Alice Bettencourt wrote in her msg "The United States additionally has the ability to influence the government of Pakistan to address the issue of violence against women and enforce the Constitution of Pakistan over customary law. Our current diplomatic ties with Pakistan should be used concerning issues of terrorism but also to address human right concerns in Pakistan"
This is the same kind of 'leverage' that the U.S used to promote the 'Islamisation' of Pakistan and resurrect 'jihad' in a form never seen before, because it was in everyone's best interests at the time! It was this 'leverage' and total support that led to laws such as the Hudood Ordinance. Please do not misunderstand. I am not absolving Pakistan/ its judiciary/ its people from their responsibility. I just wonder whether there are international tools to hold responsible those states, including the US, for planning, launching and executing such foreign policy interventions. She also says 'However, the United States does not have the leverage to argue for Pakistan's adherence to CEDAW until the United States itself ratifies CEDAW." Thank you for that refreshing honesty!! Women in the US should lobby very actively for i) the US signing all those instruments that most of the world has already signed ii) cutback on arms production (if Afghanistan is pressurised to end its poppy production for drug eradication, why cannot the factories that supply the 'arms bazaar' be closed down?) and most of all iii) insist on transparency and accountability in US foreign policy. Yasmin Zaidi E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***End-violence is sponsored by UNIFEM and receives generous support from ICAP*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe end-violence OR type: unsubscribe end-violence Archives of previous End-violence messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/end-violence/hypermail/
