Commission on the Status of Women, 47th Session
3-14 March 2003
United Nations, New York, NY USA

I. Final Draft of the AGREED CONCLUSIONS:

" Participation and Access of Women to the Media, and Information and Communications Technologies and
Their Impact On and Use as an Instrument for the Advancement and Empowerment of Women"

Commission on the Status of Women Meeting Coverage: Agreed Conclusions on Media and Information Technologies
UN Department of Public Information
14 March 2003

Gender, Media and ICTs
Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, Isis International/Manila
14 March 2003

Women, Media and ICTs: UN/CSW Delegates Defer Deliberation on Contentious Point
Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, Isis International/Manila
11 March 2003

II. Third Draft of the AGREED CONCLUSIONS: NO FINAL AGREED CONCLUSIONS for the 47th Session on Violence Against Women

"Women's Human Rights and the Elimination of All Forms of Violence Against Women and Girls as Defined
in the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome Document of the Twenty-Third Special Session of the General Assembly"

Closing Statement on the Commission on the Status of Women from the US Mission
Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey, United States Representative to the Commission on the Status of Women
25 March 2003

UN Pact Sinks on Issue of Violence Against Women
Emily Freeburg, Women's E-News
2 May 2003

On Women's Rights, Iran Becomes a 'Friend'
Marie Cocco
29 April 2003
Americans are scared of the ayatollahs of Iran. They pushed out our shah and took our hostages and now want to export their brand of fundamentalism to Iraq. Even Donald Rumsfeld is spooked. The defense secretary warns Iran against meddling in Iraq.
To all appearances, Iran remains an adversary, a charter member of the axis of evil. That is, if you believe what you see. What you don't see is that at the United Nations, Iran is one of our new best friends, at least when it comes to women's rights.

Commision on the Status of Women Fails to Adopt Draft Agreed Conclusions on Violence Against Women, as it Closes the 47th Session
UN Department of Public Information
25 March 2003, 14th Meeting (PM)

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

Commission on the Status of Women Meeting Coverage: No Agreed Conclusions on Women's Rights and Violence Against Women
UN Department of Public Information
14 March 2003

Women's Human Rights and the Elimination of All Form of Violence Against Women
Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, Isis International/Manila
14 March 2003

Shutting Down the Feminists    
Angie Vineyard, The Beverly LaHaye Institute: A Center for Studies in Women's Issues
14 March 2003
Janice Crouse of the Beverly LaHaye Institute was appointed by the US administration to participate in the negotiations at the Commission on the themes of violence against women and women's human rights. The US delegation to the Commission held two briefings on the progress of negotiations. When asked about the US's push towards war in relation to the theme of violence against women during the briefing on 13 March 2003 she responded that she did not consider state-sponsored war a form of violence against women.


Introduction of Themes

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will hold its forty-seventh session from 3 to 14 March 2003, at New York Headquarters. The Commission will focus on two thematic issues:

1.participation and access of women to the media, and information and communication technologies and their impact on and use as an instrument for the advancement and empowerment of women; and

2.women’s human rights and elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls as defined in the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome document of the Special Session for the General Assembly entitled “Women: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century.”.

A panel discussion on the first thematic issue will be held on 3 March and on the second on 4 March. The Commission will hold for the first time a high-level round table on national experiences in institutional capacity building, in particular in relation to the two thematic issues.

See the UN's website devoted to Women's Issues: Women Watch: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/47sess.htm

Non-Governmental Organizations' Statements

Women Say No To War
NGO Women's Linkage Caucus
6 March 2003

Women Say 'Yes' To Disarmament by Peaceful Means
NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security and 216 co-signers
5 March 2003

European Women's Lobby Declaration Against War
EWL
21 January 2003

International Women's Day Statements

UN Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette
7 March 2003

Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director, UNIFEM
8 March 2003

Women In Black-UK Against War
8 March 2003

United States of America Mission to United Nations
8 March 2003

Press Releases

[11 March 2003] WOMEN’S COMMISSION DRAFT TEXT URGES AFGHAN TRANSITIONAL AUTHORITY TO
REPEAL DISCRIMINATORY LEGISLATION, ENABLE WOMEN’S FULL CIVIC PARTICIPATION

[10 March 2003] WOMEN’S COMMISSION ADOPTS PROVISIONAL AGENDA FOR NEXT SESSION; TEXTS
ON GENDER PERSPECTIVE, PALESTINIAN WOMEN, HIV/AIDS INTRODUCED

[7 March 2003] POVERTY, HIV/AIDS, VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN CLEAR HUMAN RIGHTS PRIORITIES
HIGH COMMISSIONER TELLS WOMEN’S COMMISSION

[7 March 2003] GENDER EQUALITY AND MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS FOCUS
OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY AT HEADQUARTERS

[7 March 2003] MILLENNIUM SUMMIT GOALS CAN BE REACHED ONLY BY INVESTMENT IN WORLD’S
WOMEN, SAYS DEPUTY-SECRETARY-GENERAL, AS WOMEN’S DAY OBSERVED AT HEADQUARTERS

[6 March 2003] WOMEN’S ACCESS TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES NEEDED TO ERADICATE
POVERTY, CREATE ECONOMICALLY JUST, DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES, WOMEN’S COMMISSION TOLD

[5 March 2003] WOMEN’S SOCIAL, ECONOMIC INEQUALITY LEADS TO TRAFFICKING, DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE, EXPLOITATION, SAY SPEAKERS IN WOMEN’S COMMISSION

[4 March 2003] NATIONAL LEGISLATION, GOVERNMENT BODIES AIMED AT PROMOTING GENDER
EQUALITY FOCUS OF WOMEN’S COMMISSION ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSION

[4 March 2003] BREAKING SILENCE, STRENGTHENING LEGISLATION ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE,
TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN KEY ISSUES FOR WOMEN’S COMMISSION PANEL

[3 March 2003] GENDER EQUALITY CENTRAL TO ACHIEVING MILLENNIUM SUMMIT DEVELOPMENT
GOALS, WOMEN’S COMMISSION TOLD, AS FORTY-SEVENTH SESSION OPENS

[28 February 2003] WOMEN’S COMMISSION WILL HOLD 47TH SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS 3-14 MARCH;
FOCUS: WOMEN AND MEDIA; VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

NGO Side Events

"Educating for Peace and Security in a Gender Perspective: SC Res 1325 as a Learning Instrument"
NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, 5 March 2003

Go to http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw47/SideEventsCalendar.PDF

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