Guide to the Records of the Liaison Committee of Women's International Organisations, Australia Group

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MS 1082

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Collection Summary

Creator
Liaison Committee of Women's International Organisations, Australia Group
Title
Records of the Liaison Committee of Women's International Organisations, Australia Group
Date Range
1947-1963
Collection Number
MS 1082
Extent
0.4 metres (3 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Repository
National Library of Australia

Introduction

Scope and Contents

The records of the Australia Group of the Liaison Committee of Women's International Organisations include correspondence (1950-1963) with the Liaison Committee headquarters group in London, affiliated organisations, international non-government agencies, Australian government bodies and others. The minutes of the Australia Group Liaison Committee cover the period 1947 to 1960.

In addition there are roneoed copies of minutes of the Liaison Committee Headquarters group in London for the period November 1949 to February 1961, and a headquarters information sheet.

The collection also contains printed and mimeographed material, principally reports by Australian observers and United Nations reviews reprints of proceedings at various United Nations seminars and conferences held in the Pacific area, 1956 to 1959. In addition there is a miscellaneous collection of material mainly related to the affiliated organisations.

Conditions Governing Access

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2250944).

Conditions Governing Use

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred Citation

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Records of the Liaison Committee of Women's International Organisations, Australia Group, National Library of Australia, MS 1082, [series and/or file number]'.

Provenance

The collection was acquired in November 1970 (provenance unknown).

Administrative History

The Australia Group of the Liaison Committee of Women's International Organisations was formed in April 1950 to gain status and representation at United Nations meetings held in Australia and South East Asia. The Australian Group operated for some time to combine national and international functions, but in 1954 it was resolved to limit activities to those of "a group of organisations" especially concerned with such subjects as human rights, the status of women, and the nationality of married women.

The Australian Group organised Australian participation in various international-agency conferences in the South-East Asian area, notably the United Nations Commissions on the Status of Women, and the United Nations Seminar on Civic Responsibilities and Increased Participation of Asian Women in Public Life (1957).

In 1963 the Liaison Committee headquarters group in London voluntarily withdrew from consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and the Australia Group, feeling that the Australian Committee was no longer necessary, ceased to function later in that year.

Item Descriptions

Series 1. Australian Group - correspondence, 1950-1963 - Box 1

The correspondence begins with official recognition of the Australian Liaison Committee as an international as well as national body by the Liaison Committee of Women's International Organizations in London. The matters dealt with by the Australian Group were of national and international interest. The issues of concerns range from the affiliation and the withdrawal of various organizations and bodies with the A.L.C. to the problems of the relocation of the Committee's headquarters in Adelaide. Another area of continuing interest is the selection of delegates and representatives to overseas conferences and meetings such as the 10th and 11th sittings of the United Nations Status of Women Committee. A subsequent move to facilitate the selection of such delegates was made by calling for the submission of names for a panel of women capable of representing Australia overseas.

See the Correspondence Index for the Name Index to Correspondence(under Related Documentation tab).

(507 items)

Series 2. Australian Group -minutes, 1947-1960 - Box 1

The first minute book of the Australian Liaison Committee of Women's National Organizations covers the period April 1947 to March 1954. The second covering the period May 1954 to July 1960 is marked by a change in the name of the committee to the Liaison Committee of Women's International Organizations, Australia Group and a correspondence change in policy.

(39 items)

Series 3. Australian Group - reports, 1950-1953 - Box 2

There are four reports. The first covers the main activities of the A.L.C. for 1950 and 1951.

The remaining three are reports of meetings held from August 1952 to April 1953, from June 1953 to August 1953, and from August 1952, to April 1953 respectively.

(6 items)

Series 4. Headquarters Group, London - minutes, reports and rules of procedure - Box 2

The minutes begin on 23 November 1949, and continue to 1951. For a period in the early fifties, multiple copies were sent by airmail, but this practice was discontinued in 1952. There are four reports. These are a 'Report on the history and working of the groups of the Liaison Committee' (1946-1958), a 'Short report of work' (1950), a Report of a sub-committee appointed to discuss certain alterations in draft Human Rights Covenant (1951), and finally a report on the Second United Nations Conference of the Non-Governmental Organizations Interested in the Eradication of Prejudice and Discrimination, 1950. There are multiple copies of the Committee's Rules of Procedure.

(190 items)

Series 5. Printed material - Box 3

This material includes publications of both the United Nations and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. There is the report of the Australian Representative to the United Nations Status of Women Commission and a history of the Liaison Committee, 1925-1954.

(24 items)

Series 6. Miscellaneous material - Box 3

The miscellaneous material includes newspaper clippings, receipts, programs, a set of minutes of the National Council of Women of Victoria, multiple copies of the Rules of Procedure and a note on the Liaison Committee.

(75 items)


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