『European Council of the International Council of Women(ECICW) Autumn General Assembly of 2019』

ECICW GA meeting was held in Geneva on the 27th of Oct, 2019. The meeting primarily focused on preparation for the UNECE Beijing + 25 event which would be conducted on 29 and 30 October. Brigitte Polonovski, President of ECICW, welcomed the delegates. She expressed her appreciation to those who had come and particularly to Magda de Meyer for her considerable help. Both the agenda and the minutes of the Spring GA in Chernihiv, Ukraine (May 20-22) were adopted unanimously. In her report, Brigitte proposed the action plan 2020. The main theme in 2020 would be violence against women and girls and the ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention. As violence against women and girls remains an enormous issue in all countries, ECICW could explain how the Istanbul Convention is ratified and implemented, could summarize what transpires in various countries, and could exchange information regarding good practices for dealing with this heartbreaking calamity.

Representatives of ECICW member councils reported on various dimensions of violence against women and girls. The NCW Malta focused on the importance of domestic violence and such effects on children, with some emphasis on trafficking. The NCW Luxembourg stressed the importance of psychological violence and the need to eliminate feminicide. The representative of Belgium also supported the idea of focusing on feminicide. She pointed out the need for extensive reliable data and the need for more shelters for disadvantaged women. The delegate of NCW Turkey said that legislation regarding chemical castration was now being considered in Turkey. She also noted that the concept ‘domestic violence’ was seen by many conservatives in her country as a threat to family life, with the potential impact of forcing more couples to divorce. The representative of France said that there had been 125 cases of feminicide since beginning of 2019 while in 2018 this number was only reached at the end of the year. The French prime minister launched “Le Grenelle contre la violence conjugale” by creating 12 working groups which focused on prevention and protection according the Istanbul Convention. More representatives from NCW of Spain, Malta, Morocco, Ukraine, GB and Netherland also briefly reported on their own activities and programs during this year of 2019. A plan of action was adopted and the ECICW president closed the discussion on this topic by proposing creation of a working group on the issue. Clearly, much of great value can be learned by sharing the experiences of others.

Treasurer Martine Marandel provided the accounting report for 2019. The ECICW President proposed an operational and project budget for 2020. The treasure’s report and the proposed budget for 2020 were approved in conjunction with acceptance of the proposal to maintain the contribution fee at 200 Euros. ICW President Jungsook Kim said that she was very pleased that ECICW would organize a side event on Violence against Women and Girls on the 30th October.  President Polonovski reminded those in attendance that the next ECICW meeting would be held during the Executive Committee Meeting (ECM) of the ICW in Avignon, France (12-16 May, 2020).

After lunch, from 2:30 to 5:00, a seminar on Violence against Women and Girls was held. Speakers included Dr. Mohinder Watson, ICW main representative to UN in Geneva, Ms. Michele Vianes, President of Regards de Femmes and Ms. Margaret Owen, a prominent International Human Rights lawyer.

The Autumn General Assembly 2019 was closed by President Polonovski who thanked all participants and especially Cosima Schenk, former ECICW President, who invited all of us for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant in Geneva.