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Preparations for the FourthWorld Conference on WomenThe Economic and Social Council of the United Nations has beenvery active during the past year convening world conferences in order toredefm e its goals and strategies for international cooperation on majorissues. In September 1994, delegations from many nations met in Cairofor the International Conference on Population and Development. InMarch 1995, Copenhagen was the venue for the World Summit for SocialDevelopment. In September 1995, Beijing will be the setting for theFourth World Conference on the Status of Women. In preparation for thelatter conference, international delegations met in New York duringMarch and April to prepare the Platform for Action, which is to be ratifiedin Beijing. The draft document was prepared by the Secretariat of theCommission on the Status of Women after consultation with regionalgroups of the United Nations. In New York, delegations were to proposeamendments to the Platform for Action so that it would be ready for ratificationin Beijing. At least that was the plan. The following report willdescribe how political agendas, arrogance, and bickering prevented thetask from being completed. Perhaps the greatest obstacle, however, wasthe belief that every country in the world could reach consensus on somany contentious issues-there is a better chance of the holy grail beingfound this year.First, for those who are not familiar with the dynamics of the UnitedNations, I need to sketch out the role of the major players. On one side ofthe floor of the UN, members of the European Union (EU) huddle together;the representative from France is their spokesperson. On the other sideof the floor sits the representative from the Philippines, who is thespokesperson for the Group of 77 (077). The 077, which now actuallycomprises 132 members, includes almost all nations from Latin and SouthAmerica, Africa, and Asia. Members of the EU and the 077 meet in theirrespective groups before the main assembly convenes in order to formulatea group position. On the floor of the UN, it is therefore the spokespersonsof these two groups who are the most active.It is significant that while 132 diverse nations were able to meet and,in most cases, bring about a consensus on difficult issues, the United ...

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