U.N. Panel Suspends Meeting Amid Discord Over Rights Measure
UN Wire of the UN Foundation
17 March 2003

A meeting of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women that was to end Friday was
instead suspended until further notice amid disagreement over language in a draft
resolution on women's human rights and violence against women and girls.
As the commission's two-week session was drawing to an expected close Friday,
Fernando Estellita Lins de Salvo Coimbra, vice chairman of the panel, introduced the
"draft-agreed" measure, which he said resulted from two weeks of negotiations (U.N.
release, March 14).

But Iran, quickly seconded by Egypt and Sudan, expressed opposition to the wording of a
paragraph under which countries would agree to "condemn violence against women and
refrain from invoking any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their
obligations with respect to its elimination, as set out in the" U.N. General Assembly's
1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (Ammu Joseph, The
Hindu, March 16).

After a brief exchange of views, it was declared that the measure would not be agreed
on. After further discussion, though, the measure was adopted anyway, and countries
opposed to the draft were instructed to voice their reservations within the text. Iran then
objected to what it called a disregard for proper procedure and was seconded by the
United States, at which point the meeting was suspended. The UnitedNations described
the ultimate outcome as a deferral of action on the rights measure (U.N. release).

The Hindu reported yesterday that most delegates and observers seemed shocked by
the developments, which the newspaper attributed in part to the commission chair's
reluctance to explore various ways out of the impasse. The chair, according to The
Hindu, "chose to abruptly 'suspend' the session, curtly stating that delegates would be
informed about a fresh date for the resumption of work on the document" (Joseph, The
Hindu).

Measures Passed On Technology, HIV/AIDS, Palestinians, Afghanistan

Before taking up the controversial text Friday, the commission adopted draft-agreed
conclusions on women's access to the media and to information and communication
technologies. It called on countries, U.N. bodies, development banks and civil society
to bring women into processes related to technology policy and to provide women with
access to technology-based economic activities.

In another measure, the commission urged countries to work for women's economic
independence so that women can better protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and to
increase efforts to fight gender stereotypes and inequalities related to HIV/AIDS.
Over the objection of Israel and the United States, the panel also approved a measure
under which the U.N. Economic and Social Council would urge Israel to facilitate the
return of displaced and refugee Palestinian women and children to their homes and
would call for help to alleviate a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories and
reconstruct Palestinian institutions.

Stressing Israeli women's need for protection from terrorism, Israel called the measure
politically motivated and said it threatens the commission's credibility. The measure
passed by a vote of 38-1, with the United States casting the dissenting vote. The U.S.
delegation expressed concern over the plight of Palestinian women and said
Washington is the largest donor to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East but added that it grieves for Israeli women who have suffered
and died at the hands of Palestinian suicide bombers.

The panel also approved a measure under which ECOSOC would call on Afghanistan to
protect women's rights in laws and other measures (U.N. release).