Mary Burke U.N. Women's Health Conference Collection
Abstract: The collection contains published materials, personal notes and research materials pertaining to Suffolk University Professor Mary P. Burke’s involvement in the U.N. International Women’s Conferences and research into women and international development. The four U.N. conferences, held between 1975 and 1995, served as both a catalyst for and a sign of a revived international movement for women’s empowerment and equality.
Mary P. Burke Related Materials: Professors Amy Agigian and Laura Roskos of the Suffolk University Center for Women's Health and Human Rights, conducted two audio interviews with Professor Burke that provide context to the documents in this collection. The interviews are transcribed and available for use at the Suffolk University Archives.
The UN sponsored women’s conferences held between 1975 and 1995 served as both a catalyst for and sign of a revived international movement for women’s empowerment and equality. The first of these, convened in Mexico City in 1975, resulted in the drafting the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), an international human rights treaty addressing areas under-articulated in previous human rights agreements. Similarly, the second, which was held in Copenhagen after prior plans to convene in Tehran, were abruptly canceled, illuminated weaknesses in CEDAW and sparked a wave of worldwide advocacy for additional human rights instruments focused on eliminating violence against women in both the public and private spheres. The Beijing Platform for Action adopted at the 4th World Conference on Women (1995) remains the internationally agreed upon template for advancing women’s status today.
Administrative Information
Repository: Suffolk University Archives, Suffolk University, Boston, MA
Collection Number: MS 105
Location: Suffolk University Archives
Creator: Burke, Mary P.
Title: Mary P. Burke U.N. Women’s Conference Collection
Date(s): 1975-1995
Quantity: 19 boxes, 15 posters (7 linear ft.)
Acquisition Information: Gift of Mary P. Burke, via the Center for Women's Health and Human Rights at Suffolk University, 2004.
Access Restrictions: None.
Use Restrictions: None
Copyright: Copyright ©2004 Suffolk University.
Processed by: Roberta Branca, Simmons GSLIS, 2004.
Contact
The Center for Women's Health and Human Rights
Phone: 617-619-4968