KI Media: “Learn to use words, thoughts well” plus 24 more

Learn to use words, thoughts well

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 01:34 PM PST

"You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb it himself." - Andrew Carnegie

March 9, 2011
Written by A. Gaffar Peang-Meth
PACIFIC DAILY NEWS

I write often that a thesis and antithesis come as a pair, they interact. Given time, a synthesis would result; this gives rise to a new thesis and new antitheses, similar to the two interdependent energies, the "yin" and the "yang," energies that cannot exist without one another as their interactions cause everything to happen.

Buddhists believe when there's life, there's death; when there's happiness, there's suffering. Thus night follows day and day follows night; happiness follows suffering; after death, there is rebirth. The Samsara wheel of life turns and turns. What goes around comes around.

Thesis-antithesis, yin-yang interactions can bring tension and conflict. People have different opinions, perceptions, beliefs. Disagreement is natural.

Disputes can be avoided by giving some space to humility -- consideration of others' views and feelings which is the foundation of many virtues -- and avoiding hotheaded, disagreeable reactions.

In my teaching career, I used the concept of individual actions influenced by experiences-values-beliefs-information; I taught students to reach for high principles and apply them.

Choosing words

It's been my own experience that bloggers who hide behind anonymous postings, spewing venomous comments on the Internet, operate from misconceptions and misunderstandings. In my article last week, I quoted workshop facilitator Leslie Aguilar's call to pay attention to our words and behavior, because, more than being politically correct, it's about being professionally competent and politically conscious, it's about being human: "It's about respect."

Today, I found The Leadership and Learning Center's professional development associate Stephen Ventura's "Basic Training" in "RESPECT" worthy to learn: R is to recognize every human being's inherent worth; E, to eliminate derogatory words and phrases from our vocabulary; S is to speak with, and not at, or about, people; P is to practice empathy through walking in others' shoes for a while; E is to earn respect through respect-worthy behaviors; C is to consider others' feelings before speaking and behaving; and T is to treat every person with dignity and courtesy.

Some 2,500 years ago, Lord Gautama Buddha preached: "Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care, for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill."

And the great Chinese thinker, Confucius, taught, "Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?"

Critical thinking

Some readers thought that it is mere cliché that I referenced so often the terms "critical thinking" in my writings. No, it is not cliché.

Critical thinking does not only determine our future, but it is essential for humanity's survival. Yes, every person thinks and has opinion but, no, not every thinking is of the same quality. An opinion that is fleeting is not the same as a careful thought.

Buddha's precepts -- "We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think" and "What we think, we become" -- taught us that if we engage endlessly in negative thoughts of others, gossiping and throwing venomous words, we are not only creating a hostile angry world, but we become the image of what we think.

And since we are creatures of habit and of self-piloted, fossilized responses, perhaps we need to better understand and follow the great critical thinker's preaching:

"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."

Buddha, a critical thinker more than 2,000 years before the European Age of Enlightenment, taught humans to be skeptics and to accept and live up to what we find in agreement with "reason" and for "the good and benefit of one and all."

Attitudes change

Thus, I come full circle to my writings. I write to share. I write to awaken thought, even to provoke it, because a mind that accepts and obeys blindly is intellectually dead. It's of no use.

More than 2,500 years ago Lord Buddha taught humans to believe in reason and in what benefits the multitude, humanity. When will we begin our embrace of critical thinking -- creativity and criticality?

Confucius said: "If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of 10 years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people."

Yes, the Chinese say, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

Fortunately, critical thinking can be taught and can be learned.

You should know about Andrew Carnegie, who migrated to the United States from Scotland in 1848. He first worked as a bobbin boy, changing spools of thread 12 hours a day, six days a week, in a cotton factory. He earned $1.20 per week. In his late 30s, he founded the Carnegie Steel Company, which grew to become the world's largest steel manufacturer in the 1890s.

Carnegie famously said something that should inspire all readers: "You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb it himself."

A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D., is retired from the University of Guam. Write him at peangmeth@yahoo.com.

ASEAN chair proposes Cambodia-Thai border meeting on March 24

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 07:52 AM PST

PHNOM PENH, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia, the rotating ASEAN chair, has proposed meetings of Cambodian-Thai defense ministers and border chiefs on March 24-25 in Bogor, Indonesia, said Koy Kuong, the spokesman for Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on Tuesday.

Koy Kuong said that Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa on Monday sent a letter to propose the meetings of Cambodia-Thai General Border Committee (GBC) and Joint Border Committee on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC) in Bogor.

"This morning, His Excellency Hor Namhong (Cambodian Foreign Minister) has already replied to the meeting proposal, Cambodia agreed with the proposed schedule," he said.

"In the letter to Marty M. Natalegawa, Hor Namhong wrote that the meetings must be with the presence of ASEAN chair or representative -- at least at the opening of the meetings," said Koy Kuong. "And when the meetings are wrapped up, Cambodia and Thailand have to report to ASEAN chair on the results of the meetings."

"Cambodia hopes that Thailand will also agree with the meeting proposal," he added.

The border between Thailand and Cambodia has never been completely demarcated.

Although the International Court of Justice ruled in 1962 that the Temple of Preah Vihear belonged to Cambodia, the row over the 4.6-square-km territory around the temple has never been resolved.

The conflict has occurred just a week after Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple was enlisted as World Heritage Site on July 7, 2008. Since then both sides have built up military forces along the border, and periodic clashes happened, resulting in the casualties of troops on both sides.

The latest clashes on Feb. 4-7, unleashed a barrage of artillery shells on both sides of the border, have killed and wounded many soldiers and citizens, and caused tens of thousands of the two countries' villagers near the disputed areas to flee.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Union film blocked again

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 07:50 AM PST

Tuesday, 08 March 2011
David Boyle
The Phnom Penh Post

Union leaders and garment workers attempting to view a controversial documentary today on the murder of labour leader Chea Vichea were thwarted when the owner of the local restaurant where they had gathered cut the electricity in the building.

Representatives of the Free Trade Union – which Chea Vichea headed at the time of his assassination in 2004 – gathered today along with officials from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party and the embassy of the United Kingdom in an attempt to screen the 2009 documentary Who Killed Chea Vichea? by American director Bradley Cox.

