Wgg report 2009 1010

3. Annual Report to the NGO Committee on UNICEF 2009-2010

4. During the past year, the Working Group on Girls has continued to focus its efforts on institutionalizing girls’ rights throughout the United Nations system.

5. To that end it has worked very deliberately with selected Member States, UN mechanisms, NGO’s and media outlets • Department of Public Information • Third Committee • ECOSOC Commission on the Status of Women • Gender and Human Rights Division of UNICEF • CoNGO Civil Society Forum • NGO/CSW • Public Broadcasting System (PBS)

6. To that end it has worked very deliberately with selected Member States, UN mechanisms, NGO’s and media outlets • Department of Public Information • Third Committee • ECOSOC Commission on the Status of Women • Gender and Human Rights Division of UNICEF • CoNGO Civil Society Forum • NGO/CSW • Public Broadcasting System (PBS)

7. Moving Girls’ Agenda Forward . . . Working Group on Girls of the NGO Committee on UNICEF WGG Co-Chairs - Steering Committee Overall Goal: Institutionalizing of Girls Rights through the UN System and Structures including UN Agencies, Members States and NGOs Strategic Development for Institutionalization of Girls Rights: Co-Chairs and the WGG-Steering Group Communication & Program Administration Communication Secretary: Advocacy - Mary Jo Toll Task Force on Coordinator: Carolyn Winifred Through HR Inst. Protecting Girls from Donovan Doherty CEDAW and CRC Violence Doris Schapira Newsletter: Coordinator: Events - Corresponding Susan O’Malley Third Committee Victoria Edmonds Secretary: CSW51 - Eleanor Implementation Schlesinger Beth Adamson. Web-site: Coordinator: Girls Participation Mary Ann Strain CSW54 Ann Scholz & Adwoa Aidoo Zelia Cordiero Allison Attenello Treasurer : Task Force on White House Council on Ruth International Network for Goodgold Women & Girls DPI Girls Research & Writing Jill Marie Sens Yvonne Rafferty Fundraising Ad-hoc Committee Facebook Coordinator Steering New UN Gender Entity Mary Jo Ryan & Group Stephanie Wolfe Ashley Steimer

8. Third Committee Advocacy • Monitored the opening statements in the General Debate to gauge which countries would be best to approach for advocacy on the resolutions • Communicated both in person and by email with Members utilizing WGG Talking Points • Monitored progress on the biennial resolution on girls’ rights • Contributed to the resolution on the rights of the child

9. Talking Points for the Third Committee were developed and shared with UN Agencies and Missions • In 2009, Section 3 of the Resolution focused on “The right of the child to express his/her views freely in all matters affecting him/her.” We focused on the following areas: • Gender discrimination as a result of gender inequality • Structural violence and discrimination against the girl child • Family/household responsibilities • Girls in the worst forms of child labour • (a) Girls affected by slavery like practices (child trafﬁcking, commercial sexual exploitation) • Other forms of gender-based violence and Other areas of discrimination against girls

10. The WGG Supported the UNICEF 20th Anniversary Commemoration of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by publicizing the event through our network and encouraging our member organizations to invite girls to attend the event

16. Collaboration with UNIFEF on UNICEF Paper for CSW54

17. Collaboration with UNIFEF on UNICEF Paper for CSW54 In this paper, we commented on the points raised by UNICEF and made a number of substantial recommendations which were subsequently incorporated in the UNICEF report.

18. The WGG at CSW 54 The Working Group on Girls (WGG) was committed to ensuring that girls were present and that their needs and concerns were adequately addressed by the Commission. To that end the WGG: • Submitted a written statement focusing on girls to the CSW • Talking Points were developed and passed to the Advocacy Group to guide their discussions with missions. • Welcomed Girls to CSW 54 • Encouraged NGOs and Member States to include girls on their delegations • Facilitated girls’ participation at CSW 54 • Advocated with and on behalf of girls with member states and UN Agencies • Planned preparatory and parallel events which focus on girls rights and concerns • Communicated information about CSW 54 to our constituents

19. Our advocacy with negotiating groups was focused on CSW 54 and the gender entity. BUKINA JAPAN PORTUGAL UNITED STATES FASO COLUMBIA NAMIBIA SPAIN EGYPT NIGERIA SWEDEN

20. Girls’ Participation Youth Orientation attended by over 80 girls and boys.

21. Girls’ Participation Youth Orientation attended by over 80 girls and boys.

22. Quotes from Participants Youth Orientation for CSW

23. Quotes from Participants Youth Orientation for CSW • I enjoyed this and it was a great experience that will never leave me! • IT WAS REALLY GOOD! • I was so glad to be here! • Overall, today was really helpful and motivating for the CSW. • If the youth at CSW speak up and have a voice than the issues can be solved. • It was great to see so many guys there.

