6th International Meeting in Lima, from July 2 to 9, 2006
From July 2 to 9, 2006, the World
March of Women will meet in a general assembly in Lima, Peru. In addition to
deciding on a strategic plan and the actions to carry out in coming years, this
6th International Meeting will vote on the International Secretariat's move to
a country in the South (Brazil and Mali are candidates).
This is a turning point since the
Secretariat (executive team) of the World March of Women has worked out of
Montréal, Québec, since the very start (1998). The choice of Montréal stems
from a historical fact, namely, that the March began as a project launched by
the Fédération des femmes du Québec. As the March developed into a worldwide
phenomenon (164 countries and territories, and over 5000 groups are members),
our concern about taking into account the diversity of sensibilities, visions
and actions led us to this process.
In Lima, we’ll discuss about the
future of the March and about the actions we’ll hold till 2010. We have adopted
political documents to support our main demands : eradication of poverty
and violence against women. Among them are the 17 Demands adopted in 1998,
revisited in 2001; our Declaration of Values adopted in 2003 and the Women’s
Global Charter for Humanity, a document written collectively that describes the kind of world women
want to build, a world based on the values of freedom, equality, solidarity,
justice and peace.
We can count on our allies (Via Campesina, Women in Black, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women). We have been present at
the World and Regional Social Forums from the start and we took part in
the demos against the World Trade Organization. The World March denounces all
kinds of wars that take place all over the world.
In Lima, we
will hold workshops on peace and demilitarization; on violence and sexual
trafficking, specifically patriarchy's use of women's bodies as a means of
control; on access to natural resources and food sovereignty; and on women's
work.