Strasbourg, 22/06/2000 (Agence Europe) - Mrs. De Belem Roseira, on behalf of the Council Presidency and Mr. Patten on behalf of the European Commission, last week, presented to the Parliament a rapid assessment of the results of the New York Conference on the follow-up to the UN Peking Conference on women. They noted that, thanks, in particular, to the role played by the European Union delegation, the New York document marked the progress compared to the Peking platform five years ago. They noted that it is notably thanks to the EU's insistence that the document refers to the "benchmarking" efforts to assess the progress achieved and to be achieved. The New York negotiations were very complicated, and the European Union made alliances with groups of third countries, notably Latin American, indicated Mrs. De Belem Rosiera, who, in particular, welcomed the attention given to problems as serious as those of violence against women (stemming from the EU's "zero tolerance" campaign), racism, eradication of poverty and the protection of health. Mr. Patten welcomed the excellent co-ordination between the Council, Member States and associates and the European Parliament, believing that the European Union can be proud of having been the "the most progressive regional group" in New York. In particular, Mr. Patten welcomed the reference made by the New York document on the role of men in favour of equality between the sexes, noting that it was a shared responsibility.
Mrs. Smet (EPP, Belgian) and Mrs. Gröner (Social Democrat, German), who drafted the EP report on the "Peking +1" Conference, also considered, in a general manner, that the results of the New York meeting were positive. Mrs. Smet asserted: I am Catholic, but I find it terrible that in New York my church is placed with that of the fundamentalists. They, said Mrs Gröner in citing Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and the Vatican have prevented Article 13 (anti-discrimination, notably due to sexual preferences) "finding itself" in the New York document. Mrs. Gröner noted that, in New York, the Portuguese Presidency also spoke on behalf of the associated countries (except Poland), and that the resolution presented by herself and Mrs. Smet and adopted by the plenary had been presented as a EU document. In two years, we will have a parliamentary conference on the follow up to New York, and we insisted to have, in five years, another world conference on the follow-up to Peking, she added. Then adopting a common resolution from nearly all the political groups, the EP pronounced a largely positive ruling on the results of the special session of the United Nations General Assembly on "women in 2000: equality between the sexes, development and peace." The EP called for a rapid implementation in the Member States of the new actions and initiatives agreed and invites the Council, Member States and Commission to draw conclusions from the results of the extraordinary session with regard to equality in the various development policies, drawing attention to the serious consequences that remain in African and Asian countries affected by AIDS. The candidate countries for accession are also invited to present, in close co-operation with the European Commission, a report on the implementation of the session results on the platform's twelve key areas. The EP took up the call for a fifth United Nations world conference on women to be organised in five years.