| United Nations | E/C.2/1995/3 |
Economic and Social Council
Distr. GENERAL
3 February 1995
ENGLISH
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH/FRENCH/
SPANISH
COMMITTEE ON NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
20-31 March 1995
Item 4 of the provisional agenda*
* E/C.2/1995/1.
REVIEW OF QUADRENNIAL REPORTS SUBMITTED BY NON-GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS IN CONSULTATIVE STATUS WITH THE ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL COUNCIL, CATEGORIES I AND II
Follow-up to decisions taken by the Committee on Non-Governmental
Organizations at its session in 1993
Reports submitted through the Secretary-General pursuant
to Economic and Social Council resolution 1296 (XLIV) of
23 May 1968
Note
1. At its session in 1993, the Committee requested organizations that had
failed to submit reports for the period 1988-1991 to provide those reports
within three months. It decided to review the reports at its session in 1995
and agreed that, in accordance with past practice, organizations that failed
to submit a report within the specific time would automatically have their
consultative status with the Economic and Social Council withdrawn (E/1993/63,
para. 32).
2. The following organizations submitted reports, which are reproduced
below.
CONTENTS
Page
Note .................................................................. 2
1. Africa Club ...................................................... 4
2. Centre of Economic and Social Studies of the Third World ......... 8
3. Council of European and Japanese National Shipowners' Associations 12
4. Data for Development ............................................. 14
5. Food and Disarmament International ............................... 17
6. Institute for Policy Studies ..................................... 20
7. International Commission of Health Professionals for Health and
Human Rights ..................................................... 21
8. International Committee for European Security and Cooperation .... 23
9. International Council for Adult Education ........................ 27
10. International Society for Criminology ............................ 30
11. International Society for Research on Aggression ................. 35
12. Organization of African Trade Union Unity ........................ 37
13. Pan-African Women's Organization ................................. 41
14. St. Joan's International Alliance ................................ 44
15. Women's World Banking ............................................ 48
1. AFRICA CLUB
(Category II)
During the period 1989-1991, the Africa Club participated regularly in
meetings of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the
Organization of African Unity (OAU). It also attended meetings of the African
Development Bank (ADB) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
dealing with cooperation with the European Economic Community (EEC).
In 1988, the Africa Club began its cooperation with the Centre for
International Studies and Research on the Lome' Conventions (CIERCL), based in
Lome'.
CIERCL has a threefold mission:
(a) To mobilize and strengthen the research, study and management
capacities of ACP States;
(b) To contribute, through research and reflection, to the
implementation of economic and socio-cultural development policies, programmes
and strategies more suited to ACP States;
(c) To increase the information, communication and cooperation
capabilities of ACP States.
The Africa Club, CIERCL and the ACP/EEC Universities organized numerous
research seminars between 1988 and 1991 on the following topics:
(a) "The Gulf of Benin and the slave route: ebb and flow";
(b) "The role of the Mediterranean in Euro-African trade" (the
contribution of the Rho^ne/Sao^ne rivers);
(c) "The silk route and the gold route: similarities and differences";
(d) "Encounter between the Church at Lyon and Africa: mercantilism,
colonization or exchange between civilizations?";
(e) "The Lyon region: the heart of Europe and North/South meeting
point";
(f) "Understanding the provisions of the Fourth Lome' Convention";
(g) "The inclusion of the cultural dimension in international
development and cooperation: the stakes and the challenges".
The Africa Club has also identified new research topics with CIERCL and
the ACP/EEC Universities:
(a) "Democratization, pluralism of ideas and development: towards what
kind of society in Africa?";
(b) "The effect of the Maastricht Treaty on political, economic and
social change in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries";
(c) "West African integration: towards the creation of centres of
development";
(d) "Energy resources and development in Africa";
(e) "Joint reflections on the renewal of North-South dialogue";
(f) "Joint reflections on cooperation between newly industrialized and
developing countries";
(g) "Economic crisis, liberalization and economic and financial
restructuring in Africa";
(h) "The major transformations under way: towards what new world
order?";
(i) "Misery, poverty and world peace";
(j) "Freedoms, democratization and conflict prevention mechanisms";
(k) "The African Union: myths, realities and necessities";
(l) "Peace in the minds of men, education and training".
In addition, the Africa Club participated intensively in the work of the
International Congress on "Peace in the Minds of Men" held from 26 June to
1 July 1989 at Yamoussoukro, Co^te d'Ivoire, by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the
Houphoue"t-Boigny International Foundation for Peace, which brought together
many eminent persons and experts and undoubtedly helped to rally support for
the defence of peace in the minds of men and to recast the dialogue between
cultures and peoples. The Africa Club was involved in the preparations for
this Congress, and its Secretary-General suggested, in his statement at the
plenary meeting, that an international centre for peace research should be
established with a view to producing a culture of peace, comprising elements
of all major world cultural identities, and establishing an ongoing dialogue
between all cultural zones. The centre would also analyse the role that the
Industrial Revolution played in creating the North-South divide and the role
that the present-day scientific and technological revolution could play in
overcoming it.
Subsequently, the Africa Club participated in the work of the Europe-
Africa Encounter which was held at Porto Novo, Benin, from 31 August to
3 September 1989, and was organized by the European Council, the Organization
of African Unity (OAU) and the World Social Prospects Association (WSPA) on
the topic "North-South Interdependence and Solidarity". During the meeting,
the Secretary-General of the Africa Club made a statement on "Thoughts on the
challenges and stakes involved in, and major prospects for, cooperation
between Europe and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries: towards an
alternative dialogue".
The Africa Club then took part in the seminar on "The European Union"
held at Ventoteme from 1 to 7 September 1989 by the Altiero Spinelli Institute
for Federalist Studies.
The Africa Club participated in the UNESCO General Conference in Paris
from October to November 1989, and its Secretary-General, on behalf of the
Club, endorsed the draft third medium-term plan which reaffirmed the ethical
mission of UNESCO and clearly defined the three major challenges facing the
world at the dawn of the twenty-first century: environmental preservation,
development and peace.
The Africa Club also supported the appropriate measures taken to ensure
the success of the World Conference on Education for All held in 1990 and all
the action undertaken by UNESCO in connection with the Recommendation
concerning Education for International Understanding, Cooperation and Peace
and Education relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It also
supported the improvements in decentralization, the increasing effectiveness
of the UNESCO presence in the field and its rapid interventions in crisis
situations, particularly the principal role of UNESCO in its areas of
competence during Namibia's transition to independence. The Secretary-General
of the Africa Club warmly congratulated the Director-General of UNESCO on the
measures taken in the context of the International Literacy Year to raise the
awareness of numerous intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, on
all UNESCO actions in the area of environmental preservation, development of
biotechnology, international cooperation on the structure of the human genome,
promotion of the International Programme for the Development of
Communications, the Intergovernmental Programme on Man and the Biosphere
(MAB), conservation of the global heritage and the role of the organization in
the development of science and technology in the service of the future. The
Secretary-General of the Africa Club stressed the awareness within the
international community of environmental problems, which was most clearly
demonstrated in the final report of the World Commission on Environment and
Development (WCED) - the famous Brundtland Report submitted to the General
Assembly in October 1987 - whose title, Our Common Future, 1/ appealed with
faith and determination to all citizens of the world.
The Africa Club also emphasized the need to integrate environmental
problems and sustainable development so as to meet the needs of the current
generation without jeopardizing the chances of future generations to attain
their own ideals and satisfy their basic needs. Rather, development should
henceforth be based on the sustainable use of natural and human resources and
can exist only to the extent that the environment remains able to support new
activities.
________________________
1/ Oxford, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Oxford
University Press, 1987.
The Secretary-General of the Africa Club also announced its plans to
hold a world congress on "The inclusion of a cultural dimension in development
and international cooperation: stakes and challenges" under the auspices of
UNESCO as part of the World Decade for Cultural Development. The congress is
intended to attract the university community, politicians, diplomats,
planners, leaders in the private sector, artists and men and women interested
in the arts.
To organize this congress, the Africa Club will rely on the cooperation
and active participation of UNESCO, the Agency for Cultural and Technical
Cooperation (ACTC), the Association of African Universities (AAU), the
Panafrican Scientists' Union, the United Nations University, the International
Association of Universities, the European Movement, the ACP/EEC Cultural
Foundation, the Arab World Institute (AWI) and the Groupement d'inte're^t
scientifique, economie mondiale, tiers monde, de'veloppement (CEMDEV).
The participants in the forthcoming congress should call for a new
philosophy in which culture and development would go hand in hand, and which
would focus on the human being, and be based on the internal dynamics of
grass-roots communities. Culture, which is both a reflection of a people's
history and an expression of its identity, should henceforth be integrated
into development strategies. The Africa Club hopes to take advantage of this
world congress to make the participants and the public aware of the primary
objectives of the United Nations. In its view, the quest for peace will mean
instilling new vigour into activities for the development of human resources
and taking into account the cultural and social aspects of development
projects and programmes. Development should be conceived not only in terms of
technological progress and economic growth, but also as a series of actions
intended to promote cultural development and human values in order to
guarantee peace.
In April 1990, the Africa Club participated in the international
conference held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso which established the Institute
for Black Peoples for the purpose of protecting the values of black
civilization. This Conference placed particular stress on closer ties among
black peoples, including those of the diaspora.
