Draft Agreed Conclusions

Here is a link to the "Draft Agreed Conclusions on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination and Violence against the Girl Child –CSW51." From first glance it seems as if some our recommendations were indeed implemented! I know for the Peace Caucus, our suggestions appear to have been accepted. Of course, other Caucus's could have also reinforced some language.

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/csw51/pdfs/CSW%20agreed%20conclusions_as%20adopted_9%20March.pdf

If you are an American reader, I encourage you to do what you can locally to lobby your government at all levels to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The United States is only developed nation to NOT have ratified these two conventions. For the US reservations to ratifying, see the last blog on the "Letter to Sen. Biden." The lives that are being destroyed at alarming rates because of uninformed fear is devastating. Here is the first recommendation on norms and policies in the Agreed Conclusions:

"Consider ratifying or acceding to, as a particular matter of priority, the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women and their respective Optional Protocols, limit
the extent of any reservations that they lodge and regularly review such reservations with
a view to withdrawing them so as to ensure that no reservation is incompatible with the
object and purpose of the relevant treaty; and implement them fully by, inter alia, putting
in place effective national legislation, policies and action plans; AGREED"