WAND is an NGO at the UN - Here's a report!

Well, a report and a photo and a note.

The photo is of the elegant and lovely Sayre Sheldon, seen here holding an award she received at our recent conference.

Why? Because we like her. And revere her. She was one of the people who founded WAND, she's been taking action all her life, she's still kicking up trouble at the age of 80, and -- look at her! She's awesome.

She still shuttles around the country, speaking out and taking charge. She represents WAND at the UN, and sends us regular reports. Here's the most recent.

Sayre Sheldon reports from the UN

This summer with great fanfare the Security Council authorized what it termed the Hybrid UN-African Union Operation in Darfur. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called it “a historic and unprecedented mission.” For the Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, the big effort is to have Resolution 1325 honored by this mission. Also our job will be to monitor — with other women’s groups — how well this mission actually safeguards the rights of women and girls, and reports on the appalling levels of sexual violence women in Darfur have been subject to.

Also of importance this summer was U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad’s proposal to the Security Council on August 7 for an expanded U.N. role in Iraq. What he presented was a draft resolution by the United Kingdom and the U.S .for the existing mission to both resume their role in helping  the Iraqi government and to involve regional states in supporting Iraqi “reconciliation” — the new buzzword for making progress on ending sectarian violence.
A special interest for me is to follow what is being done in Congress to revive the passage of CEDAW — which just held its 25th anniversary meeting at the U.N. in N.Y. and will now move to Geneva. With over 90% of the world’s countries members of CEDAW, where is the U.S.? At our upcoming WAND conference, I’m hoping to meet with Congreswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas who has been a champion of efforts to get the U.S. back into the international women’s movement.

Lastly, this week — a big one for the U.N. — WAND should be angered by Bush’s refusal to attend the climate change meetings. Once again he is rejecting a major international effort and saying that each country must make up its own regulations — a prescription for no action, says Timothy Wirth, president of the United Nations Foundation.