24. Working Group on Girls of the NGO Committee on UNICEF Invites Girls ages 12 - 18 yrs Talk and Share... A GIRLS-ONLY WORKSHOP You are invited to attend a workshop for girls* during the 54th Session of the CSW! This workshop will focus on learning about the CSW 54th theme: the Beijing Platform for Action with a particular emphasis on section L. The workshop will also provide a space in which girls learn about the process that government delegates use to write an "outcome document" and mirror this process by beginning to Girls Only Workshop shape a girls’ statement. This workshop is the only GIRLS-ONLY event that will be held during CSW 54. All girls are invited to participate in this exciting event! * Boys are an important part of the girls’ movement, so there At this workshop held during will be a separate discussion with them. CSW 54, girls learned about the Date: Monday, March 1, 2010 process government delegates Time: 4:00-5:30 PM use to write an “outcome Location: Church Center 11th floor document” and mirror this 777 United Nations Plaza (Corner of 1st Ave and 44th Street) process by writing a girls’ New York, NY 10017 statement. This event is sponsored by: 40 girls attended. 5 boys attended a parallel boys session.

25. Girl- Boy Dialogue Date: All youth are invited to attend a girl - boy dialogue during Thursday, March 4, 2010 the 54th Session of the CSW! We will discuss Section L of the Beijing Platform for Girl-Boy Dialogue Action and how boys and girls come together to work Time: toward gender parity. We’ll consider these questions: 4:00 - 5:30PM  Why is it important for boys and girls to learn about Beijing and particularly section L?  How can boys and young men become allies for girls and young women? Girls and boys discussed Section Location: Church Center 10th Floor  Why is this important in varying social and cultural contexts? L of the Beijing Platform for  What are examples of youth taking the lead in this work amongst their peers and how can others learn Action. 777 United Nations Plaza from it? (Corner of 1st and 44th street) Participants included 35 youth. New York, NY 10017

26. A Girls Global Platform for Action: Universal Day of the Girl - Co-hosted with PLAN Girls from across the globe called for September 22nd to be proclaimed the Universal Day of the Girl. A girl-led open panel and interactive media session debated why girls should be celebrated and why their issues should be permanently on the agendas of duty-bearers in every country.

27. COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND THE GIRL CHILD: PROMISING PREVENTION AND REINTEGRATION PROGRAMS Parallel Event during the 54th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Baha’i International Community, 866 United Nations Plaza (East Side of 1st Ave., bet. 48th and 49th St., First Floor) Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 1:00 pm – 3:00pm Commercial sexual exploitation of girls is an egregious crime, an extreme form of violence, and a major violation of children’s human rights. It presents grave risks to the physical, psychological, spiritual and social- emotional development of young victims. This presentation highlights a number of promising prevention strategies and describes some noteworthy examples of innovative recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration programs and policies. Panel: Marta Santos Pais, Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children Nan Kennelly, Deputy Director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, United States Department of State Daniel Seymour, Chief, Gender Equality & Human Rights Unit – UNICEF Gaynel Curry, Gender and Women’s Rights Advisor, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Rachel Lloyd, Girls Education and Mentoring Services (GEMS), New York Carol Smolenski, ECPAT-USA Gary Barker, International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) PRESENTED BY THE TASK FORCE TO PROTECT GIRLS FROM VIOLENCE Co-Chairs of the Parallel Event: Doris Schapira, League of Women Voters of the United States Yvonne Rafferty, Pace University, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) Sponsors: NGO Committee on UNICEF Working Group on Girls (WGG); League of Women Voters of the United States; Associated Country Women of the World; ECPAT; Baha'is of the United States; Maryknoll Sisters; International Council of Jewish Women; ORT America; Pan Pacific South East Asia Women's Association; Women of Reform Judaism; World ORT Union; Zonta; International Federation of University Women

