[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 101 (Thursday, July 1, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1281]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN HONOR OF THE UNIFEM-U.S. NATIONAL COMMITTEE 2010 NATIONAL CONFERENCE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 1, 2010

  Mrs. MALONEY. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay special tribute to UNIFEM, 
the United Nations Development Fund for Women, and to the United States 
National Committee for UNIFEM. This month, the UNIFEM-U.S. National 
Committee (USNC), in partnership with the National Council for Research 
on Women, is holding its 2010 Annual National Conference in New York 
City. The theme of this year's conference, ``Strategic Imperatives for 
Ending Violence Against Women,'' is timely and important, and I salute 
UNIFEM-USNC for convening prominent leaders and activists to address 
these critical issues. The Conference is being held at Hunter College 
of the City University of New York on Manhattan's Upper East Side and 
is being co-hosted by the College's Women & Gender Studies Program and 
historic Roosevelt House.
  The 2010 Conference is helping to increase awareness of the nexus 
between violence against women and its harmful effect on key 
indicators, be they economic, educational, or relating to public 
health. Convening prominent leaders and activists from the worlds of 
business, academia, philanthropy, advocacy, nonprofit organizing, and 
public policy, the Conference will advance UNIFEM's critical mission 
and develop and promote strategies to combat gender-based violence.
  UNIFEM's vital mission is to advance women's rights and achieve 
gender equality around the world. UNIFEM begins with the fundamental 
premise that all women have a right to live a life free from 
discrimination and violence. By supporting national as well as local 
programs, UNIFEM has helped pave the way toward a more just society, 
free of gender discrimination and the oppression of women. UNIFEM 
supports the advancement of existing international commitments for 
gender equality on a national level. It has helped advance some of our 
loftiest ideals, values of human and civil rights embraced by the vast 
majority of U.N. member nations, as embodied by important initiatives 
such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against 
Women.
  UNIFEM is active all across the globe, from sub-Saharan Africa to the 
islands of the Caribbean. Its staff works with countries to formulate 
and implement laws and programs to promote gender equality in all 
aspects of civil society, working to secure fair and fairly compensated 
employment opportunities for women, to end the scourge of violence 
against women, and to help secure their inheritance and property 
rights. In Sudan, UNIFEM has partnered with the United Nations Mission 
in Darfur to promote awareness of, and to try to stem, the surge in 
violence against women. Its staff works closely with tribal leaders and 
refugee camps to teach women how to protect themselves from sexual 
assault and violence, achieving a noticeable positive impact on the 
area.
  UNIFEM also strives in collaboration with governments to achieve 
greater gender equality and increase awareness of the basic human 
rights of women. In collaboration with various NGOs, UNIFEM has 
successfully pushed for increased female representation in the 
legislatures of numerous governments in the Middle East and Asia.
  Madam Speaker, I ask that my distinguished colleagues join in 
recognizing the remarkable contributions toward improving the quality 
of women's lives around the world made by UNIFEM, the United Nations 
Development Fund for Women, and the UNIFEM United States National 
Committee, on the occasion of its 2010 Annual National Conference. For 
thirty-four years UNIFEM has worked closely with governments and 
organizations across the globe to make the ideals that we hold a 
reality, and all citizens of the world owe a debt of gratitude to 
UNIFEM and to UNIFEM-USNC.

                          ____________________