When the transition from communism began, large women s organizations split into many smaller ones, as women wanted to work on specific areas. But last year at the CSW women saw how visible they had become when Karat, the coalition of women s organizations from 13 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, presented a combined report on institutional mechanisms. Karat has a co-ordinator and a democratically elected consultative body that consists of women with specific skills in logistics, communications etc. Karat uses e-mail for consultations between meetings. All proposals are sent to the membership for consultation, and the final report as well as financial reports are shared with the whole group.
Every new initiative is encouraged.
Gender mechanisms, resources and justice in the 21st century are the keywords of the NGO uprising in Latin America and the Caribbean, a direct message for the urgent implementation of the commitments agreed upon with women from the international community. The expectation of Latin American NGOs is also that the international community take actions which prioritise the integral and universal implementation of all women s human rights, especially economic, social and cultural, because they represent the more serious regressions in the majority of countries in the region. It explicitly recognizes for the first time in international law many crimes of sexual and gender violence. In addition, it contains provisions to ensure that crimes against women are respectfully and responsibly investigated and prosecuted. It also included provisions to ensure a presence of women on the Court and among ICC staff at all levels.