The Africa Club also participated in several meetings of ECOWAS, OAU,
ADB and the ACP Group in 1990 and 1992.
2. CENTRE OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL STUDIES OF THE THIRD WORLD
(Category II)
1988-1991 period
The purpose of the Centro de Estudios Econo'micos y Sociales del Tercer
Mundo (Centre of Economic and Social Studies of the Third World) (CEESTEM),
Central America is to carry out research that will generate scientific and
social responses with a view to finding viable solutions to the problems
confronting third world countries, particularly Latin American countries.
In view of recent social, economic and technological developments, the
Centre is concerned with exploring the nature of issues concerning, inter
alia, ethnic minorities, the situation of youth, discrimination against women,
the cycle of hunger, information processes, the revival of traditional
medicine, and the repercussions of the external debt, many of which have
received scant attention.
In recent years, CEESTEM has focused its efforts on the study of social,
economic and technological developments and their relationship to sustainable
development.
An in-depth study of the political, economic and social structures of
Latin America must now be conducted in order to determine whether they meet
the requirements of most citizens.
In many Latin American countries, a democratic future is beginning to
seem possible; however, these countries have no precise idea of what the
content of such a political system should be. It is believed that the aim is
to return to the institutional framework in which democracy functioned until
the time of its collapse.
Pluralism, respect for minorities, participation, the genuine
possibility of a change-over in political power and the full realization of
human rights should be vital elements of the new institutional framework. The
only way to ensure that a democracy is not periodically disrupted by the
intervention of hostile national or foreign sectors is to have a political
system which is attuned to all or at least the vast majority of the citizens
of each country.
In order to achieve the type of democratic State described above
independent and egalitarian economic development it is essential to have a
truly sovereign international policy.
To this end, CEESTEM has restructured its internal academic
organization, adapting the plans and programmes of study of its various focal
points to this new approach to research.
It has also established a system of collective evaluation which, through
periodic seminars, will intensify horizontal and vertical cooperation among
its focal points.
1. Rural development
In this area the period 1988-1991 saw the implementation of projects
designed to examine and propose options concerning the economic, technical and
social aspects of the food problem in rural areas of the Latin American, Asian
and African countries.
Research programmes:
(a) Latin America in international agricultural forums;
(b) Agricultural policy in the United States of America;
(c) Agrarian alternatives for Central America;
(d) Control of agri-foodstuff corporations in Latin America;
(e) Regional food security.
2. Information and communication studies
In this area there has been an analysis of information processes as
economic and political factors responsible for the dependency of developing
countries.
Projects implemented:
(a) Mass communication and new information technology, impact and
economic parallel in Latin America;
(b) Information technology and international negotiation in Latin
America;
(c) The new information technology and the Latin American State;
(d) National policies on new communication technology in Argentina,
Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico and Peru.
3. New international economic order
The new international economic order is the economic programme which
embodies the aspirations of third world peoples to development, independence
and sovereignty.
In this area, the threefold nature of the process is being studied:
(a) Historical struggle for the creation of conditions favourable to the
autonomous, integral national development of third world countries;
(b) Critical analysis of the structure of international economic
relations and the resulting hegemony over and subordination of underdeveloped
countries;
(c) Negotiation process within the United Nations and other
international forums.
Programmes implemented in the 1988-1991 period:
(a) The external debt in Latin America;
(b) The restructuring of the world economy;
(c) Oil and politics in Latin America;
(d) Mexican agriculture: a description;
(e) Cooperation and integration among underdeveloped countries;
(f) The rise of political processes in Latin America;
(g) New development alternatives in Latin America.
4. International relations
The research programme in this area covers three main themes:
(a) relations between Mexico and the United States of America; (b) relations
between Latin America and the United States of America; (c) relations among
Latin American countries in the context of international struggles for
hegemony and spheres of influence, from the economic, political and social
viewpoint.
Programmes implemented during the 1988-1991 period:
(a) Development conflicts in Latin America;
(b) United States interest rates and their impact on Latin America;
(c) Latin America in the context of the globalization and economic
transition of the United States of America with the signing of the North
American Free Trade Agreement;
(d) The reintegration of Latin America into the international economy;
(e) Latin American integration and North-South cooperation;
(f) Mexico in the international division of labour.
5. Sociology of culture and education for development
In this area, the aim is to ensure the increasing incorporation of
culture and education into vital strategies for a different kind of
development suitable for third world countries, particularly in Latin America.
Programmes implemented during the 1988-1991 period:
(a) Culture:
(i) the culture of health;
(ii) culture in liberation processes;
(iii) social thought in Latin America;
(iv) the family in the gestation of social movements;
(v) children's creativity and cultural innovation;
(b) Education:
(i) educational reform in new societies;
(ii) the evaluation of educational programmes as an instrument of change;
(iii) higher education and social change;
(iv) technical education and work-study programmes.
3. COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN AND JAPANESE NATIONAL SHIPOWNERS'
ASSOCIATIONS
(Category II)
The main objective of the Council of European and Japanese National
Shipowners' Associations (CENSA) is to promote and protect free market
shipping policies in all sectors of shipping so as to meet market requirements
under self-regulatory regimes in cooperation with the world-wide shipper
community.
Consultative and substantive activities
Brief outline of the substantive contribution made by the organization to the
Economic and Social Council and/or its subsidiary bodies through oral and
written statements
1. It has not been found necessary to submit oral or written statements,
since no shipping policy issues have arisen in the Economic and Social Council
during the past four years.
Participation in, and activities at, conferences sponsored by the United
Nations and other meetings
2. Since the second session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) in 1964, CENSA has been involved with the substantive
issues under consideration. Since 1972, this has been on the basis of its
consultative status with UNCTAD in the Special Category; and CENSA has
participated in the work of UNCTAD at the levels of the quadrennial
conference, its Committee on Shipping at Geneva, expert groups established by
the Committee and diplomatic conferences that have been serviced by the UNCTAD
secretariat.
3. CENSA participated as an observer at the sixth session of the Conference
at Belgrade in 1983 when shipping questions of major importance were included
in the agenda but there was no occasion during the quadrennial 1988-1991 for
such participation. CENSA has also attended, with observer status, the
periodic sessions of the Trade and Development Board.
4. Ever since the Committee on Shipping's first special session held in
1966, CENSA has participated as an observer, first, at the special invitation
of the UNCTAD secretariat but starting in 1974, as a non-governmental
organization having consultative status in the Special Category.
5. During the period under review, CENSA attended both sessions of the
Committee on Shipping before it was replaced by the Standing Committee on
Developing Services Sectors (Shipping) in 1992. CENSA also participated in
two expert group meetings, the first and second sessions of the United Nations
Liner Code Review Conference and the meeting of the Working Group on
International Shipping Legislation where it discussed charter parties.
Preparation of papers and other materials at the request of the Economic and
Social Council, its subsidiary bodies and/or its secretariat
6. To date, CENSA has not received any such request from the Economic and
Social Council, its subsidiary bodies or its secretariat.
Other examples of constituent and substantive activities, including field-
level collaboration, joint sponsorship meetings, and so on
7. Although CENSA is not in the position to provide financial or technical
assistance, its constituents have cooperated in finding suitable shipowner
representatives with the relevant expertise to present papers at seminars, and
so forth, in particular, the workshops sponsored by the Ship User's
Cooperative Programme (SUCOP) of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific (ESCAP).
8. Also, CENSA has on several occasions assisted the secretariat of the
Shipping Division of UNCTAD in informal consultations on practical shipping
issues.
Information activities in support of the United Nations
9. Information on the work of the United Nations bodies having a bearing on
shipping is regularly disseminated among the CENSA constituent national
associations and committees, as and when they arise.
4. DATA FOR DEVELOPMENT
(Category II)
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Aims and purpose of the organization
Data for Development (DFD) is an international non-governmental
organization active in the field of information and communication systems and
technologies in the public sector, such systems and technologies being an
essential tool in economic and social development. It promotes international
exchange of experience in that field, especially between industrialized and
developing countries.
B. Geographical membership
The following table presents the distribution of the geographical
membership of as of April 1994.
Countries
represented Members
Africa 16 27
Asia and the Pacific 12 25
Middle East
Europe 18 53
Latin America 11 15
North America 2 25
C. Sources of funding
Until 1989, Data for Development used to receive most of its funding
from the French Government (permanent secretariat) and international
organizations (funding of specific activities).
Specific activities are still funding on an ad hoc basis by
international organizations (the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO)); the DFD permanent secretariat and activities are now funded mainly
by institutional members.
II. PARTICIPATION IN THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL AND
ITS SUBSIDIARY BODIES AND ALL CONFERENCES AND OTHER
UNITED NATIONS MEETINGS
The only meeting that DFD has been attending regularly are the sessions
of the Statistical Commission, which take place in New York.
III. COOPERATION WITH UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMMES AND BODIES
AND THE SPECIALIZED AGENCIES
Data for Development is cooperating mainly with UNDP and, to a smaller
extent, with the Department for Development Support and Management Services of
the United Nations Secretariat.
The United Nations is represented at the DFD Board of Directors by three
United Nations officials (among a total number of eight directors): one from
UNDP and two from the Statistical Division of the United Nations Secretariat.
