US Congressional Action Alert

UN Commission on the Status of Women and Iraq’s Women and Democracy Project
March 18, 2024

United Nations Commission on the Status of Women 2004
The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) held its 48th session March 1-12, 2004, at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Hundreds of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) gathered with representatives from member states to discuss two thematic issues:

1. the role of men and boys in achieving gender equality; and
2. women’s equal participation in conflict prevention, management, and resolution and in post-conflict peace building.

CSW produced a set of Agreed Conclusions for each theme, outlining the UN’s commitments and priorities. Negotiated and agreed on by the 45 CSW member states, including the US delegation, the Agreed Conclusions, as well as additional details about the session, are available on the United Nations website: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/48sess.htm.

As a member of the United Nations, the United States endorsed the equal participation of women, reiterated in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. We encourage you to use the language in the above link to advocate for women’s inclusion in decision-making positions within the US and international governments.

Women and Democracy Project in Iraq
On March 8, International Women’s Day, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell announced a $10 million Iraqi Women’s Democracy Initiative and creation of the US-Iraq Women’s Network.
These two programs are part of President Bush’s strategy for promoting freedom in the Greater Middle East.

The Iraqi Women’s Democracy Initiative will provide training in leadership skills and organizing political and other civil society activities. Under the initiative, Iraqi women will participate in workshops on constitutional law, independent media, human rights, NGO management, and civil society development.

The new US-Iraq Women’s Network will bring together prominent American and Iraqi NGO representatives and business leaders, who will form public-private partnerships to foster Iraqi women’s participation in both the political and economic sectors. The US-Iraq Women’s Network is modeled after the US-Afghan Women’s Council.

The international community and Iraqi women applaud the allocation of these critically needed resources; however, it is imperative that the funds be used efficiently and effectively. Some recommendations include:

1. widespread capacity building and training of women at the grassroots level, rather than focusing exclusively on an elite group of women;
2. close coordination with similar initiatives organized by the United Nations and US Agency for International Development;
3. training and employment of local Iraqi or regional NGOs to conduct the democracy trainings; and
4. cultivation of a qualified group of women to run for office and reach the desired goal of 25 percent women’s representation in the future Parliament (as indicated in the draft Iraqi Transitional Law).

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