Preparing a world conference is a gigantically complicated task. It is not just to find a venue that is large enough to accommodate thousands of participants: government representatives, civil society, a team of international experts, the press and social media. In the UN work, I was involved several times in preparation of world conference. The latest was as Principal Advisor to the Secretary-General of the 1995 UN Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing. The experience was quite overwhelming but memorable for me. I find that the most creative and complex part of the preparatory process is the writing of a text of the Draft Outcome for representative of UN member states to negotiate and adopt for action when the conference ends. On January 25, the UN Headquarters holds an initial discussions in New York on the text of the Draft outcome for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 20-22 June of this year, titled “The Future We Want”. The input for the text of the Draft Outcome was from the outcome of regional conferences held last year in Santiago, Cairo, Seoul, Addis Ababa and Geneva. They include a call to governments to find a better way to measure the wealth of countries that adequately reflect the three pillars for a sustainable development (economic, social and environmental), and to include the concept of “Green Economy” as a tool for sustainable development. Participants from the region conferences wanted the text to include the establishment of national sustainable development council. The two days discussion will see how to add to the text of the Draft Outcome on whether to strengthen UNEP to change it into a specialized agency or a World Environment Organization.The development of sustainable development goals will surely be included in the text. I think the Draft Outcome should highlight the fact that human beings are at the center of concern for sustainable development, and that women have an important role to play in this negotiation to reflect what they want for their future, especially, in the management and use of natural resources.
2011 was the year full of conflicts caused mainly by intolerance of cultural, political and religious differences. The diversity of cultures and forms of expressions are seen by many as a basis for hatred rather than a cause for celebration. I was shocked when hearing the news that almost a hundred youngsters at summer camp in Norway lost their lives, killed by one mad man, a Christian fundamentalist who saw multiculturalism as a threat to the supremacy of the white race. Muslim fundamentalists were active in killing Christians in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and also killed Christians in Northern Nigeria and in Indonesia. Israeli Jews and their Zionist supporters also killed Palestinians in Gaza, the West bank and Jerusalem, no matter whether they were Muslims or Christians. In Thailand, politicians mobilized people into red and yellow shirts to show difference in political loyalty and encouraged them to fight one another causing many lost of lives. Over thirty years of my international work, I belief in tolerance as the virtue that makes peace possible in the our world. From the beginning of its creation in 1945, the United Nations Organization promotes multiculturalism as something good for the world. Tolerance of differences in race, sex, religion and culture is written in the UN Charter. I was happy that In 1995, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) initiated the United Nations International Day of Toleranceto be annually observed on November 16. According to the UN, tolerance means respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our cultures. It is harmony in difference based on human rights and fundamental freedoms of other human beings. The practice of tolerance does not mean tolerance of social injustice or abandonment of weakening of one’s conviction.This New Year, I think we should look again at the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance and use its text to create new communication and education programs, computer games for teachers to be used in schools and the mass and social media to remind people and their friends around the world of the danger of intolerance. We cannot prevent the outburst of violence that happened last year, but we can do something about it this year by encouraging individuals, groups, and States to become more tolerance, recognizing the rights and beliefs of others including the respect of human rights laws.
I cannot let this year ends without commendation of the relentless efforts of the Afghan Women’s Network (AWN) to lobby for women’s right ever since 1995. They are determined to see that Afghan women (half of the population) are included in all national and international peace negotiations. They are making sure that organizers of the International Conference on Afghanistan which was held held in Bonn last September include a significant number of women in leadership position, their achievements and their struggles for equal rights and freedom in the building of a better future for Afghanistan. The Network mobilizes for support under the slogan “You can’t build peace by leaving out half of the population”. Their main target is to have 30% inclusion of women within the leadership and management of the High Peace Council. They have noted with dissatisfaction the low number of women who participate in leadership position (about 13% on the High Peace Council and 10-15% on the Provincial Peace Council). They urge that the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to get a stronger mandate to improve women’s participation in crafting the future of Afghanistan. Defending women’s right in Afghanistan is not an easy task. Often, it is out right dangerous undertaking. The presence of men with guns in many transitional provinces has created fear among the populations, especially the parents who have pulled out their sons and daughters from schools and other public social services. Girl’s schools have been reported to receive threatening letters. In Afghanistan, defenders of women’s right, the parents and local teachers need security protection which the local Afghan government cannot fully provide. Worst, the communities do not trust the integrity of national security force. They are afraid that when the Coalition Force withdraw from Afghanistan, women and girls will be targeted for attack by the Taliban and/or subject to rape and abuse at the hands of the national security forces. It is my hope that in 2012, the Afghan Government and their international supporters will have the capacity to provide adequate security to Afghan women and girls including their protectors from harms by the Taliban and other conservative forces in Afghan society. I want to celebrate the bravery and determination of the Afghan Women’s Network for the success of their activities in 2012.
