The Commission on the Status of Women takes place every year at the United Nations in New York City. CSW 58 saw Canadian Voice of Women for Peace construct a letter to the Chair of CSW 58, calling for Peace in the World:
Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
7 Labatt Ave. Suite 212-I, Toronto, ON Canada
M5A 1Z1
March 20th, 2014
Dear H.E. Mr. Libran Cabactulan,
I am pleased to submit to you, as Chair of the Bureau for the 58th session (2014) of the Commission on the Status of Women, this petition which has circulated during the two weeks of this CSW.
We have collected much support for the recommendations which you will see on the petition.
The number supporting them amount to four hundred, half collected here at the meeting and half online (www.vowpeace.org).
The signatories are from thirty-six countries, and sixty-seven organizations. The countries represented are: Hungary, Iceland, USA, Canada Uganda, Hong Kong, Sierra Leone, UK, Sudan, Tunisia, India, Mexico, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Taiwan, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, Malaysia, Germany, Nepal, Nigeria, Burma, Pakistan, Australia, Greece, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway ,Guatemala, Japan. France, Finland.
WE CALL FOR the years of international rhetoric to be translated into action.
WE CALL FOR the delegitimization of war. Given the social, economic, ecological, health and psychological consequences of war, under no circumstance or condition is was legal or just.
WE CALL FOR the United Nations, to agree that all States will reform their domestic laws and judicial procedures so that they provide effective and meaningful protections for the rights of indigenous women within their jurisdictions, and to take steps, immediately, to ensure the elimination of the direct and indirect impacts that militarization and the development and utilization of nuclear processes/byproducts have on indigenous people, particularly indigenous women and girls*(using the transfer or capital money no longer being used to fund war) *note., who are the most severely impacted, as a result of various States intentionally identifying and locating industries related to militarization, nuclear facilities and related waste disposal on their legally protected homelands.
WE CALL UPON all governments to help prevent war by invoking the UN charter’s chapter VI; the peaceful resolution of disputes.
WE CALL FOR the United Nations to promote common security and call upon the member states to sign and ratify international covenants and conventions which embody obligations and commitments related to common security.
WE CALL UPON the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to calculate the contribution of militarism to greenhouse gas emissions.
WE CALL FOR the disbanding of NATO and the relying on UN Peacekeeping instead.
WE CALL FOR the conversation, to peaceful purposes, of military bases (including those on foreign soil).
These measures would contribute to a much invigorated development agenda for developing and developed countries. May these ideas provide momentum for future consideration.
Cordially,
Janis Alton
Co-Chair, Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
