[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 5, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2654-S2655]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1200. Mr. CORKER (for himself and Mr. Rubio) proposed an amendment
to the resolution S. Res. 97, supporting the goals of International
Women's Day; as follows:
Strike the preamble and insert the following:
Whereas there are more than 3,500,000,000 women in the
world as of March 2015;
Whereas women around the world have fundamental rights,
participate in the political, social, and economic life of
their communities, play a critical role in providing and
caring for their families, contribute substantially to the
growth of economies and the prevention of conflict, and, as
farmers and caregivers, play an important role in advancing
food security for their communities;
Whereas the advancement of women around the world is a
foreign policy priority for the United States;
Whereas on September 24, 2014, the President highlighted
the United States' support for the advancement of women,
noting: ``Where women are full participants in a country's
politics or economy, societies are more likely to succeed.
And that's why we support the participation of women in
parliaments and peace processes, schools, and the economy.'';
Whereas women remain underrepresented in conflict
prevention and conflict resolution
[[Page S2655]]
efforts, despite proven success by women in conflict-affected
regions in moderating violent extremism, countering
terrorism, resolving disputes through nonviolent mediation
and negotiation, and stabilizing societies by improving
access to peace and security services, institutions, and
decisionmaking venues;
Whereas on December 19, 2011, the Obama Administration
launched the first United States National Action Plan on
Women, Peace, and Security (referred to in this preamble as
the ``National Action Plan'') that includes a comprehensive
set of national commitments to advance the active
participation of women in decisionmaking relating to matters
of war and peace;
Whereas the National Action Plan states the following:
``Deadly conflicts can be more effectively avoided, and peace
can be best forged and sustained, when women become equal
partners in all aspects of peace-building and conflict
prevention, when their lives are protected, their experiences
considered, and their voices heard.'';
Whereas the National Action Plan requires the National
Security Council staff to coordinate a comprehensive review
of, and update to, the National Action Plan in 2015 with
consultation from international partners and civil society
organizations;
Whereas according to the Bureau of International Narcotics
and Law Enforcement Affairs of the Department of State, the
full and meaningful participation of women in security forces
vastly enhances the forces' effectiveness;
Whereas the ability of women and girls to realize their
full potential is critical to the ability of a country to
achieve strong and lasting economic growth and political and
social stability;
Whereas according to the International Monetary Fund,
``focusing on the needs and empowerment of women is one of
the keys to human development'';
Whereas according to the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization, \2/3\ of the
781,000,000 illiterate people in the world are female;
Whereas according to the United States Agency for
International Development, compared to uneducated women,
``educated women are less likely to marry early and more
likely to have smaller and healthier families. They are also
more likely to get a job and earn a higher wage.'';
Whereas according to the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations, the majority of women living in rural
areas of the developing world are heavily engaged in
agricultural labor, yet they receive less credit, land,
agricultural inputs, and training than their male
counterparts;
Whereas according to the United Nations, women have access
to fewer income-earning opportunities and are more likely to
manage the household and engage in agricultural work, making
women more vulnerable to economic insecurity caused by
natural disasters and long-term changes in weather patterns;
Whereas according to the World Bank, women own or partly
own more than \1/3\ of small and medium-sized enterprises in
developing countries, and 40 percent of the global workforce
is female, yet women entrepreneurs and employers have
disproportionately less access to capital and other financial
services compared to men;
Whereas despite strides in recent decades, women around the
world continue to face significant obstacles in all aspects
of their lives, including underrepresentation in all aspects
of public life, denial of basic human rights, and
discrimination;
Whereas despite achievements by individual female leaders,
women around the world are still vastly underrepresented in
high-level positions and in national and local legislatures
and governments and, according to the Inter-Parliamentary
Union, women account for only 21.9 percent of national
parliamentarians;
Whereas it is estimated that 1 in 3 women around the world
has experienced some form of physical or sexual violence;
Whereas according to the United Nations Office of Drugs and
Crime's 2012 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, women
account for between 55 and 60 percent of all trafficking
victims detected worldwide, and women and girls together make
up approximately 75 percent of all known trafficking victims;
Whereas 603,000,000 women live in countries where domestic
violence has not been criminalized;
Whereas according to the World Health Organization,
approximately 800 women die from preventable causes related
to pregnancy and childbirth every day, with 99 percent of all
maternal deaths occurring in developing countries;
Whereas on August 10, 2012, the President announced the
United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based
Violence Globally, the first interagency strategy to address
gender-based violence around the world;
Whereas violence against women and girls impedes progress
in meeting many international global development goals,
including efforts to stem maternal mortality and the spread
of HIV/AIDS;
Whereas on October 11, 2013, the President strongly
condemned the practice of child marriage;
Whereas according to the International Center for Research
on Women, \1/3\ of girls in the developing world are married
before the age of 18, and 1 in 9 girls is married before the
age of 15;
Whereas according to the World Health Organization, suicide
is the leading cause of death for girls ages 15 to 19,
followed by complications from pregnancy and childbirth;
Whereas it is imperative to alleviate violence and
discrimination against women and afford women every
opportunity to be full and productive members of their
communities;
Whereas 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World
Conference on Women, where 189 countries committed to
integrating gender equality into all dimensions of society;
Whereas 2015 marks the deadline for meeting the United
Nations Millennium Development Goals, and progress towards
meeting the targets for gender equality and women's
empowerment remains uneven; and
Whereas March 8 is recognized each year as International
Women's Day, a global day to celebrate the economic,
political, and social achievements of women past, present,
and future, and to recognize the obstacles that women still
face in the struggle for equal rights and opportunities: Now,
therefore, be it
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