FAWCO Update October 2003

FAWCO Attends U.N. Water and Health Conference in New York

The 12th International U.N. Conference on Water and Health: Problems and Solutions was held in New York April 24-25, 2003, and FAWCO was invited to attend in its capacity as an NGO. The year 2003 has been designated by the United Nations as the year of Freshwater, and this conference was a call to action: while freshwater resources (less than two percent of the world’s water) remain finite and are constantly recycled and reused, the world’s population continues to increase. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has warned that future global conflicts may be fought over water.

The following is a reprint of a report by Paula Daeppen, FAWCO’s NGO Director, email ngo@fawco.org.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2003 to be the International Year of Freshwater. This comes at a crucial time, as we face a global emergency in which over one billion people lack access to a basic supply of clean water and over two billion do not have access to adequate sanitation, the primary cause of diseases linked to water. It has frequently been argued that the right to water, the most basic element of life, is in fact a human right. Without fair access to a minimum requirement of clean water, other established rights, such as the right to a standard of living with adequate health and well-being, as well as civil and political rights, are not attainable.

Yet with population growth and the abuse and pollution of our natural resources we are jeopardizing not only our supply of fresh water but also our own health and the health of our planet on which all life depends. Water is essential to life, for basic health and survival, as well as for food production and economic activities. The world’s precious freshwater resources are our lifeline for survival and sustainable development. Experts warn that if we do not improve the stewardship of our water resources, we will see the persistence and spread of deadly diseases, further damage to the global environment, and threats to food security and stability itself. Despite the importance of water resources in our lives and for our well-being, we are increasingly disrespectful of them. We abuse them. We waste them. We pollute them, forgetting how essential they are to our very survival. Although water problems are most acute in the developing world, developed countries are also at risk.

This is the year for us to focus our attention on protecting and respecting our water resources, as individuals, communities, countries, and as a global family of concerned citizens. The year 2003 is a time for action and reflection. By protecting our fresh water, we help to ensure our future and our planet’s long-term prospects.

Even in Northern Germany, 2003 is a very special year with this acute water supply subject.

What YOU can do …

Keep your community clean, recycle and do not litter. You will actually save water!
Make environmentally smart product choices. Eat products that come from organic agriculture that respects the environment and makes limited use of pesticides and chemicals and requires less water than intensive agriculture.
Only run your washing machine and dishwasher when they are full.
Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator to keep it cold. This is better than keeping the tap running until the water gets cold.
In many countries (especially in Hamburg and vicinity) the water is of excellent quality (unless you have lead pipes); there is no need to drink bottled water. Drink the water from the tap and save our environment from plastic bottles. If you do buy bottled water, recycle the bottles.
Take shorter showers! Install a low-flow showerhead. They aren’t expensive and can make a huge difference in your water consumption.
Turn off the water while you brush your teeth, shave, etc.
Water your garden in the early hours when temperatures are cooler to minimize evaporation.
Visit www.wateryear2003.org for more information.

Commission on the Status of Women

There has been a Commission on the Status of Women since the very beginning of the United Nations. At the time when the world is questioning the relevance of the United Nations itself, it is hard to imagine questioning the work that still needs to be done to bring 50 percent of the world’s population into an equal status with men.

The 47th session on the Commission on the Status of Women was from March 3-14, 2003, at the United Nations headquarters. While much of the world’s attention was on the Security Council deliberations, thousands of women from all over the world came to meet, lobby and attend information sessions on topics ranging from “the role of women in media” to “violence against women and what could be done about it.” Some of the most interesting sessions had to do with the growing “industry” of sexual slavery and trafficking of women and children. Some of the stories are horrifying.

Trafficking women and children is considered a “growth industry” – with an insatiable demand. While accurate statistics are hard to find, the UN estimates that between 700,000 and four million women and children (and yes, some men and boys) are trafficked every year. The majority are young women under the age of 30, many are under the age of 15. All areas of the world are concerned, including heavy trafficking in the United States up and down the coasts. As one expert on the American “market” said, trafficking in the States usually follows major sporting events like the Super Bowl where thousands of women are “needed”.

It is a question of supply and demand. On the demand side, the traffickers find a huge market of poor, vulnerable young women whose families or sometimes their spouses sell them into the trade. There is an emphasis on young women for several reasons. First, because of the sexual revolution and the constant media fixation on sex, there has been a sexualization of younger and younger teens. Second, the spread of HIV/AIDS has created a demand for younger girls with the assumption that younger girls are virgins or have not been infected yet. Third, in many immigrant cultures, it is thought that sleeping with a virgin can “cure” AIDS or in some cases enhance male virility.

On the supply side, there has been a huge increase in the world in street children – children who either have no families or they have been abandoned. Sometimes the children come from abused homes or are runaways. It is estimated that more than 80 percent of the young girls were abused at home first.

In some areas of the world, women are trafficking for what is known as “sex tourism”, often to areas of Asia (Thailand) or Latin America (Mexico, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic). These tourists like to go abroad to experiment and try sex with women considered minors at home. Most often now these sex tourists find their tours offered on the Internet. This is BIG business. One woman from rural Yorkshire, Rosemary Wass, was so upset about sex tourism she organized a campaign against it in England and was able to get Parliament to pass a law prosecuting tourists engaged in child sex tourism.

In some countries like Australia, trafficking has increased because prostitution has become legalized in certain states and the demand has been so great that governments have considered enticing more women from Asia. According to Sheila Jeffries, professor of Political Science at the University of Melbourne, one owner of a state-sanctioned brothel will soon list his company on the stock exchange so perhaps mutual funds and pension plans can cash in on the action.

Mrs. Margareta Winberg, the Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, came to the UN and explained the new law that Sweden passed in 1999 to stem the tide of trafficking and prostitution in Sweden. The new law forbids sexual services for money and it punishes (with fines and imprisonment), not the prostitute, but rather the customer. Because of the law, Sweden has seen a huge decrease in trafficking. However, the problem has moved to its neighbor Norway.

Mrs. Marit Solbakk, a member of the Sami tribe who lives in the tundra area in remote northeast Norway, recounted how, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, her tiny rural area was overrun every weekend by busloads of prostitutes anxious to gain money in the West. The women operated in the buses and public parks and created chaos in the small religious town. Ms. Solbakk and other members of the community formed an alliance with other community groups in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia to halt the traffic and regain peace in their community.

Many women’s groups, church groups and community associations are trying to fight this growing problem. To learn more, see www.catwinternational.org (Coalition Against Trafficking in Women) and www.ecpatusa.org (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking).

Reprinted from an article in FAWCO’s The Forum by Pam Perraud, NGO New York Liaison.