IV. OTHER RELEVANT ACTIVITIES
A. Permanent activities
DFD has permanent contacts with many United Nations bodies, including
UNDP field offices, UNESCO, and so forth, which request information from DFD
in order to help them carry on their programmes and projects.
B. Specific activities
DFD organizes, from time to time, international conferences on subjects
of interest to the United Nations. The following conferences may be
mentioned:
(a) May 1988, Beijing (China): International Conference on Strategies
and Methodologies for Planning, Design and Implementation of Information
Systems in Public Administration;
(b) May 1991, Cairo (Egypt): International Conference on Training
Issues related to Information Systems in Public Administration. This
conference was eventually cancelled due to the Persian Gulf conflict;
(c) March 1995, New Delhi (India): International Conference on
Information Systems for Transition Economies. The 1995 conference is being
co-sponsored by UNDP. The Honourary Committee of the Conference includes the
following personalities: Mr. Federico Mayor, Director-General, UNESCO;
Mr. Jean-Claude Milleron, Under-Secretary-General, Department for Economic and
Social Information and Policy Analysis of the United Nations Secretariat, and
Mr. Jean Ripert, former Under-Secretary-General, United Nations Secretariat.
The programme committee includes officials from UNDP and UNESCO.
DFD members are currently active in many seminars and conferences
organized by the United Nations and UNESCO. As an example, the Director-
General is soon to participate in a seminar organized by the Department for
Development Support and Management Services of the United Nations Secretariat
on information systems and information resources management in public
administration.
C. Other activities
Most DFD activity is not visible. It consists in informal information
exchanges and relationships between its members, who exchange information on
their ongoing projects: DFD is mainly a platform for dissemination of know-
how, especially from industrialized to developing countries.
A few permanent officers of United Nations organizations are members of
DFD. These organizations include:
(a) UNDP: the former Resident Representative in India, presently
Resident Representative in Somalia;
(b) Statistical Division of the United Nations Secretariat: a Programme
Coordinator, and a Technical Adviser;
(c) Department for Development Support and Management Services of the
United Nations Secretariat: the Deputy Chief, Governance and Public
Administration Branch, and the Interregional Adviser in Information Systems
and Information Resources Management;
(d) Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the World Health
Organization (WHO): officials.
V. CONCLUSION
After having reduced its activities between 1989 and 1993, due to severe
budgetary restrictions, DFD, which has carried out major changes in its
funding process, is starting a new programme in cooperation with UNDP, the
United Nations Secretariat and UNESCO.
Due to its very specific field and limited resources, DFD is focusing
its activity on the subjects that are relevant to its aims and objectives.
5. FOOD AND DISARMAMENT INTERNATIONAL
(Category II)
Food and Disarmament International (FDI) is an international association
with philanthropic aims which grew out of the Nobel Prize Manifesto as a means
of struggling against extermination by hunger and for development. FDI works
to raise public awareness and to promote decisions, legislation and measures
to achieve these ends and, through its actions and publications, to promote
the Charter of the United Nations and the International Development Strategy
for the Second United Nations Development Decade (General Assembly resolution
2626 (XXV)), as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child. FDI is in
contact with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on a continuing
basis.
FDI has consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.
On 17 and 18 January 1988, at the Jardins du Palais-Royal in Paris,
"40,000 candles of hope" were lit in the presence of numerous Nobel Prize
winners, at the invitation of President Mitterrand and Elie Wiesel. This
event was supported by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and
attended by James P. Grant.
On 25 March 1988, at the Lome' IV Convention held in Lome', Cameroon, a
resolution was adopted in support of the Manifesto of Heads of State for the
Right to Life and Liberty and against Extermination by Hunger, issued and
promoted in 1986 by FDI, which recommended the inclusion of the Manifesto as
one of the main reference documents for the new Association of Market
Production, European Economic Community/Africa-Caribbean-Pacific. In
attendance were 66 Heads of African, Caribbean and Pacific States and an equal
number of deputies to the European Parliament.
On 11 April 1988 the Survival campaign was organized in Madrid by FDI
within the framework of the Council of Europe North-South campaign and under
the sponsorship of King Juan Carlos I. A "40,000 candles" lighting ceremony
took place. In attendance were Minister Yan~ez, the President of the Senate,
the Vice-President of the Congress of Deputies and Nobel Prize winner S.
Ochoa.
On 22 April 1988, on the occasion of the elections in France, 40,000
candles were lit in 150 French cities to request that the fight against
extreme poverty should be a political priority of the future President's
seven-year term. The participants included UNICEF Comite' France (French
Committee for UNICEF).
On 17 June 1988 the Executive Director of FDI participated in a meeting
of the Economic and Social Council, held in New York, which dealt with the
role of armament in development cooperation, and made a statement to the
General Assembly. A text of this statement will be drafted at the Council's
request.
In September 1988 the United Nations Office at Geneva held a European
workshop in Milan on the theme of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Secretary-General of FDI attended at the invitation of Jan Martenson.
From 1986 to 1988 the Secretary-General and the Executive Director of
FDI held several meetings with United Nations officials in New York with a
view to establishing cooperation between FDI and the United Nations.
From 1988 to 1989 FDI participated in plenary meetings of the United
Nations General Assembly in New York.
From 7 to 16 October 1988, FDI participated in the Festival of Children
and Youth, held in Brussels (information, conferences).
In November 1988 FDI contacted Javier Pe'rez de Cue'llar and presented
the Nobel Prize campaign to him.
From 2 to 4 March 1989 FDI and Survie France (the French branch of FDI)
held a conference in Paris to promote North-South cooperation for integrated
development and active partnership. Some 30 non-governmental organizations
and development experts attended.
From March to June 1989 frequent meetings of the European Group were
held in Paris with a view to expanding the European Forum.
On 6 April 1989 a symposium on the promulgation of a law on survival and
development was held at the National Assembly in Paris. The wish was
expressed for this effort to be extended throughout Europe. In attendance
were French non-governmental organizations, representatives of several
religious denominations, the Masonic Lodge and international experts.
From 22 to 24 June 1989 a second European seminar was held at the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) headquarters in
Paris. A preliminary draft of a common charter for a development contract
between Europe and the countries members of the World Food Programme (WFP) was
drawn up.
From 13 to 22 October 1989 the Sixth Festival of Children and Youth was
held in Brussels on the theme of unequal distribution of wealth.
From mid-1989 to 1990 several meetings were held with the UNDP
Information Bureau with a view to "Europeanizing" the campaign.
On 17-18 March 1990 an international meeting was held at the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
headquarters in Paris. The charter entitled "Partners for a Europe-WFP
Development Contract", which laid the groundwork for a European forum on this
theme, was approved. Various senior officials of UNESCO and UNDP Geneva took
part in these efforts beginning in 1989.
From 28 to 31 May 1990, a seminar on cooperation was held in Lisbon, and
the campaign "Survie 90 Operac'ao Vida e Desenvolvimento" was launched. In
attendance were Mr. Wilkins, Nobel Prize winners and ministers.
On 6 June 1990 parliamentarians in Paris swore a symbolic oath at the
Arc de Triomphe to pursue their efforts to bring the law on survival and
development to a vote.
A meeting of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) devoted to the countries members of WFP was held on 6 September 1990.
From 18 to 29 October 1990, FDI participated in the Festival of Children
and Youth, held in Brussels, on the theme of the interdependence between the
poverty of the third world and the degradation of the Earth's environment, as
well as on the theme of the arms race.
On 22 October 1990 the European Forum for a North-South Development
Contract, whose specific purposes and means converged, for the most part, with
those of FDI and Survie France, was officially established in Paris.
In 1990 and 1991 the work of FDI became focused on the form which the
extension of the Survival campaign throughout Europe should take and on the
dissemination of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations through
this process.
6. INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES
(Category II)
The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) was established in 1963 to
provide a unique combination of independent public policy research, social
commentary and activism. IPS is committed to promoting movements for peace
and disarmament, civil and human rights, the environment and economic justice.
For the years under review, the Institute for Policy Studies did not
make any use that has been ascertainable of its consultative status with the
Economic and Social Council.
7. INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN RIGHTS
(Category II)
Preamble
The objective of the International Commission of Health Professionals
(ICHP) for Health and Human Rights is to promote and ensure human rights in
the field of health and to defend the integrity of the person. To attain this
purpose, ICHP serves as an organization of health and health-related
professionals world wide that provide high moral standards and a rallying
point for work in human rights related to health and well-being.
Participation in the Economic and Social Council and other United Nations
bodies/conferences
Since 1987 the Commission has participated in meetings of the Commission
on Human Rights and its Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and
Protection of Minorities (Geneva). Many written and oral statements have been
made on such topics as chemical and biological weapons, the illegal traffic in
organs, compensation for health damage to prisoners, enforced sterilization,
torture, health as a human right, health as a factor for development, health
rights of oppressed groups, and the promotion of professional ethics in the
provision of health.
With the World Health Organization (WHO) the Commission participated in
the meetings concerning the human rights of victims of acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and, together with the Medical Society of
WHO, sponsored a major round-table meeting on "The implications of
chemical/biological weapons on man, society and the environment".
ICHP actively participated in the WHO-sponsored meetings to draft the
Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and for the
Improvement of Mental Health Care, which were endorsed by the Commission on
Human Rights and adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 46/119 of
17 December 1991. The earlier joint publication of ICHP and the International
Commission of Jurists concerning human rights in mental patients in Japan had
been a valuable background document in these discussions.
