Can you tell us a little bit about what happened at the Beijing conference?
Answer
That's a loaded question. However, I had not originally intended to go, but when I went to a PrepCom in New York City, preceeding the actual conference, I was sufficiently "shocked" to feel it was necessary to go and lobby for family issues.
There were delegates from every country--representing their country--to negotiate the final documents. And there were representatives of NGOs--basically there to lobby for the issues they felt were important.
Probably the most concerning delegation was the Lesbian Caucus. These women were everywhere. I remember one of them saying "try it, you might like it." It was disgusting!
Many of their proposals were "veiled" in a meaning everyone would not understand. We got to where we could figure out what the "agenda" was by watching who was for it.
I remember the delegation from Yemen. They were outstanding women. It was actually the first time I had been with women that covered all of their face, except their eyes. Obviously, that was their culture. But behind those eyes were brilliant minds. The Chairman of the Conference soon discovered how skilled they were, and their microphone was often "not working." My friend Rasha Al-Disuqi was interpreting for them and we were feeding them information. Finally someone said, "Use another microphone -- from another delegation" -- and they did. Then they could participate. We loved them!
Prior to the main conference they held an NGO Forum. Many of the issues were developed at that Forum. We had a booth promoting family-related materials, and a long paper where people could sign in favor of language that would support women as mothers. We had women come by the booth -- so grateful that we were promoting mothers -- some even cried.
I wrote an article for the newspaper they put out at the Forum every day which was titled "What Good Is Empowerment If Women Are Miserable." You could see that the lesbian women were miserable.
Name
Sali
-
Profession
Question
Are there Muslim NGOs involved in the UN conferences? What do they do?
Answer
Yes, there has been good representation at both the Beijing and Beijing +5 conferences. They have been very effective. The group that my friend Rasha was a part of stayed all through the night to support the country delegations that were working on the final language (I was in bed, exhausted). I really felt that their presence was a major factor in the decisive win.
I would like to quote a statement from Rasha, printed in a book I wrote after the Beijing Conference, which shows their influence:
"The first session witnessed an obvious process of manipulation by the meeting's Chairwoman who banged her gavel successively without gaining consensus for paragraph 97 (on "sexuality".) I pleaded with her after the meeting: 'I am relaying to you a great deal of sadness from the floor. People of faith, Jews, Christians and Muslims object to the term sexuality.' The Chairman responded: 'Well! We cannot please everyone. We cannot have a democratic process.' Rasha responded: 'I just wanted to make you aware of how people fee.' More awareness seemed to have dawned on her as lesbians floated their flyers in conference halls. The flyers were signed "The Lesbian Caucus."
Rasha said, "We must object to the procedures," We all decided -- Muslims, Christians, Guatemala, and an Argentina delegate, and others who kept joining us daily.
Name
Sara
- Egypt
Profession
Question
Thank you, Susan and IslamOnline, for giving us this opportunity. I would like to know more about the kind of UN conferences you and your organizations took part in. Under which UN body (among the 6 bodies of the UN) are women's conferences held? How could United Families International attend those conferences? When and how did UFI feel it's important to take part in such conferences, and what difference is this making now?
Once again, thanks.
Answer
I have attended over twenty UN conferences, where international public policy was being created. But, essentially, there were seven major conferences during the 90s -- representing the various "arms" of the UN. The first one was the World Summit on Children, then the Conference on Environment (Rio -- Agenda 21), then the World Conference on Human Rights, then the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), then the World Summit on Social Development, then the Fourth World Conferenc on Women (Beijing), and the last was the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II).
Since that time there have been five-year reviews of each of these conferences, and now we are in the ten-year reviews of the documents created at those conferences. This next spring will be the 10-year review of the Beijing Plan of Action. The purpose is to determine progress toward the achievement of the goals, and set new action items to achieve the goals outlined in the original document.
United Families International (the organization I founded) is one of the major organizations that lobbies for family-friendly language. We evaluate everything from "The Five Respects" which we created to use as a guide during negotiations. The Five Respects are: Respect for Family, Respect for Human Life, Respect for Parents, Respect for Religious Values, and Respect for Sovereignty.
Name
Ubaidah
- Malaysia
Profession
Question
Can anyone attend these conferences? Can any NGO participate? How do we get involved?
Answer
You can only attend as a representative of an NGO (non-governmental organization) that has been accredited to the Conference. The Conference Organizers (which is the Commission on the Status of Women for Beijing +10) set the number that each accredited NGO can send. In addition, there are some year-round passes given to NGOs that have been accredited with ECOSOC [Economic and Social Council of the UN]. However, I think that they have opened it up to new NGOs to register -- I'm not sure of the deadline, it might be the end of this year.
