This month Soroptimist International’s UN Representatives
have been hard at work advocating for the rights of women and girls. Here is
some of the news from New York, Paris, Geneva and Vienna, where the voices of
Soroptimists have been heard on the issues of female genital mutilation, the
Beijing Platform for Action and the human rights of older people.

 

Beijing Platform for Action: 20 Years Later

In New York, SI UN Rep Bette Levy moderated a panel on theBeijing Platform for Action. The members of the panel had attended the Women’s
Conference in Beijing in 1995. They spoke about their experiences and reflected
upon how we need to move forward. You can read more about this event here.

On the 3 – 5 November, a Soroptimist International
delegation will be meeting in Geneva to attend the NGO Forum on Beijing+20 and
the UN ECE Regional Review on the Beijing Platform for Action. These events
provide Soroptimists with a crucial opportunity to give an international voice
to women and girls. More news about SI activities at these events will be
online shortly.

 

Photo: (left to right) Bette Levy, SI UN Representative and NGO CSW/NY Executive Committee Member; Houry Gendelekian, NGO CSW/NY and Armenian Releif Society; Lopa Benerjee, Chief of Civil Society Section, UN Women; Susan O’Malley, NGO CSW/NY and International Federation of Business and Professional Women; and Judith Lorber, President of the East End Temple Sisterhood.

 

The Transnational Phenomenon of Female Genital Mutilation

At the UNODC’s Conference of the Convention Against
Transnational Organised Crime, SI UN Rep Dora Vrdlovec met with other women’s
organisations who are campaigning for an end to female genital mutilation
(FGM). This horrific procedure, does not only affect women and girls who live
traditional communities in Africa, but can affect women and girls anywhere
because they can be taken away to have the procedure done. It is not unheard of
to find examples of FGM being conducted in Europe, the USA and many other
countries.

 

Photo: A campaign road sign in Geneva, highlighting the dangers of female gential mutilation.

Lilian Paplan from the African Coalition on Harmful
Traditional Practices and for the Empowerment of Women (ACTPEW) spoke about the
role of organisations, like her own, in preventing trafficking and highlighting
the problems of harmful practices that affect women and girls. It is
organisations, like ACTPEW and Soroptimist International that are able to give
an international voice to the women and girls who must live with the effects of
FGM.

“The name ‘Soroptimist International’ was greeted with warm,
big smiles and acknowledging words”, explains Dora, “this procedure carries the
risk of death and we must keep moving towards a global emerging eradication of
this practice”.

Berhane Ras-Work, who has committed 27 years of her life to
bringing an end to FGM and who holds a position on the Human Rights Council,
reinforced the importance of positive changes. It is this change that
Soroptimists are able to contribute to – it is possible to bring an end to FGM!

A series of events were held for the Conference of the
Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime. You can read more about themhere.

 

Photo: Berhane Ras-Work and SI UN Rep Dora Vrdlovec (left to right).

 

Naom Chomsky Speaks to the UN

Naom Chomsky, the world famous philosopher and political
commentator spoke at the UN in New York on 14 October to an audience of 800
people. The interest in his lecture was so significant that it was held in the
General Assembly room! “During my time at the UN, it is the first time that I
have seen a non-General Assembly event moved into the General Assembly room”
explains SI UN Rep Angelina Akhvlediani.

Chomsky chose to speak about the challenges
facing the UN in creating a peaceful world, and a reduction in conflict. He
provided analysis on the Israel-Palestine Conflict and shared his experiences
in interacting with both sides. “The audience was extremely supports of him”,
reports Angelina. It is important to remember the roles that NGOs and civil
society organisations have in holding governments to account. We will all
benefit from a more peaceful world, especially women and girls. As Professor
Chomsky said in his speech, “we all need to seek for peace and development”.

 

Photo: Naom Chomsky speaks to an audience at the UN.

 

NGOs and Civil Society Contributions Welcomed at UNESCO

NGOs and civil society have worked hard to organise
forums and events to draw attention issues that concern UNESCO. An example of
this is the recent forum on ‘Access to Water for All’, which had a strong
Soroptimist presence.

 

Photo: The Soroptimist stand at the Access to Water for All Forum.

On 17 October, the Executive Board of UNESCO met with the
Committee on Non-Governmental Partners, to examine the results of cooperation.
Geographical representation was considered very important. International
organisations, like SI are vital contributors because they are able to
represent to a global voice and show unity whilst maintaining diversity. This
is very different from previous years where the presence of NGOs at the UN has
been questions. The Chairman of the Liaison Committee of NGOs, Patrick Gallaud,
spoke about the important impact of the Access to Water for All forum, saying
that the Côte d’Ivoire had established an Inter-Ministerial Committee for
Monitoring the after effects of the Forum.

SI UN Rep Marie-Christine Gries de la Barbelais who
helped organise the form in the Côte d’Ivoire attended the meeting, “grassroots
NGOs often have a key role among the population”, explains Marie-Christine, “a
very positive trilateral UNESCO-Member States-NGO collaboration is being put in
place to advance the work of the post 2015 agenda. In only two years, member
states have moved away from distrusting NGOs who insist upon cooperation!”

Photo: A panel discussion at the Access to Water for All Forum in the Côte d’Ivoire.

 

The International Day of Older Persons

1 October was International Day of Older Persons, and
across the multiple UN centres, events highlighting the needs of older people
in a developing world were held. This year the UN Department of Economic and
Social Affairs held a conference entitled ‘Leave No One Behind: Promote a
Society for All’. At the conference the important contributions that older
people can give to society were emphasised.

SI UN Reps, Angelina Akhvlediani
and Paulette Forbes Igharo attended the event, and can see that there is still
a lot of work for NGOs and civil society to do on this issue. “I was surprised
that speakers failed to give some specific issues characterized for elderly
people”, explained Angelina. The needs of older people, and their contribution
to society is very important – the future of development will be shaped by
global demographics. It is predicted that by 2030 there will be more people
over 60 than under 10. Soroptimists must continue to speak out for older women,
they should not be considered as a burden by society!