By Anick Druelle
under the supervision of Marie-Andrée Roy, Denise Couture and Anita Caron
Institut de recherches et d'études féministes Université du Québec í MontréalMay 2000
Translated from the French by Sharon Gubbay Helfer
Translation was made possible thanks to financial support from the
Feminist Alliance for International Action of Canada /
Alliance féministe pour l'action internationale du Canada.
All views expressed in this report are those of the authors alone
Direct link to the PDF file
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1. Introduction
3.
The idea of putting together this background document came in response to feedback
from women involved in the lead-up to Beijing+5. Many of these women, coming from women's
groups or other NGOs in support of gender equality, expressed their unease at the presence of
right-wing anti-feminist groups at the United Nations. This document is part of a larger research
project designed to analyse the discourse and strategies of a number of national governments
and groups that claim religion as their authority when they address the rights of women at the
United Nations. The research project is supported by a strategic grant from the Women and
Change Program of the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada, (1) and is being carried
out in partnership with the Quebec Women's Ecumenical Network.
This document offers an overview of the positions and strategies developed by right-wing
anti-feminist groups in their attempts to gain support for their views and to negate the work of
groups supporting women's rights, in particular during the last meeting of the preparatory
committee held in New York, March 3 to 16, 2000. This information should support a more
adequate response to anti-feminist groups and their anti-democratic strategies during the
upcoming United Nations meetings on women's rights.
1. Introduction
The presence of representatives of openly anti-feminist, right-wing groups was particularly
marked during the last meeting of the 44 th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of
Women, held in March 2000. The Commission was then acting as a preparatory committee for the
United Nations General Assembly Special Session that would be held from June 5 to 9, 2000, to
evaluate implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and
the Beijing Platform for Action. This process is better known as Beijing +5.
The presence of right-wing anti-feminist groups at the United Nations has been intensifying since
the International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo, Egypt in 1994. It would
appear that several of these groups receive sustained support from the Vatican and other religious
bodies, as the information in this document illustrates. Officially, these groups calling themselves pro-life
and pro-family have no more than a dozen organisations accredited with the United Nations Economic
and Social Council. However, taking advantage of the lack of clearly established guidelines at the UN,.4
they were able to send large numbers of representatives to the last meeting of the Commission on the
Status of Women. Just seven anti-feminist groups managed to have over 350 individuals accredited,
including over one hundred men. (2)
In one case, a single group signed up 90 representatives. (3) R.E.A.L.
Women of Canada (see fact sheet 10) registered 60 representatives, thirty of them Franciscan Friars of
the Renewal, an order established in New York since 1987 with the blessing of Archbishop John
Cardinal O'Connor. (4)The other right-wing anti-feminist groups accredited with the Economic and Social
Council are:
Other anti-feminist groups accredited at the Fourth World Conference on Women were also
able to send delegates to the March 2000 PrepCom. They are:
These groups accredited members of other pro-life or pro-family groups, including:
A number of the individuals accredited in the manner just described do not know the rules of
procedure at the United Nations and the NGO caucuses. Anti-feminist groups organised a caucus on
stable families that held no public meetings, by contrast with all the other caucuses of the Conference of
Non-Governmental Organizations (CONGO). Many other disturbing practices were denounced by
representatives of progressive non-governmental organisations. In the following pages, we will
document the positions of anti-feminist groups and the strategies they are implementing at the United
Nations, in particular as part of the Beijing +5 process. Fact sheets on the right-wing anti-feminist groups
that have consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council or which have been
accredited for participation in the Fourth World Conference on Women and the follow-up to Beijing +5
are presented in an Appendix.
The mobilization of right-wing anti-feminist groups has been orchestrated by Austin Ruse of the
Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute. Last December, Ruse sent an email message inviting pro-
life and pro-family militants from different religions and denominations (15) to participate in Beijing +5 in
order to fight the Beijing Platform for Action and the supposed "radical feminists" who had adopted it.
In this message, Austin Ruse engages in disinformation, describing the Beijing Platform for Action as
"one of the most radical and dangerous documents you can imagine." (16)
In fact, this document is the fruit
of intense negotiations among 189 States of all persuasions. It stipulates that women's basic rights are
human rights, and indicates strategic measures designed to achieve this awareness in twelve critical areas
of concern. For example, in the section on Women and Health, the Platform for Action states that:
"The human rights of women include their right to have control over and decide freely and
responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of
coercion, discrimination and violence." (Platform for Action, par. 96).
Although Austin Ruse's calls to action may give the impression that unity and solidarity exists
among right-wing anti-feminists and extremists from different religions and denominations around the
world, there is in fact a significant range of positions. There is as great a variety of practice and point of
view here as there is among the progressive groups participating in the Beijing +5 process, including
women's groups and groups identified with various religions and denominations. For example, groups of
Muslims participating in the Second World Congress of Families in Geneva in November, 1999, stated
that they were in favour of abortion where the health of the mother is in danger or when the foetus is stricken with an incurable disease. (17) Further, they stated that their definition of the family does not
correspond to the traditional Western patriarchal model, since their model includes the brothers and
sisters of the couple and their children, and also tolerates polygamy. (18)
A good illustration of the diversity of practice in different countries living under Islamic law can be found in the work of the progressive
group called Women Living under Muslim Laws / Femmes vivant sous lois musulmanes.
Most of the people who responded to the anti-feminist call from the Catholic Family and Human
Rights Institute were from the Judaeo-Christian world, more specifically Catholics, Evangelicals, Baptists
or Mormons from Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Australia, certain Latin-American countries
and Kenya. Most of these groups are led by men, which explains the strong male presence they exhibit,
constituting over one third of the 350 right-wing anti-feminist delegates. Another noteworthy fact is that
most of the people who lead these organisations stay in office for many years, a point which may raise
questions about the quality of democracy they practice. For example, Mercedes Arzu Wilson has been
president of the Family of the Americas Foundation since the organisation began in 1977. (19) Gwendolyn
Landolt, founding member of REAL Women of Canada in 1983, is still the organisation's vice-president.
Gilles Grondin has been president of the Mouvement en faveur de la vie/Campagne Québec-Vie
since its inception in 1985.
Most pro-life groups say that they are non-violent. However, their discourse is one of
intolerance with respect to the difficult reproduction-related choices certain women must make. The pro-life
groups cannot deny the fact that this intolerant discourse has justified acts of violence perpetrated
against abortion clinics in the United States and Canada. Some pro-life groups have gone so far as to
spread personal information about doctors or their clients, who subsequently have become the victims of
acts of violence or even murder. (20)
Some groups officially declare themselves against feminist demands for gender equality. For
example, the president of the Independent Women's Forum (USA), Anita Blair, denies that women are
the victims of violence. (21) Other groups, such as Concerned Women for America recognise that women
are the victims of violence, but do not adopt a feminist analysis to understand and fight the violence,
arguing rather for a return to "traditional" values. R.E.A.L. Women of Canada says that it is in favour of
equality but it opposes salary equity or affirmative action programmes designed to counteract the effects
of systemic sexism and racism within the Canadian civil service and to achieve fair representation and
remuneration for blacks or persons of colour, women or native peoples. By denying the existence of
sexism and racism, R.E.A.L. women in fact contributes to their perpetuation. Further, the group actively
campaigns against the awarding of equal rights to homosexuals in Canada, thus contributing to the
reproduction of stereotypes that encourage violence against homosexuals. Dale O'Leary, a Roman
Catholic member of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (USA) wrote
an article about the hateful assassination of young Matthew Shepard, in which she in no way condemns
this crime, but rather calls on the members of the Catholic church to repent for not having done all within
their power to heal their homosexual children. (22) With such statements, Dale O'Leary helps to encourage
acts of violence against homosexuals and to perpetuating stereotypes about them.
Other groups claim a "new feminism" that is in fact completely opposed to feminist critiques of
the patriarchal system. On the contrary, the new feminist line insists on the primary role of women as
mothers and on the complementarity of roles between men and women in the traditional family or in
other patriarchal institutions like the Catholic Church. This discourse was proposed to the Fourth World
Conference on Women by the members of the official Vatican delegation: Mary Ann Glendon, a law
professor at Harvard and Janne Haaland Matlary, then associate professor at the University of Oslo,
and subsequently the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Christian Democratic Party.
An information leaflet distributed March 9, 2000 by the World Youth Alliance during the
PrepCom for Beijing +5 sings the praises of the new feminism outlined by Janne Haaland Matlary in her
book For a New Feminism. The new policy on the family adopted by Ms. Matlary's government in
1999 is cited as an example on the website Vinculum, published by the pro-life and pro-family
organisations assisting the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family. (23) Ms. Matlary has participated in
many Catholic gatherings in Europe. In August 1999, she made a presentation to the European meeting
of youth (24) in Santiago de Compostello, Spain, in the presence of Pope John Paul II where she
encouraged young people to express their religious convictions not only in their private lives, but also in
public, as citizens. In 1998, she was a speaker at the Communication and the Culture of Life
conference held in Rome and co-organised by the Culture of Life's Life Research Institute (USA). (25) In
1997, while a member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, she made a presentation on the
rights of motherhood to the International Theological-Pastoral Congress of the Pontifical Council for the
Family. (26) In addition, as Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs, she was part of a 1998 official
delegation to Iran, at a time when her country had been enforcing a political boycott of the Teheran
regime since the early 90s. During this visit, she met with Christian organisations in Iran. (27)
3. Right-Wing Anti-Feminist Group Strategies
Right-wing anti-feminist groups have developed multiple strategies for participating in United
Nations meetings. During the Beijing +5 PrepCom II, held in March 2000, they targeted the work of
particular caucuses, intimidated selected delegates, spread false information in their information leaflets,
lobbied national governments (about a dozen countries have been specifically targeted, with the
objective of seeing their governments adopt anti-feminist discourse).
