Project Five-O is an organisation of whose work all of us in the organisations concerned can be very proud. The advancement of women is the common core belief of all of us. The fact that we can do something practical to unite and help is of the utmost importance in today’s world.
Griselda Kenyon, President of IFUW and the 2005 Five-O Conveno
Statement submitted by International Council of Women/Conseil International des Femmes and International Federation of Business and Professional Women, non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council
↗︎Project Five-O is concerned with vocational and other training for women and girls in developing countries and countries in transition. The object of Project Five-O is to use the skills and expertise of the members of the participating organizations to support training courses in income-generating skills, including employment and working skills, marketing and small business operations, accompanied by training in health, nutrition, hygiene, child care and literacy.
The member organizations, International Council of Women and the International Federation of Business and Professional Women, fully support the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and strive to see that the recommendations of the twelve areas of concern are implemented. In doing so, we acknowledge the continued relevance of the document twenty years after the Fourth World Conference on Women. We welcome the twenty year review but are opposed to any weakening of language that the forward-thinking women of 1995 laboured hard to gain. In particular, we support nothing less in the definition o f the “family” nor with a woman’s control over her body, especially with reproductive rights. However, we are concerned that, due in part to the lack of political will, improvements in maternal and child health have been slow, and we urge States to improve their health care systems and delivery without delay, extending the provisions to women of all ages, regardless of their status.