Daily Newsletter, 4 March 2005

HIGHLIGHTS
· US sticks to its guns The adoption by consensus of the draft declaration reaffirming the Beijing Platform for Action hung in the balance late Thursday as the United States denied that it had withdrawn its controversial amendment to the draft text.

· How best to give the platform force Without any legal teeth, is the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) all just a waste of time? This is the painful question that activists grappled with during a session on Giving Beijing the Force of Law.

· Justice beyond borders The Optional Protocol to the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) provides an avenue to justice for women in countries where there is little protection for their human rights.

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Lydia Levin
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Gender Links
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African Woman and Child Feature Service
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News
US sticks to its guns By Patricia A. Made, Colleen Lowe Morna and Rosemary Okello
Justice beyond borders by Juliana Omale
Violence against girls is everywhere By Joyce Mkinga
Women crafters invest in development By Sarah Muwanga
How best to give the platform force By Arthur Okwemba
Time running out for women in Sudan By Jane Godia
AU blazes the trail in giving equal say By Rosemary Okello and Jane Godia
Women in politics make a difference, study finds

Cyber Link
Eyes on the economy By Janine Moolman
Comments made during the cyber dialogues which focused on the economy and sustainable development

For a summary of the Cyber Dialogue, please go to http://www.cyberdialogues.org
Rread the newspaper online at http://oldsite.genderlinks.org.za.dedi1086.nur4.host-h.net/bejing/newspapers.asp and click on Page 3

Theme
Equal representation still a long way off By Jane Godia
At the back of the pack By Loga Virahsawmy
Rwanda sets the pace on women in decision-making By Rosemary Okello
Raising the stakes By Ananilea Nkya

Opinion
No use crying over spilled milk By Colleen Lowe Morna
Editorial: Numbers and beyond