3.1. The Caucuses
According to WomenAction (March 8, 2000, No. 7) the right-wing anti-feminist groups focused
their actions on the Youth Caucus in particular, but they also made their presence felt in the Health
caucus, (28) and the Girl Child and Violence caucuses. In order to listen in on the progressive groups, they
also maintained a presence in most of the other caucuses, including the Linkage caucus. Finally, they
targeted the Lesbian Caucus in order to practice intimidation, and also set up their own Caucus for
Stable Families.
3.1.1. The Youth Caucus
Youth were also targeted at Cairo +5 in 1999. The World Youth Alliance was formed at this
time. During the final two weeks of the 44 th Commission on the Status of Women, about forty young
people from right-wing anti-feminist groups were reported to have participated in the Youth Caucus
under the banner of the World Youth Alliance. (29) They were joined by Rock for Life, a group of young
Americans who constitute a section of the American Life League. (30) Their presence prevented
constructive discussion from taking place. The most visible players in the World Youth alliance are
Anna Halpine and Diana Kilarjian who co-founded the Alliance. (31) Anna Halpine is a former president
of the New Brunswick section of the Campaign Life Coalition of Canada and she also participated in an
internship program offered to youth by the Campaign Life Coalition. (32)She has been an active participant
in both the Cairo +5 and the Beijing +5 processes. Diana Kilarjian is an employee of the Catholic
Family and Human Rights Institute.
Young progressives felt the need to clarify the issue of representatives of right-wing anti-feminist
groups in their caucus. WomenAction prints extracts from the declaration made by the facilitators of the
Youth Caucus:
In a statement from the Youth Caucus Facilitators of 14 March, amongst other issues they noted:
3.1.2. The Lesbian Caucus
Right-wing anti-feminist groups attempted to cause obstructions and prevent meetings of the
Lesbian Caucus from taking place. During a panel discussion organised on Tuesday, March 14 by this
caucus on the subject of sexuality and fundamental human rights, they sent hundreds of representatives,
including the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, into the room in order to obstruct and intimidate by
praying. (33) After the meeting, young anti-feminists, including one who spoke French very well and
appeared to be from Québec, surrounded the Québec delegate, monopolising her attention and
preventing her from continuing her networking activities. She had just given a presentation on the
demands for protection of lesbians made at the World March of Women.
3.1.3. The Caucus for Stable Families
The Caucus for Stable Families might have been thought to be a ghost caucus since it was not
announced anywhere. It may be presumed to have met, however, at the Catholic Family and Human
Rights Institute (866 United Nations Plaza, suite 4038, New York) since it produced an information
leaflet entitled Vivant! In Beijing in 1995, the caucus of right-wing groups was known as the "Well-being
of Women Caucus" and was led by the National Institute of Womanhood (see fact sheet 9).
3.2. Intimidation and Visibility
The representatives of right-wing anti-feminist groups made themselves quite visible, wearing red
buttons reading "Motherhood" or blue ones that said "Family;" by walking about with bibles in their
hands, as was the case during the panel organised by the Lesbian Caucus; by marking their foreheads
with ashen crosses on Ash Wednesday; or, in the case of the Franciscan Brothers, by wearing their
robes. In addition to being visible, they committed acts of intimidation aimed at representatives of
progressive groups. For example, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal encircled a woman by joining
hands and praying aloud. (34) (Butler, 2000: p. 8) A group of young people copied this deplorable practice on Friday, March 10, when they prayed out loud while encircling a woman who was sitting near the
newspaper stand located beside the UN cafeteria. (35) (WomenAction, March 14, 2000, No. 11) These
events caused a number of participants to lose the feeling of security they had had within the United
Nations buildings.
Despite their overall goal of high visibility, most of the individual members of the right-wing anti-feminist
groups refused to introduce themselves during the Caucus meetings. Some were surprised in the
process of copying down other participants' contact information rather than writing down their own on
the attendance sheets. What is more, documentation from some progressive groups was destroyed, and
suspicion rests heavily on the shoulders of right-wing anti-feminist groups. This practice had been
detected at the first PrepCom to Beijing +5 held in March 1999, where posters announcing lesbian
caucuses were destroyed. Some members of these groups went so far as to harass members of
progressive groups by calling them at night or sending them email messages. (36)
Many government delegations also claimed to have been harassed by representatives of pro-life
or pro-family groups that did not respect UN rules of procedure. This led to the exclusion of all NGOs
from inter-governmental negotiating sessions.
3.3. Spreading False Information in Information Leaflets
It would appear that some right-wing anti-feminist groups specialise in broadcasting declarations
or in producing documents that contain erroneous, tendentious, or plainly defamatory information. For
example, the vice-president of R.E.A.L. Women of Canada, Gwendolyn Landolt, demonstrated racism
when she called the black representatives of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women of
Canada "donkeys" (National Post, March 16 2000). Groups like Australia's Endeavour Forum
(president, Babette Francis) circulate documents claiming that abortion causes breast cancer. (37)
The pro-family coalition circulated a document suggesting changes to the proposed Beijing +5
Outcomes Document (Suggested Changes to the proposed Outcomes Document") stating that in
Nigeria, an NGO funded by an American foundation had characterised virginity as a dangerous
traditional practice. One Nigerian participant at the African Caucus stated that this was an outrageous
lie and an extremist distortion of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women. This Convention is continually brought into question by right-wing anti-feminist groups. "Many
participants at the African caucus deplored the tactics of the Pro-Family Coalition as an attempt to divert
attention from the real issues of the BPA, especially those of critical concern to Africa." (38)
3.4. Lobbying the "Twelve" States
At the Second World Congress of Families, held in Geneva from November 14 to 17, 1999,
Austin Ruse, founding president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, made a presentation
entitled "Towards a Permanent United Nations Pro-Family Bloc." (39) His presentation states that during
the Cairo +5 process, his then fledgling bloc was able to rely on the Vatican, Argentina and Nicaragua,
in particular for introducing proposed "language" into the system. (40) Ruse suggests enlarging the number
of supporting states to twelve, chosen from among the Group of 77. He expresses confidence that such
a number should be sufficient to advance the demands of pro-family groups within the United Nations.
Although he does not actually name them, Ruse suggests that pro-life and pro-family groups develop an
excellent knowledge of the twelve potential ally states.
In this article, Ruse also reveals a number of pro-family group tactics: breaking the UN rules of
procedure forbidding the spread of promotional material on the floor of government delegations in the
conference halls; making late-night calls to French or German members of parliament or to American
Congressmen and Congresswomen, asking them to put pressure on the members of their delegations to
meet the demands of pro-family groups.
A variety of pro-life groups have taken up Austin Ruse's strategies. For example, Gilles
Grondin, president of the Mouvement en faveur de la vie/Campagne Québec-Vie (the Québec section
of the Campaign Life Coalition) attended the UN General Assembly on Cairo +5 (41) in order to act as a
"pro-life lobbyist among the nations of the Third World." (42) Back in Canada, Grondin met with the
ambassadors of twelve "Third World" countries most affected by a so-called "depopulation policy." (43)
Once again, the names of these states are not revealed.
A number of national governments also expressed their affinity with the Vatican and other pro-family
groups' positions on the right to abortion. For example, former President Menem of Argentina
declared in 1999 a national "Day of the Unborn Child" to be celebrated on March 25, the same day as
the Feast of the Incarnation of Christ. Guatemala followed suit on May 20, 1999, when the Guatemalan
Congress voted in a declaration to the same effect. Salvador and Nicaragua appear about to institute
such a day as well. Pro-life groups are waging campaigns in Chile, Brazil and other Latin American
countries, demanding that their governments adopt such a national day. (44) Depending on the parties in
power, these groups can expect support from certain Latin American countries, as well as from Poland
and Malta.
4. Ways and Means for Responding to Right-Wing Anti-Feminist Groups at the United Nations
The disproportionate presence of right-wing anti-feminist groups at the 44 th session of the
Commission on the Status of Women makes it clear that these groups intend to intervene in the future
whenever women's rights are at issue on the international scene. Ever since the 1996 Habitat II
Conference, these groups seem to have made important gains on the international scene, some even
referring to the "miracle of Habitat II." (45) It is important to relativise these gains and not to be intimidated
by practices that disrespect the United Nations rules of procedure. To this end, representatives of
progressive NGOs have already suggested a number of avenues.
4.1. First of all, show solidarity. This is what produced sustained applause in response to statements
by members of the Youth and Lesbian caucuses at the NGO plenaries. Solidarity was also responsible
for the massive presence of progressive groups at the panel organised by the Lesbian Caucus. To the
red "Motherhood" and blue "Family" buttons, the progressive groups responded with green buttons, "I
Support the Beijing Platform for Action," white ones, "(M)Otherhood" and yellow T-shirts, "Youth for
the Human Rights of Women."
4.2. Second, develop a better knowledge of the right-wing anti-feminist groups in order to demystify
them and to be able to lodge specific complaints when acts of intimidation or violence are committed. A
better understanding of the workings of these groups can counteract the fear they sometimes engender
and encourage individuals who are being harassed to lodge a complaint with the relevant authorities. If
there is an emergency, do not hesitate to call the United Nations security agents (Tel: 963-6666, or 36
666 from inside the UN building) or the New York police, as appropriate.
