Long Overdue

by Mary Granholm

What do the U.S., Sudan, Somalia, Iran, Naura, Palau, and Tonga have in common?  You may be surprised at the answer.  They are the only seven countries that have not ratified CEDAW.  And what is CEDAW?  It’s the UN  Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women that was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 18, 1979, entered into force on September 5, 1981, and has been ratified by 189 countries.  The U.S. signed it on July 17, 1980, it was voted out of committee in 2002, but has not yet come up for a floor vote in the Senate yet.

Our Midpeninsula Chapter of UNA believes ratification is long overdue and thinks the timing is right for the Senate to ratify CEDAW before UN Day for Women’s Rights in March of 2010.  We urge all of our members to call or write Senator John Kerry, Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee to bring this to a vote on the floor of the Senate.

Please read the Talking Points on CEDAW and review the articles of the convention below:

The UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

Preamble: Notes that the U.N. Charter “reaffirms faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women;” that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights “affirms the principle of the inadmissibility of discrimination and proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, including distinction based on sex;” also notes the many resolutions, declarations, and recommendations adopted by the General Assembly and the specialized agencies of the United Nations promoting equal rights for men and women; yet expresses concern that “extensive discrimination against women continues to exist.”

Article 1: Defines discrimination against women as “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.”

Article 2: Instructs States Parties to condemn discrimination against women In all forms and pursue its elimination by all appropriate means, including changing national constitutions and enacting legislation.

Article 3: Mandates that States Parties take all appropriate measures in all fields to “ensure the full development and advancement of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them [equal rights].”

Article 4: Allows States Parties to adopt “temporary special measures” to promote equality for women.

Article 5: Requires that States Parties take all appropriate measures to modify social and cultural patterns of behavior to eliminate prejudices, practices and customs based on the inequality of, or prejudices against, either of the sexes and to ensure that family education provides a proper description of the social function of motherhood and the “common responsibility” of both men and women in child rearing and development.

Article 6: Mandates States Parties to prevent trafficking in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.

Article 7: Instructs States Parties to end discrimination against women in political and

event of marriage or maternity.

Article 12: Instructs States Parties to provide women equal rights with men in all aspects of health care.

Article 13: Declares that States Parties shall eliminate discrimination against women in all aspects of economic and social life, including family benefits, financial transactions such as loans and mortgages, and recreational and sporting activities.

Artkle 14: Highlights the particular problems and contributions of rural women and instructs States Parties to ensure the provisions of the present Convention are applied to them.

Article 15: Mandates that States Parties provide women equal status with men before the law, including with respect to contracts, the administration of property, the movement of persons, and choice of residence.

Article 16: Instructs States Parties to eliminate discrimination against women in all aspects of marriage and family relations, including providing equal rights with men.

Article 20: Declares the Committee shall meet at U.N. Headquarters each year for no more than two weeks.

Artkle 21: Mandates that the Committee report annually on its activities to the General Assembly, through the Economic and Social Council, and may make “suggestions and general recommendations based on the examination of reports and information received from the States Parties.”

Article 22: Allows for relevant U.N. specialized agencies to be represented at meetings of the Committee and authorizes the Committee to invite them to “submit reports on the implementation of the Convention.”

Article 23: States that nothing in the present Convention will “affect any provisions that are more conducive to the achievement of equality between men and women” that may be contained in a State Party’s legislation or in any other international treaty.

Article 24: Requires States Parties to “adopt all necessary measures at the national level aimed at achieving the full realization of the rights recognized in the present Convention.”

Article 25: Declares that CEDAW will be open for signature, ratification and accession by all states.

Article 26: Allows for any State Party to request a revision of the Convention at any time and states that the General Assembly “shall decide upon the steps, if any, to be taken in respect of such a request.”

Article 27: Declares that the Convention will enter into force thirty days after the twentieth ratification has been deposited and for countries ratifying thereafter, it will be thirty days before the treaty enters into force.

Article 28: Establishes procedures for reservations made by countries at the time of ratification or accession.

Article 29: Allows for disputes between States Parties to be submitted to arbitration.

Article 30: Instructs the Convention to be deposited with the Secretary General of the United Nations.

Essay Contest Winner from Saratoga

The first-place winner of the 2009 UNA National High School Essay Contest, Brandon Araki, hails from Saratoga and submitted his essay through our chapter. He was also our first-place winner. Congratulations Brandon! You can read the essay here.

