COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONTINUES CONSIDERATION OF RIGHTS OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN

Commission on Human Rights
58th session
17 April 2002
Afternoon




Secretary-General of League of Arab States Delivers Address


The Commission on Human Rights carried on this afternoon with debate on the human rights of women and the rights of the child, hearing from a series of national delegations describing Governmental efforts to enhance such rights and to reduce discrimination in legislation and society.

Issues raised included domestic violence, harmful cultural practices such as female genital mutilation, trafficking in women and children, sex tourism, and poverty.

Several countries, including Senegal, South Africa, and Kenya said the HIV/AIDS pandemic was creating serious difficulties for women and children, among other things by creating millions of orphans. A representative of Senegal said 90 per cent of AIDS orphans lived in sub-Saharan Africa, which overall had 70 per cent of HIV/AIDS cases and had suffered 80 per cent of the deaths caused by the pandemic.

A representative of Lithuania reported that trafficking in women continued to increase around the world -- it had become a fast-growing business of highly organized international crime that needed to be fought through regional cooperation among countries of origin, transit and destination.

And a representative of Liechtenstein said that while cultural values and practices were to be respected, cultural practices harming human rights or threatening the lives of individuals, including women and children, could not be accepted.

The Commission also was addressed this afternoon by Amre Moussa, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States.

Mr. Moussa said among other things that all were committed to the fight against terrorism, but there could be no aggression against countries in the name of the war against terrorism. Following the Cold War, people had started to talk of a New World Order of human rights and respect for the law, Mr. Moussa said, but today there was fear that human rights would be trampled in the name of the war against terrorism.

Mr. Moussa went on to call for greater international efforts -- including a meeting of the Security Council -- to end human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Also delivering statements at the meeting were representatives of Argentina, Venezuela, Nicaragua (on behalf of the Group of Central American Countries), Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Uruguay, Poland, Switzerland, Yemen, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Norway, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Committee of the Red Cross, Romania, Slovenia, United Nations Children's Fund, Ghana, Benin, United Nations Population Fund, Iran, Australia, World Bank, Sri Lanka, International Labour Office, Oman, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Cyprus, Qatar, World Health Organization, Colombia, Tunisia, Netherlands, Iraq, and the Philippines.

The Commission will reconvene at 10 a.m. Thursday, 18 April, to act on a series of draft resolutions and decisions.


General statement

AMRE MOUSSA, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, said that without respect for human rights, no civilization could be built or survive. He had been looking forward to addressing the Commission at this critical juncture -- the world was suffering from the extreme gravity of a challenge to all values and principles that human rights were based upon. The international agenda was only about one item today, to the detriment of all other situations -- the fight against international terrorism. All were committed to this fight. However, how many human rights violations were going to be perpetrated in the name of the war on terrorism? Certainly the campaign against terrorism must respect legality? There could be no aggression against countries in the name of the war against terrorism. Following the Cold War, people had started to talk of a New World Order of human rights and respect for law. Today, there was fear that human rights would be trampled in the name of the war against terrorism.

Mr. Moussa said he came from a region where human rights were being violated. Israel was undertaking a large-scale marginalization operation against all traditions agreed upon by the world. The Commission must raise its voice as the world's conscience on this issue. Israel was ignoring this Commission. Why? Because Israel as a State had placed itself above the law. The killing and slaughter in Jenin and elsewhere in the occupied territories were war crimes. They were a stain on the face of the international community and on the face of the Commission. This would continue as long as Israel kept receiving the green light from a superpower. In this regard, the Security Council must also concern itself with human rights; its work should be supplemented by human rights concerns. The Security Council's resolutions concerning the occupied territories were very bold resolutions expressing respect for law. The resolutions had not been respected by the Israeli Government and at this point a Security Council meeting should be called to study the human rights aspect in the occupied territories. What was happening there was a flagrant violation of human rights which would affect people in the region and people throughout the world.

As long as there was occupation there would be resistance, a legitimate and logical resistance, Mr. Moussa said. The double standard applied to the situation in the occupied territories was the first reason for the erosion of the credibility of the New World Order. The Arab League had an interest in the protection of civilians in this conflict and the Fourth Geneva Convention needed to be implemented in this regard.


