Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09USUNNEWYORK451
2009-05-04 20:10:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
USUN New York
Cable title:
AMB RICE DISCUSSES WOMEN'S ISSUES WITH STEPHEN LEWIS
how-toVZCZCXYZ0009 RR RUEHWEB DE RUCNDT #0451 1242010 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 042010Z MAY 09 FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6456 INFO RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 3678 RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0767 RUEHSB/AMEMBASSY HARARE 0155 RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 0867 RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 1808
UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000451
DEPT FOR IO/EDA, IO/RHS, IO/UNP; S/GWI; PRM/POP; AF/S; DRL
PLEASE PASS USAID;
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM SOCI EAID KWMN ZI UN
SUBJECT: AMB RICE DISCUSSES WOMEN'S ISSUES WITH STEPHEN LEWIS
REF: A. USUN 418, B. 2008 USUN 822
UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000451
DEPT FOR IO/EDA, IO/RHS, IO/UNP; S/GWI; PRM/POP; AF/S; DRL
PLEASE PASS USAID;
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM SOCI EAID KWMN ZI UN
SUBJECT: AMB RICE DISCUSSES WOMEN'S ISSUES WITH STEPHEN LEWIS
REF: A. USUN 418, B. 2008 USUN 822
1. (SBU) Former Canadian ambassador Stephen Lewis spoke to
Ambassador Rice April 27 on the need for a new UN agency on women's
affairs, and to plead for U.S. support to move quickly to establish
the new agency. Lewis, through his previous positions as Deputy
Executive Director of UNICEF, Canadian ambassador to the UN, and
Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, is familiar with the inner
workings of the UN.
2. (SBU) Lewis envisages a composite entity similar to UNICEF but
with a component that would be bureaucratically part of the UN
Secretariat. He hopes the entity would eventually have a
voluntarily-funded budget of between $500 million to $1 billion,
have universal reach, and work on issues of poverty, political
participation, sexual exploitation and trafficking, HIV/AIDS,
inheritance rights, land ownership and other discriminatory
legislation. He noted that $500 million would be less than
one-third of UNICEF's annual budget. The current amount allocated
to the combination of gender offices now totals approximately $150
million.
3. (SBU) Ambassador Rice asked about synergies with other parts of
the UN system. Lewis responded that UNICEF views women only in
their roles as mothers, UNFPA mainly focuses on reproductive health,
and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW) has normative responsibilities. He sees the new women's
agency as complementing all these offices, as well as the Commission
on the Status of Women. Ambassador Rice noted that the new agency
must function in developed countries, as well as in developing ones,
to promote gender equality.
4. (SBU) Moving to his NGO's recent work in Africa, Lewis reported
that 50-60 Zimbabwean women had been raped as punishment for their
activism with the political opposition. These women had provided
affidavits to be used as evidence of politically-motivated rape in
future legal action. Regarding the upcoming Security Council trip
to DRC, Lewis advocated that the mission visit Bukavu, in particular
Dr. Mukwege at the Panzi Hospital.
Rice
DEPT FOR IO/EDA, IO/RHS, IO/UNP; S/GWI; PRM/POP; AF/S; DRL
PLEASE PASS USAID;
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM SOCI EAID KWMN ZI UN
SUBJECT: AMB RICE DISCUSSES WOMEN'S ISSUES WITH STEPHEN LEWIS
REF: A. USUN 418, B. 2008 USUN 822
1. (SBU) Former Canadian ambassador Stephen Lewis spoke to
Ambassador Rice April 27 on the need for a new UN agency on women's
affairs, and to plead for U.S. support to move quickly to establish
the new agency. Lewis, through his previous positions as Deputy
Executive Director of UNICEF, Canadian ambassador to the UN, and
Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, is familiar with the inner
workings of the UN.
2. (SBU) Lewis envisages a composite entity similar to UNICEF but
with a component that would be bureaucratically part of the UN
Secretariat. He hopes the entity would eventually have a
voluntarily-funded budget of between $500 million to $1 billion,
have universal reach, and work on issues of poverty, political
participation, sexual exploitation and trafficking, HIV/AIDS,
inheritance rights, land ownership and other discriminatory
legislation. He noted that $500 million would be less than
one-third of UNICEF's annual budget. The current amount allocated
to the combination of gender offices now totals approximately $150
million.
3. (SBU) Ambassador Rice asked about synergies with other parts of
the UN system. Lewis responded that UNICEF views women only in
their roles as mothers, UNFPA mainly focuses on reproductive health,
and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW) has normative responsibilities. He sees the new women's
agency as complementing all these offices, as well as the Commission
on the Status of Women. Ambassador Rice noted that the new agency
must function in developed countries, as well as in developing ones,
to promote gender equality.
4. (SBU) Moving to his NGO's recent work in Africa, Lewis reported
that 50-60 Zimbabwean women had been raped as punishment for their
activism with the political opposition. These women had provided
affidavits to be used as evidence of politically-motivated rape in
future legal action. Regarding the upcoming Security Council trip
to DRC, Lewis advocated that the mission visit Bukavu, in particular
Dr. Mukwege at the Panzi Hospital.
Rice