International Council Of Women Conference

By Yaroslawa (Olga) Wysoczanskyj

The 31st General Assembly of the International Council of Women (ICW) was held in September 2006 at Ukraine House in Kyiv. It was attended by 231 delegates from 41 countries.

Founded in 1888, ICW is a non-political, non-governmental organization that represents millions of women in affiliated councils on all continents. Its objectives are to help women help themselves; promote equal rights and responsibilities for men and women; promote human rights; support peace efforts; bring together women in unity within diversity; encourage the integration of women in development.

The Assembly in Kyiv got underway on September 5 with the registration of delegates, followed by a tour of the city. That evening, a reception was hosted at City Hall by Mayor Leonid Chernovsky.

The conference was officially opened by Mrs. Iryna Holubieya, President of the National Council of Women (NCW) of Ukraine, who welcomed the delegates and introduced Amanah Tan, the President of the ICW. Mrs. Tan was welcomed in the traditional Ukrainian way, with a korovai that was presented to her by Ukrainian children. She thanked NCW, Ukraine and said that all the delegates share in the korovai symbolically.

Yurij Pavlenko, Minister of Family & Youth Affairs was then introduced as the keynote speaker. Pavlenko passed on best wishes from President Victor Yushchenko for a successful conference and then spoke about the status of women in Ukraine. He said that there is much gender discrimination against women: economic disparity; sexual harassment and stereotyping, but that Mr. Yushchenko’s Government is taking steps to improve matters.   

There were several workshops held simultaneously. I attended the “Trafficking of Women & Children” workshop.  At the workshop, the  following statement and recommendations were made: trafficking of women and children is a serious denial of human rights, widespread in all countries; and there is a lack of political will in connection with this problem. There is a need for on-going discussions and international conventions and involvement by international police forces. Also, there should be programs for the rehabilitation of victims.

The next day, the ICW passed a resolution calling upon all the member national councils to urge their national governments to: review and strengthen laws prohibiting trafficking in persons, with the aim of detecting and punishing attempts to bring in women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation; implement measures to assist early detection of women and children brought in for that purpose and; provide the means for such women and children to return to their own families or else to settle in a safe environment.

Many other matters were discussed and other resolutions passed on topics including: global climate change; the effects of natural disasters on women and children; education; the need for a sustainable environment, food and drinkable water for seniors living in poverty, isolation and amid armed conflicts and; health services for women and children.

Two seminars dealt with Ukrainian issues, specifically. At the first, Gender Policy of Ukraine, participants discussed problems related to ensuring equality between men and women. Several Ukrainian women who are Parliamentary deputies took part. In summing up, they made a joint statement that Ukraine had a long way to go to ensure gender equality, but that concrete steps were being taken. The second dealt with political empowerment of women.  The presidents of several Ukrainian women’s organizations took part. They discussed the status of Ukrainian women’s organizations and the role of young women’s organizations.

It was a pleasure to meet some of my Ukrainian sisters from around the world, Christina Bailey (Australia), Dr. Mary Pankiw (Canada) and Iryna Kurowackyj (USA), who was instrumental in getting the General Assembly to meet in Ukraine, as well as. Natalka Danylenko, also a member of the U.S.A. delegation.

It is customary during ICW conferences for delegates to bring small gifts representative of their countries to sell in the gift shop to help finance the Assembly, and 5,000 euros were raised through the generosity of the delegates.

A farewell gala dinner was held at Kyiv Restaurant. At the event, ICW President Amanah Tan introduced Kateryna Yuschenko and thanked her for agreeing to be the Honourary Patron of the Assembly. Mrs. Yushchenko then delivered a keynote speech, alternating between Ukrainian and English, speaking eloquently in both languages. She thanked the ICW for choosing Kyiv as the city for this year's Assembly and for their stand on the Holodomor. It was among the first international organization to recognize this tragedy. She urged the delegates to continue their good work and wished them much success.

The final day of the Assembly began with an Inter-Faith Service; six different religions were represented and each prayed in their native tongue.  A prayer in Ukrainian was read by Mrs. Natalka Danylenko, of the United States.

Mrs. Iryna Holubieva, President of the NCW Ukraine, then made the closing remarks. The conference ended officially on September 10, 2006.

The members of NCW-Ukraine deserve hearty congratulations for taking on the organization of the ICW Assembly, and doing such a superb job.

It was a privilege to be chosen by the National Council of Women of Canada as a delegate, and I am grateful to the Ukrainian Women’s Organization of Canada, (Olha Basarab) Montreal Branch for sponsoring and enabling me to attend.