The film investigates Chea Vichea's murder and the dubious charges against two men initially accused of the crime, suggesting that government officials may have in fact helped plan the killing.

Gathering at Daun Penh's New World restaurant, those attending the screening got about 25 minutes into the film before the power in the building was cut off and restaurant security ordered a halt to the proceedings.

"Can you stop it? I am a businessman and I need to run my business for a long time," restaurant supervisor Ny Sin told Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions.

Rong Chhun later alleged that restaurant staff had told him that Daun Penh district authorities had ordered the establishment to block the screening, though Ny Sin denied this, saying the decision was the result of "restaurant policy".

Daun Penh deputy governor Sok Penhvuth also denied that city officials had made such an order and said he had no knowledge of the incident.

Union leaders attempted on several occasions last year to show the film but have been stopped by officials who have called the documentary an "illegal import".

During a Labour Day rally last year, unionists attempted to show the film outside Chamkarmon district's Wat Lanka, near where Chea Vichea was killed, only to have their projector screen pulled down by local police.

Rong Chhun said today that the alleged pressure on the restaurant provided further evidence of government involvement in the murder.

"It is true that a senior government official is behind the killing of Chea Vichea, and the authorities themselves have to investigate," he said.

The screening coincided with International Women's Day, during which a coalition of unions and NGOs had planned to hold a rally in central Phnom Penh.

In a letter dated last week, however, Phnom Penh Municipal Governor Kep Chuktema denied their request to hold the rally. No explanation was provided in the letter.

Pich Srey, a 28-year-old worker at a garment factory in Phnom Penh, said she did not understand why the screening had been prevented.

"The authorities should have allowed the film in order to let us learn about society," she said.

"Seeing [the film] and being aware are my rights."

Hearts full of hope

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 07:47 AM PST

Three year-old Bunlak Song is comforted by his sister, Bunkek Song, after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport of Cambodia on March 6, 2011. Bunlak Song was brought to the United States by Hearts Without Boundaries, a Long Beach, Calif.-based non-profit group, to help repair his heart. (Jeff Gritchen / Press-Telegram)

Child, 3, needs cardiac surgery `yesterday'

03/07/2011
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram

LOS ANGELES - As the group walked through the crowds at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport, the little boy tucked in his head toward his shoulder and reflexively reached for the sleeve of his older sister.

The shy 3-year-old had just circled half the world in search of a miracle.

Bunlak Song is the latest cause for Peter Chhun and his small Long Beach nonprofit, Hearts Without Boundaries. Song was diagnosed with a large hole in his heart, called a ventricular septal defect, as well as other complicating factors necessitating heart surgery. Song is the fourth impoverished child Chhun and Hearts Without Boundaries have brought out of Cambodia since 2008 to receive surgery not available to them in their homeland.

In the U.S., Song would have had corrective surgery in infancy. But in Cambodia, the congenital defect is a lingering death sentence.

Although Chhun had planned to arrange treatment for Song later this year, the timeline was accelerated when cardiologist Paul Grossfeld found the defect was severe and the need for surgery was imminent.

Grossfeld said the window for operating on Song was closing quickly and the damage would soon become too severe and the risk too high.

"When Dr. Grossfeld said `the operation on Bunlak should have been done yesterday,' I knew right away that Bunlak's heart defect is very severe," Chhun said by e-mail before he left Cambodia.

Chhun was helping doctors on a medical mission and extended his stay to secure visas for Song, his sister, Bunkek Song, and cousin Sokunthy Khouon.

Although Chhun has no agreement from a hospital to operate, he has been in talks with several hospitals, including Miller Children's Hospital in Long Beach. He says it was important to get the boy to U.S. soil and work from here to find help for the child.

"We don't have a concrete plan yet," Chhun said. "We just want to show people he really needs help. This is a gamble, but I think we can do it."

Grossfeld said without surgery, it was unlikely the boy would survive to adulthood.

Song was two days old when his homeless mother begged a family visiting the hospital to take her son. By nightfall, the mother had disappeared and left her child behind.

The adoptive parents, Siv Leng Chuy and Chin Song Hai, scratch out a living selling gas in plastic bottles to taxis, motorcycles and tuk-tuks in their home village.

But they have taken the boy in and say he has brought them luck.

Now they are hoping for another stroke of luck to save their son.

greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291

Dodging bullets on the Thai-Cambodia border

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 07:40 AM PST

The current ceasefire makes it easier for tourists to visit Preah Vihear, but be aware that military action could restart at any moment.

The recent ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand allows a former UN official to recount his two trips, 17 years apart, to the hotly contested Preah Vihear temple

8 March, 2011

By Brooks Entwistle

CNN GO

In 1993, I was part of the first group of foreigners to climb up to the Preah Vihear temple from the Cambodian side since the French in the 1960s.

Cambodia and Thailand have been in conflict over the beautiful, and strategically located temple for centuries.

A 1962 World Court ruling gave the 11th-century Hindu temple, perched on the edge of the Don Krek Mountain cliffs, to the Cambodians, whose country occupies the flat rice-bowl landscape some 1,500 feet below.

In 2008, UNESCO named the temple a World Heritage site, further cementing its status on Cambodian soil and eventually leading the two sides to begin fighting over the prized real estate.

The current round of armed conflict, which began February 4, has left several people dead and the temple damaged.

Even though a ceasefire has been announced, the chance of violence flaring up again is high. That's a shame, because I have fond memories of the place and returned recently with my family.

Locals and landmines

My trip to the temple in 1993 was as a UN official based in the village of Cheom Ksan, in one of Cambodia's most remote areas. I had the mandate to register, educate and poll any potential Cambodian voters who called the Preah Vihear temple home.

That New Year's Day mission, with Pakistani UN peacekeepers and my Cambodian election team, had the goal of registering the few Cambodians who lived up on the top of the cliff among the ruins to vote in the historic June 1993 election.

After a sweaty hike up hundreds of overgrown ancient Khmer stone steps, with landmines on either side, we "summited" to a shocking sight -- there were swarms of Thai tourists, who could drive right up to the border, only a few meters from the temple, for a day of sightseeing.

