International Approaches to Gender Equality

Historically Examining the United Nations and Gender Issues

Why the course?

• Issues of Gender – rarely addressed in historical context

• World Affairs – Evolving from the national to international spheres

• Primary Modes of approaching supra-national issues today– Multilateralism + development and subsequent

challenges of globalization• Global Governance

– Getting states to comply with national obligations

Course Focus

• Historical perspective – Last 100 years• Institutional mechanisms: UN system, national, and

regional levels• Comparative analysis of UN world conferences on women• Comparative analysis of progress made• Evolution of concept of gender equality• Role of civil society in promoting gender equality within

the UN and international frameworks

SyllabusBrief Introduction of the courseBrief Introduction of the course

1. UN, multilateral diplomacy, and movement towards gender equality

2. The UN organizational structure for the promotion of gender equality

3. Issues and Activities- international, national, regional and sub-regional spheres

4. Beijing and Beyond

Part I.

Multilateral diplomacy, and national Multilateral diplomacy, and national and international movement towards and international movement towards

gender equalitygender equality

Multilateral Diplomacy

• Loosely Defined: – decision making in the foreign policy realm involving or participated in by

more than two sovereign states or parties

• Necessary to have sovereign states• Historical Usage/development of terminology

– Peace of Westphalia: 1648– Congress of Vienna: 1815– Berlin Congress: 1878– Post WWI, with the conclusion of the Peace at Versailles

• Multilateralism as an ever evolving concept

Gender Equality - overviewGender Equality - overview

• Women since the 1920’s• League of Nations & UN: a strong impetus for historic

change• Power of international documents• Factors of positive results of women’s participation in intl.

political dialogue and UN operations• Shift in geographic focus• Culmination• More work to be done

Movement PhasesMovement Phases

1. Changing objectives of the Women’s agenda:a. Suffragette and labour movementsb. Ind. Rev. Economic Rights 19th/ 20th Cc. Peace and security WW1 and WW2d. Gender Equality, esp. advancing political rightse. Recognition of equality, peace, and development

as prerequisites for equal participation of women in decision-making

f. Mainstreaming the gender perspective 1990s

a. International Women’s and Labour Movementb. The establishment of the League of Nations c. Founding of the UN and Adoption of the UN Charterd. Adoption of the UDHR (Universal Declaration on Human Rights)e. Est. of CSW (UN Commission on the Status of Women)f. Adoption of CEDAWg. The UN decade for Women and the world conferencesh. The 1990s

Establishment of the International Establishment of the International DiscourseDiscourse

Policy and Institution Building

Notable historical periods

• French Revolution – notion of citizenship and the rights of man

• 1890 - 1945• 1945-1962• 1963-1975• 1976-1985• 1986 1995 and beyond

Establishing Institutional Machinery

1. The League of Nations2. The International Labor Organization

– Liaison Committee of the Women’s International Organizations

3. The United Nations

1. The League of Nations

• Founding of League of Nations marked:– Beginning of organized & institutionalized

intergovernmental collaboration– Specified goals

• Cooperation of women’s international organizations & the League of Nations

• Reasons for women’s involvement

Recommending functions of League of Nations

• Paris Peace Conference (1919)– Representatives of Women’s organizations

present

1. 5 Proposals2.2. SuffrageSuffrage3.3. Retention of nationality during marriageRetention of nationality during marriage4.4. Support abolition of trafficking of women and childrenSupport abolition of trafficking of women and children5.5. Intl. education and healthIntl. education and health6.6. Control and reduce armamentsControl and reduce armaments

Results of Recommendations

• League of Nations declared the following– “Member states should promote humane

conditions of labor for men, women, and children”

– “Governments should allow all positions in the League of Nations and Secretariat to be open equally to the men and women”

• Establishment of a tangible committee

2. International Labor Organization

• Requests from women of American and British labor unions– Working day and work week limits– Termination of child labor– Support for social insurance – Equal pay for equal work for both sexes– Minimum wages for housework– Creation of the World Health Organization

•Liaison Committee of Women’s International Organizations

• Purpose of formation• Participation

– estimated membership of 45 million women from Europe and America

– meetings in Geneva and London– consisting of a number of adjunct committees– organized the first non-governmental

conference (1919)

Subsequent Trends

• Latin American Women in 1928– International conference of Latin American states

results• Amazing success

– Made in the face of limited women’s rights

– Women created and achieved• Model for cooperation and interaction between NGOs and

intergovernmental orgs. • Obtained numerous rights• Increased prominence on agenda of intl. cooperation

The Establishment of the UNThe Establishment of the UN

• Historical basis– The League of Nations

• Established on 24 October 1945 – By 51 countries

• with the commitment to preserving peace through– intl. cooperation – Collective security

• Breadth of participation

The UN Charter

• Voluntary acceptance of obligations• Emphasis on the rights and freedoms of

every human being• 4 articles • 4 purposes4 purposes• Wording

Membership/Function

• UN members sovereign countries• NOT a world government

– Thus, does NOT make laws• Holds other functions• All members have a voice and vote in the

decision making process

UN Organization

• 6 main organs 1. The first 5 are based in NY headquarters2. The General Assembly (GA)3. The Security Council4. The Economic and Social Council5. The Trustee Council6. The Secretariat7. The International Court of Justice, which is located at the Hague

- There are also over 30 affiliated organizations known as the UN system

- Ex. UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO etc.

