Chapter One: Report of the New Zealand Delegation

Introduction

The participants felt it was wonderful to have so many New Zealanders involved in the Beijing + 5 meeting, although we were saddened that the Minister of Women's Affairs, Hon Laila Harre, was forced to cancel her trip at the last minute for family reasons.

The delegation generally met twice a day, in the morning and at lunchtime, to review events, exchange information and plan action for the day.

We wish to thank Michael Powles, New Zealand Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Grant Robertson, Sarah Patterson and the other New Zealand Permanent Mission staff for their support, assistance, work and hospitality.

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The structure of the conference

At all times there were three different levels of activity taking place in relation to the overall agenda.

The first level consisted of the negotiation of a document to confirm and extend the agreed Platform for Action which came out of the 1995 Beijing conference.

This work had been going on for about a year before the conference, but intensified in the week before it, when the officials of the country delegations got together to start final negotiations for an agreed document. Negotiations were conducted both in "formal" (open) and "informal" (closed, off the record) sessions, with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade staff representing New Zealand. New Zealand NGO delegation members, as part of the government delegation, had full access to all negotiations.

Secondly, there was the political and diplomatic level, which took the form of speeches in the General Assembly plenary sessions. Liz Gordon presented the New Zealand country statement on Thursday 8 June. The speech is included as Appendix 2 of this report.

It is worth noting that New Zealand received a great deal of attention for being one of only a handful of countries which had reached the magic level of 30 per cent of female representation in Parliament.

It is firmly believed in United Nations (UN) circles that having 30 per cent women Parliamentarians is the key to real gender equality. Some countries are trying to achieve this level through quotas, and many women were amazed that New Zealand got there simply by instituting a system of proportional representation.

Ministry of Women's Affairs Chief Executive Judy Lawrence made a statement to the plenary after agreement was reached on the final document, briefly outlining our nation's satisfaction with the outcome. She noted our intention to make progress on improving the status of Māori women, and stated New Zealand's view that discrimination on the grounds of "other status" encompassed, amongst other things, discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. This issue had been a major point of contention during negotiations on the Outcomes Document (see below). Judy Lawrence's statement is included as Appendix 3 of this report.

The third level of activity consisted of the many meetings, films, panel discussions and special seminars associated with various UN agencies (UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women), UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation), UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), etc), international organisations (World Bank, Amnesty International, the Commonwealth, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and aid agencies) and academic, media and community groups (e.g. WEDO (Women's Environment and Development Organisation)). At any time, on any day, there was an array of options for delegates, and part of the job of our delegation, including MPs Liz Gordon and Anne Tolley, was to make sure that a New Zealand person covered all the important sessions.

On the Thursday evening, 8 June, the New Zealand mission hosted a reception for all delegates and non-delegate NGOs of the Pacific region.

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Negotiating the document

The triumph of the Beijing conference in 1995 was that the countries of the United Nations were able to agree with one voice on a Platform for Action as a broad agenda for the empowerment of women and the fulfilment of their human rights.

The intention of the 2000 conference was to affirm this platform and then move forward from it to a more inclusive one, emphasising the special position of indigenous women, diversity, sexual orientation, abortion rights and the effects of globalisation on women, amongst other things.

However some nations, in particular those with a fundamentalist Muslim leadership, were keen to take back some of the freedoms for women won in 1995.

As the conference week wore on, the question of whether there would be an agreed document at all, let alone one which moved forward on some of the sensitive issues, became the focus. Officials moved into a phase of intensive negotiations, often working through the night, to get progress.

New Zealand, as part of the informal negotiating bloc JUSCANZ, was able to play a significant part in the proceedings.

Indeed, JUSCANZ was prominent in the debate on a number of matters, often led by the New Zealand delegation. For example, New Zealand successfully championed the inclusion of appropriate language on the rights and challenges of indigenous women and girls (as we had done at the Beijing conference itself). New Zealand also spoke on behalf of JUSCANZ on the issues of women and globalisation, and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Agreement was finally reached early on the Saturday morning following the end of the conference programme, and the Outcomes Document certainly moved forward from the 1995 Platform for Action in a number of key areas.

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Other matters

within this sections:

• The World Bank
• 50/50 by 2005
• UNIFEM's "Progress of the World's Women"
• Indigenous Women's Caucus

The following is a brief summary of some of the workshops. Reports from other workshops, prepared by the delegation members who attended them, follow in the next chapter.

The World Bank

The World Bank has for a number of years been undertaking research into the role of women in ensuring economic and social development. Its most recent research, available as a draft consultative document on the website at www.worldbank.org/gender/prr, is the largest and most ambitious study of women and development ever undertaken by this agency.

The key finding of the study is that giving women equal human rights with men is both cause and effect of economic development. It urges nations to enhance gender equality through public policy by: establishing supportive legal, economic and social institutions, including a focus on equal rights; fostering income growth and economic development; and undertaking active measures to promote gender equality in the command of resources and political voice.

The workshop included a number of panelists who were critical of the failure of the World Bank to integrate its findings on gender equality with its policies of intervention.

50/50 by 2005

This whole-day seminar, hosted by the Women's Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO), launched a campaign to bring about 50 per cent representation of women in Parliaments by 2005. Given that most countries are significantly behind New Zealand on the issue of women's representation in Parliament, it is not surprising that strong strategies were advocated for achieving the goal.

These included a proposal of giving state funding only to political parties which field 50/50 lists, the use of quotas, the need to engage the support of men, training for potential women candidates, and acting at a local level. Many participants felt that 50 per cent was unrealistic for those countries with a low proportion of women now, but that 33 per cent was a realistic target.

UNIFEM's "Progress of the World's Women"

This panel discussion focused on the role of international development and on globalisation.

The discussion on international development looked at the need to include women in decision-making at local levels.

A key theme was that donors should not dictate how funds are spent, but should ensure that the political leaders of developing countries articulate a commitment to women's equality. Development funds should be focused around infrastructure, such as roading, electricity and technological development.

Indigenous Women's Caucus

There were a number of panel discussions on indigenous rights and a caucus which went for the whole week. Issues included the retention and promotion of native languages, millennium land grabs by governments and corporations, displacement, the exploitation of women and children, the economic exploitation of natural resources, the ongoing effects of colonisation, and self-determination. Few women who attended the caucus were part of official delegations, and this was noted as a major problem, especially as the Outcomes Document was weak on the rights of indigenous women. A Declaration of the International Indigenous Women's Forum was issued on June 9, and made 14 recommendations to governments and the United Nations. It is included as Appendix 5 of this report.

Conclusion

There were many benefits to New Zealand in participating in the United Nations special session on Women 2000. It is clear that, at a number of levels, members of the delegation made a big impact, in the various forums, in the plenary debate and most particularly as part of the JUSCANZ group, in negotiating the final document.

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