While we were grateful for the ice-cold Diet Cokes for sale at the temple entrance, none of which we had down in the Cambodian villages below, and we registered a few voters, I hiked back down knowing what a tinderbox this could become with a proper spark.

"With landmines on either side, we 'summitted' to a shocking sight -- swarms of Thai tourists." — Brooks Entwistle, former UN official

Return to Preah Vihear

Ironically, it was a flare up in 2008 that enabled me to go back to the Preah Vihear temple last November, 17 years later, with my three young daughters and wife in tow.

Over the last two years the Cambodian government has built an impressive network of roads around the border areas, with the help of Chinese construction companies, in order to move troops and resources quickly to the frontier.

The trip north from Siem Reap to the Preah Vihear temple, a journey that took several bone-jarring days in a UN jeep (or a Russian-piloted UN helicopter ride) when I was there, is now totally doable.

I had regaled my daughters with stories of how remote and exotic my village and the temple were, but as we drove up perfectly paved roads that I remembered as rutted out ox cart paths, I thought I was in for a major paternal credibility test.

Thankfully, my village was still well off the main highway and still just a series of paths.

I was able to find one of my original UN team leaders, Phalla, (many others had perished during the Khmer Rouge occupation of the village not long after the UN pulled out, or had been killed by land mines) and the young girl, Somaly, whose parents had rented me a room in their traditional home on stilts and now run the village's only guest house.

It was an emotional reunion, and my daughters, who were born in Hong Kong and New York and have grown up in Mumbai, asked if we could move there given all the space, greenery and live animals wandering the village paths.

Ancient history meets modern warfare

Leaving the village behind, we headed west to Preah Vihear temple where my stories of an Indiana Jones-esque hike up the cliff in 1993 were called into question as we were able to drive up a recently built series of switchbacks whose sole purpose was to provide easy military access to the sliver of land that the Cambodians hold at the top of the cliff.

On that peaceful day in November, we were the only tourists as my daughters walked playfully among the ruins and between the Cambodian army trenches and the Thai bunkers across the valley.

They explored this pristine temple, far removed from the crowds around the over-run temples at Angkor Wat, and we gazed over the edge of the cliff with my former home Cheom Ksan in the distance.

After proving to the girls that the stone steps were still there and that the road did not exist on my previous trip, we hopped in the bed of our 4x4 pick-up and had a roller-coaster ride back down the mountain, again struck by how close the Cambodian and Thai people and soldiers were living to each other.

Tour Khmer Rouge remnants

To close the adventure loop, we headed west again to Anlong Veng, the final resting place of Pol Pot and the last Khmer Rouge redout.

This was the only area that the UN could not get into in 1993 and was the village from which the Khmer Rouge launched a last ditch attack on Cheom Ksan 10 days before the historic election. That attack was rebuffed by the UN Pakistani soldiers who protected our outpost and team.

In Anlong Veng you can tour the home of Ta Mok, the one-legged Khmer Rouge general who created havoc in the district next door both while I lived there, and for five years after I left. Other sites include Pol Pot's grave and various grisly Khmer Rouge last-stand reminders.

From Anlong Veng it is a two-hour drive south back to Siem Reap, finishing a 14-hour loop of seeing some of Cambodia's most remote and historically significant terrain.

Brooks Entwistle is India country head for a major financial services firm based in Mumbai who served with UNTAC (United Nations Transitional Authority For Cambodia) in Cambodia from 1992-93.

Cambodia bans women's day rally: organisers

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 07:32 AM PST

Tuesday, March 08, 2011
AFP

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia has banned a public rally to mark International Women's Day, organisers have said, amid growing concern about a crackdown on freedom of expression in the country.

Phnom Penh municipal authorities rejected a request by trade unions and non-governmental organisations to mark the day's 100th anniversary with a large gathering in the capital, the Cambodian Women's Movement Organisation said.

No reason was given for the refusal, organisers said.

"It's a sad commentary on the current state of human rights in Cambodia," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW).

"It says that the government is not committed to permitting a free exercise of the right to associate and the right to assemble. Women have to organise to assert their rights in countries like Cambodia," he told AFP.

Cambodian Women's Movement Organisation president Meas Morokot said the decision to ban the public event was "regrettable".

"Our planned rally does not serve any political party. We all just want to celebrate women," she said.

Organisers will instead hold a gathering for some 1,800 people on private property on the outskirts of the city, she added.

Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuk Tema, whose signature was on the letter banning the rally, said he was too busy to comment.

The Cambodian government has come under fire from rights groups in recent months for stifling free speech and cracking down on critics.

Late last year the government opened a so-called Freedom Park in the capital, a designated protest area that rights groups said was an attempt to keep protesters out of sight and would be used to deny requests for rallies to be staged elsewhere in the city.

"It's clear that the government has an almost knee-jerk reaction against any sort of rally, for whatever purpose, in central Phnom Penh," Robertson said.

International Women's Day is a public holiday in Cambodia and celebratory banners have been erected in the capital to draw attention to the occasion.

Thai "Yellow Shirt" activist in good health: Cambodian prison chief

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 07:30 AM PST

March 08, 2011
Xinhua

A Thai high-profile "Yellow Shirt" movement activist Veera Somkwamkid being jailed in Cambodia for the alleged espionage charge is in good health, although he has a cold and insomnia, a Cambodian prison official said Tuesday.

Mong Kimheng, the chief of Prey Sar prison where Veera was jailed, made the remarks following Thai media's report saying that Veera's relatives visited him on March 4 and found he has fallen ill and said the cell where he was being jailed was "in very poor conditions."

"He just caught a cold these days due to climate change, but he is in good health," said Mong Kimheng.

"We have provided him with special care, and our doctor has his health checked up twice every day," he said by telephone.

"Veera told our doctor that he has some headache and insomnia," he said. "It is normal that he has a headache and cannot sleep because he sleeps in prison and has to serve many years in prison. "

Mong Kimheng said the cell is in good condition. "Other cells, we house six inmates, but Veera's cell, we allow only two inmates, " he said.

"And for food, Thai embassy officials have brought him twice every day, he does eat food provided by the prison."