38. The NGO Committee on UNICEF Working Group On Girls “Keeping our Promises to Girls”: Girls Review the Toolkit for Follow-up to CSW 51 Keeping our We are excited to hear girl delegates showcase their worldwide response to the toolkit created for implementation of the Agreed Conclusions of the 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Promises to Girls Women: “Elimination of Violence and Discrimination against the Girl Child”. Girls will present a powerpoint review of CSW 51 and Tool kit responses to issues of Health and Poverty of the Girl Child. We will hear directly from girl delegate(s) about their own view of the state of girls in the world. Following, we will launch the Set III Toolkit questions on the Protection, Migration and Trafficking of Girls, inviting YOU to participate by using these Indicator questions in Discussion Groups such as the following: girls groups, mixed groups of girls and boys, adults, schools, church communities, NGO’s, local, state, & government venues, and UN settings. Girl delegates showcased their Wednesday, March 3rd worldwide response to the toolkit 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. Auditorium, Salvation Army created for implementation of the Programme: 221 East 52nd Street, bet 2nd and 3rd Ave. Agreed Conclusions of CSW 51 Greeting: Elaine Basinger, Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd WGG Indicators as an Important Implementation Tool of the UN CSW51 follow-up Girl Delegates present Powerpoint of Indicator Responses from Girls around the World We launched Set III Toolkit Current Girl Delegates of CSW54 share their own experiences and views questions on Protection, Open Feedback & questions from other Delegates who work with the Girl Child Migration and Trafﬁcking Formal Launch of Set III Indicators on Protection, Migration and Trafficking of Girls

39. WGG Advocacy: Caucus on Girls Caucus on Girls This caucus prepared participants, March 1, 2010 especially girls, to advocate with 12:00 - 1:30 delegations during CSW 54 using WGG 10th floor-Church Center Talking Points Advocacy reports were posted at: Sponsored by: http://caucusongirls.wordpress.com/ Working Group on Girls and Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur

40. DPI/NGO Relations invites you to a Briefing “Girls’ Education: An End to Poverty?” Thursday, 1 April 2010 10:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Conference Room 2, North Lawn Building Background Information “Investing in girls’ education delivers well-known returns. When girls are educated, they are more likely to earn higher wages and obtain better jobs, to have fewer and healthier children and to enjoy safer childbirth.” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon World Population Day, 11 July 2009 Established as a human right over 60 years ago, education is unquestionably a valuable investment for countries in the development of their people, allowing them in turn to make better lives for themselves. Nowhere is this more important than in developing countries, and most specifically among the adolescent female population. According to an important study on the subject by the Center for Global Development, entitled Girls Count: A Global Investment and Action Agenda: “without adequate skills and training, and without access to economic self-sufficiency, many girls in developing countries enter into child marriages. One in seven girls in developing countries marry by age 15, and in 15 countries throughout South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, almost half of all girls are married before age 18.” There is also a very strong link between lack of education, gender inequality and poverty. This is underscored by the Girls Count study: “approximately one-sixth of the world’s young people live on less than two dollars a day….This level of extreme poverty determines the lives and possibilities for many young women and girls, such as the 122 million girls in sub-Saharan Africa who live on less than one dollar a day.” Indeed, for girls and women living in poverty, education is not only the key to a brighter future but the means for survival and a critical driver for economic growth United Nations, DPI/NGO Relations Cluster, Room S-1070 J Tel: (917) 367-9380 / (212) 963 7709 ! Fax: (212) 963-6914 ! E-mail: section1d@un.org The WGG partnered with Channel 13 and the Department of Public Information to organize a brieﬁng on “Girls’ Education: An End to Poverty?”

46. SAVE THE DATE! DATE: THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2010 Venue: UN Church Center – Hardin Room 11th Floor Time: 1:15 – 2:30 PM NGO Committee on the Status of Women in Partnership with the NGO Committee on UNICEF Working Group on Girls Presents EDUCATION FOR THE 21st CENTURY: POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR EMPOWERMENT PANEL MEMBERS: ! Dr. Susan Fuhrman, President of Teachers College, Columbia University ! Ms. Anne Namakau Mutelo, Counsellor Permanent Mission of Namibia to the United Nations ! Dr. Barbara Reynolds, Senior Advisor, Education Section UNICEF ! Ms. Malaak Compton-Rock, Founder and Director of Angelrock Projects, and students: Jasmine Figuero Benjamin Goode Joshua Hall Sydney Smart ! Journey for Change: Empowering Youth through Global Service ! Ann Scholz, SSND, Moderator—Working Group on Girls LEADERSHIP: Vivian Pender, Chair of NGOCSW/NY Catherine E. Moore, Mary Ann Strain Co-chairs Working Group on Girls With support from the Executive Committee of NGOCSW/NY and the WGG Steering Committee ORGANIZERS OF THIS EVENT: Victoria Edmonds, Salvation Army NGO Representative; member of NGOCSW/NY Executive Committee & WGG Steering Committee Catherine E. Moore, International Federation of University Women (IFUW) Coordinator/ Representative; member of NGOCSW Executive Committee & WGG Steering Committee Collaboration with NGO/CSW

59. The WGG continued to make use of: the Internet, our publications and list serve to communicate with our network and the UN community.