New President of UNA-USA

Read an interview with the new president of the UNA-USA, Thomas J. Miller.

President’s Message

Changes and challenges are all around us and the UNA is not an exception. From changes in staffing and operational procedures at the national level to the significant appointment of Susan Rice as Ambassador to the UN with Cabinet status, and the restoration of funding to the Population Fund, 2009 promises to be a year of change and hope.

The Advocacy Agenda for this year is as follows:

• Strengthening of US-UN relationship
• Advancing human rights and international justice
• Renewing the UN
• Building international consensus on climate change
• Achieving the Millennium Development Goals
• Promoting arms control and disarmament.

I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to view some of the films from the annual United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF) on the second Monday of each month at 2 p.m. at the Avenidas Senior Center in Palo Alto. I also urge you to read our Book Club selections each month, even though your schedule may not permit you to join in the discussions. The March selection The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria is an especially thoughtful and perceptive look at where we have been, where we are at present, and our options for the future. It is, in my opinion, an outstanding work, well worth reading.
In closing, I would like to express my sincere congratulations to Brandon Araki of Saratoga who won first place in the 2009 UNA High School Essay Contest, not only in our local judging but nationally. We look forward to hearing about his experience in New York when he is honored at the National Convention in June.
—Mary Granholm

From Outrage to Courage

These words chosen by Anne Firth Murray of Stanford University as a title for her recent book are especially fitting. In her travels about the world and her years of working within the United Nations she found the situation in which many women find themselves today truly outrageous, demanding action. She founded in 1987 the Global Fund for Women, an organization giving grants to women’s groups working to improve the lives of women. Twenty years later, in 2008, the Global Fund provided funding to 697 women’s organizations all over the world.

Convinced that a huge segment of our society is totally unaware of the nature and extent of the injustices faced by women in many parts of the world she felt compelled to take action.

The result is an enlightening and well documented book which I recommend to all thoughtful and caring individuals. She has done extensive research on a wide range of issues, from preference for sons in many cultures through child labor and access to education, to reproductive care and rights, trafficking, property and voting rights, wage inequities, domestic violence, refugee problems, and aging in a man’s world.

Throughout the book are vignettes of what women’s groups throughout the world are doing to bring about change, most of them assisted by grants from the Global Fund. These examples are rays of hope that change is taking place, slowly but surely, in the midst of deplorable conditions for countless millions of women.

I would echo the response given to the question “What can we do “ at a meeting in South Africa where the answer was “Get the U.S. government to ratify CEDAW (Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child”.

–Mary Granholm, UNA Midpeninsula Chapter President

High-Voltage Message in Washington’s Frigid Air

Check out Jeffrey Laurenti’s take on the inauguration.

UNA Student Alliance Making A Difference in Ethiopia

Above: The UNA Student Alliance at Cupertino High School
in California, formed by students Derek Zhou and Alex Pommier,
held a fund raising event at their school on Saturday, December
20, 2008, raising funds to send school supplies to the the small
village of Gira Dima in Ethiopia.

By Mary Granholm

Published: Sunday, January 11, 2009

Mountain View, CA (Tadias) – When Derek Zhou won the United Nations Association (UNA) Essay Contest in our chapter two years ago he said he wanted to do something that would make a difference in the world. He is certainly doing just that. He and Alex Pommier, students at Cupertino High School, formed a UNA Student Alliance, recruited a Faculty Advisor, Bob Pelz, and 58 student members, and researched needs and organizations through which they might work.

They chose The World Family, a local organization supplying clinics and hospitals in Ethiopia, and now building a community center nearly completed, in the small village of Gira Dima in Ethiopia, that has no electricity or potable water. This center will have a clinic, classrooms, gathering place, and gardens, among other things, and solar panels will be installed to provide electricity. The students feel that education is the greatest key to making a difference in the lives of people and decided to focus in that area. They are collecting school supplies and hope to get a container off by spring.

Sorting School Supplies to Ship to Ethiopia (All Photo credit: Cupertino High
School United Nations Association’s photo stream at flickr)

These remarkable, dedicated, and visionary students held an event on Saturday, December 20, at their school, at which they held an auction and raffle of donated items. Art work, jewelry, restaurant meals, a helicopter ride, a lecture series, and even a 2-week stay for 8 people at a Hawaiian time-share were some of the rewards. They have now raised $6,500 toward their goal of $8,000, which is the cost of shipping a container. Incidentally, if you need an auctioneer, Derek would make a great choice.

