Women’s Major Group Intervention in Working Group 2

Delivered by Gigi Francisco, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN)

May 2, 2012

In the sustainable agriculture and food security section, we call on governments to retain and strengthen paragraph NCST 64 quint focusing on rural women who are 75% of farmers and produce up to 80% of the world’s food. In the context of economic and ecological crises, including climate change and desertification, men migrate out of rural communities leaving women with the double burden of managing care work and livelihoods for households and communities. Many time-use studies have shown the disproportionate burden of care-work, which fall on poor rural women during normal but more acutely in extreme situations.

Our proposal for paragraph NCST 64 quint is as follows: We reiterate the importance of empowering rural populations, including women, as critically RESPONSIBLE FOR (DELETE: agents for enhancing) agricultural and rural development, food security and nutrition, and AS SUCH MUST BE ensurED their RIGHTS, equal access to AND CONTROL OVER productive resources, health care and social services, land, WATER, financial services, technologies, TRANSPORTATION information, know-how, training and markets. THEIR DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN OF CARE WORK MUST BE ADDRESSED BY THE PUBLIC PROVISION OF ESSENTIAL SOCIAL SERVICES.

In the health section we call for the strengthening of CST. 72 viginti (et) sext. This paragraph must reaffirm our commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights, as enshrined in the ICPD Programme of Action, which is essential in realising a rights based approach to poverty eradication and sustainable development.