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MADRE Reasserting Women's Human Rights at Beijing+10

March 1, 2005�New York. Ten years after the United Nations women�s conference in Beijing and at the launch of Women�s History month, government delegates and thousands of non-governmental organizations are gathering in New York this week to evaluate governments� progress in fulfilling their commitments to the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA), the most comprehensive set of commitments ever made to advance women�s human rights. MADRE, an international women�s human rights organization, has brought a delegation of 170 women from all regions of the world to participate in the Beijing + 10 Review Process, or B+10.

MADRE views B+10 as an important opportunity to reassert a women�s human rights agenda at a political moment rife with hostility towards human rights. Since 2001, the US-driven �war on terror� has come to dominate global policymaking and been used to sideline ongoing urgent concerns, such as eliminating violence against women and stemming the spread of preventable diseases, including AIDS; and to rationalize other destructive priorities, such as increasing military spending and expanding free trade agreements. Indeed, as the prosecutor of the �war on terror;� as the world�s richest country and leading stakeholder in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; as the only industrialized country to refuse to ratify the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and to enable right-wing activists to hijack policy in the name of religion; and as the only Permanent Member of the UN Security Council to routinely disregard principles of international cooperation and the UN Charter itself, the United States bears special scrutiny when it comes to violations of women�s human rights.

Despite serious obstacles posed by the US and other governments to the achievement of the BPFA, MADRE, in concert with other women�s organizations globally, is working to advance�rather than merely defend�women�s human rights. MADRE calls for a mutually reinforcing relationship between the UN Millennium Development Goals and the BPFA, and rejects violations of women�s human rights in the name of national security or culture. MADRE calls on governments to reaffirm the BPFA and commit to stronger actions to respect, protect, and fulfill women�s human rights.

To ensure that Indigenous women�s voices�historically excluded from international fora�are heard at B+10, MADRE sponsored �Bringing Indigenous Perspectives to the International Arena,� a conference of the International Indigenous Women�s Forum�s on February 26 and 27, 2005. The conference enabled Indigenous women from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North America to share ideas and strategies for their ongoing work and for maximizing the impact of their participation in B+10. Conference speakers and participants included internationally recognized Indigenous leaders from MADRE�s sister organizations in Latin America and Africa, and dozens of other women committed to working for Indigenous rights in the context of the international women�s movement and for women�s rights within Indigenous movements and communities.

Available for Interviews:

Lucy Mulenkei is the Executive Director of MADRE�s sister organization in Kenya, the Indigenous Information Network (IIN), and Chair of the African Indigenous Women�s Organization (AIWO). Ms. Mulenkei�s expertise lie in sustainable development, human rights and women�s sexual rights and reproductive health of Indigenous pastoral communities in Kenya. She is deeply involved in African and international networks of Indigenous women activists and has played a critical role in many UN conferences and forums.

Mirna Cunningham, an international expert in Indigenous women�s human rights, has worked with MADRE for more than 20 years. She is a former member of the National Assembly of Nicaragua, Minister of Health, and Governor of the North Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. Ms. Cunningham has also been the Vice President of the Indigenous Peace Initiative and the General Secretary of the Interamerican Indigenous Institute.

MADRE: Vivian Stromberg and Yifat Susskind, are MADRE�s Executive Director and Communications Director, respectively. MADRE is an international women�s human rights organization that works in partnership with women�s community-based groups in conflict areas worldwide. Our programs address issues of armed conflict and forced displacement; women's health and reproductive rights; economic justice and community development; Indigenous Peoples' rights and resources, food security and sustainable development; human rights advocacy; youth; and US foreign policy.

Click here for more information about MADRE activities during B+10