Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Initiatives
Advocate
Educate
Cultivate
Care
News
Newsletters
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Join UNWLA
Become a Member
Volunteer With Us
Donate to UNWLA
Members Portal
Calendar
Shop to Support Ukraine
Search for:
Print
Print Page
Download
Download Page
Download Right Page
Open
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
30-31
32-33
34-35
36-37
38-39
40
“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, КВІТЕНЬ 2011 19 OUR LIFE Monthly, published by Ukrainian National Women’s League of America Vol. LXVI II APRIL 2011 Happy Easter May the blessed egg and paska be shared within your families as we rejoice in the Resurrection of Jesus! SHARING THOUGHTS, VIEWS, & NEWS The 24th Plenary Conference of the International Council of Women (ICW) was held in London from April 21 to May 2, 1986. With the rest of the world, the women attending the conference were shocked at the horrific news of the nuclear accident in Cho rnobyl. Responding to the catastrophic events in Ukraine, the ICW issued the very first international and official statement regarding the Chornobyl disaster. This timely statement, underscoring the importance for governments to conform to the Internationa l Atomic Energy Agency safety standards and expressing its solidarity with the Chornobyl victims, called for international cooperation to alleviate the immediate and long - term dangers of the accident. Although the official structure and bylaws of the ICW p revented the passing of a formal resolution regarding this disaster, the magnitude of what had occurred prompted a strong response, and the “Statement of Concern” was proposed and formally passed. Much of the credit for this ICW statement can be attribute d to the fact the there were Ukrainian American women attending the conference. Among those attending were then UNWLA President Iwanna Rozankowsky; UNWLA VP Martha Bohachevsky - Chomiak, who was then serving on the Executive Board of the National Council of Women; Iryna Kurowyckyj , w h o w a s U N W L A M e m b e r a t L a r g e ; and Dr. Maria Kwitkowsky, president of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations (WFUWO). It should be noted, however, that there were voices raised in opposition to the statement because of its political implications . Since that time, the nuclear disaster at Chornobyl has been recognized as the world’s worst nuclear accident. The World Health Organization has estimated that over 9,000 people have died as a result of exposure to the radiation; Greenpeace has suggested that the accident could eventually be responsible for more than 250,000 cancer cases even though only a few hundred people live inside the exclusion zone — mostly pensioners who decided they would risk the contamination and illegally return to their old home s . This year, we will be commemorating the 25th anniversary of the dreadful events of April 26, 1986. It will be a commemoration laced with ongoing concerns, for example, the fear that the faulty nuclear reactor (now encased in a concrete sarcophagus) could again collapse. In recent years, the structure has become extremely unstable and experts warn that a collapse would release deadly levels of radiation into the atmosphere. This continued danger has prompted European agencies to seek hun dreds of millions of dollars to fund the construction of a vast steel building to encase the site and thus provide a more secure, stable, and safer solution. In Ukraine, Parliamentary hearings regarding Chornobyl were scheduled for March 16, 2011 , in Kyiv. The news of this came as this issue was being prepared for publication and we do not have any details about the outcome. On April 26 and 27, the Ukrainian Mission to the United Nations, led by Ambassador Sergeyev, will be sponsoring a conference on Chornob yl. T h e UNWLA has been invited to the event and will participate. The 55th session of The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was held at the United Nations February 22 through March 4. This commission is dedicated exclusively to gender equality and the
Page load link
Go to Top