Pax Romana Morning Session (August 4, 2003)

This morning session of Pax Romana dealt with Item 6 of the Agenda, focusing on three particular human rights issues: a) Women and Human Rights, b) Contemporary forms of slavery; and c) New priorities, in particular terrorism.

Mr. Raj Kumar declared that the issue of women's rights only recently became a significant topic within the United Nations. In fact, the standard settings began in the 1960's, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women began in 1981. Later in the session, Mr. Kumar made a briefing on the 30 articles of this convention, pointing out the high volume of concerns about the treaty. It is noted, however, that different states express these concerns (in relation to different paragraphs). For example, some state representatives pointed out distinct contradictions within the treaty between statements about traditional practices and human rights.

Mr. Kumar then briefly discussed sub-items b) and c) on the Agenda, focusing on the issue of terrorism and how to understand it (despite distinct definitions of this phenomenon by the different governments).

By: Paula Bula and Melvina Araman

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