Representatives of the United Nations and of the specialized agencies
have always been invited to conferences organized by ICHP. For example, the
Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva and the Director-
General of WHO sent their representatives to the International Conference on
Combating the Use of Chemical and Biological Weapons on an official basis.
Cooperation with non-governmental organizations
In the formulation, action and representation of its ideals, ICHP has
collaborated closely with relevant and recognized non-governmental
organizations, inter alia, with the International Federation of Human Rights,
Amnesty International, and the International Commission of Jurists.
In November 1991 the Netherlands affiliate of ICHP hosted an
international meeting of humanitarian non-governmental organizations to
discuss improved coordination and more effective action in the fields of human
rights and social responsibility.
New Section
Besides the continuing work of its existing Sections/Affiliates, such as
the International Institute of Concern for Public Health in Canada and the
Johannes Wier Foundation in the Netherlands, a new ICHP Section, named
Commissione Internazionale dei Professionisti della Salute per la Salute e i
Diritti dell' Uomo, was founded in Italy in January 1993. The Italian Section
shares the views and aspirations of ICHP and is also active in such specific
fields as the protection of the child. Its resources are considerable.
Other activities
In support of the implementation of resolutions of the General Assembly
and other bodies, ICHP has insisted, through its various interventions, on the
ethical stance of the health profession vis-a`-vis torture and other degrading
practices, whether in civilian or military contexts. Health professionals and
relevant organizations throughout the world have used the channels of ICHP to
voice their concerns and protest against violations of human rights,
especially health rights in developing countries. The ICHP publication Health
and Human Rights is a valuable document.
Following a meeting of ICHP in Zambia concerning the role of traditional
medicine in the promotion of the WHO concept of Health for All by the Year
2000, continuing discussion resulted in the publication of the book, Health in
Africa, which has proved to be a valuable working document.
Organizational matters
In the past several months ICHP has had some administrative and
financial problems, probably not unrelated to its expanding activities.
Organizational study and restructuring have slowed its current work but
restorative efforts (including, as mentioned above, a new and strong national
section), which are expected to invigorate the Commission in its programmes
and worthwhile endeavours, are under way.
8. INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR EUROPEAN SECURITY AND COOPERATION
(Category II)
INTRODUCTION
During the period 1988-1991, the International Committee for European
Security and Cooperation (ICESC), the coordinating forum for national
committees and for various pluralistic currents of public opinion in the
States signatories to the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, carried out regular
activities linked closely to the universal purposes and principles of the
United Nations.
ICESC endeavours through its own specific means to implement the
principles and rules of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) in such diverse areas as the economy, science and technology,
the environment, culture, humanitarian law and, in particular, human rights.
The activities of ICESC during the period under review included:
(a) Regular and special meetings:
(i) Meetings of the International Secretariat (seven or eight per year);
(ii) Meetings of the International Committee (two or four per year), in
which a representative of the United Nations Information Centre and
Liaison Office in Brussels nearly always participated;
(iii) International conferences, seminars and symposia with broader
participation (see description below);
(b) Regular and special publications:
(i) Press releases or statements issued at the conclusion of
International Committee meetings;
(ii) The newsletter Focus on Vienna;
(iii) Pamphlets containing the results of the deliberations of
international conferences, symposia and seminars and/or a summary of
the speakers' statements;
(c) Participation of ICESC in non-governmental organization (NGO)/United
Nations conferences:
(i) NGO Committee on Disarmament in Geneva;
(ii) Third Special Session of the General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament
(New York, 31 May-25 June 1988);
(iii) Participation of a representative of ICESC in the work of the
NGO/United Nations Committee on Peace in Vienna;
(iv) Participation in United Nations international days for peace, etc.;
(d) Cosponsorship of symposia on arms reduction in Europe (one per
year).
1988
From 30 September to 2 October an international forum was held in
Brussels on "New ways for a new Europe". Twenty-four countries, including the
United States of America, were represented.
The opening session was presided over by the following prominent
persons, each of whom made a statement:
(a) Mr. Ole Espersen, Member of Parliament, Social Democratic Party
deputy (Denmark);
(b) Cardinal Franz Koenig (Austria);
(c) Mr. Edward Leemans, Minister of State, former President of the
Senate (Belgium);
(d) Mr. Vitali Chapochnikov (former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR)).
The following themes were chosen:
(a) Joint security;
(b) Cooperation in the areas of the economy, science and the
environment;
(c) Cooperation in humanitarian and cultural fields.
During this forum, a very constructive dialogue, organized by ICESC, was
held at the Catholic University of Leuven among the Rectors of the University
of Leuven, Belgium, the University of Prague, Czechoslovakia, and the
University of Vienna, Austria.
1989
On 17-18 February, ICESC and the French Circle for European Security and
Cooperation held an international human rights seminar in Paris (Senate,
Palais du Luxembourg), in which representatives of 16 European countries
participated. The Centre for Human Rights represented the United Nations.
Later in the year, on 20 April, an international information seminar was
organized in London by ICESC. This seminar was attended mainly by newspaper,
radio and television journalists.
From 17 to 20 October, a seminar on the theme "Conventional weapons and
confidence-building measures" was held in Vienna, Austria.
1990
From 23 to 25 February an international conference entitled "Which
security concepts for a greater Europe?" was held in Brussels. The themes of
this conference, in which delegates from 21 countries participated, were as
follows:
(a) Disarmament and security;
(b) Nuclear and conventional deterrence;
(c) Defensive and offensive strategies.
The opening session was presided over by Mr. Frank Swaelen, President of
the Belgian Senate. A statement was made also by Professor Bohuslav Kucera of
Czechoslovakia, who read out a message from Mr. Alexander Dubțek, Speaker of
the Federal Assembly of the former Czech and Slovak Federal Republic. The
Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs addressed the participants at the closing
session.
A delegation from ICESC was sent to the CSCE Conference on Economic
Cooperation in Europe, held in Bonn, Federal Republic of Germany, from 19
March to 11 April.
ICESC was also represented by a delegation to the CSCE Special Meeting
on Mediterranean Issues, held in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, from 24 September
to 19 October.
On 2-3 November, an international conference on "The new architecture of
Europe", organized by ICESC, was held in Paris under the roof of the Great
Arch. The themes of the conference were:
(a) The current state of Europe;
(b) Guidelines for the future;
(c) Institutionalization of CSCE.
Twenty-one European countries sent representatives.
1991
On 6-7 June, at the initiative of ICESC and the Belgian Committee for
European Security and Cooperation, an international symposium on "The future
of nationalities in greater Europe" was held in the Great Hall of the
Rijksuniversiteit Gent in Belgium. The opening session was called to order by
the Rector of the Rijksuniversiteit Gent. The President of the Flemish
executive body and the Minister-President of the executive body of the French-
speaking community in Belgium made statements. The themes of this symposium
were:
(a) Typology of nationality issues;
(b) Nationalities in the new Europe;
(c) Institutional aspects of nationality issues;
(d) Education in the mother tongue and choice of a second language in a
multicultural society;
(e) Contribution of the churches and humanist movements;
(f) Nationalities and economic and social aspects;
(g) Contributions of the world of culture, universities and the media;
(h) Reflections on the future of nationalities.
9. INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR ADULT EDUCATION
(Category I)
1. Aims and purposes
Aims and purposes are as follows: to promote the education of adults in
all its variety of forms and dimensions, and in relationship to the need for
healthy growth and development of individuals, communities and societies. The
International Council for Adult Education has 106 national, regional and
sectoral member associations in 83 countries and seven regions of the world.
One of its regional members, the African Association for Literacy and Adult
Education, is also in consultative status with the Economic and Social
Council.
2. Participation
The International Council for Adult Education:
(a) Attended and made oral statements at the Interregional Preparatory
Meeting (of experts) for the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention
of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders and submitted a paper on the Standard
Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, Vienna, 27 June-1 July 1988;
(b) Attended and made an oral statement at the tenth session of the
Committee on Crime Prevention and Control, Vienna, 22-31 August 1988.
Submitted two written statements (E/AC.57/1988/NGO/3 of 27 July 1988 and
E/AC.57/1988/NGO/6 of 22 August 1988);
(c) Attended and made oral statements at the following regional
preparatory meetings for the Eighth United Congress on the Prevention of Crime
and the Treatment of Offenders: Asia and Pacific meeting, Bangkok,
10-14 April 1989; Latin American and Caribbean meeting, San Jose,
8-12 May 1989; Western Asia meeting, Cairo, 27-31 May 1989; African meeting,
Addis Ababa, 5-9 June 1989;
(d) Attended the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of
Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, supplying educational consultant to
secretariat, Havana, 27 August-7 September 1990;
(e) Attended eleventh session of the Committee on Crime Prevention and
Control, Vienna, 5-16 February 1990;
(f) Attended seventy-fifth and seventy-sixth sessions of the
International Labour Conference, Geneva, 1988 and 1989;
(g) Attended the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) Colloquium on Legislative and Administrative Measures in
Support of Adult Education, Athens, 25 September-1 October 1989;
(h) Attended International Conference on Popular Participation in the
recovery and development process in Africa, Arusha, 12-16 February 1990;
(i) Helped plan and participated in the World Conference on Education
for All - Meeting Basic Learning Needs, Jomtien, Thailand, 5-9 March 1990, and
in follow-up action.
