WELCOME TO THE 5WCW SITE
This site was created as a clearing house
of information and grassroots activism opportunities
for those who support and wish to advocate for a United
Nations sponsored
5th World Conference on Women.
Click here to sign petition and see map of signers
A Call to Action!
April 11, 2012: It’s now been over a month since the Secretary General (SG) and President of the UN General Assembly (PGA) said that it was high time for 5WCW and proposed that there be one in 2015. Since the March 8 Joint Statement, they have heard from those opposed to 5WCW. Meanwhile, 5WCW advocates have focused on getting the good news of their support to our groups in the absence of information otherwise, while some of us have been working on getting sponsorship for a resolution to the General Assembly. While SG & PGA have heard from those who were not pleased with the statement, they have NOT heard from supporters. A Thank You campaign is now a PRIORITY. They have gone out on a limb, and need to know that there is support for 5WCW and appreciation for their leadership.
We need to send a FLOOD of emails and letters to the SG & PGA, from individuals who will list their affiliation and positions with organizations. The next step will be to get the organizations you belong to—to officially support 5WCW. Full text of Joint Statement: http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=5904
Your email should go to: President of General Assembly Al-Nasser <al-nassern@un.org>, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon <bkm@un.org> with cc: Executive Director UN Women Michelle Bachelet <bachelet@un.org>.
Please write your own emails or letters right away, write your networks, and get them on it! Marching orders!
Very simple letter or email.
1. Send thanks and appreciation to the President of the General Assembly and the Secretary General of the United Nations for their joint statement on March 8, 2012 in which they proposed UN 5th World Conference on Women.
2. Praise them for taking this initiative and leadership.
3. Encourage them to continue to support 5WCW and assure them that there is support for what they are doing.
JOINT ANNOUNCEMENT BY SECRETARY GENERAL AND
PRESIDENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
CALLS FOR 5WCW
March 8, 2012: On International Women’s Day, the President of the UN General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser and the Secretary-General of the United Nations H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon jointly proposed the convening of a United Nations Fifth World Conference on women in 2015, twenty years after the last women’s summit in Beijing.
Given that women compose the half of humanity and the inherent importance and relevance of women issues for the global progress, it is high time that such a world conference is convened, more so as the world is going through enormous changes in all fronts having both positive and other implications for women.
The President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General hope that the international community in general would welcome this joint initiative. They also hope that the Member-States who have the final authority to convene the proposed conference would take the necessary step in that regard during the on-going 66th session of the General Assembly.
For entire Joint Statement: http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=5904
Gertrude Mongella Speaks on the Need for a UN 5WCW
*WHAT YOU CAN DO
Send messages to heads of governments and UN ambassadors who can act on this. There is time (though short) before the General Assembly ends this summer for a General Assembly resolution. Mobilize individuals and organizations with power and influence to be heard by decision-makers.
"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”
MOMENTUM GROWS FOR A UN 21ST CENTURY WOMEN’S CONFERENCE (5WCW)
March 6, 2012: Growing support for a UN 5th World Conference on Women (5WCW) was evident in the numbers of NGO delegates wearing large blue 5WCW buttons, and in speeches and panels during meetings of the 56th Commission on the Status of Women (February 27-March 9, 2012). This grassroots campaign for) begun in 2002, led by activist-author Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD, backed by four prominent ECOSOC Consultative Status NGOs, was joined by Ambassador Gertrude I. Mongella, Secretary-General of the Beijing Conference and first president of the Pan-African Parliament who came to New York specifically as a 5WCW advocate, and in the address by Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, former president of the Security Council, whose efforts led to the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325, the Women, Peace, and Security resolution.
Both respected leaders emphasized that new issues deeply concerning women have arisen since 1995: the rise of terrorism, climate change, food scarcity, lack of safe water, economic recession and its effect on women and girls. And that fears for undoing the Beijing Platform for Action, some of whose goals have been opposed by fundamentalist religious leaders should not stand in the way of all the benefits: inspiring a new generation of women leaders, energize the global women’s movement, reach people worldwide through technology to raise awareness of problems to women, new and available solutions.
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A Step toward 5WCW in 2015
UN General Assembly Establishes “UN
Women”
On July 2, 2010 in a historic moment, the UN General Assembly voted unanimously for the establishment of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment, to be known as “UN Women.” This was the result of years of negotiations between UN Member States and active advocacy of women’s groups and civil society. With the establishment of UN Women, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the world has entered “a new era in the UN’s work for women.” UN Women will be headed by Under-Secretary-General Michelle Bachelet. It became operational in January 2011. (Click here for more information.)
Listen to Jean's Interview with See Jane Do about the need for a 5WCW
A Step toward 5WCW in 2015
UN General Assembly Establishes “UN
Women”
On July 2, 2010 in a historic moment, the UN General Assembly voted unanimously for the establishment of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment, to be known as “UN Women.” This is the result of years of negotiations between UN Member States and active advocacy of women’s groups and civil society. With the establishment of UN Women, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the world has entered “a new era in the UN’s work for women.” UN Women will be headed by an Under-Secretary-General. It will be operational by January 2011. (Click here for more information.)
SYNERGY!
“UN Women and a 5th UN World Conference on Women is a natural fit,
a synergy between the two that would raise consciousness and funds
for the benefit of women and the development of women’s leadership
at every level of society. Since it takes 3 years to organize, a target
date of 2015 would be the 20th anniversary of the Beijing conference,
the first since the internet and globalization, a time to network a
new generation of women leaders. Reaching a tipping point would make
it possible to carry out the Beijing Platform for Action, the Millennium
Development Goals, and the Security Council resolutions on Women, Peace,
and Security. A world that is safe and sustainable would become possible.” Jean
Shinoda Bolen, speaking for 5WCW.
What the UN Needs To DoThe United Nations needs to be the sponsor of the 5th World Conference on Women, so that women from all 193 UN countries know that it is about and for them. Many will be able to come only because it is a UN conference that is recognized by their governments. It needs to be designated as the 5th, to acknowledge that it follows the other four, specifically Beijing and that it is intended to bring to fruition the goals and aspirations that were put into the Beijing Platform for Action (with no further debate on them). It would be as significant to women working for women as the Olympics are to athletes. Events leading up to it, the conference itself, and the ripples radiating out from it, including meeting in circles, would raise consciousness and oxytocin levels, moving us toward reaching a critical mass and a new era. |
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5WWC is the predecessor to this website. It is being maintained as a sister site documenting the history of this grassroots initiative in support of a 5th Women's World Conference prior to 2009. It also contains the current listing of the organizations who have registered with us in support of a 5WCW. To register your organization, click here. To see a listing of supporting organizations, click here.