Following the events surrounding the PrepCom meetings for Beijing +5, letters of protest were
sent to the UN Secretary General by a European NGO, the anti-fundamentalist Commission de la lutte
contre les intégrismes (part of the Coordination Franí§aise du Lobby européen des Femmes or
C.L.E.F.). In addition, Jennifer Butler of Ecumenical Women 2000+ began researching and writing an
article to provide more information on the right-wing religious groups that participated in the March
2000 meeting. Her article also illustrates the strategies developed by progressive religious groups in
order to show that right-wing groups are far from holding a monopoly on religious interpretation. (46)
Information documents like these enable groups to better understand what is going on and to prepare
themselves to respond accordingly.
There are also progressive religious groups such as Catholics for a Free Choice that have very
good documentary resources (47) about the activities of conservative religious groups that usually
participate in United Nations conferences. This group may be freely contacted for information or
eventually for support in the case of particular interventions.
4.3. Third, clarify the caucus rules of procedure, in order be able to ask an individual who refuses to
introduce himself or herself, or who copies participants' contact information without authorisation, to
leave the caucus. The rules for NGO representation at the United Nations must also be clarified, in
order to avoid groups abusing their status and sending overly many delegates. It is important to inform
the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations and the UN Committee in charge of accreditation
of the abuses perpetrated by particular groups. These bodies may then consider punishing the offending
groups or even removing the right to participate in UN meetings from groups that do not respect
democratic practice. The rules for accreditation clearly state that groups, like States, must subscribe to
the principles of the UN Charter and actively support these principles, if they want to participate in the
work of the United Nations.
These measures and practices should help to re-establish the safety and security of the UN's
meeting places. It is possible that the presence of right-wing anti-feminist groups has slowed down the
work of adopting a common position within the framework of Beijing +5, but it is undeniable that the
progressive groups have again shown great creativity and solidarity in diversity, faced with this challenge.
Clarifying the rules of procedure for the caucuses and for NGO participation at the United Nations can
only help to increase transparency and the experience of democracy on the international scene.
1. For further information please contact Marie-Andrée Roy (
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) or Anick Druelle
(
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).
2. According to information provided by Jim Paul to the Global Policy Forum Listserv, March 20 to 24, 2000 (GPF
Listserv, March 20-24).
3. Ibid.
4. According to statements made by Gwendolyn Landolt, national vice-president of REAL Women of Canada, as
reported in the National Post, March 16, 2000, p. A1 and A2. Information about the brotherhood of Franciscans was
distributed by Austin Ruse, president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, in an email message dated
April 7, 2000, sent to the Friday Fax list:
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: "At Beijing +5 pro-life lobbyists were blessed with the
presence of 30 monks from the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal who appeared at the meeting in full habit, long and
grey, exquisite. A feminist was heard to exclaim derisively 'this is not heaven.' Jeepers. Who knew? One pro-lifer with
an excellent sense of humor accredited all these impressive monks with an organization called REAL Women of
Canada. This made very critical news in the Canadian papers. How dare men -- monks?-- represent women." For more
information on the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal visit their website at: www.franciscanfriars.com.
5. See Jennifer Butler "The Religious Right at the Beijing +5 PrepCom," article posted April 25, 2000 on the Global
Policy Forum website, www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/ngo-un/access/2000/beij5.htm. This article is also useful for understanding the
links among the various pro-family organisations and the World Congress of Families.
6. Jennifer Butler locates this movement among the groups of the religious right. The movement has its headquarters
in Paris and an office in Geneva, and it accredited several participants at the CSW in March 2000. Further, this group
serves on the Executive Committee of the NGO Committee on the Family, a committee of the Conference of Non-Governmental
Organizations (CONGO). (Butler, 2000: 6).
7. For further information, visit the website: www.spuc.org.uk/hc48/uncrimct.htm. The site displays a photograph of
Peter Smith, who also participated in the 43 rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women in March 1999. Dr.
Majid Katme organises the Muslim section of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children and has lobbied the
delegations of some Muslim states during various United Nations meetings, notably during the negotiations to set up
the International Criminal Court.
8. Press release from the American Life League, May 11, 2000, available at the following website:
www.all.org/news/release2.htm.
9. A centre for health and well-being founded by the Second Baptist Church.
See: http://thecabin.net/stories/072199/loc_0721990023.html.
10. Dale O'Leary, a Roman Catholic, also represents the National Association for Research and Therapy of
Homosexuality (USA). She has participated in the Cairo and Beijing Conferences.
11. Prague was the venue for the First World Congress of Families, held in 1997; see their website at:
http://www.worldcongress.org/WCF/wcf1_home.htm
12. The information pamphlet entitled Vivant! (produced by pro-family groups gathered in the NGO Caucus for stable
families at the head office of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute) in its March 10, 2000 edition, reproduces
an article signed by representatives of True Love Waits and a photograph of the authors (Raymond Mutura, Carolyne
Shisubili, David and Yvonne Odero) in the company of Vatican delegate Katherine Hoomkwamp. Ms. Hoomkwamp is
a former president of the National Council of Catholic Women of Nigeria and was also a member of the Vatican
delegation to the Beijing conference (according to information published under the title "Option in Favour of Girls and
Young Women" by the Vatican information service, September 1, 1995 (VIS 950901) This document can be found at
the following website: www.ugkc.lviv.ua/CDHN/95sep)01.html. The information pamphlet Esperanza! of March 14,
2000 indicates that Carolyne Shisubili works full time for the organisation Maji na Ufanisi (Water and development).
13. The head office of United Families International is in the United States.
14. This coalition was instituted in order to intervene in the meetings leading up to Cairo +5.
15. More specifically, he named the following religions and denominations: Catholics, Evangelicals, Jews, Muslims,
and Mormons.
16. Cited by Jennifer Butler (2000, p. 1)
17. These statements were made by Ayatollah Mohammed Ali Taskhiri, head of Iran's Organization of Culture and
Islamic Relations, reported in an article in the Salt Lake Tribune, November 18, 1999, available on the following
website: www.fww.org/famnews/muslems.htm.
18. According to statements reported in the same article.
19. As stated
on their website: http://206.244.99.95/fusfolder/com323/sp1997/mgarzaro/final/index.htm.
20. For further information visit the website of the California Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, USA:
http://www.caral.org/index2.html.
21. As stated in the lecture recorded on the site of Peter's Voice http://209.239.33.160/beijing.htm.
22. Her article is published on the following website: www.afa.net/homosexuality/oleary.htm.
23. See http://www.vinculum-news.com/English/va03fe/va03ae4.htm#top.
24. For further information in Spanish, see the website: www.pionet.org/articulos/Europa_India.htm.
25. See the website of the Culture of Life Foundation:
www.culture-of-life.org/newsroom_currentmedia.htm.
26. Her presentation may be accessed at the Catholic Church of Norway website:
www.katolsk.no/artikler/motherhd.htm.
27. See "Controversial trip to Teheran" in Norway Now, 1998, available at:
http://simba-s.online.no/ud/publ/nn/98/14/news-1.html
28. Pro-life groups put pressure on the Health Caucus to deny the existence of rights in the areas of sexuality and
reproduction. They believe that these terms always mask the right to abortion. In addition, they produced a report
for WomenAction that had the effect of further stigmatising people suffering from AIDS (WomenAction, March 3,
2000, No. 4).
29. According to the testimony of a young Canadian delegate to the Youth Caucus. Butler also states that a majority
of the right-wing young men came from the Washington D.C. region (Butler, 2000: p. 8).
30. As stated in the information leaflet Esperanza! from the World Youth Alliance dated March 14, 2000. Rock for Life
makes clear its association with the American Life League on its website: www.rockforlife.org/aboutus.html.
31. As stated under the heading "Pro-Life Youth Groups Organize at UN Conferences" on the website of the Daily
Catholic: www.dailycatholic.org/issue/99Sep/sep21dc2.htm.
32. As stated in a letter from Jim Hughes, national president of the Campaign Life Coalition, from July 1998,
www.lifesite.net/clc/national_news. In 1998, nine young people participated in this group's summer internship
programme.
33. As reported in WomenAction, March 17, 2000, No. 13: "The tension was tangible as many people noticed men in
robes, women and men holding bibles and wearing ambiguous buttons. After days of reports of intimidation, people
were unsure of what to expect. Ironic being in the United Nations building where one expects respect for difference
rather than a concerted strategy to divert energy from the work we're here for."
34. As Butler notes: "In some cases, they engaged in objectionable and aggressive behavior. A group of cassocked
Catholic friars surrounded individual women's rights activists and began to pray. One target, feeling imprisoned by
the friars who held hands around her, shouted, "I come from a long line of Lutherans and I am proud of what I stand
for! Let me go!" Several of her colleagues came over to support her. Women's rights advocates also rallied around
lesbian participants who felt vulnerable to verbal abuse." (Butler, 2000: p. 8).
35. Lenka Simerska, who authored the report on this incident in No. 11 of WomenAction, immediately asked that a
system of protection against harassment be set up at the United Nations and that NGOs sending representatives who
become responsible for such behaviour should be sanctioned: "We want to have our work at the UN be as effective
as possible. An atmosphere in which people are afraid to speak openly at meetings, are observed or attacked outside
meetings can easily undermine the international forums for the advancement of women we have worked so hard to
make happen. If governments truly desire to profit from constructive NGO contributions, we call upon the Beijing+5
NGO steering committee to organize a system of protection against disruption and harassment. In addition, we call
upon those responsible to look into implementing a system of assessment for NGO behavior whereby those NGOs
with ECOSOC status which willfully disrupt others can be penalized.