To get involved you have to be approved to represent one of the organizations that have been accredited, and to be chosen as one of their representatives (I think it is 3 per organization for Beijing +10).
Name
Marwa
- Egypt
Profession
Question
Is there anywhere we can go to learn how to influence the outcome of these conferences?
Answer
Actually, I did a video for United Families International a few years ago. I'm not sure if they still have it -- but the purpose of the video was to help people prepare to be lobbyists.
However, the most important thing is to become familiar with the documents created at the first Beijing conference, and Beijing +5. These documents are in the book I prepared for United Families International called The UN Negotiating Guide. It is available on the United Families Web site (www.unitedfamilies.org). I searched through ALL the major UN treaties and conference documents for good language that we could promote. It is important to know the "good" consensus language to suggest at critical times.
Name
Fatima
- Egypt
Profession
Question
My friend was at the Beijing conference and she showed me a video of thousands of lesbians demonstrating against just a few Muslims. It's hard to believe it can be so bad. Is that really how our laws are made--by demonstrations? It doesn't seem very intelligent.
Answer
It's probably important to first point out that the words in these documents are not official "laws." They are suggested "policy." One of the things we have worked very hard to get into the documents are modifying words that "respect national sovereignty." For example, if you add the words, "as appropriate," or "taking into account national laws," or "respect for national laws and priorities," etc., you can keep it from becoming overly binding within a country. However, as the words continue to appear in more and more international documents, they build a case for "customary law." This can be used by judges in some countries (the United States, for instance) to make decisions. This is very dangerous. The one thing to remember is that most of the delegates from the various countries are good people who want what is best for the world -- especially the developing countries. They have come together as a group in the "G77" -- and they have become more and more powerful as they recognize their ability to stop consensus if they stand together.
And the lesbians are learning new tactics -- it is true that the demonstrations are not really effective. It probably does more harm to their cause. So, you can be pleased to know that the process is better than it sometimes appears -- as long as everyone has sufficient information to understand what the words mean (that's sometimes where the lobbyists can be most effective). I think those who are pro-family should also realize the great blessing it has been to have the United States promoting the family values. The power of the United States (under President Bush) has been very helpful to our cause. And the Muslim countries have continued to stand firm in these areas. We are so thankful for them!
Name
Mona
-
Profession
Question
In your opinion, what are the worst articles in the Beijing Platform for Action?
Probably the worst is the paragraph which the lesbians interpreted to mean "sexual freedom." I think it is paragraph 94 -- which states that "Reproductive health therefore implies that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, and when and how often to do so." I will check a couple other paragraphs also.
I remember that when it passed, a cheer rang throughout the hall -- because they thought they had put "sexual orientation" language (implying that) into the document. However, it was NOT in the human rights section, and that needs to be remembered. Also, the language on "reproductive health services" is generally interpreted as including abortion -- and that language appears a few times in the Beijing document. And "safe motherhood" is interpreted as including abortion -- because they supposedly can prove that it is safer to have an abortion than to carry the baby to term (a silly comparison, because it is deadly to the baby). Also, there is some dangerous language related to teaching children, K-12, sex education. We were able to add language which "recognized the rights, duties and responsibilities of parents" to provide "guidance and direction" to their children. But, there is still language which talks about the "rights of the child" -- which I find to be dangerous.
Name
Syed
-
Profession
Question
Why do the outcomes of these conferences matter if they're not enforceable by law? Can you give any examples rather than just general talk?
Answer
Yes, they are enforceable if a country is in need of money from the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund, or any other help from the UN. The country actually has to fill out forms showing how they are in compliance with the Beijing Platform for Action. I personally visited with people in Pakistan that have been involved in filling out these forms -- and the family planning and other activities they are having to implement so that the country can apply for financial help. I am also aware of such requirements in Kenya.
For a country like the United States it is not as critical; however, the Clinton Administration had established a White House Office on Women that was working to establish regulations implemented by the President that would implement the Beijing Platform for Action.
So, some of it depends on the national leadership, and the financial status of the country. At the Beijing PrepCom, the delegate from Honduras was insisting on a defnition of the word "gender" -- because she had been told that the definition into Spanish was wrong, which stated that it did NOT mean "male and female." When she asked for the word "gender" to be bracketed throughout the document, until a definition had been established, great pressure was put on her and her country -- telling them that all international humanitarian aid to her country would be stopped (the United Staes at the time was behind this). That was quite serious considering that Honduras was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. She called her president to see what he wanted her to do, and he said "hang in there -- don't cave in." She didn't, and we did get a definition of gender that indicated there was "no new meaning." (Essentially, that meant that it did not include homosexuality, etc.) Later a good definition was also added to the International Criminal Court document.