"The information on Veera's illness is just to call for sympathy and to catch special attention from the Thai government in order to seek for royal pardon," he said.

Veera Somkwamkid, one of the leaders of the People's Network against Corruption and a high-profile nationalist activist in the Thai Patriots Network, and his secretary Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, were convicted by Cambodian court on Feb. 1 of illegal entry, unlawful entry into military base and espionage and were sentenced to eight years and six years in jail respectively.

The two decided not to appeal a Phnom Penh court's decision that found both of them guilty of illegal entry and espionage, but would seek a royal pardon instead.

Groups mark Women’s Day

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 07:26 AM PST

Tuesday, 08 March 2011
Chhay Channyda and May Titthara
The Phnom Penh Post

Unions, NGOs and activists gathered today on the capital's periphery in Meanchey district to celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, after City Hall had refused their request to hold the event at Wat Botum park.

Meas Morkort, president of the Cambodian Women's Movement Organisation, called on women to speak out and fight for their rights so they could contribute to building a developed society.

Organisers said nearly 2,000 people were in attendance, while about 10 district and commune police could be seen monitoring the event.

CWMO requested permission from City Hall last month to hold the rally publicly in cooperation with the Ministry of Women's Affairs, but Governor Kep Chuktema signed off an a letter rejecting their appeal.

Kep Chuktema declined to comment today.

Ath Thorn, president of the Cambodian Labour Confederation, said that choice reflected poorly on the government.

"We just want to hold the event at the public place, not to cause disturbance to public order," he told The Post today.

"It's a limit of their rights, especially women's rights and children's rights."

Human Rights Watch slammed City Hall's decision in a statement today.

"The government's refusal to allow an International Women's Day rally first seemed like a joke," said Brad Adams, Asia Director at Human Rights Watch.

"The Cambodian government's creeping dictatorial rule should be of real concern to the country's donors."

Women in prisons a concern

Among the 941 women incarcerated in the Kingdom at the end of 2010, 12 were pregnant and 47 of their children lived with them, the rights group Licadho said in a statement today.

The number of women and girls in prison increased 41 percent since 2007, raising health concerns, the group said.

"Overcrowding, poor cell ventilation, extreme heat and exposure to cigarette smoke place prisoners including children and pregnant women at risk of serious health conditions such as TB," the report said.

Pung Chhiv Kek, president of Licadho, said during a visit to Prey Sar prison today that medical care is abysmal, food nutrition inadequate and water often contaminated.

"Unfortunately, many mothers have no other choice [but to] take their children to stay in prison with them," she said.

Keo Lada, 33, has served about half of her two-year sentence for a drug-related conviction, and has a 75-day-old daughter who lives with her.

She said the conditions were challenging.

"I tried to correct myself so that I will not return to this difficult place again," she said.

"I really pity my daughter. She opens her eyes and sees only the prison cell."

Khlot Dara, director of CC2, said he had repaired an old building on the campus to make space for about 50 additional prisoners because of overcrowding.

"Even though it is overcrowded, they still have space for sleeping and the main problem is a lack of medicine," he said.

KR tribunal mulls Tuol Sleng reparation plan with Culture Ministry

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 07:21 AM PST

Tuesday, 08 March 2011
Mom Kunthear
The Phnom Penh Post

Officials from the Ministry of Culture and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia met last week to discuss reparations for civil parties in future cases at the war crimes tribunal.

Seng Sought, director of the Culture Ministry's international relations department, said the ECCC had requested talks on the construction of a memorial at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum that would contain the names of civil party victims.

"The Ministry of Culture … did not deny the request but said that if a memorial could not be built, a stupa in the Khmer style might be possible," he said. An official annual day of commemoration for victims is also being considered, he added.

In its first verdict, handed down last year against former Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, the court granted requests of civil parties to have their names printed in the judgment and to have statements of apology by the accused collected and published.

However, the court refused other forms of reparations proposed by civil party lawyers, including the building of stupas and funds for victims.

The court's internal rules at the time allowed judges the right to award "collective and moral" reparations to qualifying civil parties, but judges denied other proposed forms of reparation because they either lacked specificity or were beyond the scope of possible options available to the court, which cannot grant monetary compensation.

Civil party lawyers have appealed against the judgment, charging in the aftermath of the verdict that the judges had been unimaginative in crafting reparations awards. The prosecution and defence have also appealed, and the tribunal's Supreme Court Chamber will hear the case later this month.

At a plenary session in September, the ECCC adopted changes to its rules on victim participation and the awarding of reparations that will allow it to collaborate with governments and NGOs, make use of external funding and make non-binding recommendations to the government.

Dim Sovannarom, a press officer for the tribunal, said no firm decision had yet been made about the proposed Tuol Sleng memorial.

"The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts welcomes cooperation with the ECCC in the area of reparations, but we do not yet know what form the reparations will take because it is still being negotiated," he said.

CTU's celebration of International Women's Day

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 02:14 AM PST

The Confederation of Trade Unions (CTU) – consisting of the Free Trade Union of Workers in the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC) and the Cambodia Independent Teachers' Association (CITA) – led by Mr. Rong Chhun, its president, organized the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the International Women's Day in the morning of 08 March 2011. The celebration started at 07:30AM and ended at 02:00PM at the New World Restaurant, located in Srah Chork commune, Daun Penh district, Phnom Penh. The event was attended by 450 participants, including Mrs. Mu Sochua, the guest of honor, and Mrs. Phuong Viphou, the representative of the UK Embassy in Phnom Penh.

The event included a discussion of rights and the screening of the movie "Who Killed Chea Vichea" for the attending workers, teachers and foreign guests. However, the authority prevented the screening of the movie by ordering the restaurant owner to shut down electricity. Following the negotiations, electricity was restored and the event continued until its conclusion. However, the screening of the movie was canceled.

Photos 1 and 2: Rong Chhun during the event

Photos 3 and 4: Kampot SRP MP Mu Sochua gave a speech during the 100th anniversary of the International Women's Day in the morning of 08 March 2011.

Photos 5 and 6: Mrs. Phoung Viphou, the representative of the UK Embassy in Phnom Penh, gave a speech during the 100th anniversary of the International Women's Day in the morning of 08 March 2011.

