Beijing '95: Moving Women's Human Rights from Margin to Center

Transnational Governance, Local Politics, and Gender Violence Law in Nicaragua

“…In 1993, the United Nations issued its Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, and in 1994 the Organization of American States approved the InterAmerican Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (Belém do Pará) (Bunch and Fried 1996;Charlesworth 1994). One of the major advances of these conventions was their definitions of violence against women (Bunch 1990 (Merry 2006:22).…”

NGOs and Political Change: A History of the Australian Council for International Development

“…It accepted that women's rights were human rights (Chow 1996;Eyben and Napier-Moore 2009). It also introduced a grand vision of 'gender mainstreaming', so that women's issues were not on the edge but rather these issues of gender and women's marginalisation were central in government and NGO policy and practice (Bunch and Fried 1996;Chow 1996;Timothy 2005). The conference, however, was not without its critics, especially from the more conservative NGOs and governments which had reservations and objections, describing it in terms like 'feminist imperialism that reflects disrespect for religion and culture, an overzealous individualism, and an effort to impose Western values that destroy the family and local communities' (Bunch and Fried 1996, p. 203).…”

Power and Authority in the Production of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325

“…Thus, it is possible to trace the roots of the NGO WG back through decades of feminist theorizing and activism. Following the conference in Beijing, it was argued that “realization of the potential we viewed…requires vigorous leadership and a willingness to engage in open and often difficult political dialogue across many differences that tend to divide women” (Bunch and Fried 1996, 204). This research details the ways in which the NGO WG on Women, Peace and Security responded to that challenge and were instrumental in the production of UNSCR 1325.…”