Ukrainian women's federation presents statements to U.N. body (04/18/99)

Ukrainian women's federation presents statements to U.N. body

UNITED NATIONS - The 43rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women met at the United Nations in New York on March 1-19. This year's session was focused primarily on "Women and Health" and "Institutional Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women" - two of the 12 critical areas of concern addressed by the commission following the women's conference held in Beijing, China, in 1995.

The strategic objectives of "Women and Health" are to increase women's access throughout their life cycle to appropriate, affordable and quality health care; strengthen preventive programs that promote women's health; undertake gender-sensitive initiatives that address sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and sexual and reproductive health issues; as well as increase resources and monitor follow-ups and promote research and disseminate information on women's health.

The strategic objectives of the "Institutional Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women" are to create or strengthen national machineries and other governmental bodies that relate to gender equality; integrate gender perspectives in legislation, public policies, and programs; and generate and disseminate gender-aggregated data and information for planning and evaluation.

During the third week of the commission's meetings, the Preparatory Committee for the Special Session on Beijing called "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century" met to discuss plans and the interlinkages among the 12 critical areas of concern of the Platform of Action.

The World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations, a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the United Nations since 1992, has taken an active part on issues pertaining to women, children and families. To date, it is the only Ukrainian NGO in consultative status. Therefore, as Olga Stawnychy, the WFUWO's chief represetnative to U.N. bodies, explained, "We feel that we have a special obligation to keep addressing certain issues on the international forum such as the effects on the health of women and children after the Chornobyl disaster, as well as the newest problem: international trafficking of young Ukrainian women."

The WFUWO prepared two statements to present to the delegations and non-governmental organizations present at the 1999 Commission on the Status of Women meeting in New York. Both statements were on issues of "Women and Health."

The first addressed Chornobyl's disastrous effect on women's reproductive health and its effects on future generations. It stated, in part:

"We recognize that women who are the foundation of future generations, suffer the greatest long-term effects of radiation poisoning, as well as chemical and industrial waste pollution and, therefore, we respectfully request that the Commission on the Status of Women take specific action to urge governments to place a heavy emphasis on safety when any new technology is developed or old technology used. Because this is a global threat and not just a local problem, we also request that the governments of the world allocate adequate resources to safeguard the Chornobyl nuclear facility and continue to decontaminate the air, soil and water in that area as much as possible. The consequences of the Chornobyl disaster must be regarded as a signal to the world that greater consideration must be given to the health effects of the use of nuclear power, feasibility of a repetition of the disaster, and preparedness and responsiveness of governments should the world again witness such a terrible event."

The second statement, which addressed health and trafficking of women stated:

"... it is sad to note that many thousands of individuals throughout the world are stripped of their basic rights every day, Trafficked women are neither free nor are they equal in dignity and rights, ... subject to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ... denied the right to a standard of living adequate for health ... in 50 years, societal values have not come far enough to affect the necessary fundamental changes in attitude towards women, a critical step in the process of recognizing women's equality to men with the same basic rights as men.

"The dynamic involvement of government, law enforcement, medical communities and society as a whole are essential to the effort of eliminating the threat of trafficking of women and reversing the perception of women as commodities ..."

These two statements were prepared by Ms. Stawnychy and Hanya Krill and distributed at meetings of the Commission on the Status of Women with the help of Nadia Shmigel.

On March 4, at the International Women's Day Conference on Women's Rights, First Lady Hillary Clinton spoke about women's rights and her related experiences in her travels throughout the world.

She specifically spoke about the trafficking issue and her experience in Ukraine, stating:

"...I also, in Ukraine, heard of women who told me with tears running down their faces that young women in their communities were disappearing. They answered ads that promised a much better future in another place and they were never heard from again. This is an international criminal activity, with traffickers operating boldly across international borders. But we are finally as a world beginning to address it. ... The U.S. government is working closely with the governments of Italy, Israel, Finland and Ukraine on this critical issue. ..."

The WFUWO was represented by Ms. Krill at the special session of a global video conference on" A World Without Violence Against Women," which was held March 8 at the United Nations.

At a session on "Health and the Environment" held on March 10, Helen Prociuk spoke on the effects of nuclear waste on women's health.

On March 18, a special panel on "Women's Rights to Health and Development" was organized by Dr. Christine Durbak, president of World Information Transfer and vice-chair of the Department of Public Information at the U.N.

The World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations was represented at the various sessions by its NGO representatives: Ms. Stawnychy, chief representative and public relations chairperson, Ms. Krill, Chrystyna Nawrocky, Yaroslawa Rubel and Dora Rak. The World Movement of Mothers, an organization affiliated with the WFUWO, was represented by Iryna Kurowycky, Mrs. Prociuk and Ms. Shmigel.

The WFUWO has expressed support for S600, "International Trafficking of Women and Children Victim Protection Act of 1999," a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Paul Wellsone (D- Minn.). Currently in the Foreign Relations Committee, this bill is aimed at protecting and providing temporary asylum to the victims of trafficking. The WFUWO has urged Ukrainian Americans to call their senators in support of this bill and help in the fight against international trafficking. (The full text of the bill is available on http://thomas.loc.gov/)

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