From the Philippines to the World: Leticia Ramos-Shahani

From the Philippines to the World: Leticia Ramos-Shahani

Ola Almgren, resident coordinator, United Nations in the Philippines
http://interaksyon.com/article/138006/from-the-philippines-to-the-world-leticia-ramos-shahani

March 25, 2017 7:48 AM

InterAksyon.com

The full text of the eulogy delivered by Ola Almgren, UN resident coordinator in the Philippines, in honor of the late former Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani.

In late August 1995, I was on a flight from London to Beijing.  Beijing wasn't my final destination - I was traveling for the United Nations to Pyongyang to participate in an assessment of humanitarian needs following floods that had hit DPR Korea.

As I settled down in my seat, I couldn't help but notice that there was something different with the cabin compared to the previous time I had travelled to China, about a year earlier. This time, the gender balance in the cabin was definitively in the favor of the female sex and many passengers seemed connected by a sense of mutual purpose for their travel.

There was a buzz and an energy that I found contagious.  So I asked the lady that sat next to me why she was going to China and she said; why, we are going to participate in the (fourth) World Conference on Women of course! As if that could be the only conceivable reason to travel to China at that time.

Little had I realized that I was an accidental co-traveler on a short leg of a journey that had started twenty years earlier, in Mexico City at the first World Conference on Women. And even less could I imagine that another twenty years on, I would have the great privilege to meet in person one of the principal instigators and drivers of this process, Senator, and former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, Leticia Ramos-Shahani.

How serendipitous and full of surprises life can be.

It is now my sad, but nevertheless privilege, on behalf of a grateful United Nations, to express our condolences to the family and loved ones of Senator Ramos-Shahani. She will be long-remembered and appreciated, as the gains of her work will be felt for generations to come.

I understand Senator Shahani is endeared to us in different ways, and many remembering her today will articulate the dimension in which she shared her life with them. Allow me a few words to describe the value of her contributions with the United Nations.

Her story with us began as a young member of the United Nations Secretariat in the 1960s -- when she joined the Section on the Status of Women under the Division of Human Rights. At the United Nations, she was quickly recognized for her talent, learning the ropes of international diplomacy. And these skills would soon prove useful in pushing for the integration of women's issues into the global agenda, making her into one of the UN's leading diplomats in this field who understood the dynamics of political, economic, and social forces at the UN.

Senator Shahani carved her space at the UN, and is widely recognized as one of the women who helped shape the global agenda on women's rights, providing leadership at the United Nations, and at the same time raising the profile of the Philippines on the global stage. She was chair of the Commission on Status of Women from 1974 to 1975. In Mexico in 1975, the United Nations declared the decade of 1975-1985 as the UN Decade for Women, under the themes of Equality, Development, and Peace. During this time, developing countries were urging the Commission on the Status of Women to draft a Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), to be based on the Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women adopted by the UN in 1967. The first draft of the CEDAW and critical initial steps to move it forward until its eventual adoption is largely credited to Senator Shahani's initiative, leadership, and diplomacy, executed in the style she was later to be known for -- intelligent, bold, imaginative, resourceful, and strategic in thinking.

Senator Shahani became United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs in 1981 and served in this capacity until 1986. During this time, she also served as Secretary-General of the landmark Third World Conference on Women in Nairobi, in 1985. This conference is considered a turning point in the history of the global women's movement.  Reflecting on the Nairobi conference years later, she pointed out the conference made sure women's concerns were integrated into the major political and economic concerns already recognized as legitimate by the United Nations.

I know that the United Nations was not alone in benefiting from Senator Shahani's talent and efforts, and her advocacy for women. I'm aware she has made remarkable contributions to the crafting of ground-breaking laws here in the Philippines, such as the Republic Act (RA) No. 6725, strengthening the prohibition of discrimination against women in the workplace, and the RA 8353 known as the Anti-Rape Law of 1997. "

In addition to her distinguished diplomatic career and leadership in politics she has found time to serve in the academe, both leading and supporting NGOs and Civil Society Organizations, and facilitating links between government, the United Nations, and the civil society. She was one of the founders of the Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development Foundation (PLCPD), intending to advocate policies that advance population and human development in the Philippines. Later in 2014, the PLCPD honored Senator Shahani with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her tireless work in championing population and human development causes.

Throughout her career as international civil servant and as politician she demonstrated outstanding leadership and public service.

She is the recipient of the United Nations Population Award, for her devotion of more than 30 years of leadership in the field of population, and its implications for social development, public health, and environmental sustainability. She was also the recipient of the Philippines Commission on Population's Rafael Salas Population and Development Award, the French Legion of Honor, Order of Chevalier, the Lazo de Dama de la Orden de Isabel la Catolica, and the Gawad Mabini Award, Dakilang Kamanong from the Department of Foreign Affairs, among many other awards bestowed upon her. Her ideas were perhaps ahead of her time but she moved time with her, with passion -- from global issues like international peace and security to national and local issues, from women's rights to farming and entrepreneurial issues.

Well into her 80s she was seriously running her own farm, and working with local farmers to produce carabao milk and cheese.

Since her retirement, the United Nations in the Philippines has continued to enjoy her support for our activities and advocacies, especially around reproductive health, women's rights, and international peace.

I recall last meeting her in October last year, at the United Nations Day that we celebrated with the Department of Foreign Affairs at the SM Mall of Asia. I felt honored she gifted us with her presence at the celebration of the organization she had given so much to. And so I feel we are all honored by the labors and passion she's invested in us all. Thank you once again, Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani. Many strive to leave this world in better shape than when they came into it, but not quite as many positively impact the world in the way you did.