Some of the students and their adviser hope to spend a month in Gira Dima in the summer.

Learn more at www.theworldfamily.org

Human Rights Day 2008

In commemoration of the 60^th Anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the Midpeninsula Chapter United Nations Association-USA and the Peninsula Chapter of the World Affairs Council of Northern California

Co-Present

Professor Allen Weiner, Stanford School of Law

“HUMAN RIGHTS, INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE, AND

AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM:

THE UNITED STATES AND THE

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT.”

The United States was one of the early champions of the human rights movement and international criminal justice institutions like the Nuremberg Tribunal and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. It is also a country with a deep constitutional tradition of respect for human rights and the rule of law. Yet the United States has been reluctant to join some of the most important international human rights treaties and has strongly opposed the International Criminal Court (ICC). What explains the U.S. attitude toward the ICC? What should the new Administration’s approach to the ICC be?

on UN Human Rights Day

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Refreshments 7:00pm, Speaker 7:30pm

Los Altos Youth Center

1 South San Antonio Rd., Los Altos 94022

Free and open to the public

Co-sponsors (partial list): American Association of University Women Palo Alto Branch (AAUW), American Red Cross Palo Alto Area, California Women’s Agenda (CAWA), League of Women Voters Palo Alto, Los Altos Library, Program on Global Justice Stanford University, United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF), Women’s Intercultural Network (WIN)

For information, www.unamidpen.org www.itsyourworld.org

Food for Thought

submitted by Jo Ford

The film A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman invites many parallels to contemporary situations, the main one being the arrogance of the doctrine of preemption. Revisiting the 1973 coup supported by our CIA in Chile inevitably brings to mind the invasion of Iraq. Both brought about impoverishment and suffering for the people of those countries, exile for many, and a culture of fear that is difficult to erase.

Dorfman, a writer has described the suffering of those in Chile in books and plays. He was exiled himself three times for long years, and in his interviews in the film, he articulates what it’s like. In re-defining “home” the Exile comes to see it, not as a specific place but as the place where one’s loved ones are, whether it is Argentina, France, or America.

The most insidious and lingering consequence of the U.S. government’s preemption was a culture of fear, enacted ironically by fear—the fear of communism in the Cold War. The problem with the culture of fear, Dorfman explains, is that the people become complicit in the action of the oppressors, accepting such tactics as torture, eavesdropping on private communications, and the permanent “disappearing” of friends and loved ones. In Chile, those arrested as enemies of the Pinochet government were “disappeared” leaving their families never to know whether the remains might be in a huge common grave or somewhere in the ocean. In Iraq, the same is true, except that remains may be grisly or unidentifiable body parts in a bus, a mall, or even a mosque.

The baffled grief of the survivors is poignantly expressed in the film. Dorfman, who was a member of Salvador Allende’s socialist government, amazingly was witness to two 9/11s, one in Santiago in 1973; the other in New York City. He fortunately escaped martyrdom on the day of the coup in Chile and resolved then to take as his mission telling the story of the violent coup and its consequences. The film’s visual examples not only show the sites he visited many years later, but dances of grieving widows and the invention of the tango, both of which capture the suffering.

It has seemed too painful at times to consider the suffering of Iraqi civilians caused by our preemptive war against that country. Thousands have fled into voluntary exile, for safety. And the ones who couldn’t afford to flee stayed to witness the devastation and danger, living in the fear that Dorfman described. We may well ask ourselves if we have become complicit in that fear and its tactics.

Dorfman concludes that the United States now knows it cannot interfere in the experiments of countries in South America which are hoping to find their way to the best government for the people of each country. The lesson we may have learned from the Chilean coup should give us pause in our diplomacy with leaders like Evo Morales and Hugo Chavez. That is a hope we might also apply to the Middle East.

4th Annual Ornament and Creche Show

Sunday, November 2nd, 2008

2 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Fabulous annual event at the Gift Shop that signals the beginning of the Holiday Season!  Our collection of ornaments, stockings, nativities and dozens of exciting and inexpensive gifts are hand made, fair trade and come from all around the world.

We are at 552 Emerson St., Palo Alto, CA.