News Briefs
news from around the communion and around the world
UN Considers Discrimination Against
Women to be a Global Concern
More time, not a new deadline, is needed for universal ratification of the convention to eliminate discrimination against women, says Feride Acar, chairperson of the U.N. committee on the convention.
The initiative to have the treaty signed by all the World's nations could get a boost from the upcoming anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
Adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1979, the convention entered into force in 1981, faster than any other previous U.N. human rights treaty.
The world conference on women in Beijing in 1995 set the year 2000 as the deadline for all U.N. member states to sign the treaty, but so far, only 177 of 191 states have endorsed the convention.
Among others, the United States has not yet ratified the document. The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved it in 2002 but the decision was never voted on by the full Senate.
"There will come a time when the U.S. will also ratify the convention because there are many hardworking women's groups pushing for ratification," said Acar, who predicts that getting every country to sign CEDAW is not an impossible mission.
"Especially since Beijing, states have ratified consistently. Every couple of months you have one or two more countries ratified," she said. Pressure from non-governmental women's groups is a crucial factor pushing governments to commit to the treaty.
The legally binding convention sets out principles on the rights of women and prohibits all forms of discrimination against them. It defines discrimination as any distinction, exclusion or restriction based on sex to impair or nullify the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. These guarantees apply regardless of a woman's marital status, and are based on the equality of men and women.
Despite the absence of some governments' signatures on the convention, important steps forward have been made, said Acar.
The Optional Protocol (OP), an amendment to the convention, entitles the committee to initiate inquiries into situations of grave or systematic violations of women's rights and allows women to submit complaints about alleged violations of the convention.
OPs are treaties in their own rights and are thus open to signature and ratification by countries that are also parties to the main treaty. The CEDAW-OP has been ratified by 62 of the 177 signatories.
Despite these achievements, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) give different grades to the CEDAW committee. Equality Now's Neuwirth calls it "a very productive framework for women's rights on the ground," but others want it to be more critical.
Doris Mpounu from the U.S.-based Women's Environment and Development Organization disagreed, saying that the committee should ask member states more specific questions in some areas, for instance, on the relationship between women and development, an issue only indirectly covered in the convention.
Acar disagreed. "All we can do is put pressure on countries," she said.
According to the chairperson, reservations by member states to articles of the treaty are the major problem facing the committee. For instance, most countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa that have signed the convention have registered such strong reservations--official disputes that leave them free of a contractual obligation to the United Nations--that the very purpose of the CEDAW, total elimination of discrimination against women, is nullified.
Virtually all of those nations say they will not implement provisions of the convention that conflict with Islamic law, or Shariah. Most of the reservations are related to provisions that deal with equality in laws of marriage, family, divorce, inheritance and choice of spouse, and also concerning relationships within the family.
Thirteen states and dependent territories, among them Bangladesh, Singapore and Morocco, have made reservations to CEDAW's article 2, which deals with policies and measures to eliminate all discrimination against women and is often referred to the heart of the convention. In total, 53 member states have made reservations to one or more articles.
"But even if it is with reservations, it is better to have those states talking to the international community," Acar said. "I have never seen a country saying to the committee `we do not answer questions dealing with a reservation we have made.' They all do engage in discussion."
Asked the most important achievements of the last 25 years, Acar said it would be that governments have committed to make women's human rights an essential part of their agendas and now use the language of women's human rights, such as "nondiscrimination."
"Perhaps the greatest impact can be seen in the developing countries, where civil society was not all that developed 25 years ago, in countries that have not necessarily a democratic culture or civil society."
The challenge now is to make the convention not only known to each and every woman, but also to ensure that women know how to use it.
Doris Mpounu agreed that because many women do not know the CEDAW exists, its effect has been limited. "Overall, the convention is extremely useful because it has such a great potential but this can only be used if it is going to be domesticated."
ECUSA's First Latina Bishop
Nedi Rivera is
Ordained as Suffragan
in Diocese of Olympia
The Rev. Bavi Edna "Nedi" Rivera was ordained and consecrated as the first bishop suffragan for the Diocese of Olympia during a service on Saturday, January 22, in Bellevue, Washington.
Rivera is the first Latin American woman bishop and only the 12th woman bishop to be ordained in the historic episcopate of the Episcopal Church.
Nedi, as she prefers to be called, was rector of St. Aidan Episcopal Church in San Francisco since 1994. She has served at several churches in the Dioceses of California and El Camino Real and as a member of various committees and boards since her ordination in 1976.
Rivera's father, Bishop Victor Manuel Rivera, who served as the Bishop of San Joaquin, California, from 1968 to 1988, was an opponent of women's ordination. For years, father and daughter agreed to disagree about the issue. However, Bishop Rivera will be participating at his daughter's ordination service.
