Conference on women (3-6 Feb. 2000)

[nin@xxxxxx]

To whom it may interest.
Please excuse me for the cross posting.

Dr. Khin Ni Ni Thein
WRTC
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CONFERENCE ON WOMEN: WOMEN IN CRISIS (3-6 FEB. 2000)

Dear Head Delegates and Faculty Advisors:

	It is with great delight that we invite you to participate in the first
annual session of the Rosemont Model United Nations Special Conference on
Women: Women in Crisis, February 3 through February 6, 2000. We would like
to invite 150 students from schools across the country to partake in the
first-ever conference on the Model UN circuit dedicated to women's issues.

	The United Nations began its Women's Conferences in 1975, the most recent
the Beijing Conference in 1995.  These conferences focused on the injustices
and inequalities women face in all regions of the world.  Their objective
was to create international agreements that would improve the status of
women by the year 2000 in areas such as education, work, health care,
poverty, and political participation.

	The year 2000 is upon us, and as you can see, there is much left for us to
accomplish. We hope to create promising legislation that will truly give
women a greater chance at finding equality, development, and peace.

	We will offer challenging debate, as our committees will consist of
delegates that represent areas of the world deeply involved with women in
crisis situations.  It should be quite interesting to view the outcome of
each region's cathartic roundtable debate: a final document that calls for
change.

Committee Descriptions
1.  Mainstreaming Women's Rights:  Centre for Human Rights Office for the
High Commission for Human Rights:
	The integration or mainstreaming of women's rights occurs at two levels:
first in the United Nations system itself, and second, in the individual
member countries.  With regard to the countries, there is an effort underway
to have national legislatures write into law the relevant parts of the
Beijing Declaration.  It will be important to examine not only the
prevailing conventions with regard to human rights, but to investigate how
issues related to these rights are experienced specifically by women.  The
problem of the "girl child," for example, requires immediate and widespread
attention.  The effort in this committee will be to consider integration of
the Beijing Declaration into national legislation among all the member
states.

2.  Power and Participation: Commission on the Status of Women
	The Commission on the Status of Women argued that ways and means must be
found "to remove discriminatory practices, incorporate gender perspectives
into party platforms and ensure women's success to executive bodies".  The
unequal representation of women at all levels deprives everyone of "talent
and wisdom as well as diverse styles of decision making."  It also, of
course, deprives women of the representation necessary to achieve a just
distribution of essential sources.  The Beijing Declaration summarized the
issue as follows:  women's equal participation in political life plays a
pivotal role in the general process of the advancement of women.

3.  Women and the Refugee Problem:  United Nations Committee on Refugees
	Environmental disturbances and political and military conflicts have
created enormous refugee and displaced person problems around the globe.
These problems have particular consequences for women who experienced all
the problems associated with dispossession for themselves and for their
families.  Human rights issues across the board are involved.  Disease and
violence against women are prominent concerns; questions of reproductive
health are intense among refugee women.  In 1988, UNHCR looked after 22
million refugees and displaced persons.  Because the problems that created
these situations seem particularly resistant to resolution, the refugee
problem is likely to persist.  Even as political conflicts move toward
resolution, the problem of reintegration has grown.

4.  Work and Discrimination Against Women:  Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
	The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women has been
adopted by nearly 160 states, and it operates as an international bill of
rights.  Still, persistent patterns of discrimination against women in the
economy, generally and with respect to work, continue in every area of the
world.  The issue is complicated because in some parts of the world women
have made significant progress while in other parts; they are either absent
>From or poorly represented in economic structures.  Occupational
segregation, new patterns of work, the relationship between work and family
life and unpaid household work, all continue to be pressing issues.
Discrimination persists in education and training, hiring and compensation,
and promotion.

5.  Violence Against Women: Third Committee
	Violence Against women is found everywhere and at high levels.  Moreover,
it assumes a variety of forms.  Although all women are vulnerable to
violence or the threat of violence directed at them, some groups of women
are particularly vulnerable.  Honor killing, trafficking in women, genital
mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, rape, sexual
slavery and forced pregnancy, murder, female infanticide, pre-natal sex
selection, sexual abuse and sexual harassment, are among the forms of
violence that exist and that force women into subordinate positions compared
with men.  Violence against women, especially that which is aimed to
intimidate all women, is a fundamental obstacle to the achievement of the
objectives of equality, development, and peace.

6. Women and the Environment: Committee on Sustainable Development
	The Earth Summit cited women as one of the nine groups who experience
environmental problems in distinctive ways; despite this, women seem to have
been marginalized with respect to policy-making and implementation.  The
Commission on the Status of Women referred to environmental protection and
sustainable development as a human rights issue, raising thereby the
question of the "right to inheritance with regard to environmental issues."
Clearly, women play a crucial role in the growth of the world's food
supplies and, are thus, profoundly affected by environmental disturbances
such as global warming.

