[asia-apec 868] Statement of the Third Women's Conference Against APEC

[PAN Asia Pacific]

Statement of the 
Third Women's Conference Against APEC
8-9 November, 1998, Kuala Lumpur

Women Resist Globalisation! Assert Women's Rights

As we enter into the millennium, we, 182 women from 22 countries
representing 104 organizations met in Kuala Lumpur to Resist
Globalization and Assert Our rights. 

In the last two days we have listened to the voices of peasant
women, migrant workers, farmers, indigenous peoples, the "dalit"
people, fisher folks and 22 countries on the impact of economic
liberalization, deregulation and privatisation on our lives. 

Women suffer most from globalization in Asia where the economic
crisis has brought massive unemployment and displacement. This has
resulted in increased impoverishment and poverty. 

Food security is threatened by loss of biodiversity and loss of
knowledge, the new fast expansion of genetic engineering and the
dumping of agricultural surplus from Northern countries.  The
appropriation of land and water resources by large TNCs and the
elite has led to the disintegration, displacement and
marginalisation of large numbers of rural and indigenous
communities. 

Women now enter in exploitative working conditions in industries,
wage worker, domestic work, migrant, sex workers.  They are
deprived of legal protection, health care, and safe working
conditions, work security and the right to organize. 

The Asian crisis has shown us the collapse and contradiction and the
ugly side of speculative financial management.  While the G7
governments have bailed out their Wall Street cronies and Asian
leaders are bailing out their cronies, workers who have contributed
to the economic growth are retrenched and migrant workers
forcefully deported, often without their rightful wages and their
resistance met with repression for example, Indonesian and
Bangladesh migrant workers in Malaysia. 

Our defense budgets continue to swell and the military is used to
repress dissent of workers, indigenous communities, ethnic
minorities, democracy movements, peasants and students.  Women have
faced extreme forms of violence and rape is used as tools of
subjugation. 

Privatisation of health care is a violation of women's basic human
rights to total well-being by denying them access to safe,
appropriate, affordable, high quality preventive and curative
health care.  It also commodifies reproductive health needs. The
population control policies and methods together with the dumping
of harmful and experimental contraceptives have increased the risks
to women's lives. 

Privatisation and commercialization of education increases the cost
of education resulting in mass drop-outs and add to the mass
unemployment. 

WE SAY NO TO GLOBALIZATION

TNCs with the support of governments are the prime movers of
globalization and benefit from it, they have consolidated their
power and control to expand their wealth and profits through:
Monopolies · distribution of patented, non-germinating (terminator
technology) and high input seeds · the appropriation of land,
knowledge, natural resources · patent systems enforced through
TRIPS · deregulation of labour (through contractualization and
casualisation) and land ownership · the creation and existence of
regional growth triangles and corridors 
  
The mergers of seed, agrochemical, pharmaceuticals and
food corporation as well as financial institutions to consolidate
their power and create conditions for global corporate control. 
 
The financial speculation and currency trading which has resulted in
the collapse and devaluation various currencies. 
 
Multilateral agencies, WTO, World Bank and IMF and the regional
trade blocs, NAFTA, APEC, SAFTA, MERCOSUR, and the European Union
are the main exponents of globalization.  Our governments, local
elite and local business are the collaborators and implementers of
this agenda. 
 
The rise of dangerous anti globalization forces based on narrow,
chauvinistic nat6ionalism has intensified social conflicts and the
politics of caste, race and religion has led to the revival and
strengthening of fundamentalism that encourages division and
violence especially for women as in the case of Dalit women in
India.  Often these conflicts divert us from basic problems. 
 
State is the direct perpetrator of violence against women.  The
state continues to protect both private and public institutions and
agencies for example, global capital, TNCs, its own armed forces
and fundamentalist forces. 
 
WE RESIST GLOBALISATION AND ASSERT OUR RIGHTS
 
We resist and reject APEC.
 
We resist WTO agreements and call for its dismantling.  We reject
attempts to legitimise WTO through proposals for social and
environmental clauses.  In particular we will work towards the
removal of the agricultural agreements from GATT/WTO and patents on
life forms through TRIPS. 
 