Hun Xen admits: Wives of high-ranking CPP ministers meddling with state affairs

Posted: 08 Mar 2011 12:44 AM PST

Cham Prasidh and his wife, the powerful Lok Chumteav Tep Bopha Prasidh, are well known for running the Ministry of Commerce like their private business. Cham Prasidh's children are holding high ranking positions at their father's ministry.

Comrade Hor 5 Hong, standing in front of his wife, runs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs like his own business. His children hold high ranking position in his ministry.

A number of Chumteavs scolded during the International Women's Day

08 March 2011
By Panhavoan
Cambodia Express News
Translated from Khmer by Soch

Phnom Penh – 08 March 2011 is the 100th anniversary of the International Women's Day which several countries, including Cambodia, are celebrating. This is also a holiday for government officials, employees and workers throughout the country. While women all over the country are rejoicing with this event, a number of Chumteavs (wives of high-ranking government officials) have a long face because they are victim of Hun Xen's warning which was issued yesterday. The high-ranking husbands of these Chumteavs are not happy about this situation either because they cannot control their wives and children.

During a speech given at a meeting to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the International Women's Day at the Peace Palace of the Council of Ministers in the afternoon of 07 March 2011, Hun Xen issued his warning for the first time to the wives of government ministers, telling them not to meddle in their husbands' state government work.

According to government workers, almost all government departments have turned into private family ministries because the wives of the ministers are meddling in the state business of their husbands, such as ordering the demotion or promotion of government workers. At some ministries, some ministers will nominate their children to important positions. But, all of this is old news in Cambodia.

Hun Xen said that he heard the complaints raised by government workers in a number of ministries that are involved with this problem, and he compared the situation to the old proverbs whereby the husband would be a captain, the wife a major, and their children colonels. This reason stems from the fact that ministers' wives meddle in their husbands' state affairs.

Hun Xen asked his ministers to tell their wives to just sleep at home because the government workers really hate their husbands due to their wives and children who rule over them. Hun Xen said that some ministries have turned into the ministers' wives organization.

Hun Xen's speech was welcomed by loud applauses. These applauses are mockery to these Chumteavs who like to meddle in their husbands' state affairs, they are also sound of mockery to the ministers who allow themselves to be led by the nose by their wives.

Tycoon-Senator Sy Kong Triv resigned his CPP Senator position in fear of declaring his assets?

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 11:51 PM PST

Kong Triv

08 March 2011
KI-Media

Anonymous report from Phnom Penh indicated that CPP Tycoon-Senator Sy Kong Triv, one of Hun Xen's cronies who was nominated to this position by the ruling CPP party, resigned his CPP Senator position in fear of declaring his wealth and assets as required by the anti-corruption law.

Apparently, a replacement has been designated to take over his position.

Global Dispatch: Temple Politics on the Thai-Cambodia Border

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 11:28 PM PST

The fighting may have ceased on the Thai-Cambodian border but tensions remain high.

Mar 7, 2011

By James Burke

Epoch Times Staff

BANGKOK—Being interested in history, and also keen on open spaces, one of my favorite places in Bangkok is a historical park situated on the outskirts of the city.

Ancient Siam is a sprawling 320-hectare park with accurate recreations (some to scale and some not) of over a hundred ancient and historical Thai structures. It's clean, quiet, tastefully done and roomy—pretty much the opposite of Bangkok.

Among Ancient Siam's structures is a downscaled version of the Hindu temple known as Preah Vihear, which was completed in the 11th century by the Khmer people.

The temple remake has been erected on a reconstructed hill over 50 meters (164 feet) high while the real Preah Vihear is situated on a 500-meter plus escarpment on the Thai-Cambodian border.

Over the past several years the real temple has been the focal point of a border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia. The first military clash between the two neighbors over the land surrounding Preah Vihear occurred in 2008—the same year the temple was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Further fighting broke out in April 2009, and the most recent clash was last month, which resulted in at least eight deaths and thousands being displaced. The temple was also damaged in the latest round of fighting. Both sides blame the other for shooting first.

While the clashes ceased on Feb. 15, news reports indicate each side continues to reinforce its position, and at the government level, there is little evidence of any real effort to negotiate a way through the crisis.

As for the reasons why there is fighting over what is less than 4.6 square kilometers of territory around the temple, observers are saying it has more to do with Thai politics than anything else.

A few days after visiting Ancient Siam, I attended a panel discussion at the Foreign Correspondents Club Thailand (FCCT) where two prominent historians agreed with the above sentiments.

Thongchai Winichakul, a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that the border issue "has turned from being a tedious technical thing, into a political thing because of Thai domestic politics."

Back at Ancient Siam, I was busy chasing my 3-year-old son around the base of the replica temple and this time I didn't notice the information boards, which I had glanced at during my previous visits to the park. Life is a blur when you have a toddler. All I remember reading on the boards was about a 1962 decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to grant the temple to Cambodia.

Nearly 50 years later, the ICJ findings continue to irk nationalistic elements in Thai society who adhere to the ideology that parts of Cambodia, such as Preah Vihear, really belong to them.

The most intense example of Thai nationalist sentiment—the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) also known as the yellow shirts—has called on the government to send in the Thai military against Cambodia and take back "lost" Thai territory. It has also called on its former ally, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to step down for what it says has been his mishandling of the border dispute.

The PAD is the urban middle-class group that powered the bloodless coup against billionaire Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006, and that two years later occupied Bangkok's two airports to hamstring a pro-Thaksin government.

It is also supposed to be the archenemy of the pro-Thaksin, anti-government red shirts that last year took to the streets of Bangkok in a failed bid to force Prime Minister Abhisit to call an early election. The red-shirt demonstrations degenerated into street fighting and more than 90 people were killed.

Meanwhile the rumor mills were busy in Bangkok last month about the possibility of another coup.

Currently the biggest fear for the Thai establishment, according to historian Chris Baker who also spoke at the FCCT, is the possibility of another pro-Thaksin party being voted into power in national elections, which are expected by midyear.

Baker said that the saber rattling over Preah Vihear is perhaps the old trick of stirring up nationalism, which could help swing the election in favor of the Abhisit government. He also added that there are groups in the army and in the Thai business community that simply don't want an election, now or never.