In case you face a situation of harassment, you can call UN security number 9636666. If you want to contact the
security inside the UN building, call 36666."
36. One Québec group even believes itself to have been the target of a computer virus.
37. The Endeavour Forum website (www.endeavourforum,org.au/) also lists links with the site
www.abortioncancer.com.
38. WomenAction, March 17, 2000, No. 13.
39. Austin Ruse "Toward a Permanent United Nations Pro-Family Bloc," published on the website of the World
Congress of Families II website: http://www.worldcongress.org/gen99_speakers/gen99_ruse.htm.
40. As this revealing excerpt by Ruse from the same article attests: "But we will not win until we begin writing language
and getting governments to introduce it for us. At Cairo +5 we did this for the first time. We wrote language, based on
a new American law, that said specific forms of coercion in family planning would be forbidden. Specifically we named
promises of food, clothing, medicine or shelter in exchange for accepting contraception, sterilization or abortion. This
was introduced by the brave delegations from Argentina, Nicaragua and the Holy See. I am sorry to report that we
lost, which gives the lie to the claims of our opponents that they are against coercion in family planning. But we
learned a great deal about the process, principally we learned we have to start with a larger base of support than three
delegations. But we are learning how to win."
41. Thanks to financing from the Campaign Life Coalition.
42. The publications of other pro-life and pro-family groups, such as REAL Women of Canada, write about the use of
this type of strategy at other UN meetings, notably during the activities surrounding the Habitat II conference.
43. Gilles Grondin highlights these strategies in his summary report covering the period September 1998 to December
1999, entitled Rapport d'activités de Campagne Québec-Vie de septembre 1998 í décembre 1999 and available at:
http://www.mlink.net/~provieqc/BulJanvier2000.htm. In the same report, Gilles Grondin writes of the inspiration his
group derived from Pope Jean-Paul II's May 1998 address to Italian pro-life groups. In this address, the Pope
encourages the pro-life groups to use all means of intervention available to them, including political pressure, in order
to return to "a civilisation that respects the right to life from conception until natural death."
44. According to Vinculum, the web page published by the Pro-Family and Pro-Life organizations assisting the
Pontifical Council for the Family: http://www.vinculum-news.com/English/va03fe/va03ae5.htm.
45. It is in these terms that a series of articles produced by right-wing, pro-family groups report on their participation at
this event. See for example the report of the NGO Family Voice President, Richard G. Wilkins, "Executive Summary:
The Transformation of the Habitat II Agenda," available at:
www.nauvoo.byu.edu/TheArts/Exhibitions/Habitat/main.cfm.
46. See Jennifer Butler "The Religious Right at the Beijing +5 PrepCom," published April 25, 2000 on the Global Policy
Forum website: www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/ngo-un/access/2000/beij5.htm.
47. This group has produced some very interesting information documents on the Vatican and the Fourth World
Conference on Women (1995), as well as on conservative Catholic organisations (1994) See our bibliography for
details.
Bulletin des Négociations de la Terre, September 18, 1995.
Butler, Jennifer. 2000. "The Religious Right at the Beijing +5 PrepCom," article published on the Global Policy Forum
website: www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/ngo-un/access/2000/beij5.htm.
Friedlander, Eva. (ed.). 1996. Voir le monde í travers les yeux des femmes, Allocutions des plénií¨res du Forum des
ONG sur les femmes, Beijing '95. Preface by Irene M. Santiago, Montréal: Alternatives, 321 p.
Catholics for a Free Choice. 1994. A New Rite: Conservative Catholic Organizations and Their Allies. Document
prepared by Steve Askin, 91 p.
Catholics for a Free Choice. 1995. "Women to Vatican: Equal Is As Equal Does" Press Release issued March 27 in
collaboration with Women-Church Convergence to launch the document Equal Is As Equal Does.
Catholics for a Free Choice. 1995. The Vatican and the Fourth World Conference on Women, information package.
Center for Women's Global Leadership. 1995. "Global Tribunal on Accountability for Women's Human Rights," Press
Release issued August 16, 1995, 3 p.
Moghadam, Valentine M. (ed.). 1994. Identity Politics and Women, Cultural Reassertions and Feminisms in
International Perspective, Boulder, San Francisco, Oxford: Westview Press.
NGO Alert (available from CRIAW, the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, ref. NGO Forum
'95) .
NGO Forum on Women, Beijing '95. 1995. The website: http://www.igc.org/beijing/ngo/ offers access to a substantial
archive of documents relating to NGO participation in the Fourth World Conference on Women.
NGO Forum on Women, Beijing '95. 1995. Look at the World Through Women's Eyes, 30 August - 8 September,
Schedule of activities.
Status of Women Canada. May 1998. Résumé et faits saillants des résultats de la 42e session de la Commission de la
condition de la femme, du 2 au 13 Mars 1998, 5 p.
Thibault, Charlotte. 1998. Interview with Anick Druelle in Montréal, May 5.
United Nations. 1996. The United Nations and the Advancement of Women, 1945-1996. The United Nations Blue
Books Series, Vol. IV, United Nations: New York, 845 p.
United Nations, Conference Secretariat. 1995. Information for NGOs, Schedule of NGO Meetings at the BICC/BRC,
September 1995.
Willetts, Peter (ed.). 1996. "The Conscience of the World"; the influence of non-governmental organisations in the
UN system. Washington: Brookings Institution.
Documentation on NGOs was gathered from the following sources:
Centre de documentation en sciences humaines, Université du Québec í Montréal; International Centre for Human
Rights and Democratic Development; Centre de documentation sur l'éducation des adultes et la condition féminine;
Documentation Centre of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women; the personal libraries of
Marie-Andrée Roy and Charlotte Thibault; website of the NGO Forum for Beijing 1995..21
Fact sheets on anti-feminist, non-governmental organisations that participated in the Fourth World
Conference on Women (FWCW), at the NGO Forum on Women or at other United Nations meetings.
Fact Sheet 1: American Life League
Head Office: Stafford, Virginia, United States
Goals and Objectives: Fight against the right to abortion in the United States. Fight for the adoption of
an amendment to the American Constitution forbidding abortion under all circumstances, including cases
of rape and incest (known as the Human Life Amendment).
Membership: According to 1990 figures, 62 affiliated groups and 259,000 families. Founder and
president: Judie Brown, Roman Catholic. Officially, the group is not religious, but it has many links with
Catholics. In addition, the group employs a Maryknoll priest as spiritual director.
Budget: Revenue (1990): 8.2 million
Links with Other Organisations or Governments:
The following groups have offices at the same
address:
Special Friends
Status at the United Nations : The group was accredited to participate in the FWCW. In May 2000,
the group was granted consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
Type of Activity: Lobby
Publications: ALL About Issues (bimonthly) and Website: www.all.org
Information Sources: Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC). 1994. A New Rite, p. 65.
Complete Contact Information: AMERICAN LIFE LEAGUE, INC., 1179 COURTHOUSE ROAD, STAFFORD,
VIRGINIA 22554, USA. TEL: (703) 659-4171; FAX: (703) 659-2586.23
Fact Sheet 2: Campaign Life Coalition, Canada
Head Office: Toronto, Canada
Goals and Objectives: The group says it wants to re-establish the right to life, from the moment of
conception until the moment of natural birth, at all levels of government in Canada.
Membership: This organisation has 10 provincial chapters in Canada, including the Mouvement pour la
vie/Campagne Pro-vie Québec headed by Gilles Grondin. The majority of provincial presidents are men
(8 men and 4 women).
Links with Other Organisations or Governments: The Life Ethics Educational Association shares
the same head office. Anna Halpine, former president of the New Brunswick chapter co-founded the
World Youth Alliance in 1999 (see fact sheet 12) while she was working for the Campaign Life
Coalition in New York.
Status at the United Nations : Participated in the FWCW in 1995. Achieved consultative status with
the UN Economic and Social Council in August 1999. The group had to issue press releases affirming
its non-violent position in order to obtain this status.
Type of Activity: Political lobbying in Canada at all levels of government in order to forbid the right to
abortion under all circumstances.
Since 1994, participation in many international conferences including those of Beijing and Cairo and their
UN-organised 5-year follow-up processes.
Youth education by means of summer internships: 9 recruits trained during the summer of 1998,
including Charmaine Graves, then a student at the University of Toronto. Graves attended the World
Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth in Lisbon, Portugal, August 8-12, 1998. On this
occasion, she represented the Campaign Life Coalition within the NGO Coalition for Family and Youth,
which included the following groups: NGO Family Voice, United Families International, World
Movement of Mothers, and the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (see the article: "Young pro-lifers defy
UN at Lisbon" on the website: www.lifesite.net/interim/sept98/01youngpro.html). Two students from the
Newman Student Center at the University of Toronto who attended an internship programme at the
Holy See's Mission to the United Nations were named to the official Vatican delegation to the same
international meeting (see: www.newmantoronto.com/Contents/events1/italy.html).
Information Sources: Website of the Campaign Life Coalition: www.lifesite.net, including various articles
from the Bulletin Interim, including: www.lifesite.net/interim/1999/aug/14campaign.html.
Complete Contact Information: Suite 311, 53 Dundas street east, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1C6,
Canada.
Current national president is: Jim Hugues in Toronto. Karen Murawsky is the public affairs director in
Ottawa.
Fact Sheet 3: Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (USA)
Founded: 1997
Head Office: New York
Goals and Objectives:. Full-time pro-life and anti-feminist lobby at the United Nations.