	*Spankin' New: ROMUN believes that the most attractive aspect of our
conference is its innovative agenda.  We recognize that there are great
universal benefits to the United Nations conferences on women; therefore, we
took it upon ourselves to bring such a conference to Model UN.  Other
conferences have examined the economic or social situation of women, but
only on a limited basis.  This original conference will examine the
situation of Women in Crisis around the world.

	*Academically Speaking: Our committees will incorporate heads of state and
non-governmental organizations that are concerned with the global welfare of
women.  The goal of each committee is to produce legislation aimed at
improving the everyday lives of women by means of strong and informed
debate.
	In addition to committees, we will be offering speakers who are going to
present another dimension into the current crises facing women around the
world.  The speakers and guests for the conference are compelling -
Ambassadors and members of the United Nations.  We also plan to conduct an
interactive press conference on the subject of the situation of women in
Bosnia, and Kosovo.  A panel of experts in these areas has been assembled
with the objective of providing significant exchange between panelists and
delegates.

	*Wow, What a Deal!: Your delegate fee provides you with breakfast every
morning of committee sessions; transportation every day to and from Rosemont
as well as busing to and from Philadelphia on Saturday night; a banquet
dinner on Thursday night; a midnight cruise on the Spirit of Philadelphia;
and awards presented at the closing ceremony on Sunday, plus all materials
related to the conference itself.

	*Fun, Fun, Fun: We realize that there are two sides to every conference.
During the day, work, but during the night, play.  We have a planning
committee entirely dedicated to the social aspect of this conference.  This
staff has dedicated itself for the past six months to search for the most
enjoyable activities to fill the post-session hours.
	Along with the many shops and eateries in the area, the Main Line is filled
with many good pubs and coffeehouses, all of which you can visit on Thursday
and Friday nights.  Saturday is packed full of fun to relieve you after an
intensive day of committees.  After the final speaker of the day, we will
whisk you off into the city where all the hippies meet, South Street, South
Street.  This section of Olde City Philadelphia is full of unique shops,
coffee houses, bars, fortunetellers, cafes, tattoo artists, music, and
interesting people.
	And if that is not enough fun for you, after South Street, we are offering
a Midnight cruise on the Spirit of Philadelphia.  Music, dancing, food-
nothing but fun, fun, fun!

WHEN?
	The Conference will be held Thursday, February 3, 2000 through Sunday,
February 6, 2000.  The final date of Registration is Friday, December 3,
1999.  Hotel reservations should be made as soon as you receive confirmation
>From the conference secretariat.  Please arrange accommodations with the
Radnor by Thursday, December 30, 1999 at the latest.  You must turn in a
list of names for each room to the hotel by Thursday, January 6, 2000 or
your reservation will be canceled.
COSTS?
	Included in the delegate fee are breakfasts, transportation, banquet,
Spirit of Philadelphia Cruise, and other conference related expenses.  There
is a delegation fee of $65 as well as a per delegate fee of $65.  Checks are
to be sent as soon as you receive confirmation of your attendance from the
secretariat.  Please make checks payable to Rosemont Model United Nations.

REGISTRATION

WHEN?
	The Conference will be held Thursday, February 3, 2000 through Sunday,
February 6, 2000.  The final date of Registration is Friday, December 3,
1999.  Hotel reservations should be made as soon as you receive confirmation
>From the conference secretariat.  Please arrange accommodations with the
Radnor by Thursday, December 30, 1999 at the latest.  You must turn in a
list of names for each room to the hotel by Thursday, January 6, 2000 or
your reservation will be canceled.
COSTS?
	Included in the delegate fee are breakfasts, transportation, banquet,
Spirit of Philadelphia Cruise, and other conference related expenses.  There
is a delegation fee of $65 as well as a per-delegate fee of $65.  Checks are
to be sent as soon as you receive confirmation of your attendance from the
secretariat.  Please make checks payable to Rosemont Model United Nations.

HOW?
	ROMUN has made registration easy.  Check out our web site and register
on-line.  The registration sheet provided with this pamphlet may also be
used.  If you have any problems registering, please e-mail us ASAP.

3,2,1, Contact

Throughout the registration process as well as your preparation for the
conference, please do not hesitate to contact us.

E-MAIL:			romun@xxxxxxxxxxxx
WEB SITE:   			www.rosemont.edu
MAILING ADDRESS:         	ROMUN
				C/O Rosemont College
				Box #551
				Rosemont, PA 19010

PHONE:    			610-627-0200 EXT. 4001
FAX:				610-527-0341


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