"So perhaps they need a crisis. And so perhaps the only circumstances in which the dream of a 'national government' might be acceptable is in a state of war," said Baker.

Somaly Mam

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 11:22 PM PST

Activist Somaly Mam attends the US Stop Sex Trafficking Of Children & Young People Campaign kick off event in New York City Photograph: Bennett Raglin/WireImage

Cambodian anti-sex trafficking campaigner and founder of AFESIP, rescuing women from brothels and supporting their recovery

Tuesday 8 March 2011

Emine Saner

The Guardian

Growing up in extreme poverty under the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, Mam was sold into sexual slavery when she was 12, eventually ending up in a Phnom Penh brothel where she endured unimaginable daily torture and rape. After being made to watch as another girl, her best friend, was murdered, Mam escaped and was helped out of Cambodia by a French aid worker.

Instead of trying to rebuild her life in France, where she married, Mam returned to Cambodia to help girls who hadn't been so lucky. In 1996, she set up her organisation Afesip (Action for Women in Distressing Situations), to rescue girls and women from brothels and support their recovery. She has already helped more than 4,000 women and children, some as young as five, escape sexual slavery in south-east Asia and in 2007 set up the Somaly Mam Foundation, to raise awareness, campaign for change and fund projects to rescue and rehabilitate women and children sold into slavery.

Mam's work has come at a terrible personal cost. Her life has been threatened by pimps and brothel owners, and in 2006, her then 14-year-old daughter was kidnapped and raped by three men, as retaliation for the work her mother does. In an interview in 2005 , Mam admitted to periods of desperation, including more than one suicide attempt. But in more recent years, asked why she continues to fight, she has always responded, "I don't want to go without leaving a trace."

ហេតុអ្វី ខ្ញុំ? - "Why me?"

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 11:02 PM PST

Click on the poem in Khmer to zoom in

For additional poem in Khmer by B. Boy: http://bboy-everythingkhmer.blogspot.com

Foot-dragging puts Thailand at a disadvantage

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 10:58 PM PST

March 8, 2011
The Nation
Editorial

The [Thai] government has been too slow to respond to initiatives to resolve the border dispute, leaving Cambodia with the moral high ground

Thailand needs to do a lot more work if it really wants to settle the border conflict with Cambodia over the area adjacent to the Preah Vihear Temple. The slow pace of implementation of Indonesia's proposed "peace plan" not only obstructs the peace process but also makes Thailand lose international credibility.

Like it or not, the boundary dispute between the neighbouring countries has already been internationalised, as Phnom Penh has managed to bring it to an urgent discussion at the United Nations Security Council and later at the informal meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers last month.

Cambodia went on the offensive, going to the two international forums with clear objectives to have a third party involved in the boundary conflict resolution. Thailand, under the leadership of Prime Minister AbhisitVejjajiva, has sat defensively without any clear plan.

Phnom Penh said at the UN Security Council meeting on February 14 it wanted a "permanent cease-fire" solution, and the New York meeting finally urged Asean to implement such a plan. Cambodia joined the Asean meeting in Jakarta on February 22 with a call to have Asean observers monitor the implementation of the permanent cease-fire in the areas around Preah Vihear. Indonesia, as the Asean chair, acceded to what Phnom Penh wanted, proposing to dispatch Indonesian observers to assess the situation in the disputed areas.

Thailand, on the other hand, has stuck only with its preference for the so-called "bilateral mechanism" to help solve the dispute. Of course, the international forums recognise that the two countries have many bilateral mechanisms to handle all kinds of issues, including the border, and urged both sides to utilise these mechanisms in this regard. Indonesia agreed to help facilitate them.

The problem is that none of the bilateral mechanisms have begun their work, and Thailand appears to be dragging its feet. Meanwhile the international engagements have begun to materialise. Indonesia has already outlined the modality and sent it to Thailand and Cambodia for consideration. Phnom Penh has replied to Jakarta that it agrees with the terms of reference for the observation of the border, but Thailand is still studying the documents.

Cambodia has taken the lead by moving quickly to shut down Thailand's effort to use bilateral channels to solve the dispute. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen urged Jakarta to quickly dispatch the observers to Preah Vihear, and Cambodia will not discuss the issue in depth with Thailand without Asean or Indonesian engagement. Hun Sen wants Indonesia as a referee for negotiation with Thailand. For Hun Sen, normal bilateral talks no longer exist.

Thailand can blame nobody but itself for its lack of diplomatic skill and its domestic politics that are interfering with an international issue. Prime Minister Abhisit has allowed his political conflict with the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy to stall the Joint Boundary Committee's (JBC) work. The JBC, which oversees land boundary demarcation, has not convened a meeting since April 2009 due to the government's hesitation. It is ridiculous to ask Cambodia to sit down at this stage when the JBC mechanism is unworkable.

Thailand now has no other option but to play along with the game rules set by Cambodia. It must allow Indonesia, as the chair of Asean, to become engaged in the resolution process. The government needs to make a quick decision on the modality (form of procedure) for the Indonesian observers. The modality can be modified but Thailand has no right to reject it, since the government has already been forced to agree in principle to it.

Bilateral instruments remain but they will not be the same, as they now require Jakarta's facilitation. An urgent task for the Abhisit government is to move ahead by having Parliament pass the JBC documents in order to allow the mechanism to resume its work. Rather than continue with the rhetoric about Cambodia coming back to the bilateral meetings, Thailand should prove that the bilateral instruments actually exist and can work.

Cambodian women struggling to meet MDGs

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 10:47 PM PST

Thida Khus

March 8, 2011
ABC Radio Australia

Eighteen years since the end of Cambodia's civil war, the lives of many Cambodians are little improved, with many seeking out a living from day to day.

With four years to go before the UN's target date of Millenium Development Goals, it looks like Cambodia still faces the challenge in poverty eradication, education, maternal health and gender rights.

Mrs Thida Khus is the executive director of Silaka, a Cambodian NGO working to promote gender equality and equity in Cambodia.

When Cambodia fell to the Khmer Rouge in 1975, Thida and her husband lived in Thailand where he was teaching mathematics.