60. Features of www.girlsrights.org • Action for Girls • CSW 51 Tool Kit • UNICEF News and Photo Essay Feeds • Task Forces • Fact Sheets on Girls • and much more . . .

64. WGG Blogs http://thewgg.wordpress.com/ http://caucusongirls.wordpress.com/

65. Facebook

66. Action for Girls Our publication, “Action for Girls” is published three times a year in English, French and Spanish.

69. New Information Sheet on the WGG We developed a new information sheet about the WGG and the INfG that we could distribute at events sponsored by the working group.

70. New Information Sheet on the WGG We developed a new information sheet about the WGG and the INfG that we could distribute at events sponsored by the working group.

71. The WGG built capacity within its own membership by: • involving all members in planning programs • engaging in ongoing self-evaluation • mentoring new members • networking internally • membership expansion • bringing in new skill sets • inviting experts on pertinent issues to speak at membership meetings

72. The WGG built capacity within its own membership by: • involving all members in planning programs • engaging in ongoing self-evaluation • mentoring new members • networking internally • membership expansion • bringing in new skill sets • inviting experts on pertinent issues to speak at membership meetings

73. Belen Sapag of the Chilean Mission was our guest speaker at our September 2009 Membership Meeting. She briefed the membership on the work of the Third Committee

74. Rima Salah Deputy Special Representative for the UN and in Chad and esteemed WGG member was visited in October. Rima shared some experiences of her mission in Chad offering protection to refugees and displaced persons particularly women and girls. She spoke of witnessing the voluntary return of displaced person and refugees, the rebuilding of villages and the restoration of the rule of law, the training of magistrates, training of police etc.

75. Dorchen A.Leidholdt Our guest speaker in October was Dorchen A.Leidholdt, Director of the Center for Battered Women’s Legal Services at Sanctuary for Families in New York City gave a very information Powerpoint presentation on ‘Trafﬁcking in Girls and Young Women’.

76. About Me and My Sisters Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the CRC, the panel “About Me and My Sisters” featured ﬁve extraordinary girls who have contributed at the local level with a sense of responsibility to girls globally. Khadija Lalani, Adeola Okuduwa, Sydney, Hsin-Jung Wei, and Abbey Flynn (via Skype) spoke at our membership meeting in November.

77. Workshop on Social Networking Mary Jo Ryan and Stephanie Wolfe presented a very informative workshop on Social Networking Facebook and Twitter and the WGG’s planned utilization of social media during CSW 54 at the membership meeting in January. They prepared a PowerPoint presentation which is posted on the website.

78. Janet Nixon - of Pan Paciﬁc and Southeast Asian Women’s Association and WGG member was our guest speaker in February. Janet has an extensive background in diplomacy, having been posted to American Embassies in Europe, the Middle East and South America. She has also served as the Chief of Protocol at the US Mission to the United Nations. The theme of the presentation was ‘It’s CSW Time - Are you Representing your NGO at your Best?’

79. Gail Bindley-Taylor Sainte Information Ofﬁcer, NGO Relations – Department of Public Information was our speaker in April. 2010 is the International Year of Youth. Ms. Bindley-Taylor Sainte discussed further opportunities for WGG collaboration with DPI in connection with this international year.

80. 2010 ECOSOC High Level Segment (HLS): Implementing the Internationally Agreed Goals and Commitments in regard to Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. Our written statement urged the High Level Segment not to overlook the rights of the the girl child to gender equality and empowerment. Some highlights: After decades of promises, girls are still denied their political, economic, social and cultural rights and subjected to cultural and legally sanctioned behaviours that present a grave risk to their physical, psychological, spiritual and social-emotional development. If we are serious about human rights, we must acknowledge the barriers to equality that hold girls back and act to end discrimination and violence against them. Discrimination and violence against girls will not end until governments and their citizens address gender inequality. This will require addressing the cultural norms, gender roles and gender stereotypes that are at the root of gender inequality. It will also require a commitment to ensure gender equality in education. Research has repeatedly conﬁrmed there is no tool for development more effective than education—especially the education of girls and women. No other policy is as likely to (a) raise economic productivity; (b) lower infant and maternal mortality, (c) improve nutrition, promote health; and (d) increase the chances of education for the next generation.

81. Thank You!

82. Thank You!

Wgg report 2009 1010

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

En vedette

En vedette (15)

Similaire à Wgg report 2009 1010

Similaire à Wgg report 2009 1010 (20)

Plus de Cull Martin & Associates, Inc.

Plus de Cull Martin & Associates, Inc. (16)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

Wgg report 2009 1010

Notes de l'éditeur