beijing.
“The danger is that this year’s commission could simply rehash this 18-year-old agreement and call it a success. This must not boil down to some glib PR exercise. Violence against women is the most under-resourced and ignored human rights scandal in the world today,” said Farah Karimi, Executive Director of Oxfam Netherlands from New York. “Governments will be shamed to walk away from this meeting without meaningful action.”
See full Press Release: http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressrelease/2013-03-04/end-violence-against-women-un-conference-must-act
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