3. Cooperation
ICAE:
(a) Seconded, at ICAE expense, a consultant to the Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice Branch of the United Nations Office at Vienna for one year
beginning 1 October 1989;
(b) Prepared draft resolution on education, crime prevention and
criminal justice for consideration by the twenty-sixth session of the General
Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization October-November 1991;
(c) Cooperated as a partner with the UNESCO Institute for Education,
Hamburg, in originating a research project to investigate and promote basic
education in prisons;
(d) Disseminated information and documents concerning educational
applications in various programme areas of the United Nations. See, for
example, Convergence (ICAE's quarterly journal), vol. XXV, No. 2, and Voices
Rising (bulletin of the ICAE Women's Programme), 1992, No. 1;
(e) Established in 1987, in response to the call of the United Nations,
the International Task Force on Literacy (ITFL) to organize the mobilization
of non-governmental organizations and promote their world-wide solidarity in
relation to International Literacy Year. Throughout the period under review,
ICAE continued to provide leadership to ITFL, hosting its international
headquarters in its own offices, and coordinating numerous meetings, projects
and other activities in support of International Literacy Year;
(f) Established, in 1990, a new Environmental Popular Education
Programme. Cooperated in the planning of United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development, the Second United Nations Conference in this
field;
(g) Operated an international programme of peace and human rights
education directed towards the growth of democracy, the promotion of human
rights, sustainable development, and the rejection of violence;
(h) Established a programme of small grants to support special peace
education projects in several countries.
4. Other relevant activities
Implementation:
(a) In consultation with the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
Branch of the United Nations at Vienna, prepared an implementation plan for
various relevant Economic and Social Council and General Assembly resolutions;
undertook to devote the ICAE Education and Criminal Justice Programme to this
project during the period 1991-1995;
(b) In 1988 established an International Network for Adults with Special
Learning Needs to help implement the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons
(1983-1992) proclaimed as a long-term plan of action by the General Assembly,
in its resolution 37/53 of 3 December 1982;
(c) During the period under review, ICAE continued to work, in most of
its programmes and activities, towards the implementation both of the
Recommendation on the Development of Adult Education adopted by the General
Conference of UNESCO at its nineteenth session, Nairobi, 26 November 1976, and
of the "Right to Learn" Declaration of the Fourth UNESCO International
Conference on Adult Education, Paris, 19-29 March 1985;
(d) Operated a world-wide educational programme to improve the status
and lives of women;
(e) Most of the activities of ICAE contribute to the implementation of
human rights efforts as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and in other United Nations instruments.
Consultations with officials have been as follows:
(a) ICAE has consulted regularly with officials of the Crime Prevention
and Criminal Justice Branch of the United Nations Office at Vienna, including
discussions on the preparation of a United Nations manual on prison education,
an international meeting of experts on prison education, and other projects;
(b) The President and Secretary-General of ICAE met with UNESCO
representatives in Paris, 11 April 1988, to discuss the International Literacy
Year, and future cooperation and plans;
(c) Various international, regional and national officers and
representatives of ICAE consulted frequently with United Nations officials at
all levels concerning ongoing and proposed programmes and projects.
Preparation of papers and so on: ICAE prepared, for the Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch of the United Nations Office at Vienna,
a suggested educational supplement for the 1989 Quinquennial Survey on the
Implementation of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
Other: ICAE organized and held the ICAE's Fourth World Assembly on
Adult Education, 8-18 January 1990, in Bangkok. The Congress was attended by
approximately 500 adult educators and charted directions for the following
four years. It reviewed the entire field of adult education, giving special
attention to literacy, popular education and democracy.
10. INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR CRIMINOLOGY
(Category II)
I
The International Society for Criminology (ISC) is a non-governmental
organization which was established to promote international research and
communication among experts in the prevention of delinquency, criminal
policies and the functioning of criminal justice systems. It is represented
in 57 countries by national societies or reputable individuals.
The Society has its headquarters and secretariat in Paris. It has a
Board of Directors composed of 31 members, representing 21 nationalities, and
its scientific programme is entrusted to a scientific committee of 30
qualified members. It collaborates with universities in the programmes of
three research centres: the International Centre for Comparative Criminology
at the University of Montreal, Canada, the International Centre for Clinical
Criminology at the University of Genoa, Italy and the International Centre for
the Study of Social Relations and Marginalization at the Basque University,
San Sebastian, Spain.
II
During the period under review, the International Society for
Criminology pursued activities in the following areas:
(a) Organization of International Studies in Criminology
One of the Society's well-established activities is the organization of
international courses in criminology in different regions of the world. These
courses, which are offered exclusively by the Society, are among the
organization's most original and most stimulating initiatives, and are part of
its general scientific policy to disseminate knowledge and promote the
development of research in criminology.
Initially designed for a relatively small international scientific
community and for persons working in penal institutions, these courses are now
aimed at contributing to the development of different ideas and research into
criminality crime prevention, study of the administration of justice and
criminal policies. They take the form of symposiums organized on a central
theme, developed by experts from different regions of the world, and
information and discussion sessions organized for the benefit of a highly
motivated audience. During the period under review, one of the main lines of
the society's policy was to increase the number of international courses and
to organize them, as far as possible, in different regions of the world. Many
workshops had already been held in Europe and especially in Latin America but
it is interesting to note that the Society has recently extended its
activities to Asia, in particular, Japan and China. The Society exerts
considerable influence on the international scientific community, primarily
through these courses, and through its publication, International Annals of
Criminology, which contains the most important papers submitted at the
courses.
During the period under review, eight international courses in
criminology were organized on the following topics:
(a) Teaching criminology at university level in the world today, San
Sebastian, Spain, 1989;
(b) Loss of liberty under the penal system from the point of view of
human rights, Athens, Greece, 1989;
(c) Human rights and criminal justice; a comparative approach to respect
of human rights in criminal justice, Miskolc, Hungary, 1990;
(d) Dialogue between criminology and social defence, San Marino, Italy,
1991;
(e) Public opinion, media and criminality, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1991;
(f) Overview of European research in criminology, Barcelona, Spain,
1991;
(g) Crime prevention in the urban community, Tokyo, Japan, 1992;
(h) Human rights and criminal proceedings, Salvador de Bahia, Brazil,
1992.
Some 100 to 200 persons attended each workshop and at the end of each
workshop, all who were properly registered received a certificate of
attendance.
(b) Participation in international activities in crime prevention
Generally speaking, the International Society for Criminology takes part
in most scientific events organized either by the major international
organizations (United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe), or by other
non-governmental organizations. It should be emphasized that the secretariat
of the International Society for Criminology regularly attends meetings of
experts of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and the annual meeting of the
Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, Vienna. Ongoing
relations exist with the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch of the
United Nations Office at Vienna. Every five years the Society helps with the
preparations for the United Nations Congresses on the Prevention of Crime and
the Treatment of Offenders. Lastly, it cooperates on a regular basis with the
other non-governmental organizations working the field of international
criminology either in criminology itself or sociology (cooperation with the
UNESCO International Institute for Social Sciences).
(c) Organization of two world congresses on criminology
Hamburg, Germany, 1988
(a) The world congresses, organized every five years by the
International Society for Criminology, have always been important events for
the relevant international scientific community. The Tenth Congress, which
was held in Hamburg, Germany, from 4 to 9 September 1988 on the general theme
Conceptions of Criminology: The Challenge of Criminality and Strategies for
Action, was no exception. The number and calibre of participants, the
original way in which the work was organized and the variety and relevance of
the reports and papers presented made this congress an extremely enriching
event. The number of leading figures who attended attested to the fact that
criminology remains a universal discipline and one that is vital in today's
world. This congress brought together over 750 participants, representing 50
countries in different geographical locations and, more importantly, with
different social, economic, political and cultural backgrounds. It was
therefore possible to discuss the operation and development of criminal
systems that are virtually unknown in Europe, such as those of Saudi Arabia,
China or India. The wide range of participants, in geopolitical terms, was
matched by the variety of professions represented; thus, any professional
group concerned with crime, criminality and crime prevention could take part
in the discussions;
(b) The Congress was organized around four central themes which were
presented at plenary meetings:
(i) "Criminology and social sciences";
(ii) "Violent and persistent delinquents";
(iii) "Abuse of power and criminality";
(iv) "The crisis in the penal system: Implications and outlook";
(c) In all the papers submitted, much emphasis was placed on prevention
of delinquency, in particular, through social action. The very concept of
control of the society was reconsidered in the light of behavioural and
attitudinal changes revealed in the comparative studies on this issue. A
study of the way in which crime and punishment are represented to the public
served to highlight the fact that delinquency is to some extent becoming
institutionalized, at least in so far as urban communities are concerned. The
social role of the police and changes in the profession, both in terms of the
training given to officers and in terms of what is expected of them were also
examined; this gave rise to a constructive reappraisal of the way in which
different police forces around the world are organized and administered.
