3rd International Meeting - Day 1

The organizers formally opened the 3rd International Meeting of the World March of Women and welcomed the 45 women coming from 35 countries/territories : (representing 3 countries from Southern Africa, 2 countries from Central Africa, 3 countries from Western Africa, 2 countries from Central America/Mexico, 3 countries from South America, 3 countries from South-East Asia, 2 countries from South Asia, 2 countries from the Caribbean, 8 countries/territories from Europe, 3 countries from the Middle East-Arab World, 1 country from Oceania, 3 countries/territories from North America and 1 representative from the Native Women of the Americas network). Members of the World March Coordinating Committee and the Board of Directors of the F.F.Q. also were in attendance.

At the onset the organizers’ welcome remarks conveyed their sympathies to the victims of the September 11th attacks in the US and condoned violence in all its forms.

A discussion of the goals of this meeting followed, together with the approval of the Agenda. After these preliminaries three panel discussions on peace, violence and poverty were organized. This is to build a common framework of analysis on the current global situation and alternatives for continuing the struggle against poverty and violence against women.

On the first panel discussion on peace, the impact of the September 11th attacks on women was discussed by the speakers. The deaths in New York and Washington must be put into perspective with what is happening in the rest of the world. More than ever, the women should be more vigilant in the fight against violence against women.

The second panel on violence focused on the recent UN Security Council resolution against terrorism. In this resolution, "terrorism" was not defined and the member states were left to decide what constitutes an act of terrorism.

The third panel on poverty raised the issue of globalisation, its basic elements from a feminist point of view. We must develop a clear action plan on what kind of fight against poverty should the World march of Women undertake.

In all these panels, the delegates actively participated during the discussions. Country specific and thematic issues were put forward to be included in the declaration that delegates would agree upon at the end of the meeting.