By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, October 15 -- French politician Nicole Ameline, Vice Chair of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, complained at a press conference Monday of moves to relocate the CEDAW session out of New York.
In support she cited not the General Assembly's enticement of weeks in Manhattan hotels but rather the ability of Caribbean nations to come to present their CEDAW reports in New York rather than Geneva.
Inner City Press asked Ameline if by that logic CEDAW ever held its session in, for example, Nairobi where there is a UN Center and compound. No, she acknowledged.
Turning to the list of countries turning in CEDAW reports this month, Inner City Press asked about Central African Republic, which was postponed due to the absence of a report. Does CEDAW provide any assistance to such countries in filing reports? This question was not answered.
Nicole Ameline, who had just spoken in the Third (Human Rights) Committee of the General Assembly dodged a question about discrimination by saying her sense is everyone agrees with CEDAW's goals.
Inner City Press asked about banning women from driving, or a recent case of 1000 women from Nigeria who arrived in Saudi Arabia for the Hadj and were told they could only proceed if accompanied by men. How about that?
Ameline would not directly answer the question, instead talking about constructive dialogue, of questions and answers and interpretations. This is the UN. Watch this site.
