Women delegates protesting at the Beijing conferenceWomen delegates gagged to symolize China's silencing of Tibetan women's voices at the Beijing conferenceWomen delegates gagged to symolize China's silencing of Tibetan women's voices at the Beijing conferenceWomen delegates gagged to symolize China's silencing of Tibetan women's voices at the Beijing conferenceWomen delegates gagged to symolize China's silencing of Tibetan women's voices at the Beijing conference

SECTION V C. Lessons and Accomplishments

The consistent lobbying by the TWD during the UN Preparatory
Conferences and the Beijing Conference itself was crucial for 
retaining language on foreign occupation in the PFA. Because 
Working Group 2 had difficulty reaching consensus, a smaller 
Contact Group of governmental delegates negotiated the language 
on foreign occupation. After the TWD's intense lobbying of both 
Working Group 2 and the Contact Group, foreign occupation was 
retained in the PFA language.

The relationships the TWD formed with government delegates from
around the world was essential to this work, as were the hallway
negotiations which took place throughout the UN Conference. 
Government delegates were addressed at every possible opportunity 
about issues of importance to the TWD. This proved a very successful
strategy. A particularly fruitful relationship was formed with the 
United States delegation, which took the lead on the foreign 
occupation language.

It is with hindsight that the TWD realised the importance of attending
the Official Conference from the opening day on September 4. So 
much time and effort was spent on the NGO Forum, that the beginning
of the official UN Conference was rather neglected. As noted earlier,
because of logistics, it was impossible for a delegate to divide time
on any given day between the NGO Forum and official UN Conference.
It would have been a useful strategy to have had a number of the 
TWD members attending the official Conference from the beginning, 
therefore having more time to develop relationships with government 
delegates.This strategy would have meant an even smaller delegation 
at the NGO Forum, but the lobbying at the official Conference would 
have benefited from a dedicated presence throughout. It is also crucial
that a strong presence be maintained throughout an official UN Conference.  
It is not enough to be there for only the first few days, initiate a
dialogue and then depart. Negotiation and tactics tend to shift daily. 
Although it is an expensive and difficult commitment for delegates who 
generally are volunteers, some attention should be given to this matter
when advance planning for international events takes place.

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© Copyright Tibetan Women's Delegation, April 1996.