I want to join people around the world in celebrating the the United Nations Day today. The World that we now live has changed so much since the creation of the World Organization 66 years ago after World War II. There have been successes in the UN work in peace keeping, in helping countries to work together in economic and social development, and in safeguarding the environment. But next week on 31st of October, the UN faces a new problem of the World with 7 billion population. This is a big challenge for the UN to mobilize that many human beings to take an active role in the work for peace, security, development, human rights and humanitarian assistance. People’s participation is required for the United Nations to succeed in facing natural or manmade disasters. In 1972, the General Assembly passed an important and far sighted resolution to celebrate the World Development Information Day on the same day as the United Nations Day on 24th of October. The purpose is to mobilize public opinion and invest resources to disseminate information that promote international cooperation. The UN has been given a task of creating awareness among youth of development problems to enable them to participate in United Nations’s work that improves the lives of poor people, conquers diseases and hunger, eliminates race, gender discrimination, illiteracy, and encourages respect for each other’s rights and freedom. It is a gigantic and challenging task for the UN, but with the help of the new information technology and the social media together with active support from each of us, the mobilization work should be easier today than in the past.
We should not measure changes in the Muslim culture through a yardstick of western cultural perspectives. A large number of Arab women themselves have indicated that they do no want to see fast radical change in their society. In Saudi Arabia, only Muslim person can become citizen, therefore women are no exception to this rule. They have to live their every day life under the Islamic law (Sharia). I praise King Abdullah for his recent announcement in allowing women to vote by the year 2015. I also give credit to him for daring to challenge the conservative Wahabi clerics who want to keep women segregated and excluded from the public sphere. What he did last week for Saudi women is a big push forward to widen the role and status of women. This sudden change in the country like Saudi Arabia may seem to be a small step in western democracies, but for women in the Arab world, it is considered to be a major attitudinal change at the top leadership, the ruler of the country. By extension of voting rights to women, King Abdullah has publicly shown his acceptance of women’s role as citizen beyond the domestic role of wife, mother, concubine or sex-object. Women are considered to be “participants” in politics, economic and social development in Saudi Arabia. As a King, he is not in a position to move the country’s advancement of women beyond the teaching of the Qu’ran. By announcing that he will appoint women as member of the advisory council (Shura), the King has made a commitment to consider women’s ideas and advices seriously in governance — that he will consult women on the affairs of the state and on enacting the laws. Saudi women will have a share in overseeing the functions of government agencies and investigate public cases. Earlier this week, King Abdullah had also overturned a verdict against a female driver case that spared Shaima Jastaina from being lashed ten times as a punishment for breaking the ban on women driving. There have been criticisms by some western media that this recent change have been too slow (a turtle pace) and too long overdue. But, I think instead we should welcome King Abdullah’s initiative to reform his country. The impact of his initiative for change cannot be under estimated. Saudi Arabia is at the centre of the Islamic world. There will be attitude change towards women in other Islamic countries following the King’s announcement. Yes, I agree with some of the critics about the tardiness of advance for women. Also that it is not a major change towards democracy or women’s rights. But Saudi Arabia does not look at itself as a democratic country. It is an Islamic theocratic monarchy. Advancement of Saudi women have to be seen within that context. The future will depend on those educated Saudi women themselves. It is up to them to decide how to walk into doors which King Abdullah has just opened for them.