Budapest, Hungary, 1993
(a) The Eleventh World Congress on Criminology was held in Budapest,
Hungary, from 22 to 27 August 1993. It was attended by over 1,000
participants, representing 57 nationalities. The main theme of the congress
was "Socio-political Changes and Crime: A Challenge for the Twenty-first
Century". It will be recalled that these congresses are held every five
years. 1/ The decision to allow the Hungarian Society for Criminology to
organize the 1993 conference was based on geopolitical and scientific
considerations. Firstly, the International Society for Criminology wished to
take into account the effects on crime rates of the changes affecting
contemporary societies at the end of the twentieth century, especially in
Europe. Secondly, the Congress was also in line with the Society's scientific
policy since it was, in fact, a follow-up to the Tenth Congress, held in
Hamburg in 1988, which had dealt with the "Conceptions of criminology: the
challenge of criminality and strategies for action". The meeting in Budapest
enabled the Society to better assess how criminology can respond to new
developments in crime, in particular international crime. It was also the
opportunity for an extensive exchange of ideas, experience and research, among
representatives from different regions of the world. As the Chairman of the
Society emphasized in his welcoming address, it was hoped that the Congress
would widen the Society's horizons and contribute to the future development of
research. It was clear from the number of participants and the variety of
regions they represented their interest in the International Society for
Criminology was far greater than at previous congresses;
(b) One hundred and seventy four different themes were debated at this
Congress by leading experts from different regions of the world;
(c) This was the first congress of our Society to have attracted such a
large audience. The Budapest meeting thus revealed an extraordinary variety
of ideas and studies relating to criminology and criminal systems. The main
themes discussed included the question of criminalization and
decriminalization of behaviour with respect to white collar crime and crimes
against the environment; the various types of response in terms of prevention;
the role of social control; the criminal justice system; mediation; victims'
rights; domestic violence; feminist approaches to criminology; economic
crimes; the international outlook for drug control; control of traffic
violations; police and criminal justice problems. It will be noted that the
field of criminology is growing ever wider as we reflect on prevention
strategies and the development of criminal and social policies.
(d) Publications
The Society's publications are as follows: a quarterly Newsletter,
which establishes an ongoing communication among its members and includes book
reviews and the International Annals of Criminology, a scientific journal,
which is published half-yearly in three languages (English, French, Spanish),
and has a large readership.
1/ The previous conferences were held in Rome (1938), Paris (1950),
London (1955), The Hague (1960), Montreal (1965), Madrid (1970), Belgrade
(1973), Lisbon (1978), Vienna (1983) and Hamburg (1988).
III
The activities of the International Society for Criminology for the
period under review, as briefly described above, are in keeping with the
Society's objectives and also come within the scope of the United Nations
action in the area of crime prevention.
11. INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON AGGRESSION
(Category II)
The International Society for Research on Aggression (ISRA) was founded
in 1972 for the purpose of encouraging the discovery and exchange of
scientific information on the causes and consequences of aggression and for
the development of knowledge and techniques that might reduce harmful
aggression. The Society is non-partisan, but its activities are intended to
promote human welfare through enhanced knowledge of the causes and control of
aggressive behaviour.
ISRA was founded with the intent to be a broadly interdisciplinary
society that would study and address the vast and complex problems of
destructive violence, aggression and warfare. The Society's founding members
determined that owing to intercultural differences in the expression and
control of violence, and the international nature of warfare, a society formed
to focus on the study of aggression would best serve the scientific community
and the world through the maintaining of international membership.
The membership is international, representing over 34 countries, with
over 400 dues-paying members. There are two classes of members: Fellows
(scholars who have made substantial contributions on problems of aggression)
and Associates (scientific or professional persons who wish to support the
goals of the Society, but are not themselves actively engaged in research on
aggression). Both types of members have voting rights, but only Fellows may
serve as officers.
The Society membership is interdisciplinary and includes
anthropologists, biologists, physiologists, and sociologists as well as
psychologists. The Society is composed about equally of members who study
human aggression and members who study animal aggression. The primary
activity of the Society is its biannual world scientific meeting whose venue
alternates between the Eastern and Western hemispheres. The focus of these
meetings is to promote s scholarly exchange of recent ideas between
researchers from different countries using different methodologies. Regional
meetings are usually held in off-years.
ISRA is responsible for the quarterly ISRA Bulletins which are sent to
members and others who request placement on the mailing list. Additionally,
the journal, Aggressive Behavior, is published quarterly by the society.
Topics that are represented in the bulletins and journals include current
research and innovation in the study and theory of human and animal
aggression. The bulletin offers a forum for intellectual interaction, as well
as notifies Society members of upcoming and past events.
ISRA has 18 council members, representing 13 countries and three editors
overseeing publication endeavours.
The most recent, major project for ISRA was the twentieth anniversary
World Meeting in Siena, Italy. The conference's theme was "From Conflict to
Cooperation: Multidisciplinary Studies on Aggression in Animals and Humans".
Three days of the meeting were organized into plenary lectures and parallel
symposia and paper/poster thematic sessions on topics like defence mechanisms
in humans and animals, sex differences in perception and response to threat,
and evolutionary perspectives of aggression, as well as many more. The
Conference was a great success and again offered a healthy exchange of ideas
about both human and animal aggression.
As far as the Society's inclusion in United Nations activities, in 1990
a handbook of consultants to the United Nations was in the works and included
ISRA members who had responded to the request placed in the ISRA Bulletin.
The purpose of the directory is to encourage United Nations personnel,
delegates and non-governmental organizations at the United Nations to seek the
counsel of psychologists and other allied professionals whenever appropriate,
especially in the planning and evaluation of negotiations, programmes, and
field projects. The directory was completed for distribution in summer 1992.
A follow-up study to evaluate the effectiveness of the directory is
being pursued and, perhaps, based on this evaluation, there will take place an
updating and reissuing of the directory.
The organization has been writing to various United Nations subdivisions
concerning the use of war and the progress towards peace that the United
Nations is expediting. Occasionally, ISRA members are called upon by the
United Nations to report on their research about violence and aggression, and
the United Nations is aware of the World Meetings and other, smaller
conferences that the Society hosts.
Future plans
The eleventh World Meeting of ISRA is scheduled for 6-10 July 1994 in
Delray Beach, Florida. The format will follow the 1992 Siena Conference, with
discussion of both the human and animal components of aggression.
12. ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN TRADE UNION UNITY
(Category I)
Introduction
The Organization of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU) was created in
April 1973 in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) by the constituent Congress of African
Trade Union centres, as an expression of the free will of African workers,
under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The
Organization is divided into five zones based on geographical location as
follows: East, West, Central, North and South. It is made up of 73
affiliates in 53 African countries with a membership of 30 million workers.
Presently, it has created the following organs within its umbrella:
(a) Two specialized agencies;
(b) Nine trade secretariats;
(c) Four subregional organizations.
The specialized agencies and trade secretariats deal with a particular
group of workers in the various sectors of the economy of Africa, while the
subregional organizations coordinate the activities of their respective
regions and submit regular reports to the OATUU secretariat.
Aims and objectives of OATUU
The aims and objectives of OATUU are:
(a) To coordinate and guide the activities of all national trade unions
towards the objectives defined in the Constitution;
(b) To realize the unity of trade unions at the continental level as
well as at the national level of member affiliates;
(c) To defend the material, social, economic, cultural and moral
interests of the African working class;
(d) To work towards the harmonization of labour legislation and
collective agreements in the continent of Africa;
(e) To protect and affirm the independence and personality of the
African trade union movement at all levels;
(f) To win, reinforce and defend the democratic liberties of the trade
unions;
(g) To represent and defend the interest of the trade union
organizations and workers in every regional and international organization;
(h) To work for independence and African unity;
(i) To contribute to the achievement and consolidation of peace in the
world;
(j) To give assistance to needy trade union organizations so as to
reinforce the solidarity of workers;
(k) To defend the material and moral interests of migrant African
workers in conjunction with the trade union organizations of the host
countries;
(l) To fight against imperialism, colonialism, neocolonialism and
Zionism and their agents, as well as against feudalism and any other like form
of organization in Africa, and to fight for the complete emancipation of her
people;
(m) To liquidate the vestiges of colonialism and all the imposed
structures, with a view to setting up a social order of democracy, progress
and peace, based upon a scientifically planned development of African wealth
for the benefit of Africa and to secure the education and promotion of the
toiling masses of the continent, especially through:
(i) Full employment, industrialization and collectivization of the means
of production;
(ii) Equality of all without distinction of sex, race, colour, creed or
religion;
(iii) Encouraging of inter-African trade union exchanges of programmes and
cooperation in every field, especially in the field of labour,
between the Member States of OAU.
Internally, OATUU's major role relates to workers' education, the
collating of information from all national trade union centres and the
dissemination of such information, organization of seminars/workshops and the
defence of human and trade union rights.
Internationally, it is independent of any international trade union
organization. It maintains, however, fraternal relations with other friendly
trade union organizations throughout the world, based mainly on brotherhood,
on solidarity, on non-interference in each other's internal affairs and, above
all, on respect of the independence and sovereignty of other trade union
organizations world wide.
It also collaborates with other institutions/organizations, such as the
Association of African Universities, the Pan African Youth Movement, the Pan
African Women's Organization, the Pan African Writers Association, the
ministries of labour in African countries and their employers' organizations.
Other roles played by OATUU
OATUU has observer status with OAU and consultative status with the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It
plays active roles and makes valuable contributions, both oral and written, to
the debates of the above.