This was a very important achievement because the word "gender" is all through the various UN documents. It would have been a disaster to have the word include homosexuality.
Name
Moon Killer
- United States
Profession
Medical
Question
Do you have a monthly publication and what kind of updated information do you have for the young females on different subjects in your studies?
Answer
The best place to get good information is from the United Families International Web site, www.unitedfamilies.org. They do have a newsletter for those who contribute funds, but it is all available on the Web site.
Name
Karen
-
Profession
Question
What are the advantages of these conferences--other than keeping the travel, hotel, restaurant, and paper industries in business?
Answer
I would be the first to admit that they are probably doing more harm than good. Our involvement in the conferences is generally an effort to reduce the harm. However, we have also been able to use these forums to promote the importance of the family and to keep a focus on the issues related to our five respects: Family, Human Life, Parents, Religious Values, and Sovereignty. I think there has been a paradigm shift over the last ten years, and the family issues are becoming important. Considering the strong movements throughout the world to push this anti-family agenda, it is important to have people promoting the importance of the family -- creating a strong family movement.
Name
Bashir
-
Profession
Question
If your interest is in family issues, why did you attend conferences like Habitat and Earth Summit?
Answer
That is a very very good question--because those who pushed for these international conferences had a specific agenda. They intended to promote the words of the previous conference to establish a new frameword to take the next step. There was a caucus called the "Linkage Caucus"--headed by Bella Abzug--that had a specific agenda through all seven conferences. Interestingly, they were shipwrecked at the Habitat Conference and didn't get the final plank in the agenda, which was human rights based on "sexual orientation." For example, the Habitat Conference focus was on the communities we live in. Of course, the rules of the communities we live in determine how we relate to one another. They had hoped to use the anti-discrimination in housing as the point for discussing no discrimination based on sexual orientation.
And the Earth Summit--and the five-year and ten-year conferences--focuses on the environment--the need to protect the environment. The most important solution is to reduce the number of people--population control. So, there is a lot of language about population control in the environmental conferences. The abortion issue becomes important there, and non-forced family planning. That was a big issue at the Earth Summit +5 -- because China opposed any language against forced family planning. However, they did not prevail. I don't mean to imply that I support the population control agenda. That was the agenda of the Linkage Caucus.
Maybe I should also add that my husband went with me to the World Food Summit with the intention of helping the world to solve the food problems. But that UN conference was more interested in population control issues than feeding the hungry. It was a sad commentary on the UN conference agenda.
Name
Rasha
-
Profession
Question
Are there any new issues being raised for Beijing +10?
Answer
I haven't seen the draft document yet. I know they will be working on it in the first week of the Commission on the Status of Women. However, from my perspective, if the "various forms of the family" wording comes up--which it undoubtedly will--I want to see a definition of that term. We need a definition that includes forms like single mothers (or fathers--from death, divorce, etc.), mulit-generational families, compound (this term was used by the Secretary General in the Tenth Anniversary of the Year of the Family document), etc. We want the definition to be clear, so it cannot be used to mean same-sex couples. Sometimes the Muslim countries have not been helpful on this one, because they consider polygamy as a form that should be recognized. I think the focus should be on marriage between a man and a woman. As long as we achieve that, that would include any state-recognized marriage.
There is such an international movement right now on same-sex marriage, I would expect that issue to surface. And the "sexual orientation" issue was battled right down to the final seconds at Beijing +5. I'm sure it will be there again.
Parents' rights issues are always important, also. Most of the radical feminists think that the State should be raising the children--not the mothers.
They think they know what is best for the children.
And religious values should be emphasized.
So--mostly we need to prevent harm, and maintain a strong stance on the issues we have prevailed on in the past.
Name
Karim
-
Profession
Question
Why is Beijing so important? It was the 4th World Conference for Women, but we never hear of the first three. Why was it different?
Answer
I think it is the first World Conference on Women that actually negotiated a document, and had monitering mechanisms included, to be sure the countries who signed the document were in compliance. The First World Conference on Women was in 1976 -- and created the International Women's Conferences that were held in many countries (every state in the United States with a National Conference at the end of the year). Bella Abzug was a major leader in these conferences. When I first went to the United Nations and saw her there, I was very concerned. She had been working in the UN to establish the things she had not been successful at establishing in the US Congres.
