*EPF410 10/09/2003
Text: Women's Programs Critical to Countries' Reforms, State Official Says
(Dobriansky opens first-ever meeting of ministers of women's affairs) (1980)

Women's programs are critical to countries' political, economic, educational and health reforms, says Paula Dobriansky, U.S. under secretary of state for global affairs.

Addressing ministers of women's affairs from 60 governments October 7 at the State Department, Dobriansky said: "Whether at home or abroad, our approach is simple. We seek women's full participation in every dimension of life."

"Women's issues are humankind's issues; when women benefit, humanity benefits," she said.

Dobriansky lent U.S. support to the ministers' meeting scheduled the following day. Participants in the meeting shared information about their countries' achievements in promoting and making visible women's participation in all sectors of their societies and the challenges they still face. At that first-ever gathering of ministers of women's affairs, held at Georgetown University in Washington, attendees agreed to establish a formal "network" to continue the information exchange and to develop ideas of how their governments can integrate gender issues in all parts of their missions.

There is "remarkable work being done" to advance women's political and economic roles, but because of political turnover in ministries and a lack of adequate resources to address women's issues, ministers don't always get the information they need, Canada's Kim Campbell said at the end of the meeting. The first woman to serve as Canada's prime minister, in 1993, Campbell served as chair of the Council of Women World Leaders from 1999 through the conference. She was succeeded by Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and U.N. high commissioner for human rights.

The council, founded in the late 1990s to advance the work of women leaders in government, organized the meeting with Georgetown University Women's Leadership Initiative.

Dobriansky, who oversees the State Department's Office for International Women's Issues, said department representatives were currently participating in women's programs in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, and then would to go to Iraq to hear from Iraqi women how the United States can help them enhance their involvement in their country's reconstruction.

She added that the United States is sponsoring a U.N. resolution on "Women and Political Participation," which recognizes that to achieve democracy, development and peace in the world, women must actively participate in all levels of decision making.

The United States also is establishing partnerships between some of the U.S.'s most powerful and influential women in business and women of five post-conflict areas -- Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cambodia, Colombia and the Balkans -- the under secretary said.

Already in Afghanistan, the Afghan Women's Council, a public-private partnership, has established mentoring programs, micro-enterprise and micro-finance projects, and has paid for women's centers, she said.

Several critical themes emerged during the conference, Jean Augustine, Canada's secretary of state for the status of women and multiculturalism, said at a concluding press conference. These included the poverty women disproportionately face; inadequate budgets for equality-focused programs; violence against women, a problem that affects women of all socio-economic levels; trafficking of persons, which has become more prevalent as cross-border trade has increased, and HIV/AIDS.

Other themes were increasing women's economic participation and employment, eliminating discrimination at work, and boosting women's participation in the political arena as candidates and as informed voters.

Ministers also discussed the importance of working with nongovernmental organizations that offer extra skills and expertise, and of reaching out to rural women who tend to feel isolated and are less familiar with their legal rights than are urban women.

Representatives of gender departments of intergovernmental organizations also attended the meeting.

Following is the text of Dobriansky's prepared remarks:

(begin text)

OPENING REMARKS FOR UNDER SECRETARY DOBRIANSKY
MINISTERS OF WOMEN'S AFFAIRS CONFERENCE
HOSTED BY THE COUNCIL OF WOMEN WORLD LEADERS
October 7, 2003

I am delighted to be here today and welcome you to the Department of State. It is an honor to address such an impressive collection of leaders from across the globe. Your presence here today is a landmark, reflecting the progress we are achieving on behalf of women in all regions of the world.

I thank the Council of Women World Leaders for advancing the work of women leaders in government across the globe. Your valuable contributions since 1997 have helped build democracy by improving women's participation in their societies.

And a special thank you to Georgetown University, for hosting this conference and continuing to provide leadership in this important area.

Let me say at the outset that the broad principles underlying our approach to the issues on your agenda are truly inclusive in scope. As President Bush said in his first State of the Union Address: "America will always stand firm for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity: the rule of law; limits on the power of the state; respect for women; private property; free speech; equal justice; and religious tolerance."

These values are a vital part of our interaction with the whole world -- and their scope includes both women and men, always and everywhere. Women's issues are humankind's issues; when women benefit, humanity benefits. Women are one-half of our societies, and no society prospers when 50 percent of its population is unable to contribute and participate equally in its progress.

That is why, at the current UN General Assembly session, the U.S. is sponsoring a resolution on "Women and Political Participation," which recognizes that without women's active participation in all levels of decision-making, the goals of democracy, development, and peace cannot be achieved.