OATUU has, on many occasions, condemned very strongly the brutality and
mass arrests and killings of innocent people that has taken place in South
Africa over the years, through protests to the South African regime, and press
conferences denouncing the repression of the majority blacks by the apartheid-
based regime. It has persistently asked African Governments to press for
economic, military, oil and cultural embargoes against the racist regime and
carried out the following further actions:
(a) Mobilization of African workers through its affiliates at the
sessions of the OATUU General Council, Congresses, seminars, and so forth, and
at international conferences attended by OATUU;
(b) Adoption of resolutions against apartheid by OATUU organs;
(c) Appeal to workers the world over to mount massive demonstration at
all diplomatic missions representing the white minority regime, and to their
Governments to sever links with South Africa;
(d) Discouraging of African workers and professionals from emigrating to
South Africa;
(e) Making of contributions, continentally and internationally, to the
fight for the complete elimination of apartheid alongside other bodies such as
the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Economic Commission for
Africa (ECA), the OAU Labour Commission, and the Southern Africa Labour
Commission.
Solidarity with the Palestinian people and workers
OATUU has, on many occasions, expressed its total solidarity with the
Palestinian people and workers. OATUU has participated in a number of
international conferences in solidarity with Palestinian people and workers.
OATUU has reaffirmed the African working class's solidarity with and sympathy
for the Palestinian people, with the Palestine Liberation Organization as its
legitimate representative. OATUU is a member of the International Trade Union
Committee for Solidarity with the People and Workers of Palestine.
OATUU also attends annually meetings of the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which are organized during the ILO Conference
in Geneva, with its other trade union partners, namely the International
Conference of Free Trade Union (IFTU), the World Federation of Trade Unions
(WFTU), the Wold Confederation of Labour (WCL) and the International
Confederation of Arab Trade Unions (ICATU).
Peace activities and struggle against violations of human and trade union
rights
OATUU has been playing a significant role with respect to world peace
and security. It has taken part in activities of peace organizations, like
the World Peace Council, and other non-nuclear-related peace activities.
OATUU's contribution to world peace has received recognition in the form of
commendation from the United Nations and therefore OATUU, among other
recipients, was awarded a Certificate of "Peace Messenger" by the Secretary-
General of the United Nations in September 1987.
International Centre of Trade Union Rights Administrative Council meetings
OATUU has, over the years, been taking part in the Administrative
Council meetings of the International Centre of Trade Union Rights (ICTUR) at
its annual meetings in Geneva during the annual session of the International
Labour Conference, and has been making valuable contributions during the
Council's deliberations. It has also been working closely with Amnesty
International on the problems of human and trade union rights.
African internal conflicts
OATUU is very much concerned about numerous fratricidal civil wars in
the African continent, such as those in Somalia, the Sudan, Djibouti, Liberia,
Angola, Zaire, the Congo, Togo, Ghana, Rwanda and Burundi, just to mention a
few, resulting in the loss of human life and property, destruction of
infrastructure, epidemics, hunger and so forth. It has therefore intervened
in these countries through dialogue, protest messages and press communique's
calling for peace and also through resolutions adopted at the sessions of its
General Council and Congress.
In view of the existence of the situations mentioned above, OATUU has
set up a Trade Union Committee to look into the disputes bringing about these
conflicts and to find ways of solving them peacefully. An example of this
approach was demonstrated in the handling of the conflict between Senegal and
Mauritania. A Committee composed of Mali, Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal and
Egypt, which was set up by OATUU and met in Cairo, Egypt, resolved the
differences between the two countries in the spirit of the African tradition
and of African unity.
Violation of human and trade union rights
OATUU and its affiliates have been sending protest messages condemning
such violations and, through resolutions, asking the Governments concerned to
do all within their power to resolve their differences and put an end to such
devastating wars and to restore peace and security in the interest of unity
and development. It also appealed to friendly international organizations to
send similar protest messages.
It has been sending complaints on all cases of the violation of trade
union rights in Africa to the Director-General of ILO.
13. PAN-AFRICAN WOMEN'S ORGANIZATION
The General Secretariat of the Pan-African Women's Organization (PAWO)
is responsible for follow-up to the recommendations of the Secretary-General
of PAWO as contained in the draft programme of action submitted at the seventh
congress in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
It became clear after years of work and negotiation, that the
organization needed a permanent representative to the United Nations system.
Thus, the new General Secretariat includes an Office for International
Organizations, based in New York.
The desire of PAWO to cooperate with all organizations pursuing the same
goals was reaffirmed.
PAWO must attend and participate fully in the major discussions and
meetings on the integration of women in development through their effective
and efficient participation.
In the context of its continuing collaboration with OAU, whose Charter
it supports, PAWO attended the following meetings:
(a) The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Budget session);
(b) The Assembly of Heads of State and Government;
(c) The Council of Ministers of Social Affairs;
(d) Various seminars addressing women's issues organized by or under
the auspices of OAU.
Major meetings held under United Nations auspices
(a) International Conference on Families, 1994;
(b) Preparatory Meeting for the Fourth World Conference on Women at
Dakar, Senegal, November 1994 (Africa region);
(c) Fourth World Conference on Women scheduled to be held from 4 to
15 September 1995 in Beijing, China;
(d) NGO Conference, March 1994, New York;
(e) Preparatory Committee of the Conference of Non-Governmental
Organizations in Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council for
the Fourth World Conference on Women at Beijing, March 1994, New York;
(f) Meetings of the Regional Centre for Cultural Action (RCCA) and the
Arab-African Centre for Research and Leadership Training for the Education and
Rehabilitation of the Blind (CARF) - Economic Commission for Africa (ECA),
Addis Ababa.
PAWO cooperated with ECA:
(i) To establish the Federation of African Women Entrepreneurs;
(ii) To establish the Bank for African Women;
(iii) In the ratification of various conventions, particularly the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women;
(g) On a joint OAU - United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) meeting on
children held at Dakar in November 1992;
(h) In participating in establishing peace in Angola between the
Government and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola
(UNITA).
Official meetings of PAWO
Meetings:
(a) General Secretariat, March 1993, Luanda, Angola;
(b) PAWO Council, Preparatory to the Fourth World Conference on Women,
in 1994 at Conakry, Guinea;
(c) A planned seminar on access to credit;
(d) Visits to member organizations of PAWO:
(i) Central Africa (Congo-Zaire);
(ii) East Africa;
(iii) North Africa;
(iv) West Africa;
(v) Establishment of the "Sally Mugabe Foundation";
(e) Contacts with Heads of State and Government at the OAU summit, in
Dakar and other host countries of the OAU Conference;
(f) Meetings and visits to international organizations:
(i) African Development Bank (ADB);
(ii) West African Economic Community (WAEC);
(iii) West African Documentation and Information Centre;
(iv) Permanent Inter-State Committee on Drought Control in the Sahel
(CILSS);
(v) Southern Africa Development Community (SADC);
(vi) United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO);
(vii) European Economic Community (EEC);
(viii) Pan-African Youth Movement (PYM);
(ix) Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization (AAPSO);
(x) World Peace Council;
(xi) Chinese Women's Organization;
(xii) Cuban Women's Organization;
(xiii) Russian Women's Organization;
(xiv) Arab Women's Organization;
(xv) Women's International Democratic Federation;
(xvi) Socialist International Women;
(xvii) Inter-African Socialist and Democratic Organization;
(xviii) Pan African Family Organization.
The implementation of this programme has been effective in promoting
greater participation of African women in development. The Secretariat should
continue to raise the awareness of the Heads of State and Government and
attract their interest in the various activities undertaken by PAWO. The
General Secretariat will try to interest them in financing women's projects on
the national and inter-African level.
14. ST. JOAN'S INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE
(Category II)
1. Saint Joan's International Alliance (hereinafter, Alliance) is an
organization of Catholics whose purpose is to secure equal rights and
opportunities for women and men in Church, State and Society. The Alliance
welcomes as associate members those of other communions who share our aims and
efforts. Our work often focuses on matters within the Roman Catholic Church,
an international organization which influences both the cultures and the
Governments of the world. The Alliance was founded in London, England, in
1911 and is the progeny of the Catholic Women's Suffrage Society. The
Alliance has National Sections in Belgium, France, the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, Italy, and the United States of America.
Individual members at large are in Germany, Switzerland and Zaire. Funds are
obtained primarily from membership dues and donations. The Alliance was
represented in New York, in Vienna, at UNESCO in Paris.
2. The Alliance's main representative in Vienna participated in the
non-governmental organization Consultation on Nairobi Forward-looking
Strategies for the Advancement of Women in 1990, and attended a part of the
following session of the Commission on the Status of Women. Both the main
representative and the alternative representative participate in the United
Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) meetings in
Paris. Information about United Nations activities is distributed via the
publications of the Alliance: The Catholic Citizen (English), L'Alliance
(French), and beginning in 1990, Alleanza (Italian). These publications go
not only to Alliance members but also to libraries, universities and members
of the Roman Catholic hierarchy.
3. The International Council of the Alliance, which meets every two years,
reaffirmed support, in Rome in 1989 and at Oxford, England, in 1991, for the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and
the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the
Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, and urged the National Sections to
work for ratification if their countries had not already ratified. The United
States Section concentrated on the United States Bishops' pastoral letter on
the concerns of women which was being prepared and even now after three drafts
remains unfinished.
