Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-11-15-Speech-3-299"
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"en.20001115.13.3-299"2
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"Mr President, up until fairly recently, the role of women in matters of war and peace was very much a fringe issue in international organisations. The subject was often exploited as a politically opportunist argument between warring parties. This was also clearly the case with successive UN world conferences held since 1975, particularly with regard to the conflict in the Middle East. Since the issue of women and peace itself carried little political weight, the utopian movements were able to dominate the debate.
There has been a sea change since the World Conference for Women held in Beijing in 1995. It was there that the initial impetus was given to a mature treatment of the subject. In particular, in the years that followed, a great deal of work was set in train within and around the UN and its associated organisations. It is therefore high time that we put this into practice at European level too and, as has often proved to be the case with women’s rights issues, Europe is lagging behind somewhat in this area. The aversion some men in this House have shown towards having a serious discussion of this issue means the writing is on the wall. They obviously want to keep their powerful position in matters of foreign policy and defence for themselves, yet feel that men
promote women’s interests. Mrs Theorin should be praised for the tenacity with which she has defended this issue in the face of considerable opposition.
On 31 October, the Security Council adopted a resolution entitled ‘Women, peace and security’, following a two day debate. Mrs Theorin referred to this earlier. In terms of objectives, this resolution broadly resembles the proposal now on the table. That too is an illustration of how important the issue is.
Finally, Mr President, I wish to express my disappointment at what I see as shifty manoeuvres that have lead to the watering down of Paragraph 12 concerning the rights and freedom of choice of women who fall victim to rape and states of war. As far as I am concerned, these rights are not for haggling over. Politically speaking, I would be more inclined to interpret the amendment in question, i.e. Amendment No 19, as a tactical defeat or a tactical withdrawal than a compromise on the substance, and in truth that is unworthy of this women’s issue."@en1
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