The first three conferences built the momentum toward the Fourth World Conference on Women. I had not been aware of all the background work--so I was shocked to see the results. We are now doing "damage control."
I was involved in the state and national IWY [international women's] Conferences in 1977. In fact, I was a floor leader for the pro-family women in Washington State. We had over 2,000 women present, and passed positive pro-family proposals. But we came face to face with the lesbian movement and their efforts to recruit participants. It shocked me enough then that I ended up running for the US Congress--to prevent their agenda from becoming a reality.
But I didn't win--and helped organize United Families instead. We began by lobbying the US Congress--and eventually (after my introduction to the Fourth World Conference on Women) to lobby at the UN Conferences.
Name
Umm Mustafa
-
Profession
Question
You've attended so many conferences. Is there any one memory that stands out above the rest?
Answer
Yes, it was a life-changing experience for me when I walked into the Linkage Caucus at the PrepCom for the Fourth World Conference on Women and saw Bella Abzug there. Soon after a friend and I entered the room, an African woman came bursting through the door announcing that they had just "bracketed the word gender" throughout the entire document. (I explained that action by Honduras in a statement above.) Everybody was concerned and they started talking about what do do, planning strategy to overcome this obstacle, when someone said, "We need to find out who is in this room." By that time most of my pro-family friends had quietly left the room. But I was interested in what was going on. As it came around to me to introduce myself, I said, "My name is Susan Roylance, from United Families of America." And the room broke into laughter and jeers. I was shocked. Later, as they resumed talking about what to do, I raised my hand and said, "I don't understand, why can't you be for the advancement of women and for families too? Why are the two mutually exclusive?" One woman turned around in front of me and said, "Are you for Choice?" Another woman said, "Do you believe lesbians can become mothers?" And I said, "I'm for motherhood, and as far as I know there is only one way to become a mother." (Of course, I learned a lot before the Fourth World Conference was over, about artificial insemination, sperm banks, etc., so lesbians could become mothers.) That experience had a profound effect on me--to realize that these women, who were leaders of NGOs around the world, had such a negative attitude toward families. That was when I decided I needed to get involved--the rest is history.
Name
Latif
- Morocco
Profession
Question
We don't elect our representatives to the UN, so how can we have any influence on what happens there?
Answer
You elect the leaders of your country, and they send delegates to the UN to represent them. These delegates usually get direction from the president and other country leaders. So when the elections are held, people need to know what their stand is on family issues, if they expect the country to have a positive effect on family issues at the UN.
I think it is important to add that many times the delegates to these conferences are not fluent in "UNese"--words that have specific meanings at the UN. The English words can have so many meanings, in difference contexts. One of our jobs as lobbyists--especially those who have gone to many conferences--is to help them understand the meaning of the words. That is why I prepared the UN Negotiating Guide. It is especially helpful to have NGO lobbyists from developing countries to help in this process.
Name
Khadijah
-
Profession
Question
You are an inspiration for us, Susan. How do you manage to do it all? But we are not all like you. What is the first step for us ordinary people to get involved?
Answer
Thank you! The first step is become involved at a UN conference is to become active in an organization that can be accredited to send representatives. Then, you need to read the documents. When you get there, there are other people (including United Families International) that can help you know what we need to lobby for. You need to develop a relationship with one of the country delegates--to become a friend (someone who speaks your native language possibly)--so that when a critical negotiation comes up you can talk to them, and hopefully help them understand our concerns (representing more than just yourself). Even being there to support the delegates is important--they know people care about what they are doing. They know you are watching, and can report how your country was represented. Especially when you are willing to stay up late in the night, when the most critical negotiations occur.
Getting there is the hardest part (the cost)--so raising the money is critical.
Sometimes people can be appointed as part of the country delegation. That is very helpful.
Name
Kate
-
Profession
Question
UFI is quite big now, but I imagine it started small? When I see what you're doing now I think I could never do that. Should we try to start new NGOs or work with existing ones? Can ordinaary people do the things you do?
Answer
Yes, UFI started very small. It was very hard for many years to keep it going. Many times it is easier to find another organization to support. But you have to start somewhere. When I started, we didn't have a United Familes International, so we created it (we had previously worked on state and national issues). That's how it all began for us--and it can for you, too.
I should add that I felt like a very ordinary person when I started. And, actually, I still am--I just have more knowledge. That's all it requires, a willing heart, a trust in God, and studying the issues. I truly believe the trust in God part is the most important, in sha' Allah!!