They stayed briefly in a Thai refugee camp before Thida and her children went to the United States, her husband joining them later.

Thida Khus has been working in human resource development for the past 18 years.

Presenter: Sen Lam

Speakers: Thida Khus, executive director, Silaka, Phnom Penh

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

Cambodia's treasures among areas at risk of soaring tourist numbers

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 10:40 PM PST

Locals are concerned about the surge in visitors to Cambodia's Angkor National Park, which topped 1.15 million in 2010, up 25 per cent on the previous year. Source: News Limited

March 08, 2011
AFP

SOME of Asia's most popular, and fragile, attractions are in danger of being overrun, as soaring tourist numbers threaten ancient infrastructure.

The faded 'No Climbing' signs are no match for the tourists jostling to capture that perfect shot of the sun setting over the temple of Angkor Wat, Cambodia's most famous attraction.

The view is stunning but the chaotic scene at Phnom Bakheng, also known as the sunset temple, is not exactly relaxing and it can be a struggle to even get a picture with no strangers in it.

Visitors to Angkor National Park topped 1.15 million in 2010, up 25 per cent on the previous year.

And at tourist spots across the region it's a similar story.

As the world recovers from the financial crisis and infrastructure in developing countries improves, the number of people drawn to Asia's cultural and natural riches has exploded.

While this brings in much-needed revenue, observers fear that the growth in tourism is putting unprecedented pressure on precious and often fragile World Heritage sites.

At Angkor Wat, the most impressive of the park's many temples, tourists are largely free to wander around the 12th-century complex, ignoring one-way signs and clambering over fallen stones.

Many lean against the ancient walls, while others trace delicate bas reliefs with their fingers.

"You start to notice a little bit of wear and tear and you're not sure if it's from centuries of use or if it's from lots of tourists," said Rona Soranno, 36, from California, after completing a tour of the temple's inner courtyard.

Her 33-year-old partner Marcus Welsh added: "On the one hand it's totally awesome that I am able to step on the stones and be close to so much history, but you have to wonder what it's going to look like years from now."

According to the Global Heritage Fund, a US-based non-profit organisation that works to protect heritage sites in developing countries, "Angkor is highly endangered from this lack of control."

"These ruins are 600-800 years old and need to be protected from tourism using standard routes, coverings, walkways and enforcement. This is not rocket science," said the group's executive director, Jeff Morgan.

The Apsara Authority, which oversees Angkor's upkeep, says it has taken steps to minimise harm to the buildings by roping off the most fragile structures, employing more than 270 tourist guards and diverting people away from the most crowded sites.

And twice a year the authority meets with UNESCO officials and foreign experts to "discuss protection efforts and challenges", said Ngeth Sothy, the group's vice-director of the Department of Angkor Tourist Development.

Further east, the Great Wall of China, one of the world's most magnificent structures, sees some 10 million visitors a year.

It too is feeling the strain from soaring tourism.

Parts of the wall, which was built over centuries and stretches for more than 8800km, are covered in graffiti. People have also been known to camp and hold raves at the wall, often leaving behind litter.

Most of what remains is in bad shape, according to William Lindesay, a Briton who has spent nearly a quarter-century working on wall conservation.

"Only 550km are in very good condition - that is, the wall has a structure, with towers still intact," he told AFP late last year.

Measures have been taken to limit the damage and new regulations now forbid any construction within 500 metres of the site. But Lindesay says this is just not good enough.

"It's a story of disappearing history," he said. "Once it's gone, it's gone."

That it is possible to limit the damage to ancient sites while welcoming large numbers of visitors is proved in Indonesia, where some two million people flock to the ninth-century Buddhist temple Borobudur each year, according to the site's head of conservation Marsis Sutopo.

"Tourists are not allowed to smoke in Borobudur temple. They are not allowed to wear hard sole shoes," Sutopo said of the strict measures at the complex.

"We have a routine conservation. This year, we will clean the drainage on the bottom of the temple. Every two years we have to report to UNESCO about our effort," he said.

As a result, the Global Heritage Fund believes Borobudur "is relatively stable".

It is not just the region's oldest structures that have become victims of their own success.

For years, the 17th-century Taj Mahal, India's white-marbled monument to love that attracts some three million tourists annually, was as much at risk from tourism as from pollution before steps were taken in the late 1990s to reduce the impact from vehicle traffic and nearby factories.

The building underwent a major facelift in 2007 but conservationists say it can be fully protected only if the number of visitors is restricted.

"Footfalls are indeed a major pressure on the monument and so access to the white platforms in the main mausoleum should be restricted through the levy of high entry fee," said prominent Agra conservationist Rajan Kishore.

Asia's natural treasures are also struggling to keep up with an ever-growing number of visitors.

Vietnam's Halong Bay with its striking limestone cliffs and emerald waters drew more than 2.3 million tourists in the first 10 months of last year - up about 114 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Many explore the area by boat and it is a constant struggle to keep them from throwing waste overboard, observers say.

"Halong Bay is in big trouble from solid waste destroying the environment," said Morgan.

Faced with a myriad of problems, the future might seem gloomy for some of Asia's best attractions but according to Morgan, "good management of heritage sites despite millions of visitors is possible".

"The big question is when will we treat our heritage sites with the funding and respect they deserve?"

[Thai] PM to meet Veera's mother this afternoon

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 10:21 PM PST

Tuesday, March 08, 2011
The Nation

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will meet on Tuesday mother of Veera Somkwamkit jailed in Cambodia on spying and immigration charges.

It is expected that the prime minister will discuss with Wilaiwan how to help Veera who is reportedly very ill. The meeting is scheduled at 2pm.

Veera and Ratree Pipattanapaiboon, activists of Thai Patriots Network, were sentenced to jail after being found guilty of spying and illegally entering Cambodia. They and five others including Democrat MP Panich Vikitsreth were arrested during their inspection trip to a site near Sa Kaew province on December 28 last year.

All were charged of illegal entry while Veera and Ratree faced an additional charge of spying.

Five of the group were freed after the Cambodian court ruled suspended jail term for them, but Veera and Ratree were given jail terms for spying.

It is reported that Veera and Ratree have asked for royal pardon from Cambodia's King Sihamoni. At first they insisted they would appeal the ruling.