4. Representation at the United Nations
Our Alliance was represented in New York at the Economic and Social
Council in 1988 and 1989.
In Vienna our representative was actively involved in the Non-
Governmental Organizations' mid-term consultations on the Nairobi Forward-
looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women (February 1990) and attended a
part of the regular session of the Commission on the Status of Women which
followed these consultations. Our publication L'Alliance gave an account of
this involvement and repeatedly urged our sections to increase their foreign
contacts, including contacts with women's groups in developing countries.
The Alliance is actively represented in the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). L'Alliance publishes news from
this source on a regular basis.
The Alliance also has links with the Conference of Non-Governmental
Organizations in Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council,
international Catholic centres for non-governmental organizations in
consultative status with the United Nations in New York, Geneva and Vienna,
and in particular with the Catholic Centre for UNESCO in Paris, where
Mrs. Stephan, former President of the French section, was elected a trustee of
the Centre's fund and our Alliance has been regularly and actively represented
by Ms. The're`se Royer and Ms. Anne-Marie Arbeit.
5. Involvement in United Nations activities
We have supported the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women in all our written communications and in all our
activities; in particular, we have urged States parties to comply with all
their commitments under the Convention.
The Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the
Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others of 1949 remains one of our major
areas of concern. We are continuing to lobby various bodies in the Catholic
hierarchy to ensure that the Holy See finally agrees to ratify this
Convention. Our official request to the Holy Father on 8 April 1981 having
proved unsuccessful, we made another direct approach on this issue to the
delegate of the Holy See at the United Nations in Vienna in February 1990.
The issues of procuring, "sex tourism", prevention through education and
assistance to victims of prostitution both in our own countries and in the
third world have been the subject of numerous seminars and discussions in our
sections and in articles which have appeared in our publications.
The French section has mounted a particularly vigorous campaign in the
media and has lobbied the French Government regarding the use of the official
telecommunications network (MINITEL) to advertise prostitution.
In addition, and in accordance with resolutions of the World Health
Organization, all our sections have mounted a campaign to combat female
genital mutilation, a tradition which is practised in a number of countries.
In the first place, we must break the taboo surrounding the issue and expose
the damaging effects of the practice. We are also urging all religions
(Christians included) to denounce the custom which certain African peoples
wrongly believe is ordained by divine will.
Our British section organized a public meeting on discrimination against
women in the British judicial and penal system. Since then, one committee
member from our Alliance has been appointed part-time spiritual counsellor in
the prison system. The section has also questioned Government ministers on
the issue of female genital mutilation and the shortage of low-cost housing.
The ecclesiastical authorities are being asked to stop encouraging battered
women in all cases to stay with their violent husbands, no matter what the
risk.
The campaign against preference for male children and protection of girl
children: Our publications have devoted a number of articles to this topic.
Our delegate at the United Nations in Vienna started a petition for the
protection of female children and circulated it among non-governmental
organizations at the mid-term non-governmental organizations' consultations in
Vienna in 1990.
We have also been involved in campaigns to halt violence against women
(everywhere, but particularly in Great Britain), to assist young North African
immigrant women (in France), and to obtain child support payments for women
who are separated or divorced and to disseminate information about what the
United Nations is doing, and particularly the United Nations Development Fund
for Women, to assist very poor rural women (in Belgium). Our publications are
increasingly carrying short news items about new women's networks and the
status of women in all continents.
Our delegates have also emphasized the urgency of various social
problems affecting women within the forum of the International Catholic
Organizations (ICO). We are the only truly feminist organization associated
with the ICO Conference, which from the social point of view is an extremely
important force in the third world. Despite our very limited resources, our
influence in the Conference is considerable because we speak frankly and
freely on key issues (such as birth control) which other Catholic groups dare
not address. In this forum we establish useful contacts with delegates from
all over the world during informal discussions and we insist that women's
needs and women's projects be taken into account.
We have taken an active part in two ICO General Assemblies at Annecy and
Rome. We also participated in the first major meeting with East European
Catholic intellectuals ("Pax Romana" held in Fribourg, Switzerland,
September-October 1990); our delegate took the opportunity to introduce our
Alliance and explain the difficulties facing our feminist campaign in the
Catholic Church; it was our first direct contact with these intellectuals who
wanted to know more about our activities!
6. In the religious sphere
A very important aspect of our work centres on the advancement of women
in religion, particularly in Catholicism. Many of our members are theologians
who are very active in the ecclesiastical empowerment of women, and some of
them are professors of Catholic or Anglican theology.
We have submitted official requests to the Vatican, to national bishops'
conferences and to the Catholic organizations' conference with a view to
taking an active part in the Decade of Church Solidarity with Women launched
by the World Council of Churches (1988-1998).
Our members, mainly those from various European countries, have taken
part in major international women's ecumenical and interreligious meetings
(Forum of Christian Women of Europe, Association of European Women
Theologians, Symposium on Women in Monotheistic Religions). Some of our
members have published books during the past four years on a wide range of
topics concerning women and religion (in Great Britain, France, Germany,
Switzerland, Italy, etc.) We have strengthened our ties with other Christian
Churches, including Orthodox Churches (particularly in France), the Protestant
Church (everywhere), and the Anglican Church. We have made good contacts with
eminent women from other religions, including Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism.
In Great Britain and Italy in particular, our sections have been
extremely active in organizing meetings, contributing vigorously to
discussions and giving talks and interviews to the press on women's issues in
Holy Scripture and the Church.
The British section has prepared educational material on women's
experiences and their influence in the Churches. It has also collated
information on theology courses devoted to the study of the relations between
women and religions.
The United States has carried out major studies on successive drafts of
the Letter from the American Bishops to Women; it has played a leading role in
exchanges between the bishops and Catholic women's organizations. Following
our two General Assemblies and before the Synod of Rome on the training of
priests (1990), our Alliance submitted various requests on behalf of women to
the Vatican and our national bishops. The issue of women's access to the
priesthood is a constant theme, as is our insistence on women's participation
in doctrinal and moral decisions - particularly with regard to birth control.
Our members have worked very hard and written a number of articles in the
press on all these topics, and in addition they have dealt with non-sexist
reinterpretation of scripture, women's access to theology teaching, the
adoption of a liturgy and a language that takes account of women and the
future of nuns who have taken lifetime vows.
15. WOMEN'S WORLD BANKING
(Category II)
Women's World Banking (WWB) is a global not-for-profit financial
institution, established in 1979, to advance and promote the full economic
participation of women. WWB has over 50 affiliates in over 40 countries in
the regions of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America
and Europe. The WWB network opens access to finance, information and markets
for women micro- and small entrepreneurs.
WWB network activities are designed to address the needs of women in
micro and small business around the world, particularly those who have not had
access to credit, savings instruments, markets and business know-how. WWB's
basic objectives are to build women's roles in transforming local and global
economies by building strong, self-sustaining affiliate organizations that are
capable of delivering services to larger numbers of women entrepreneurs in
micro and small businesses. WWB's core principles uphold women as dynamic
economic agents, backing local initiatives and institutions, and building
self-sustaining services, mutual accountability for results, lateral learning
across the network, innovating through learning, and strong local-global
linkages.
WWB programmes are developed in the areas of (a) institutional
development: financial management and credit management training, technical
assistance tailored to affiliate needs, affiliate exchanges, best practice
workshops and regional and global meetings; (b) financial products and
services, including the loan guarantee agreement negotiating leveraged lines
of credit with financial institutions, capitalization, and brokering; (c) best
practice training and enterprise networks; (d) policy and research; and
(e) products: technical news bulletins, technical notes, manuals and videos.
Primary funding support for the WWB capital fund continues to come from
the Governments of the Netherlands and Norway. The Canadian international
Development Agency (CIDA) continues to be a strong partner of WWB. The
regional divisions of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) support
WWB programmes in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Overseas Development
Administration (ODA), United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
funds WWB products. Fund-raising is ongoing with foundations such as the Ford
Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation for overall programmes and those
specific to the North American and European regions.
Relations with the United Nations during the period of 1988-1991
During this period WWB maintained a close relationship with the United
Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and UNDP at the top management and
working levels by participating in regular meetings to discuss strategies and
collaboration at the local and global levels.
In 1991, the WWB President participated with UNIFEM in the Donor
Committee on Small and Medium Enterprise Development, chaired by the World
Bank. WWB was the only non-donor participating as a resource organization to
share best practice. The WWB President attended meetings with regional and
top management on collaboration at regional and global levels. The WWB
President was a member of the Financial Sector Development Expert Group,
organized by the United Nations.
The WWB President participated in various other United Nations meetings
and conferences.
WWB participated on a regular basis in regional meetings of UNDP
resident representatives. WWB President and senior Program Officers attended
meetings with top managers of the UNDP administration and deputies on WWB
experience in opening women entrepreneurs' access to credit. WWB has shared
its best practice technical notes on micro-enterprise credit and savings,
impact evaluation, training, and commercial linkages with UNDP managers both
in New York and at the country level. Select WWB affiliates started
establishing relations to explore funding collaboration with UNIFEM locally,
notably with the Kenya Women's Finance Trust (KWFT) and the Women's
Entrepreneurial Association of Nepal (WEAN).
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