Lunch of the BPW 1st Vice President UN with BPW France members

September 10, 2011
My first official visit as BPW 1st Vice President in Charge of UN was to Paris and had lunch with President of BPW France Federation and some of Clubs Presidents came from Region and French BPW members.

Topics Discussed

1. Thanks
I thanked the French Federation for its support over the last years and the French Delegation for its support for her election as the new  BPW  United Nations – Vice President.

2. Round Table
Each French member introduced herself. Karin Raguin, President of BPW France, Members from Paris and other members, and Presidents of other clubs (Lille, Le Mans, Saint-Etienne, Toulon, and Cannes) were present.

3. Vice President’s Presentation
I explained :

• The United Nations organization
• The BPW UN Permanent Representative Members + the UN Administrator working with BPW International President
• My scope and  focus during the next Triennium
  
  1. The WEPs Development and implementation in countries
     
     
  2. The 7 Principles and how they articulate within the Global Compact Program
     
     
  3. The Global Compact agreement signed in 2010 by Liz Benham, Immediate Past President, in order to raise our voice within the UN (Lobbying, social and political empowerment)
     
     
  4. For The French Federation Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) will be central in the next years. And, I made a clear description of the processes in the UN and of the CEDAW (convention…).  I  insisted on the fact that the state governments should take full responsibility on this topic; in order to help women access the resources of their country, have a right to the land, and to be informed about the mechanisms that allow them to see their rights protected. By presented country report at Economic Social and Cultural Right Commission sessions in Geneva according to the presentation program. And BPW Members have to be involved at country level for the elaboration of the shadow report to try to put all our concern and recommendations in the civil society report and go to Geneva for lobbying. 
     

• Summarizing, I was very interested to watch and to follow up on how these principles are going to be integrated in each state’s policy and enterprises strategy.
  
  1. The Cedaw meetings and process on each king of Right take place each year in Geneva, Switzerland.
     
     
  2. In the national Cedaw Report that France will produce, it will be important to mention the violation of the rights of women according to the work of the federation to protect and defend women’s rights in France.

I thank all members and particularly those who came from Region far from Paris for the lunch and finally the president Karin Raguin who did her best to mobilize her presidents and members for this important meeting.

Huguette Akplogan Dossa

BPW International
First Vice President UN 2011-2014