NGO Recommendations from the CSW Consultation
29 February 2004

Theme 1:Role of Men & Boys in Achieving Gender Equality
Theme 2:Women's equal participation in conflict prevention, management and conflict resolution and in post-conflict peace-building

Role of Men & Boys in Achieving Gender Equality

Education and Socialization
1. Global Perspective: Holistic Approach
Private Sector
a. Home Environment
b. Community
Institutions
a. Education
b. Governance
c. Law
d. Media

Cultural Perspective
Approach and Implementation
Use of Language
Primary Education

Advantages of Education and Socialization for Both Genders
Health
Economics
Balance of Power

HIV/AIDS - Prevention
Promote all HIV/AIDS related initiatives with the leadership of politicians, religious leaders, business leaders (especially pharmaceutical companies) and other prominent male role models
Education:
All member states, UN bodies, and NGO’s –including faith based groups, create comprehensive education programs targeting all people, especially young people at as early an age as possible, with messages that stress the sexual responsibility of men and boys and promote the respect, dignity, equality, integrity, and human rights (including the right to be free from gender-based violence and exploitation) of women and girls. Education must also target parents informing them of what’s being taught in such programs and reach out to include community centers, youth groups, and rural areas.

2. Accountability:
Ensure accountability of men and boys, including in particular members of “transmittant groups” (e.g. taxi and truck drivers, migrant workers, the military, and peacekeepers) and groups that exhibit high risk behaviors (men who have sex with men and intravenous drug users) by strengthening government response, vis-a-vis legislation, policy, and the implementation of laws and policies that combat physical, psychological, and economic coercion and violence against and the sexual exploitation of women and girls.

3. Capacity Building
To eliminate economic inequalities and mitigate war, conflict, and violence to reduce women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, support economic development and provide women with alternatives to sexual exploitation, including economic opportunity and access to education and social services.

Support capacity building in all necessary areas by encouraging the sharing of good practices that aim to change attitudes and behaviors, especially countering traditional, social, cultural, and religious practices that increase women’s vulnerability, and that aim to change male sexual behavior so that they do not use coercion, violence, or exchange of money to obtain sexual services. Capacity building should mainstream gender and HIV/AIDS in NGO/CSO/CBO capacities, public sector and transectoral response.

HIV/AIDS – Care/treatment
Engage men and boys as advocates in the process of ratification, implementation, and enforcement of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, CEDAW, and the Millennium Development Goals, particularly #6 in order to provide equitable HIV/AIDS care and treatment

Ask CSW to request from member states empirical data, disaggregated by age and sex of individuals receiving care and treatment

We recommend a change in language for programs emphasizing prevention for maternal-to-child- transmission to emphasize parental-to-child- transmission language. This language transformation would help to take the blame away from women. This should not however, take support away from programs specifically addressing the needs of women in regard to maternal transmission and post-natal/HIV/AIDS care.

Spiritual Values
Since human rights are greatly influenced by spiritual values, it is important to see that governments promote human rights.

Insure that official religious leaders promote gender equality first within their own institutions and then the larger society.

Governments should establish partnerships with religious / spiritual organizations to promote gender equality.

Gender Violence

Culture
Emphasize the interests of men and boys in combating gender violence

Especially, but not exclusively, in reference to honor killings, we must end the culture of impunity and violence sanctioned by religion, tradition, and custom.

Education

Education of both genders with respect to human rights and possible alternatives to violent behavior.
Communication with all stakeholders including home, community, schools, governments, law enforcement.

It is important to keep cultural norms in mind, and appeal to the self-interest of both genders

Enforcement

Strengthen accountability in justice systems for all violent offenders including law officers and military personnel.

Identify gender violence as a crime

Balancing Power

Understand gender inequalities in connection with other inequalities of class, race, sexualities, religions, castes. Move beyond binary understanding of gender to include transgenders.

Mapping exercise of men’s groups and organizations working on gender equality

Gender curriculum, private sector, state policies to reflect and lead to gender equality

Gender balance in all institutions and government machineries.