Membership: None. President: Austin Ruse. However, this group sends out its Friday Faxes on
demand, and publishes them on its website: www.c-fam.org/FAX/ (sent to 5,500 addresses in November
1999, up from an initial figure of 125 fax subscribers (Austin Ruse letter published on the site
www.rcav.bc.ca/99-11-29/letters.htm).
Budget: Significant contributions made by Human Life International (according to the article: "C-FAM
Institute advances Pro-Life Measures at the UN" http://hli.org/publications/hlir/1998/hr049802.html).
Links with Other Organisations or Governments: Close ties with Human Life International, as well
as with the groups organising the World Congresses on the Family. Staff member Diana Kilarjian co-founded
the World Youth Alliance (see fact sheet 12).
Status at the United Nations : The group has no consultative status with the UN at this time.
Type of Activity: Lobbying at the United Nations.
Production of the information leaflet Vivant! during the Beijing +5 process.
In 1999? organised a seminar at the United Nations entitled: "Church, Synagogue, Mosque: Solutions
for the Modern Family" in collaboration with the Organization of the Islamic Conference; the
governments of Argentina and Nicaragua; the Howard Center for Family; Religion and Society; the
Archdiocese of New York; the World Family Policy Center; the Islamic Center of Long Island, USA.
Complete Contact Information: 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 4038, New York, NY 10017,
USA; Tel: 212-754-1192; Fax: 212-754-9291; Email address:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: www.c-fam.org
Revealing glimpses of this group's positions and strategies:
"Even with CEDAW, our side did not wake up to the damage done by the UN until the 1994 International Conference
on Population and Development, the Cairo Conference. At that time, Pope John Paul II called forth people of all faiths
to go to Cairo and to fight the Culture of Death. He knew that rumors of great danger whispered from that ancient city.
More than 200 citizen lobbyists appeared out of nowhere, indeed from all parts of the globe. And these citizen
lobbyists, who knew nothing about UN documents and nothing about UN lobbying braved a hostile environment and
won significant victories. The most significant was stopping the feminists from their desire to make abortion an
internationally recognized human right. Indeed, at Cairo, abortion as a method of family planning was strictly
forbidden. Cairo not only saw the birth of the UN pro-family movement, it also saw the emergence of a new and very
potent alliance between Catholic and Muslim countries. Our enemies call this an un-holy alliance. And so from their
point of view it is, because it is from this alliance, new in the world, new to history, that our victory will come."
Taken
from: Austin Ruse "Toward a Permanent United Nations Pro-Family Bloc," published on the website of the second
World Congress of Families: http://www.worldcongress.org/gen99_speakers/gen99_ruse.htm.
Founded: 1979
Head Office: Washington, D.C.
Goals and Objectives:. The organisation was founded in order to oppose the National Organization
for Women generally, and in particular to fight the Equal Rights Amendment. The group works on family
values themes. It opposes abortion, the legislation of rights for gays and lesbians, federal financing for the
arts, and sex education programmes in schools. It works to censor school books and programmes that
do not express its own views. It favours school prayer and the teaching of "creationist" views in
schools.
Membership: 600,000 members in 1992, and 1000 prayer and action groups in all the states of the
United States.
Budget: Revenues: 8.2 million; expenses: 7.3 million in 1992.
Links with Other Organisations or Governments: Member of the Well-being of Women Caucus
convened by the National Institute of Womanhood at the FWCW. Links with the Catholic League for
Civil and Religious Rights, and the group Catholics United for Life.
Status at the United Nations : The group gained accreditation to participate in the FWCW.
Type of Activity:
Lobbying the U.S. Congress. The group retains four lawyers full-time to prosecute cases in different
areas; for example, to defend the right of landlords to refuse to rent premises to unmarried couples (in
conjunction with the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights), or cases against abortion (together
with Catholics United for Life). The group adopts right-wing positions at the international level, for
example by supporting the Contras in Nicaragua.
Information Sources: CFFC, 1994, A New Rite, p. 67-68
Complete Contact Information: CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA, 1015 FIFTEENTH ST., N.W., SUITE
1100, WASHINGTON, DC 20005, USA. TEL: (202) 488-7000; FAX: (202) 488-0806.27
Fact Sheet 5: Family Life Counselling Association of Kenya
Founded: ?
Head Office: Nairobi, Kenya
Goals and Objectives: Promote the family as the foundation of society; promote the natural method of
family planning; oppose contraception; respect African culture and religious beliefs; leave the sex
education of children to their parents.
Membership: Margaret Ogola, vice-president and spokeswoman at the FWCW, is a pediatrician and
director of a hospice for AIDS and HIV orphans.
Links with Other Organisations or Governments: Margaret Ogola was on the planning committee
for the second World Congress of Families (see: www.fww.org/events/congres2.htm).
Status at the United Nations: Was accredited for participation in the FWCW and obtained the
privilege of intervening in its plenary session.
Type of Activity: Positions taken publicly at the FWCW.
Information Sources:
Margaret Ogola, Statement by Family Life Counselling, September 6, 1995, 3 p. (available on the
Internet at: gopher://gopher.undp.org/1/unconfs/women/conf/ngo).
Complete Contact Information:
FAMILY LIFE COUNSELLING ASSOCIATION OF KENYA, POB 18077, MUCHUMBI ROAD SOUTH "B", NAIROBI,
KENYA. TEL: 558926/555977; FAX: 544640.
Declaration to the FWCW
Family Life Counselling of Kenya made a declaration as an NGO to a plenary session at the FWCW,
affirming that the woman is the heart of the family, that natural methods of birth control must be made
available, that the right to be born must be protected, and that parents play an irreplaceable role in the
sexual education of children, in conformity with African culture and religious beliefs. While recognising
that some aspects of culture are undesirable, the declaration affirms that the whole of the culture must not
be abandoned in favour of the Western values contained in the Platform for Action, which is not clear on
the themes of family and gender.
Fact Sheet 6: Family of the Americas Foundation, United States
Founded: 1977
Head Office: Dunkirk, Maryland, United States
Goals and Objectives: Promote natural family planning using the Billings technique.
Membership: ?
Links with Other Organisations or Governments: Group president Mercedes Arzu Wilson claims
close ties with Pope John-Paul II. In 1995, Mercedes Arzu Wilson was a delegate of the Guatemalan
government to the March 15 - April 4, 1995 PrepCom for Beijing, and to the UN World Summit for
Social Development in Copenhagen, March 6 - 12, 1995 (see CFCC, 1995, Vatican Delegates and
Allies, - Government Allies, p. 3).
In an interview she gave to the newspaper "The Wanderer" in 1983, Mercedes Arzu Wilson
said: "I report to the Pope regularly, two, three times a year personally and by correspondence, several
times more than that. In this last trip... I had the privilege of seeing him briefly and presenting him ... a
report of what we have been doing the last few months... He thanked me, thanked our organization,
really, for the work we're doing, and [told us] to please continue" (The Wanderer, August 18, 1983)
(CFFC 1995, Vatican Delegates and Allies, p. 3).
Family of the Americas Foundation is a member of WOOMB (see fact sheet 11).
Status at the United Nations : Accredited for participation at the FWCW.
Type of Activity: Lobby
Information Sources: CFFC, 1995, Vatican Delegates and Allies, p. 5
Complete Contact Information:
FAMILY OF THE AMERICAS FOUNDATION, INC. (FAF), P.O. BOX 1170, DUNKIRK, MD 20754, USA TEL: (301)
627-3346; FAX: (301) 627-0847.29
Fact Sheet 7: Human Life International (HLI)
Founded: 1981
Head Office: Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States
Goals and Objectives: This group is pro-life and pro-family. It opposes abortion and contraception,
defines the family as a marital union between a man and a women, open to the creation of life and to
caring for children. It opposes sex education in schools and claims that overpopulation is a myth. The
group holds Orthodox Catholic views and is notable for its aggressive intolerance for dissidents.
Membership: The group claims that HLI is the largest pro-life organisation in the world, with 30,000
members. However, the group's tax reports show no membership structure. The group's founder and
president is Father Paul Marx, who holds Orthodox Catholic views.
Budget: Expenses in 1992: 4.7 million, Revenues: 2.7 million (surpluses pay off the deficit).
Links with Other Organisations or Governments: The group has 25 local chapters in North
America and 53 chapters internationally, in the following countries: Canada (191 Granville St, Vanier,
ON, K1L 6Y3, Tel: (613) 745-9405, fax: (613) 745-9868), Costa Rica, Mexico, Puerto Rico,
Trinidad, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Equador, Salvador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Austria,
Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Holland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, United
Kingdom, Ukraine, Kenya, Lesotho, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia, Burma, India,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka. It also has divisions and affiliates, such as:
1) HLI Endowment Inc. that makes donations to various groups around the world;
2) Population Research Institute that does research on population, attempting to show that
overpopulation is not a problem for developing countries and attacking groups that support family
planning, like UNICEF, and planned births (planned parenthood);
3) Pro-life/Family Institute;
4) Humanae Vitae Priests, Religious and Laity International (founded in 1991);
5) World Council for Life and Family; and HLI contributes to the activities of Seminarians for Life
International, which trains pro-life priests. In 1993, the organisation launched a group of nuns
against abortion.
Close ties are maintained with the Catholic hierarchy. For example, Cardinal Alfonso Lopez-Trujillo,
President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, has spoken to the group on a number of occasions.
The group claims to be in close contact with many Latin American priests. American bishops have
regularly participated in HLI meetings.