Statements on human rights of women and rights of the child

NORMA NASCIMBENE DE DUMONT (Argentina) said Argentina regretted the frequency of degrading situations for women across the world. Situations of humiliation and violence were even experienced in the home. This was not a national problem but an international cultural problem that needed to be addressed through appropriate legal mechanisms ensuring that there was no impunity. In Argentina, a law had been adopted to protect families from psychological and physical abuse. An office of complaints had been set up to deal with these issues. There was also an inter-disciplinary body trained in family issues which provided support for victims of abuse and violence. Furthermore the Federal Police had established a centre for victims of violence. Argentina, in cooperation with UNICEF, had also undertaken several programmes to increase national awareness of domestic violence.

Discrimination and abuse could also be experienced in the workplace. Argentina was in the process of carrying out reforms that would provide for a regime of sanctions for such incidents. Progress had also been made in ensuring participation of women in positions of public responsibility. Following the elections in October 2001, relevant legislation had allowed for 76 women in the Parliament out of a 257 members possible. Regarding the rights of the child, the Government believed the child needed to grow up in a harmonious family in order have a healthy childhood and development. It was particularly important for there to be direct contact with both parents even though they might be separated or lived in different States. Argentina hoped that the international community would pay due attention to the problem of children being kept or held away from one of their parents in different countries. Argentina welcomed the entry into force of the two optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and had signed the texts and would ratify them shortly.

MOMAR GUEYE (Senegal) said the list of discriminatory measures against women and girls was still too long. Senegal had undertaken an awareness-raising campaign on violations against women. Discriminatory legislation had been eliminated from the penal code and from the law relating to status of the person, including in the areas of marriage, succession and ownership. These measures had been strengthened and broadened by the creation of national mechanisms to promote women. Senegal was al so taking initiatives aimed at harmonizing its national legislation with the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Senegal would continue to accord high priority to the integration of gender-specific perspectives into all development programmes and plans. The situation of children in the world, particularly in developing countries, remained critical. In Africa it had deteriorated for well known reasons. In sub-Saharan Africa, vaccination coverage had decreased since 1990, the maternal mortality rate had remained very high, the percentage of children enrolled in primary schools remained the lowest in the world; and 90 per cent of AIDS orphans lived in that region, which overall had 70 per cent of HIV/AIDS cases and had suffered 80 per cent of the deaths caused by the pandemic.

P. MONTWEDI (South Africa) said the country's Constitution guaranteed all South Africans respect for human dignity, equality, human rights and fundamental freedoms. South Africa was committed to the principle that South Africans had the right to life, and women and children too were entitled to that birthright. The human rights of all South African women were promoted and protected in a number of national and provincial programmes and policies. The country's National Policy Guidelines for Victims of Sexual Offences, for example, aimed to ensure easily accessible, affordable legal, social and administrative services for the empowerment of women and children survivors of violence. A number of laws had been put in place with the aim of improving the status of women. To further demonstrate its commitment towards the promotion of gender equality, South Africa had established a comprehensive national machinery dedicated to the advancement and empowerment of women and girls. A national programme had also been established on "no-violence against women" and there had ben implementation of a declaration on gender and development for the prevention and eradication of violence against women and children.

South Africa was committed to the principle of "a better life for all". and had embarked on programmes for children, using the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the world children's summit goals as guidelines. The Government was working steadily working to ensure that service delivery to all children who lived in difficult circumstances was prompt and efficient, such as children living on and off the streets, children with substance dependency, children accused of crimes, as well as children who were neglected, abused and forced into all forms of child labour. Despite all these efforts, South African children were still confronted with enormous challenges. The HIV/AIDS pandemic was growing and it adversely impacted on children in numerous ways.

WERNER CORRALES LEAL (Venezuela) said the Convention of the Rights of the Child at the international level enshrined the rights of children under the age of 18. Venezuela had been extremely active in the drafting of this Convention and viewed the rights of the child as a priority. Venezuela had been particularly committed to the inclusion in the Convention of aspects on children and adolescents in conflict with the law. This had not been an easy issue to discuss and extensive and difficult debates had taken place before inclusion of these articles in the Convention. The articles made it mandatory to have an administration of justice system for children up to 18 years of age, a move which highlighted and strengthened the indivisibility of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights with regard to children.