In electing Rivera, the diocese sought out a bishop who would lead the church in its efforts to expand ethnic ministries, evangelism and the work of faith formation. The service highlighted these areas of ministry.
Invitations were printed in Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Khmer and Arabic, the languages of the ethnic congregations of the diocese.A children's choir and a festival choir were drawn from congregations throughout the diocese.
Music was chosen from resources old and new, including two local composers. In each element of the consecration, Rivera and the service planners were intentionally inclusive of all ages and ethnicities. "How often can the church model what God's world is supposed to look like?" Rivera asked.
Born in 1946 to a Puerto Rican father and Anglo mother, Rivera is married and has training and experience in ministering to the terminally ill, gay and lesbian ministry, multicultural ministry and the lay caring/calling ministry.
Rivera becomes the 16th woman bishop in the history of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
New EWC Chapter is Launched in Connecticut
On a lovely recent Saturday, twenty folks gathered to hear Rt. Rev. Jane Holmes Dixon, retired Bishop Suffragan of Washington talk about the history and relevancy of the Episcopal Women's Caucus. Small groups met over lunch to discuss how the mission and work of the Episcopal Women's Caucus relates to us in Connecticut.
Areas of interest and concern identified by group members were:
At the conclusion of our discussion there was a consensus to formally organize a Connecticut Chapter of the EWC. Rev. Ellen Adams (St. David's in Gale's Ferry), Rev. Barbara Cheney, Gwen Heuss-Severance, Joan Linley and Jill Strawn (the last 4 from St. Paul and St. James in New Haven) volunteered to be on the Steering Committee
The topic for the next meeting will be How Things Get Done In Our Diocese. This will include Information about committee and commission membership and statistics regarding women in leadership positions.
Episcopal/Anglican Women Celebrate the U.N.'s 10-Year Review of the Beijing Platform
In February and March 2005, Episcopal and Anglican women from around the world will gather in New York City for a series of workshops, special events and lobbying efforts to support the 49th Session of the United Nation's Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW).
"We are expecting women from Anglican provinces around the world and Episcopal women from the United States to attend this Session of the UNCSW," says Margaret Rose, Director of the Office of Women's Ministries of the Episcopal Church Center.
The UNCSW was formed in 1946 at the request of the United Nations' Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) so that women's rights and emerging issues affecting women could be tracked by the United Nations.
The 49th UNCSW meeting in New York City in 2005 is of great importance to women around the world as a milestone in the movement for promoting human rights for women. This session will mark the 10th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women which took place in Beijing in 1995. There will be a review of the Beijing Platform of Action (BPA) and Beijing +5 Outcome Documents. These documents, along with the UNCSW itself, work towards promoting the implementation of equal rights for women and men. According to Carolyn Hannan, the Director of the U.N.'s Division for the Advancement of Women, "The political climate for gender equality has gotten worse. Women have better health care, but not reproductive rights. Women are more educated, but that has not turned into enough employment opportunities, and there is a huge income gap between men and women around the world."
Delegates from the Anglican Communion fall under the auspices of the Anglican Consultative Council and the Anglican Observer's Office to the United Nations led by Archdeacon Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Matalavea. The Anglican women join with other women of faith through the Ecumenical Women 2000+ which include United Methodist women, Lutheran World Federation, Presbyterian UN office, National Council of Churches of Christ and the Young Women's Christian Association.
"Fighting for right is the greatest sport in the world"
Theodore Roosevelt
Aid Groups Reported to be Using Disaster Relief for Proslytization
Following the devastating tsunamis that left some 160,000 dead in southeast Asia, disaster relief teams, both secular and faithbased, poured into the area to offer desperately needed help. Now some of those groups are voicing concern that certain relief teams are actively using aid efforts to evangelize tsunami victims.
"We feel it's imperative to provide agencies and individuals with signs of hope and comfort," said Dan Southern, president of the American Tract Society, which has released a new tract--"When Disaster Strikes"--for donation to Victim Relief Ministries. "We've been responding to hurting people throughout our 180-year history....We hope that many will respond to Christ." A spokesman for VRM, however, insisted that the teams will be sensitive to missionaries on the ground as to when and to whom the tracts will be given.
Others remained concerned. "In times like these, victims seek reassurance and comfort," said Dr. Mihir Meghani, president of the Hindu American Foundation, an emergency physician and expert on disaster management. "I know from experience with disaster victims that the worst thing for them is to be pressed into giving up their greatest source of strength--their faith."
Washington Bishop Turns Rock Star to Fund Mission Trip
The Rt. Rev. John B. Chane, Episcopal Bishop of Wasington (DC) has found a way to turn rock music to the work of the Lord.
