Brazil’s Minister Emilia Fernandes, who heads the Special National Secretariat on Women’s Policy, has declared that the Brazilian Government’s position will be to always honour and defend commitments agreed in Beijing. She stated this at a public discussion with representatives of the national coordinating group of the Articulacao de Mulheres Brasileiras, at the end of April. She declared that she would not support, nor intends to promote, any meeting that would risk opening and reviewing the contents of the Beijing Platform of Action.
The AMB Executive Secretariat requested this specific discussion to stress the position of different international feminist networks on Beijing+10. They said that in light of explicit North American unilateralism and the clear advancement of various forms of fundamentalism, the possibility of a UN Women’s Conference in 2005 could mean great risk of setbacks in regard to the advancements achieved in women’s rights, particularly in the area of sexual and reproductive rights. The discussion with Minister Fernandes reaffirmed for Brazilian women’s organisations that the Brazil Government’s National Secretariat on Women’s Policy will position itself against any proposal of activities, either global or regional, that could imply opening and reviewing agreements made in Beijing in 1995 and in 2000 in New York at the Beijing+5 Review.
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