Recognizing that National Councils of Women have long supported more equitable and ecologically sustainable development for all the world's people,
Concerned that the pattern of development in the last 50 years has had areas of dramatic progress but also large pockets of stagnation or extremely slow development, resulting in growing discrepancies within and among the countries of the world, particularly affecting the women and the children of the world, and resulting in severe environmental degradation,
Being aware that financing for development, whether from domestic sources, foreign direct investment, loans from development banks or aid, is crucial (although not the only ingredient promoting development),
Recognizing that the United Nations has identified the financing for development challenge as the pre-eminent moral and humanitarian challenge of our age, and has maintained that in this interdependent world it is in the enlightened self-interest of all the world's people to meet this challenge,
Also recognizing that the UN at the global conference at Monterrey in March 2002, affirmed the goal of a stronger multilateral system which will ensure stable and sufficient financing for sustainable, gender-sensitive, people-centred development in all parts of the world, based on the principles of: equity, solidarity, co-responsibility, foresight, participation, ownership at the national level and partnership,
THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN Calls on its permanent representatives to The United Nations to support the leadership role of the United Nations in securing stable and sufficient financing for development for all to redress unsustainable international asymmetries and imbalances in a coherent and holistic way, and to reverse environmental degradation trends wherever possible by addressing systemic issues through:
1. reforming the international financial architecture to be more democratic, transparent and accountable,
2. promote global governance obliging all actors cooperating in development (national and international) to guarantee more transparency in the development process of policies and budgets,
3. filling organizational gaps such as by creating an International Tax Organization establishing a mechanism for substantive engagement among ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) the Bretton Woods Institutions, and WTO (World Trade Organization) to coordinate implementation of the recommendations from the Financing for Development Conference (2002), by mainstreaming a gender perspective into all economic and development policies,
4. strengthening the UN (United Nations) role,
Calls on its National Councils to urge their governments to:
1. mobilize domestic financial resources for development,
2. mobilize international private resources for development,
3. promote a more equitable and mutually beneficial international trading system as one of the spurs to economic growth that can benefit people at all income levels,
4. increase international cooperation for development,
5. enhance financing for global public goods such as control of communicable diseases, environmental protection, financial stability and knowledge for development,
6. strengthen multilateral development banking,
7. seek innovative sources of multilateral development financing for development assistance, humanitarian aid and global public goods
8. create sustainable debt financing.
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Source: International Council of Women (ICW-CIF) — 30th General Assembly, Perth, Western Australia, August 31 – September 5, 2003. Resolution No. 6.