Status at the United Nations : The group requested accreditation for consultative status with the UN
Economic and Social Council in 1990. The NGO Committee of the Council recommended that the
group be added to its List (the last category provided for by resolution 1296 XLIV) in January 1991
(See UN document, E/1991/20, p. 12). Nevertheless, in May 1991, the Economic and Social Council
refused to endorse this recommendation and sent the request to be examined during the 1993 session of
the NGO Committee (see UN document, A/46/3, p. 126, par. 63 and decision 1991/216). In May
1993, the request was rejected (E/1993/63, p. 15). Willetts believes that the fact that this group actively
campaigned in the United States against school children collecting money for UNICEF probably justified
this refusal, in accordance with para. 3 of resolution 1296 (XLIV) to the effect that the organisation must
undertake to assist the United Nations in its work (Willetts, 1994: 60 n24).
However, the Swiss branch of Human Life International was accredited for participation in the FWCW.
(no 761. on the list of Attendees, FWCW, HUMAN LIFE INTERNATIONAL SWITZERLAND,
OBERSEEMATTWEG 4, 6403 KOSSNACHT, SWITZERLAND, TEL: 041 811644, FAX: 041 81 66 14)
Type of Activity: Lobby, Congress.
Publications: (partial list)
HLI Reports, international information bulletin
Fr. Marx's Special Report
PRI Review (bimonthly aimed at discrediting pro-choice groups)
Escoge La Vida!
Seminarians for Life International Newsletter (quarterly publication)
Pro-life/family Parish Notes (monthly bulletin)
Caminos de Esperanza
HLPL News
The Feminist Takeover, on the diabolical history of feminism and its plans for the future.
Information Sources: Website: http://hli.org/
CFFC, 1994, A New Rite, p. 18- 20.
Willetts, Peter. 1996. "Consultative Status for NGOs at the United Nations" in "The Conscience of the World", The
Influence of Non-Governmental Organisationt in the U.N. System, Washington, DC and London: The Brookings
Institution and David Davies Memorial Institute Studies. pp. 31-62.
Complete Contact Information:
Human Life International, 7845 Airpark Road, Suite E., Gaithersburg, MD 20879, USA.
Tel: (301) 670-7884; Fax: (301) 869-7363
There is also an office in Miami.
Fact Sheet 8: International Right to Life Federation (IRLF)
Head Office: Rome, with a New York office for the United Nations representative.
Goals and Objectives: group dedicated to the protection of all innocent human life, from conception to
natural death.
Membership: A world-wide grouping of pro-life organisations from 170 countries.
Links with Other Organisations or Governments: The fact that the organisation has its head office
in Rome would suggest closeness to the Vatican. Nonetheless, the statement made to the FWCW
contained absolutely no religious references.
Status at the United Nations : Holds special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social
Council. Was accredited for participation in the FWCW and gained the privilege of intervening in one of
its plenary sessions.
Type of Activity:
The group's New York representative made a statement to the FWCW, September 7, 1995, in
which she denounced the reproduction in the Beijing Platform for Action of language taken from the
International Conference on Population and Development. She simultaneously denounced the Beijing
document's failure to give proper attention to the protection of national sovereignty. She further stated
that the report distributed to delegates by the NGO Forum did not represent the views of the IRLF.
She concludes her declaration by urging delegates to the FWCW, if they share the views of the IRLF, to
stand firm against the cultural imperialistic tactics of the Western world. (IRLF, 1995, p. 3).
Workshops organised at the NGO Forum, Beijing '95:
· "Abortion Aftermath", Theme 6) Health: Lecture organised par Dr. David Logan;
· "The Protection of Women's Lives Throughout the Life Cycle", Theme 6) Health: Panel organised
by Dr. David Logan.
Information Sources:
- Jeanne Head, Statement by International Right to Life Federation, September 7, 1995, 3 p. (electronic
version available from: gopher://gopher.undp.org/1/unconfs/women/conf/ngo).
- Preliminary Program of the NGO Forum available in pdf format over the Internet, NGO Event.
Complete Contact Information:
INTERNATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE FEDERATION, INC., 44 VIA NICOLO V, ROME 00165, ITALY.
TEL: (39-6) 39387704; FAX: (011 39-6) 637 4086.32
Components of the Declaration Made by the IRLF to the FWCW:
The international non-governmental organisation International Right to Life Federation
which has consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council, and that represents pro-life
groups in 170 countries, made a statement to the FWCW against abortion and in favour of protecting all
innocent human life from conception to natural death. This declaration does not contain any reference to
religious traditions. Rather, it lists statistics in support of a variety of claims about the increase in the
number of abortions in particular countries and about the rate of maternal mortality in the countries
where abortion is legalised. Further, this group affirms its disagreement with the contents of the Beijing
action plan, which speaks of reproductive health and dangerous abortions and concludes by affirming
that its position is shared by hundreds of NGOs present at the conference but that their points of view
are not found in the NGO report distributed to delegates. The IRLF enjoins all delegates who share its
views to oppose the imperialist tactics of the Western world.
Despite the fact that this group's official discourse contains no religious references, information
supplied in documents produced by the American group Catholics for a Free Choice makes it clear
that there are numerous links between pro-life groups and a variety of religious groups, including the
Catholic Church.
Fact Sheet 9: National Institute of Womanhood
and the Well-Being of Women Caucus at Beijing 1995
Head Office: Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States
Goals and Objectives: Opposition to contraception and abortion, and promotion of a view of the
nature and role of the woman as inextricably tied to maternity.
Membership: ?
Links with Other Organisations or Governments: In principal, this is a non-religious group.
However, president Cecilia Acevedo Royals is a member of Opus Dei, an Orthodox Catholic
organisation. She worked to promote Vatican views at the 1994 International Conference on
Population and Development in Cairo. Further, the views expressed by the Institute reflect Vatican
positions. The Institute has a chapter in Uganda, where the President is Agnes Komukyeya Katama
(see the Monitor article, translated into Spanish, posted on the Opus Dei site:
http://spanish.opusdei.org/media/itm98113001.html).
Status at the United Nations : The NIW was accredited for participation at the FWCW, where it was
the group responsible for the Well-Being of Women Caucus that met daily during the Conference from
12:30 to 1 P.M. at the Beijing recreation center (United Nations, Conference Secretariat, Information for
NGOs, Schedule of NGO Meetings at the BICC/BRC, September 1995)
Type of Activity: Lobby
At the level of discourse, opposes use of the term gender in the Platform for Action maintaining that this
terminology is an instrument for promoting the agenda of the Lesbian Caucus (CFFC, 1995, refers here
to an article entitled "Conservative Groups Mobilize for U.N. Women's Conference" that appeared in
the Washington Times, June 22, 1995).
NIW President, Cecilia Acevedo Royals made a statement to the UN Commission on the Status
of Women in the name of the Well-Being of Women Caucus, on March 21, 1995 (CFFC ref., 1995, p.
5 n29, to the UN Commission on the Status of Women Press Release, WOM/821, March 21, 1995).
Information Sources:
CFFC, 1995, Vatican Delegates and Allies, p. 5.
United Nations, Conference Secretariat, Information for NGOs, Schedule of NGO Meetings at the
BICC/BRC, September 1995
Complementary information is available in the CFFC document, A New Rite, Addendum 5, 1995.
Complete Contact Information:
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF WOMANHOOD (NIW)
4612 NOTTINGHAM DRIVE, CHEVY CHASE, MD 20815, USA. TEL: (301) 657-3750; FAX: (301) 657-3759.34
Contact information for the members of the Well-being of Women Caucus at Beijing who were also
accredited for participation at the FWCW.
In addition to the American group, the National Institute of Womanhood, there were:
CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA (see fact sheet 4)
1015 FIFTEENTH ST., N.W., SUITE 1100, WASHINGTON, DC 20005, USA;
TEL: (202) 488-7000; FAX: (202) 488-0806
EAGLE FORUM
18 PROSPECT AVENUE, PORT WASHINGTON, NY 11050, USA; TEL: 516 883 1060; FAX: 516 944 6851
Eagle Forum, together with groups like Feminists for Life, Concerned Women for America, the
Family Research Council, the American Life League, the Free Congress Foundation, the Catholic
League, and the Pro-Life Action League, have put pressure on corporations to cease funding the
Planned Parenthood group. Feminists for Life was founded in 1972 and publishes an information
bulletin entitled "Sisterlife." It is located in Washington D.C. (CFFC, 1994, A New Rite, p. 71).
ECUMENICAL COALITION ON WOMEN AND SOCIETY (INSTITUTE ON RELIGION AND DEMOCRACY)
1331 H. STREET, SUITE 900, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005-4706, USA
TEL: (202) 393-3200; FAX: (202) 638-4948
FOCUS ON THE FAMILY
8605 EXPLORER DRIVE, COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80920, USA;
TEL: (719) 531-3400 or 531-3334; FAX: (719) 548-4525
Focus on the Family organised a workshop within the framework of the NGO Forum at Beijing
'95, entitled: "Essentials for a Stable Family Life", (Theme 6: Health), workshop organised by Tom
Minnery (Source: Preliminary Program for the NGO Forum, available over the Internet in pdf format,
NGO Event.)
WOMEN'S FEDERATION FOR WORLD PEACE, INTERNATIONAL
4 WEST 43RD STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10036, USA; TEL: (212) 764-7239; FAX: (212) 768-0791
WOMEN'S FEDERATION FOR WORLD PEACE-PHILIPPINES
#32 SAMAR AVENUE, DILIMAN, QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES; TEL: 924 1636; FAX: 924 1826
WOMEN FOR WOMEN
63/2 LABORATORY ROAD, DHAKA 1205, BANGLADESH; TEL: 880 2 504697
Other groups that did not participate at FWCW but who are members of the Caucus: Catholic
Campaign for America (request for accreditation refused; reason: lack of information showing the
relevance of this association's participation in the women's conference, see information supplied in
CFFC, 1995, p. 5), National Association of Black Professionnal Women, United Families of
America.