Thai government seeks medical care to sick inmate in Cambodia

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 10:15 PM PST

March 08, 2011
Xinhua

The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh has sought permission from the Cambodian government to provide medical care to a Thai being jailed there for illegal entry and espionage charges.

Thai embassy officials have asked authorities of the Prey Sar prison in Phnom Penh to send a doctor to see Veera Somkwamkid in jail or take him outside for treatment, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi was quoted as saying by the English- language Bangkok Post online.

Thani said the request was made in responding to news reports of Thai media that Veera was being ill, but he said Cambodian authorities have not replied to the request yet.

Thai media reported that Veera's relatives visited him on March 4 and found that he has fallen ill.

The relatives also said that Veera and his secretary Ratree Pipatanapaiboon did not appeal a Phnom Penh court's decision that found both of them guilty of illegal entry and espionage, but would be seeking a royal pardon instead.

Veera, a leader of the nationalistic Thai Patriots Network, whose supporters have been protesting against the government for its mishandling of the Thai-Cambodian border dispute, and Ratree and five other Thais were arrested by Cambodian soldiers on Dec. 29 for illegal entry.

On Jan. 21, the five Thais were found guilty by a Phnom Penh court of illegal entry into Cambodia and trespassing into a military area. Each was given nine months of imprisonment and fined one million riels (250 U.S. dollars), but the jail term was suspended.

The five returned to Bangkok the following day after spending almost a month in Prey Sar prison in Phnom Penh.

Veera and Ratree were later sentenced to eight and six years of imprisonment respectively without suspension.

In Cambodia: "Tivea Mith Neary [Bun Rany]", elsewhere in the world: "Tivea Sith Neary"

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 10:09 PM PST

Ready, set, ...

Cambodia's Supremo couple smooching away during the celebration of "Tivea Mith Neary"? (All Photos: The Phnom Penh Post)

Meet Sichan Siv during the Cambodian New Year Celebration at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California, USA

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 09:57 PM PST

"Tivea Sith Neary" a Poem in Khmer by Anonymous Poet

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 09:47 PM PST

Madeleine Albright: On being a woman and a diplomat

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 09:04 PM PST

By Khmer Democrat, Phnom Penh
Expanding our Mind Series

A beautiful, beautiful eloquent interview with former Georgetown University professor who became the first woman Secretary of State of the United States. POWER TO THE WOMEN !

Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright talks bluntly about politics and diplomacy, making the case that women's issues deserve a place at the center of foreign policy. Far from being a "soft" issue, she says, women's issues are often the very hardest ones, dealing directly with life and death. A frank and funny Q&A with Pat Mitchell from the Paley Center.

Why you should listen to her:

Madeleine Albright is one of America's leading authorities on foreign affairs. Unanimously confirmed as the first female Secretary of State in 1997, she became the highest-ranking woman in U.S. government history. During her four-year tenure, Albright reinforced U.S. alliances, advocated for democracy and human rights, and promoted American trade, business, labor and environmental standards abroad.

Since then, Albright has continued her distinguished career as a businesswoman, political adviser and professor. She is chair of Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy firm, and Albright Capital Management LLC, an investment advisory firm focused on emerging markets. Albright also chairs the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and the Pew Global Attitudes Project and serves on the boards of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Aspen Institute and the Center for a New American Security. She also teaches diplomacy at Georgetown's School of Foreign Service.

"Real leadership comes from the quiet nudging of an inner voice."

Madeleine Albright

Celebrating Dignity, Rights, Contribution of Women

Posted: 07 Mar 2011 08:55 PM PST

Preamble to CEDAW

signed by Cambodia in 17 Oct. 1980, acceded to on 15 Oct. 1992

 

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.

The States Parties to the present Convention,

Noting that the Charter of the United Nations reaffirms faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women,

Noting that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms the principle of the inadmissibility of discrimination and proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, including distinction based on sex,

Noting that the States Parties to the International Covenants on Human Rights have the obligation to ensure the equal rights of men and women to enjoy all economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights,

Considering the international conventions concluded under the auspices of the United Nations and the specialized agencies promoting equality of rights of men and women,

Noting also the resolutions, declarations and recommendations adopted by the United Nations and the specialized agencies promoting equality of rights of men and women,

Concerned, however, that despite these various instruments extensive discrimination against women continues to exist,

Recalling that discrimination against women violates the principles of equality of rights and respect for human dignity, is an obstacle to the participation of women, on equal terms with men, in the political, social, economic and cultural life of their countries, hampers the growth of the prosperity of society and the family and makes more difficult the full development of the potentialities of women in the service of their countries and of humanity,

Concerned that in situations of poverty women have the least access to food, health, education, training and opportunities for employment and other needs,

Convinced that the establishment of the new international economic order based on equity and justice will contribute significantly towards the promotion of equality between men and women,

Emphasizing that the eradication of apartheid, all forms of racism, racial discrimination, colonialism, neo-colonialism, aggression, foreign occupation and domination and interference in the internal affairs of States is essential to the full enjoyment of the rights of men and women,

Affirming that the strengthening of international peace and security, the relaxation of international tension, mutual co-operation among all States irrespective of their social and economic systems, general and complete disarmament, in particular nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international control, the affirmation of the principles of justice, equality and mutual benefit in relations among countries and the realization of the right of peoples under alien and colonial domination and foreign occupation to self-determination and independence, as well as respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, will promote social progress and development and as a consequence will contribute to the attainment of full equality between men and women,

Convinced that the full and complete development of a country, the welfare of the world and the cause of peace require the maximum participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields,

Bearing in mind the great contribution of women to the welfare of the family and to the development of society, so far not fully recognized, the social significance of maternity and the role of both parents in the family and in the upbringing of children, and aware that the role of women in procreation should not be a basis for discrimination but that the upbringing of children requires a sharing of responsibility between men and women and society as a whole,

Aware that a change in the traditional role of men as well as the role of women in society and in the family is needed to achieve full equality between men and women,

Determined to implement the principles set forth in the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and, for that purpose, to adopt the measures required for the elimination of such discrimination in all its forms and manifestations,

Have agreed on the following: