No Rice at U.N. dinner on women's rights
By Marie-Louise MollerUNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Diplomacy's most powerful woman, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, has turned down a dinner date with other female foreign ministers to discuss women's rights, citing a clash with her schedule.
Fifteen of the 17 women foreign ministers at the U.N. General Assembly were to attend Saturday's dinner, hosted by Sweden. A State Department official said Rice would be giving her own reception at the same time.
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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks during the Clinton Global Initiative meetings in New York September 15, 2005. (REUTERS/Stephen Chernin) |
The other minister who could not attend was Roza Otunbayeva of Kyrgystan, Swedish diplomats said.
Madeleine Albright, who served as Secretary of State under former President Bill Clinton, began the tradition of organizing her women colleagues when she was ambassador to the U.N. and continued it when she became secretary of state.
Swedish Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds said the fact that she had so few female counterparts meant there was even more reason for them to discuss the role of women.
"Even if Sweden has come far in terms of equality when it comes to political representation, there are still areas in our society where women don't have the same rights as men," she told Reuters.
"But when we look at the rest of the world, the situation is very sad. And it is not just about women having access to democratic forums and having power to participate in decision-making, but that they are subject to serious abuse and human rights breaches."
The ministers attending the dinner are from Austria, Croatia, Mozambique, Barbados, Macedonia, Switzerland, Guinea, Columbia, South Africa, Paraguay, Liechtenstein, Georgia, Burundi and Uganda, Swedish officials said.
They will be joined by European Union External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
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