Full Text of SR0954 99th General Assembly
SR0954 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SR0954 | | LRB099 14281 GRL 38362 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The United States of America has been a member of | 3 | | the United Nations since the adoption of the United Nations | 4 | | Charter in October of 1945; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Over the years, the United Nations and its members | 6 | | have adopted various resolutions, implemented international | 7 | | agreements, and engaged in policy commitments regarding | 8 | | violence against women and girls and gender discrimination and | 9 | | inequality; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, In December of 1979, the United Nations General | 11 | | Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms | 12 | | of Discrimination Against Women which affirmed human rights and | 13 | | fundamental freedoms and equality for women around the world | 14 | | while establishing an agenda to end all forms of discrimination | 15 | | against women; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, By accepting and ratifying the Convention, Member | 17 | | States commit to take all appropriate measures to eliminate | 18 | | discrimination against women, including the incorporation of | 19 | | the principle of equality of men and women in their legal | 20 | | system and abolishing all laws which discriminate against | 21 | | women; and
|
| | | SR0954 | - 2 - | LRB099 14281 GRL 38362 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, The United States was one of the 99 signatories to | 2 | | the Convention; however, the United States is one of only 2 | 3 | | signatories which have not yet ratified the Convention; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, In September of 1995, the Beijing Declaration and | 5 | | Platform for Action was adopted unanimously at the Fourth World | 6 | | Conference on Women; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is | 8 | | an agenda for women's empowerment aimed at removing all | 9 | | obstacles to women's active participation in all spheres of | 10 | | public and private life through a full and equal share in | 11 | | economic, social, cultural, and political decision-making; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action | 13 | | provides progressive road maps for gender equality and | 14 | | identifies specific actions for governments to take to prevent | 15 | | and respond to violence against women and girls; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, At the United Nations Millennium Summit in | 17 | | September of 2000, promoting gender equality and empowering | 18 | | women was set as one of the Millennium Development Goals, with | 19 | | a target of eliminating gender disparity in all levels of | 20 | | education by 2015; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, September of 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of |
| | | SR0954 | - 3 - | LRB099 14281 GRL 38362 r |
|
| 1 | | the Beijing Declaration, as well as the deadline to adopt a | 2 | | post-2015 agenda with new sustainable development goals, | 3 | | including goals on gender equality; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, The United States Report on the Implementation of | 5 | | the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action declares that | 6 | | the United States strongly supports a stand-alone goal on | 7 | | gender equality and women's and girl's empowerment in the | 8 | | post-2015 development goals; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The United Nations Summit for the adoption of the | 10 | | post-2015 development agenda will be held on September 25-27, | 11 | | 2015; therefore, be it
| 12 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 13 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the hard | 14 | | work and effort put forth by all parties assisting with the | 15 | | adoption of the post-2015 agenda for sustainable development by | 16 | | the United Nations; and be it further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That we support a stand-alone goal in the | 18 | | post-2015 development agenda on gender equality, women's | 19 | | rights, and women's empowerment; a goal that is grounded in | 20 | | human rights and tackles unequal power relations; and be it | 21 | | further |
| | | SR0954 | - 4 - | LRB099 14281 GRL 38362 r |
|
| 1 | | RESOLVED, That we support goals that address violence | 2 | | against women, the need to expand women's choices and equal | 3 | | opportunities, and the need to ensure that all women have a | 4 | | voice within households and in public and private | 5 | | decision-making; and be it further | 6 | | RESOLVED, That we, as elected representatives of the | 7 | | people, respectfully but emphatically urge the United States to | 8 | | participate in the Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up For Gender | 9 | | Equality Campaign through the following actions: (1) by | 10 | | committing to promote gender equality through the | 11 | | implementation of new and strengthening of existing laws; (2) | 12 | | the establishment of national action plans, strategies, and | 13 | | policies; (3) enhancing women's leadership and participation | 14 | | at all levels of decision-making; (4) confronting and | 15 | | addressing social norms and stereotypes that perpetuate gender | 16 | | inequality, discrimination, and violence against women and | 17 | | girls; (5) investing in gender equality at all levels; and (6) | 18 | | launching public mobilization and national awareness campaigns | 19 | | to promote gender equality; and be it further | 20 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Senate to ratify | 21 | | the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of | 22 | | Discrimination Against Women to further the commitment to | 23 | | gender equality; and be it further |
| | | SR0954 | - 5 - | LRB099 14281 GRL 38362 r |
|
| 1 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 2 | | presented to United States President Barack Obama, United | 3 | | States Secretary of State John Kerry, and the members of the | 4 | | Illinois congressional delegation.
|
|