Family Roles
Form alliances to empower girls and women without marginalizing men and boys

Fund dialogues between men and women of varied generations an ways to support gender equality
2004 is the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family. The role of men and boys in achieving gender equality could be advanced if policy makers listen to families of diverse types and dedicate funding to advance the Convention on the Rights of the Child to also achieve a family-friendly society

Trafficking
Accountability and Monitoring

Establish a special rapporteur in UN on trafficking

Ensure good data on all violence against women, including data on those who traffic and purchase women or young girls

Education & Socialization
Prevention programs in schools founded by governments that include, parents, girls, men, and boys

Develop media standards of portrayals of men and women

Community awareness
Policies and Services
Ensure that policies are coordinated so that women are not revictimized including laws on trafficking and immigration and economic structures

Guidelines for parliamentarians and UN officials

Decriminalize women and criminalize purchasers

Make NGO & UN partnership policies easier to access

Ratify the protocol on trafficking

Adopt national laws on prostitution in accordance with Swedish laws

Economic Development
(f) including recognition for unpaid parenting and care work within family community

(n) rewritten Encourage and support men in leadership positions, including political and economic leaders, community and faith leaders, musicians and athletes, to form partnerships with women’s organization, educational institutions at all levels, and the media, to provide and promote not only positive role models on gender equality, but also the acceptance of women in the traditional leadership roles that men have held in these same areas

Mobilize men and boys to join with women and girls to reevaluate, educate for change around cultural practices that deprive women of economic resources such as property, ownership rights, inheritance, dowry/bride price, and education for economic power.

Workplace
Promoting education that transforms values with the strong emphasis on developing a sustainable work place focusing on a …benefits. This includes promoting educational efforts that help men and boys understand the cost of present unequal gender relations and the benefits of a “gender just” society.

Promoting men’s role in the workplace and identifying entry points from men to promote gender equality, for the purpose of mainstreaming gender into organizations on the basis of solid economic sense of clear bottom line benefits

Working in partnership (men & women) and in solidarity among workers and civil society organizations worldwide towards achieving a globalization that delivers a just and fair workplace and sustainable jobs

Women, Good Governance, and Conflict Prevention
Add stronger language and at least meet BPFA standards of women’s participation in governance.

By 2004 achieve gender balance in all decision making processes in post-conflict settings.

Peacekeeping Operations
The UN SC, TCCs should ensure that all pkg missions include gender aware leadership, clear lines of accountability in particular with regard to VAW and sexual exploitation.

The SG must increase the number of women as SRSGs, 30 % minimum by 2005 and gender parity by 2015.

Peace Negotiations and Peace Agreements
Negotiating parties should contain 40% women or UN should not participate.

Facilitating parties - eg UN - should contain 40% women.

5 UN special rapporteurs for 5 regions to monitor peace agreements and negotiations, nominated by grass root process and based out of OHCHR.

Funding - dedicate fund to prepare women for participation in peace processes.

Security Sector Reform (Justice system, DDR, Constitution process)
There must be full consultation with all of a post-conflict society on people’s priorities for how funding is allocated for post-conflict. Women must be fully involved in such consultation. Money must be forthcoming for rebuilding of national justice systems.
Women’s participation is required in every stage of DDR design and implementation.
Resources must be allocated from the assessed peacekeeping budget for DDR.Breakout

Elections, Reconstruction and Peacebuilding
Privacy - women should be able to run and vote for women for leadership positions.

Education - need to educate both young girls and boys to accept that women can take leadership positions.

Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in Peacebuilding
Language must be broadened to ensure all references to refugees and IDPs are more inclusive and take into account refugees and IDPs living outside of camps including returnees, urban refugees and asylum seekers.

Participation of Older Women in Peacebuilding
Older women must be included in all aspects of the post-war electoral processes with assurance of security, protection and confidentiality.

There must be funding for electoral processes administered by an impartial multi-lateral body.

Participation of Young Women and Girls in Peacebuilding
There must be capacity building for young women and girls to precede their participation in peace processes; this includes education on their rights, content of peace agreements and subsequent implementation.

Culture of Peace and Peace Education
Sustainable and durable peace is not possible without a culture of peace. Peace therefore requires formal and community based education on conflict and prevention.

In regard to peace processes which include conflict prevention and reconciliation … [para 6 AC]

General Recommendations
The time is now!
Let’s make the next two weeks about accountability, implementation and concrete results!