STATEMENT  BY THE WOMEN’S CAUCUS
On the Fourth Prep Com of the UN Financing for Development process
January 25, 2002

Women NGO representatives have come from all parts of the world to participate in the Fourth PrepCom on Financing for Development.   We came with high hopes, as we have seen the powerful impact that the United Nations can achieve in setting a vision and articulating the aspirations of people around the world.  Women in particular recognize the pivotal role of the United Nations in helping to set a far reaching and comprehensive global agenda for advancing women’s rights and women’s political, economic and social status in the Beijing Platform for Action.

We have looked to the Monterrey Conference as another step in the implementation of these governmental commitments.  Its  principal goal­––to mobilize resources to eradicate poverty—is of critical importance to women.  The majority of the world’s poor across both the North and the South are women and children. Billions of women support their families through precarious work in the informal sector, and many others are languishing in poverty and poor health, including HIV/AIDS.  In this context,  the Women’s Caucus continues to urge that a commitment to gender equality and human rights be at the core of  the “development” that is to be financed. This commitment is imperative if we are to be successful at systematically integrating gender concerns into the Monterrey Consensus and meeting the Millennium development goal of eradicating poverty.

Paradoxically, women’s situation and experiences, especially at the grassroots, have received little attention from member states and minimal references in any of the versions of the outcome document.  The draft Monterrey Consensus currently contains only seven references to women: the Preamble refers to “sustainable gender-sensitive, people-centered development” (par.5); the Mobilizing Domestic Resources section refers to “the right to development, and the rule of law, gender equity”(par.8 pending); “empowering women” (par.9); “social services and social protection,  . . . which take special care of children and are gender sensitive” (par.13); “micro finance . . .particularly for women”(par.16); “ capacity building . . . in areas such as social and gender budget policies” (par.17); the Systemic Issues section refers to “mainstream gender perspectives into development policies at all levels and in all sectors” (par.58).  We are pleased with this recognition of particular  women’s concerns but note the complete invisibility of women’s situation with regard to Mobilizing International Resources, Trade, International Cooperation, and Debt.  These issues have very direct and often very different impacts on women than men, yet the reality of women’s lives are completely absent from these discussions.

Governments at the United Nations have made ambitious and far reaching commitments to the women of the world at previous UN conferences, beginning at the Earth Summit in Rio and subsequently around human rights, population and development, women, social development, and racism.  While much has been achieved, the economic position of women around the world has worsened, not improved.  Thus, we are present at this conference on Financing for Development to work with our governments to articulate a new consensus on development, which puts  people—women and men––at the center and  to seek the resources needed to turn these words into actions.  It is these actions which will lead to real improvement in the lives of poor women and their families around the world.

Tel: (212) 973-0325 / E-mail: joan@wedo.org