Gender-centric articles

1. UN Charter- Article 8 addressing gender equal participation in the UN- Article 55c. addressing human rights and fundamental freedoms- Article 71consultative status*

2. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

– Process • Equal rights of men and women (gender

specific)• All human beings born free and equal in

dignity and rights

Part II.

UN Organizational Structure for the Promotion of Gender Equality

Intergovernmental and Treaty bodies

• CSW• ECOSOC• UN 3rd Committee of the General Assembly• CEDAW• (DAW) UN Division for the Advancement of

Women• UNIFEM• INSTRAW

UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)

• Established as a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council by Council resolution 11(II) of 21 June 1946 – To Prepare recommendations and reports to the ECOSOC– Make recommendations to the Council on urgent problems

requiring immediate attention in the field of women’s rights– Promote implementation of the principle that men and

women shall have equal rights • Commission’s mandate expanded in 1987 & 1995 by the

Council• Composition/work schedule

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

• Functions and Authority• Composition/schedule

– 54 elected members– 3 yr terms– Meets 1 month a year

• Work Distribution

UN Third Committee

• The Third Committee part of the General Assembly that deals exclusively with economic and social affairs.

• General AssemblyGeneral Assembly (GA)– the highest intergovernmental body in the UN– is the principal policy-making and appraisal

organ on matters relating to the follow-up to the FWCW

UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

• established under the terms of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution

34/180 in December 1979• reviews the reports of States parties on the

implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

• evaluates the progress made

UN Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)• Established in 1946 • Functions

– Conducts research – develops policy options– fosters interaction between governments and civil

society – provides substantive servicing for United Nations

intergovernmental and expert bodies– provides advisory services and technical cooperation

programmes to developing countries

UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

• Created in 1976 as an innovative and catalytic fund

• Functions– Supporting new initiatives and programs for

developing countries– To aid beneficial activities for women at the

pre-investment stage at the national and regional level

INSTRAW• Established in 1980 with HQ's in the Dominican

Republic • its programme is comprised of "practical and

specific objectives" • Functions

– conducting action oriented research and studies with particular problems of WID

– establishing training programmes, including fellowship programmes and advisory services

– to raise awareness on issues relating to WID– develop and increase opportunities for women to gain new skills– establish an information system on women

International Instruments Conventions and declarations of particular importance to women's rights.

• Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (1993)

• Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1979)

• Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergencies and Armed Conflicts (1974)

• Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1967)

• Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages (1962)

• Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960)• Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention

(1958) • Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1952) • ILO Equal Remuneration Convention (1951) • Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons

and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (1949)

Part III.

Issues and ActivitiesIssues and ActivitiesInternational, National, regional/sub-regional levelsInternational, National, regional/sub-regional levels

Role of personal commitment and NGO Activity

"More perhaps than any other UN body the delegates to the CSW were personally committed …and acted as a kind of lobby for the women of the world…There was no more independent body in the UN. Many governments had appointed…as their representatives women who were militants in their own countries" (Humphrey 1984)

Issues Relevant throughout

• marriage/divorce, custody over children = nationality

• women in decision-making and public life• labour relations - developed into WID• trafficking with women• Statistics

Helvi Sipilla

• appointed UN Assistant Secretary General in 1972

Women In Development Approach (WID)

• Pre -Mexico Conference-1975• 4 Principal Aims of the Mexico Conference• Changing the political environment• Post-Mexico Conference

– UN Decade for Women– Establishment of national machineries

• World Conference in Women in Copenhagen

Shifting from WID to GID (Gender in Development)

• Began in the 1980s• Nairobi Conference (1985)• Usage of the term Gender

– a socially constructed definition of men and women

– a socially constructed definition of the relationship between the sexes

• Gender Mainstreaming and GID goals

Part IV.

Beyond the Beijing ConferenceBeyond the Beijing Conference

Emerging Issues

• Human Rights of women/violence/conflict• Role of men in eliminating violence• Reiteration of the right to family planning as a

human right• Feminisation of poverty• Sectoral approaches to gender equality (e.g. trade)• Conservative backlash

Focusing on political rights

– Participation• Strategies for achievement

– Transforming political structures and systems

– Obstacles• From The World Survey on the Role of Women in

Development (1984)