Fact Sheet 10: REAL Women of Canada
Founded: 1983
Head Office: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Goals and Objectives: According to information provided to the UN Secretariat for the Fourth World
Conference on Women and appearing in Secretariat notes about the list of NGOs recommended for
accreditation, REAL Women of Canada has a membership of the national type. The relevance of its
participation in the Conference derives from the fact that the group aims to promote the equality and
well-being of women and to improve the condition of women and their families with the help of
education, research, and lobbying activities (no. 249, E/CN.6/1995/L.4/Add.1).
According to an information leaflet produced by members of the Canadian NGO delegation (March 31,
1995, no author listed), REAL Women of Canada is an organisation that is extreme-right and anti-feminist,
founded in 1983, that is opposed to day-care services, divorce, abortion, affirmative action,
equal pay for work of equal value, the legal protection of gays and lesbians and to secular schooling.
Membership: President: Jeannine Lebel. Former national president Cecilia Forsyth was also President
of Pro-Life in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Vice-President C. Gwendolyn Landolt, one of the group's
founders, was national president of the Canadian organisation Alliance for Life, from 1975 to 1978. The
text (with photo) of Gwendolyn Landolt's presentation to the Second World Congress of Families is
available at the following website: http://www.worldcongress.org/gen99_speakers/gen99_landolt.htm.
Alliance for Life was also accredited for participation at FWCW.
Links with Other Organisations or Governments: According to testimony from Canadian NGO
representatives associated with the Canadian Coordinating Committee for Beijing and who participated
in the March 1995 preparatory commission in New York, REAL Women of Canada had ties with the
Holy See. Catholics for a Free Choice also present REAL Women of Canada as being among the
Vatican's NGO allies (CFFC, 1995, Vatican Delegates and Allies, p. 5-6). The members of REAL
Women have many ties with pro-life, anti-abortion groups, such as the Alliance for Life Canada (see fact
sheet 9) and Saskatoon Pro-Life.
According to an information leaflet produced by members of the Canadian NGO delegation
(March 31 1995, no author listed), this group has close ties with anti-abortion groups, including: The
Campaign Life Coalition, Alliance for Life, Operation Rescue. Some members also have ties with white
supremacist organisations such as: the Christian Heritage Party, the Western Guard Party, and the
Heritage Front.
Status at the United Nations : REAL Women was accredited for participation at FWCW and also
participated in the NGO Forum. The group achieved consultative status with the UN Economic and
Social Council in June of 1998.
Known Types of Activity:
Information Sources:
CFFC, 1995, Vatican Delegates and Allies, p. 5-6
April 19, 1995 report by Charlotte Thibault, co-President of the Canadian Coordinating Committee for
Beijing.
Information leaflet dated March 31, 1995 (no author listed, produced by some Canadian NGO
delegates)
Preliminary Program of the NGO Forum available in pdf format over the Internet, NGO Event.
Website: www.realwomenca.com.
Complete Contact Information submitted in order to participate in the FWCW:
REAL WOMEN OF CANADA
45 SUNNYWOOD CRESCENT, RICHMOND HILL, ONTARIO L4C 6W2, CANADA
TEL: (905) 889-1993; FAX: (905) 770-1117
Contact information for other REAL Women groups that participated in the Forum:
- Real Women of BC 21676 Spring Crescent, Mapleridge, BC V2X 4M6, CANADA Tel: +1 (604) 463-1611,
fax: +1 (604) 463-1601,
Fact Sheet 11: World Organisation of the Ovulation Method Billings
(Australia, Canada, Ireland, United States)
Head Office: Australia
Membership: Founders: Evelyn Billings et John Billings, Australian doctors who invented the
"ovulation" or "mucus" method for natural family planning.
Links with Other Organisations or Governments: The Family of the Americas Foundation (see
fact sheet 4) represented this group in the United States. The WOOMB method is one of the natural
planning methods approved by the Vatican. The links between this group and the Vatican arise from
positions taken by the president of the Family of the Americas Foundation, which represented the
government of Guatemala in Beijing (see fact sheet 6). (CFFC, 1995, Vatican Delegates and Allies, p. 5).
Status at the United Nations: Accredited for participation in the International Conference on
Population and Development (Cairo, 1994) and for FWCW (Beijing, 1995). WOOMB International
of Canada was part of the March 1998, 35-member Canadian NGO delegation to the 42 nd session of
the Commission on the Status of Women in New York (Status of Women Canada, May 1998, Résumé
et faits saillants des résultats de la 42e session de la Commission de la condition de la femme, du
2 au 13 Mars 1998, p. 5).
Goals and Objectives: To promote the method developed by the Billings doctor couple for natural
family planning.
Type of Activity: Attendance at international meetings (lobbying venues).
Organisation of activities at the NGO Forum, Beijing '95 by various WOOMB groups:
- "Educating Women to Control their Fertility by a Natural Cost Free Method," Theme 5, Education,
workshop organised by Jane Quinlan, WOOMB group from Ireland
Complete Contact Information: MELBOURNE SECRETARIAT, 20 MILFAY AVE, KEW VICTORIA 3101,
AUSTRALIA; TEL: 61-3 853 9909; FAX: 61-3 482 4208
Contact information for other Forum participants:
- World Organization Ovulation Method (Billings), Family Life Centre, Model Farm Road, Cork, IRELAND, Tel: +353
21 541434; Fax: +353 21 545344; World Organization of the Billing Ovulation Method, 1247 Bel-Aire Drive, SW,
Calgary T2Y2C1, Alberta, CANADA Tel: +1 403-252-9084; fax: +1 403-252-3929.
Fact Sheet 12: World Youth Alliance
Founded: 1999, during the Cairo +5 process.
Head Office: None, officially. In reality, probably in New York, at the offices of the Catholic Family
and Human Rights Institute (see fact sheet 3).
Goals and Objectives:. Promote pro-life and pro-family agendas.
Membership: Youth, mostly from various pro-life and pro-family groups in the United States, from
Canada (including some from Québec), and from Kenya.
Links with Other Organisations or Governments: Co-Founders Anna Halpine and Diana Kilarjian
are respectively members of the Campaign Life Coalition of Canada and staff of the Catholic Family and
Human Rights Institute. Other organisations clearly linked with the Alliance are: True Love Waits of
Kenya and Rock for Life, which is a section of the American Life League (see fact sheet 1). Whis
Hayes is identified as founding director of the Rock the World Youth Alliance (see newspaper article in The
Pitt News from the University of Pittsburgh: "Christian Students Get Fired Up About Satan" available at the following
website: http://www.studentadvantage.com/article_story/1,1075,c1-i34-t0-a17569,00.html.)
Status at the United Nations: Difficult to establish since this is not a legally constituted group.
However, this group did get authorisation to make a statement to the General Assembly Special Session
on Cairo +5, June 30 to July 2, 1999; see the following website:
http://www.undp.org/popin/unpopcom/32ndsess/gass/state/youth.pdf.
Type of Activity: Attempts to monopolise discussion in the Youth caucuses by sending large numbers
of pro-life and pro-family men et women as representatives, to the Beijing +5, Cairo+5, and Habitat II
+5 processes, for example.
Information Sources:
Information leaflets: "Vivant !" produced at the C-FAM headquarters and "Esperanza!" produced by
the World Youth Alliance during the 44 th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
Complete Contact Information: No official contact information. However, there is a section of the
World Youth Alliance located at 100 Edgewood Ave, Suite 1240, Atlanta, Georgia GA 30303, where
the contact person is: Carletta Geier-Idris. Tel: 404-827-9111; Fax: 404-827-0054 (see website:
www.gsu.edu/~wwwcsl/worldyouthalliance.htm.) Georgian lawyer Roy Miller claims to be on the board of
this group (see: www.proresults.com/miller.htm).
Email address:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
Fact Sheet 13: Various Pro-life and Pro-family Organisations
Founded: Various dates
Head Office: Various locations
Goals and Objectives:. Fighting the right to abortion
Membership: Various types
Links with Other Organisations or Governments: Catholics for Free Choice reports that Martha
Lorena de Casco, Honduras representative at the International Conference on Population and
Development (Cairo 1994) and at the March 1995 PrepCom for FWCW Beijing 1995, is a Catholic
conservative, formerly president of Pro-Vida of Honduras. During the 1994 Cairo negotiations, she
opposed use of the term "safe abortion," stating that abortion is always dangerous for the foetus (CFFC,
1995: 3).
Status at the United Nations : Many pro-life organisations were accredited for participation at the
FWCW. Many requests for accreditation were likewise rejected (Earth Times, March 15-31, 1995:
8). Pro-Vida of Honduras is not on the list of accredited groups.
Type of Activity: Lobby
At the NGO Forum, an undated, unsigned information sheet was distributed, denouncing the
"Women's Linkage" caucus led by the WEDO group. The sheet, entitled "NGO Alert!" states that
WEDO does not speak for the women of the world because: it is for abortion; it states that young girls
of 13 can negotiate sexual relations without danger it opposes considering abstinence until marriage as
responsible sexual behaviour; it wants to force all countries to accept gay and lesbian behaviour and
rights; it opposes the mention of parents' rights in the platform for action; it opposes the use of words
like "maternity," "the dignity of women," "ethical values," "religious" and "spiritual" (NGO Alert). This
strategy is similar to the one used by Jeanne Head of the IRLF, when she denounced the lack of
appropriate representation at the NGO Forum (see fact sheet 7).