We resist World Bank and IMF conditionalities and condemn the
bailouts of private companies and financial institutions. 
 
We resist patenting of all life forms and privatisation water and
natural resources, land, and knowledge. 
 
We assert the rights enshrined in UN Instruments particularly  

n - The right to freedom of association, expression, and assembly. 
n - Right to equality n freedom from all forms of discrimination

We assert the right to take control over our bodies and our
sexuality 

We assert freedom from violence and the principles defined in the UN
Declaration on VAW. 

We assert the right to food security, sustainable livelihoods and
the right to land. 

We assert the rights of indigenous people and ethnic groups to
self-determination 

MORE AND MORE WOMEN HAVE TAKEN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST GLOBALIZATION

Women organize at all levels.  Women's movements should increasingly
be that of workers, peasants, indigenous peoples, the urban poor and
fisherfolk. 

Youth and students organize at all levels and forward the struggle.

Political education, information campaigns, awareness raising
programs should promote women-centred and people-centred actions,
backed up with research and documentation the results of which
should be published to reach many. 

Conduct mass campaigns, demonstrations and various other women's
actions against liberalization, deregulation and privatization; 
inclusion of agriculture in WTO; labor and sex trafficking; 
deportation, contract violations, reduction in wages and sexual and
physical abuse of migrant women; mass lay-offs, insecurity of
tenure, low wages and miserable working conditions of women in
factories and service sectors; displacement from land of rural and
indigenous women;  tuition fee increases and sexual harassment on
campus; rape and all other forms of violence against women;
insufficient women's health services and violation of women's
reproductive rights; and state repression and violence through
militarisation. 

Continue the resistance through women creative action such as
through mass campaigns, political actions.  Create community level
alternatives such as seed bank, micro enterprises, cooperatives,
crisis centers, sharing of knowledge, pushing for genuine land
reform, monitoring and documenting the practices of TNCs,
governments, powerful patriarchal groups that violate our rights,
etc. 

Unite and integrate women's actions with the democratic, progressive
and militant people's movements and labour movements from different
countries based on equality and mutual respect to advance the cause
of grassroots and other women in all other movements. Seek different
levels of alliances with other groups to get their support for
women's initiatives. 

Have more women leaders and activists, especially from the
grassroots, to strengthen women's participation and leadership in
the political and social life of the community and the country. We
should actively participate in the electoral process in campaign as
well as candidates. 
 
Build international solidarity against imperialist globalization
through sharing of information and common actions. 

Lobby governments, UN agencies for the ratification of all
instruments including ILO Conventions that will protect and promote
civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights. 

We demand complete transparency and accountability from multilateral
agencies, TNCs and financial institutions. 

PLAN OF ACTION

- Campaign for the removal of agricultural agreement and patents on
life forms from the GATT/WTO. 

- Campaign for the ratification of the UN Convention on Migrant
Workers and the rights of their families, 1990.  Campaign for
bilateral agreements for the protection of the rights of migrant
workers. 

- Campaign to remove all conditionalities imposed by IMF/World Bank.

- Campaign against the monopoly of seed and agrochemical companies
especially Monsanto, Novartis and Cargill that threatens food
security at the household. 

- Campaign against the privatisation of Basic amenities and health.

- Monitor the health and environmental hazards of pesticides and
campaign against their production and use. 

- Campaign against mining, and building of dams and agrobussiness
that destroys indigenous communities and their lands. 

- Strengthen the public health system and promote community based
health practices to ensure women's health and reproductive rights
and children's health rights are met.  Prevent the further
privatisation of essential health services and change the marketing
practices of TNCs (pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and baby foods) 

- Campaign for the establishment of standard minimum rules by the UN
for the treatment and promotion of the rights of trafficked women.

- Campaign for the ratification and implementation of the CEDAW and
for the adoption of the proposed optional protocol for CEDAW.
Monitor and document violations. 

- Campaign against militarisation; and the violence, abuse and
brutality committed and bring to justice the perpetrators. 
Organize regional activities on November 25 - the International Day
of Violence against women specifically on the theme of
militarisation and violence against women.