As we work to meet the challenges that women face, whether at home or abroad, our approach is simple. We seek women's full participation in every dimension of life.

Women must be encouraged to participate, to be players, to have their voices heard and make their contributions felt alongside our male counterparts.

At the same time, we must acknowledge that challenges to this approach remain in many parts of the world, including my own country. And that is why we also pursue policies and initiatives that are directed in particular toward helping women overcome any obstacles they continue to confront.

As Ministers of Women's Affairs, you face the special challenges of making sure that women's issues are included in every sector, within government and beyond. We have surely come a long way together. but we still have a long way to go. I commend you for all your work so far -- and I promise to support your valuable efforts in the future.

In fact, my own Office in the Department of State has a special role in this regard. I oversee the work of the Senior Coordinator for International Women's Issues, Charlie Ponticelli, who could not be with us here tonight. She and our regional expert Dave Pollock have to travel to the Middle East instead, to participate in women's programs in Abu Dhabi and Kuwait.

They will then fly on to Iraq, to talk with the brave women of that newly liberated country about how we can help them enhance their involvement in the reconstruction of their own society.

Other current and recent members of our International Women's Issues team are here with us tonight --- and I want particularly to recognize the contributions of Homeyra Mokhtarzada and Sarah Bannister to making this conference so successful.

Allow me to take a few moments to tell you about some of our other international efforts, in the Middle East and elsewhere.
The Middle East Partnership Initiative was launched in December 2002. Its goal: to expand economic, political, and educational opportunities for all by providing sustained support for reforms in these areas to our partners in the region.

This initiative encompasses the more than $1 billion in assistance that the U.S. Government already provides to Arab countries, above and beyond our enormous investment in Iraq, each year --- plus substantial additional resources for creative new approaches to age-old issues of political, economic, and educational reform.

Women's programs are a critical component in each of these three broad areas. And we have also set aside a special category of projects just for women, making that the fourth pillar of the Middle East Partnership Initiative, or MEPI for short.

This strong new emphasis on women in this region underscores our dedication to helping transform the lives and opportunities of all for the better.

Beyond the Middle East, in other regions recovering from crisis and conflict, women's issues are also, in Secretary Powell's phrase, "an integral part of U.S. foreign policy." As the Secretary noted: "Women are the most vulnerable group when conflict erupts and societies break down. Eighty percent of the world's refugees and displaced are women and children. If women are prime victims of conflict, they are also key to a society's recovery."

And if governments must play a crucial part in advancing such progress, they must also be able to count on support from other sectors of society. That is why another new ingredient in our approach is to foster, wherever possible, public-private partnerships to build awareness and long-lasting ties that will result in improved conditions for women.

For example, in the spirit of UNSCR [U.N. Security Council Resolution] 1325, we are beginning to put together a partnership between some of America's most powerful and influential women business leaders, and the women of five post-conflict areas: Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cambodia, Colombia, and the Balkans.

Already, in Afghanistan we have made progress through the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council. This public/private partnership has established mentoring programs, micro-enterprise and micro-finance projects, and funding for Women's Centers.

In the other countries I mentioned, we are working to identify and implement public-private partnerships and programs that are most appropriate for the women involved.

Even in the most developed countries, women still face challenges -- different ones, to be sure, but sometimes difficult nonetheless. That is why we recognize that the global linkages this conference creates help us all, by hearing and learning from each other across the cleavages of continents and cultures.

We also recognize that, everywhere in the world, women's health is vital to the overall health of humanity. We are determined to do our share in what must be a global endeavor in this area.

For example, President Bush announced, in his State of the Union address this year, an Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. This is a 5-year, $15 billion effort to turn the tide of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, a plan that is to include the President's International Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative.

Let me conclude with a simple observation: the countries where women are treated with dignity, where they are granted a choice in how they live their lives, granted equal access to fundamental services, and afforded an equal opportunity to contribute to society -- these are the countries in today's world that are most peaceful, prosperous, and free.

That is why our work for women's political participation and economic empowerment is so important, and why it is also far from over. We will continue to work together to give women the opportunity to reach their true potential. Only then can we fulfill the promise of humanity as a whole.

I thank you again for your leadership, and I wish this important conference and all its participants the greatest success in your efforts.

Now, it gives me great pride and pleasure to introduce the Honorable Kim Campbell. You may know her as the first woman Prime Minister of Canada, but tonight she is here as the Chair of the Council of Women World leaders. The Council under her leadership should be commended for organizing this remarkable gathering. It is not often that this many champions of women's rights are gathered under one roof.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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