Chane, a former rock and blues drummer, has released a compact disc featuring the reunion concert he and five onetime band mates played at a Washingtonarea hotel. Proceeds from the sale of The Chane Gang: a Bishop, His Band and the Blues will enable diocesan youth to work this summer among native people in the Arctic Wildlife Reserve.
Youth on the mission trip will work, in cooperation with the Diocese of Alaska, among the Gwich'in; over 7,000 Gwich'in live on the Reserve and almost all are Episcopalians.The disc, composed of 13 rock and blues classics, is available through the diocesan website www.edow.org or at the National Cathedral gift shop.
Diocese of Polynesia Elects First Bishop for Aotearoa New Zealand
The Anglican Diocese of Polynesia has elected its first Bishop for Aotearoa New Zealand. The Venerable Dr. Winston Halapua is based in Auckland where he has served as Principal of the Diocese of Polynesia Theological College and Archdeacon since 1996.Halapua has a Tongan background and is a Fijian citizen but sees himself as a "multicultural person." He has studied Christian mission and ministry in Tonga, Fiji, England, Israel and Aotearoa New Zealand.
As bishop for the Polynesian Anglican community, Halapua will assume pastoral oversight for all the peoples of Polynesia in Aotearoa. Halapua expressed excitement about his appointment. "My passion is the zeal for mission," he says. "There is a huge opportunity here to build a unique mission for Pacific people--grounded in this country."
A scholar in sociology, Halapua highlighted the importance of culture and context in the task of Christian mission. "We have to make the mission of God more effective here," he said. Halapua will continue as Principal of the College of the Diocese of Polynesia, and as a lecturer at the School of Theology, University of Auckland.
Archbishop and Cardinal Celebrate Christian Unity Week at Westminster Cathedral
The Archbishop of Canterbury,the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, attended solemn vespers on January 14 at the Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral and preached at the service at the invitation of the Cardinal Archbishop, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, to mark Christian Unity Week. It was his first official visit to the cathedral.
Before the service, Archbishop Rowan opened and toured an exhibition being held in the cathedral on Anglicanism. "Anglicanism and the Western Tradition" was previously on show at the Vatican but has been exhibited since at several cathedrals across the UK. Charting the history of Anglicanism, it highlights important ecumenical initiatives, such as ARCIC (Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission) and the International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission.
The Archbishop and Cardinal also prayed in the Chapel of Holy Souls for the victims of the Asian tsunami.
Former Journalist Named Director of Anglican and Global Relations
Margart Larom, a former journalist whose experience in international affairs spans 25 years, has been named as the new director of Anglican and Global Relations for the Episcopal Church. The announcement was made recently by the Rev. Dr. James B. Lemler, Director of Mission for the church..
Larom has served as World Mission Interpretation and Network Officer for ECUSA since 1995. She began missionary service in the Church in Uganda in 1980 and since that time has worked to ensure the partnership of the Episcopal Church with other provinces of the Anglican Communion.
Diocese of Niagara in Canada Votes to Affirm Same-Sex Blessings
In November 2004, the Diocese of Niagara became the second Canadian diocese to approve blessing ceremonies for gay couples. Bishop Ralph Spence, however, declined to endorse the action, saying that the diocese needed to discuss the matter furthur.
According to canon law of the Anglican Chuirch of Canada, the bishop must give consent to motions passed by synod.
The motion asked that the bishop "grant clergy permission to exercise their discretion" in blessing gay couples who have already been married in a civil ceremony. It would also require that each congregation petition the bishop in order to be designated as a "blessing community."
In refusing to endorse the motion, Bishop Spence declared himself "inwardly torn" but that he must function as bishop "for all the people." He added that the motion will almost certainly be made again at the next synod.
Shortly after the vote of the diocesan synod, the Canadian Supreme Court declared that the federal government has the exclusive authority to define marriage and further stated that a proposed law to allow same-sex marriages is constitutional.
The court also ruled, however, that Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects religious groups from being forced to perform same-sex marriages if doing so would violate their religious beliefs.
Women's Rights Prize Awarded to ERD-Supported Program
In December Sakena Yacoobi, educator and founder of the Afghan Institute of Learning was honored at the United Nations with the Women's Rights Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation.
Yacoobi's organization, which works with displaced women and girls in Pakistan, was supported by Episcopal Relief and Development, empowering refugee women and children to improve their lives through education and health services.
Working with ERD, the Institute expanded its services to over 300,000 Afghans through teacher training, academic classes and mobile health clinics and by providing skills training to allow women to earn their own incomes and protect their human rights.