Information Sources:
CFFC, 1995, Vatican Delegates and Allies
Earth Times, March 15-31, 1995: 8
NGO Alert (available from CRIAW, the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women,
ref. NGO Forum '95).40
Complete Contact Information for various Pro-Life and Pro-Family groups accredited at the
FWCW:
COMITE NACIONAL PRO-VIDA, A.C.
BAHIA DE LA CONCEPCION #25, COL. VERONICA ANZURES, C.P. 11300, MEXICO; TEL: 52 260 7271; FAX: 52 260 7273
PRO-VIDA DOMINICANA
CALLE D #4 ENSANCHE NACO, SANTO DOMINGO, REPUBLIC DOMINICANA; TEL: (809) 567-4045; FAX: (809) 567-4045
ALLIANCE FOR LIFE (see fact sheet 10, REAL Women of Canada)
B1-90 GARRY STREET, WINNIPEG, MB R3C 4H1, CANADA; TEL: (204) 942-4772; FAX: (204) 943-9283
AMERICAN LIFE LEAGUE, INC. (see fact sheet 1)
CAMPAIGN LIFE COALITION (see fact sheet 2)
FAMILY LIFE COUNCIL, INC.
2416 N. 74TH STREET, WAUWATOSA, WI 53213, USA; TEL: (414) 442-3943; FAX: (414) 444-0363
FAMILY LIFE COUNSELLING ASSOCIATION OF KENYA (see fact sheet 5)
FAMILY LIFE INTERNATIONAL
P.O.BOX 91271, AMSC., AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND; TEL: 64 09 358 3122; FAX: 64 09 357 0832
FAMILY LIFE PROMOTION AND SERVICES, P.O.BOX 10608, NAIROBI, KENYA; TEL: 254 2 332779; FAX: 254 2 339087
HUMAN LIFE INTERNATIONAL SWITZERLAND (see fact sheet 7)
INTERNATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE FEDERATION, INC. (see fact sheet 8)
LIFE CHOICES, INC
813 TIMBER CREEK, CORDOVA, TN 38018, USA; TEL: (901) 757-5537
LIFE ETHICS EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION (see fact sheet 2)
LIFELINE (AID TO WOMEN)
300 GERRARD STREET, EAST TORONTO, ONTARIO M5A 2G7, CANADA; TEL: (416) 921-6016; FAX: (416) 444-7068
NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE/EDUCATIONAL TRUST FUND
419 SEVENTH STREET NW, SUITE 500, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004, USA; TEL: (202) 626-8800; FAX: (202) 737-9189
VALUE OF LIFE COMMITTEE, INC.
637 CAMBRIDGE STREET, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02135, USA; TEL: (617) 787-4400
WORLD CHRISTIAN LIFE COMMUNITY
BORGO SANTO SPIRITO, 8 CP 6139, 00195 ROME, ITALY; TEL: 396-686-8079; FAX: (011 39-6) 687 9283
Other Canadian pro-life groups that organised workshops on family planning during the NGO Forum at
Beijing 95:
- "Issues Surrounding Family Planning", Theme 6, Health, workshop organised by Eileen Collins:
Westcoast Women For Family Life, 272 Burne Ave, Kelowna, BC, British Columbia, V1Y 5N8,
CANADA 1- 604-763-5897; 1-604-764-3248
Table of Contents
2. Positions taken by right-wing anti-feminist groups
3. Right-Wing Anti-Feminist Group Strategies
4. Ways and Means for Responding to Right-Wing Anti-Feminist Groups at the United Nations
5. BIBLIOGRAPHY
6. Appendix A: Fact sheets on anti-feminist, non-governmental organisations that participated in the
Fourth World Conference on Women, at the NGO Forum on Women, Beijing 1995, or
at other United Nations meetings
Page
6.
10.
17.
20.
2. Positions taken by right-wing anti-feminist groups
The allocation of such basic rights to women disturbs right-wing groups identifying themselves as
pro-life or pro-family. These groups demand not only that the right to abortion be denied, but also that
the traditional patriarchal family be the only type of family to be recognised by national governments.
Many of these groups have aggressive attitudes not only towards feminists but also towards
homosexuals. They perceive feminism and homosexuality as threats to the family. They fail to note that
every individual is part of a family and that homosexuals have families. Pro-life and pro-family groups
recognise just one type of family: the traditional patriarchal family that leaves no room for equality
between men and women.
"We are concerned about the misrepresentation of the activities of the Youth Caucus as well as
the misquoting of statements made by members of the Youth Caucus during the past week as was
published in Vivant. Further, we are disturbed by reports from Youth Caucus members of
stalking incidents both within and outside of UN grounds, as well as harassing phone calls." It
continued…
"The presence at Youth Caucus meetings of non-participating adult monitors who were unwilling
to identify themselves, as well as adults and youth, who are unfamiliar with young women's issues,
continues to create an atmosphere of hostility."
The statement was presented to try and clarify the activities of the Youth Caucus and to reiterate
their support for the Beijing Platform for Action. (WomenAction, March 17, 2000, No. 13).
Endnotes
Back to top
APPENDIX A
1. American Life League, USA
2. Campaign Life Coalition and Mouvement pour la vie/Campagne Pro-vie Québec, Canada
3. Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (USA) and the leaflet Vivant!
4. Concerned Women for America
5. Family Life Counselling Association of Kenya
6. Family of the Americas Foundation, United States
7. Human Life International (HLI)
8. International Right to Life Federation (IRLF)
9. National Institute of Womanhood, USA and the Well being of Women Caucus at Beijing
10. REAL Women of Canada
11. World Organisation of the Ovulation Method Billings
12. World Youth Alliance and the Esperanza! information page
13. Various pro-life and pro-family organisations
African American Committee, Athletes for Life, Castello Institute (research), Protect Life in All
Nations (international), Teen American Life League/VOICE, Campus Outreach, American Life Lobby,
Rock for Life (which is also part of the World Youth Alliance: see fact sheet 12).
Reverend Father Paul Marx of Human Life International sits on the board of the American Life
League, together with directors of Catholics United for Life and the Pro-life Action League.
Paul Weyrich and Phyllis Schlafly are Catholics who work actively to create political links with
the fundamentalist Protestant Religious Right. In order to establish its credibility, the group's information
brochures reprint quotes from bishops who support them, including Cardinal Edouard Gagnon
(president of the Pontifical Council for International Eucharistic Congresses), Bishop James C. Timlin of
Scranton, the late Cardinal John O'Connor of New York and retired Archbishop Daniel E. Sheehan of
Omaha (October 1993 brochure).
Fact Sheet 4: Concerned Women for America
Well-being of Women Caucus at Beijing 1995
- Press conferences in New York in March, 1995, to denounce manipulation of the UN by Western
women (REAL Women Press Release, "Manipulation of UN Preparatory Conference", March 28,
1995)
- During the March 1995 Preparatory Conference in New York, distributed leaflets denouncing the
Canadian delegation, stating that its negotiators were lesbians. The leaflets also misrepresented the work
done by the Lesbian Caucus and made statements to the effect that the Canadian delegation had no valid
(social or legal) reasons for negotiating the inclusion of sexual orientation among the types of
discrimination to be prohibited (According to information supplied in the reports of Charlotte Thibault
and another member of the NGO delegation that reported to the Canadian Coordinating Committee for
Beijing, April 12, 1995, from another reliable government delegation source and from an information
leaflet produced by members of the Canadian NGO delegation (March 31, 1995, no author listed)).
- REAL Women did not attend meetings of the Canadian Coordinating Committee for Beijing (CCCB)
during the March 1995 preparatory committee meetings in New York, (Thibault, April 19 1995: 2). At
Beijing, however, they probably attended a few of the briefings organised by the CCCB and open to all
Canadians, in order to gather information (Thibault, May 5, 98, p. 17).
- REAL Women from across Canada organised the following activities during the NGO Forum at
Beijing '95:
1. Real Women of BC: "Ushering in the New Millenium: Women and Men Together as Equal
Partners", Theme 4, Peace and Human Security; type: panel; organiser: Laurie Geschke;
2. Real Women of Canada (Ontario): "The Vital Role of Women in the Twenty-First Century", Theme
3, Human/Legal Rights; type: panel; organiser: C. Gwendolyn Landolt;
3. Real Women of Canada (Ontario): "The Vital Role of Women in the Twenty-First Century", Theme
3, Human/Legal Rights; type of workshop: presentation; organiser: C. Gwendolyn Landolt;
4. Real Women of Canada (Burnaby, BC): "The Family as the Corner Stone of Society", Theme 4,
Peace and Human Security; type: workshop; organiser: Barbara Anne Stasuk.
- Real Women of Canada, 8275 Burnlak Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, 15A 3L1, CANADA
Tel: +1 (604) 420 0955, fax: +1 (604) 420-5377.37
- "Multiple Choices for Women," Theme 4, Peace and Human Security, presentation organised by
Jane Quinlan, WOOMB group from Ireland
- "Regulating Family Size by Natural Methods: A Cost Free Aid Development," Theme 6, Health,
presentation organised by Jane Quinlan, WOOMB group from Ireland
- "Women and the Law: How to Achieve Equality," Theme 3, Human rights/law, Presentation
organised by Jane Quinlan, WOOMB group from Ireland.
- "Billings Ovulation Method Workshop," Theme 6, Health, workshop organised by Susan Fryer of
the World Organization of the Billing Ovulation Method of Canada (Calgary, Alberta) (According to
the Preliminary Program of the NGO Forum available in pdf format over the Internet, NGO Event)