It was important that resolutions and actions taken on the rights of the child included participation in civil society and State institutions by parents and boys and girls themselves. Venezuela had encouraged the participation of children in society, allowing their voice to be heard. Their comments were included as part of an expansion of social rights in the Constitution which consisted of four major categories. First, the right to life and the need for parents to assume responsibility for their children. Second, development, including the right to education, access to information, and the right to preserve one's identity in the civil register. Third, protection from sexual abuse and trafficking. And finally, participation, which guaranteed the right to be heard through the realization of the civil and political rights of the child.

ANA NAVARRO (Nicaragua), speaking on behalf of the Group of Central American and Countries (GRUCA), said that in these countries women played an important role in public and private life. In the public sphere, women participated in decision making and filled important public posts; they were heads of State, vice presidents, presidents of Parliament, and Government ministers. The subregion had developed strategies aimed at achieving the equitable social integration of its inhabitants. These included laws that promoted equality and that incorporated a gender perspective, better health services, job security, education, especially for girls, training programs for the integration of women into the labour market and the strengthening of local support networks. Policies to promote equal pay for similar jobs as well as the granting of credit for women to create microbusinesses had been put in place.

International sex tourism and the sexual exploitation of women and children were a source of great concern for GRULAC and the Group reaffirmed its commitment to working with the international community to eradicate these problems.

HANAN K. ZOGHBIA (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) stressed that the relevant legislation and measures had been protecting Libyan women in all spheres. Laws also protected them from any traditional or cultural bias. Society had been changed in such a manner that any harmful traditions against women were no longer used against them. A law of 1999 had further strengthened the equality of women and had significantly increased their rights within society. Libyan legislation in general allowed women's voices to be heard without hindrance.

There was no discrimination to prevent women from taking part in activities of their choosing; they had the right to open bank accounts and engage in commercial activities. Their right to participate in State affairs had been guaranteed, including their participation in international affairs. The Government also had been implementing the Beijing Programme of Action.

J. M. GICHERU (Kenya) said some of the measures taken in Kenya included enactment of the Children's Act 2002, which domesticated the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and sought to consolidate different acts that previously had governed matters related to children, including guardianship of infants and matters of custody and adoption. The Act established for the first time a Family Division within the High Court which had jurisdiction over matters such as custody, adoption and divorce. It was hoped that the creation of such a specialized division would enhance the protection of the rights of children. The Act also provided for compulsory basic primary education and stipulated that the Government must put in place measures to reduce costs and eventually provide such education free.

One of the biggest constraints to the Government's efforts to implement the Convention on the Right of the Child was the high level of poverty prevalent in the country. The HIV/AIDS pandemic had worsened deteriorating health standards and brought in its wake a rising number of orphans, destitution and unprecedented levels of poverty. The situation of the girl child in Kenya was receiving keen attention from the Government. The drive to eliminate female genital mutilation had been spearheaded by a Presidential Decree outlawing the practice and further complemented by efforts to create awareness undertaken by UNICEF, NGOs and the Government.

PAMELA VIVAS (Uruguay) said Uruguay had made significant progress in the area of the promotion of the rights of the child. Public expenditure on policies aimed at helping children had been increased. Reform of the education system had established universal primary education for children aged 4 and 5. Over the past decade, infant mortality had decreased and vaccination coverage had increased. Uruguay had also put emphasis on the implementation of international standards relating to the promotion of the rights of the child.

In 2001, Uruguay had begun the Parliamentary process of approval of the two optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Also in 2001, Uruguay had ratified ILO convention 182 relative to the elimination of the worst forms of child labour. In this connection, Uruguay had created a National Committee to Eradicate Child Labour. The Committee, which was made up of representatives of the Government, employers, workers and NGOs, had drawn up a national action plan to progressively eradicate child labour and guarantee the full respect for international labour standards.

TOMASZ KNOTHE (Poland) said the change in the Polish political system in 1989 had been the starting point for the creation of civil society in Poland, and it was only then that the issue of human rights had begun to be fully recognized as one of the pillars of the democratic system. Awareness of women's human rights as an integral part of human rights, was, however, still far from satisfactory. Women's rights and freedoms were consistently questioned and disparaged by the most conservative circles in the country, often with the support of some members of the clergy in Poland, especially in the field of reproductive rights, such a access to contraception, sexual education and birth control. Women's unsuccessful struggle to keep abortion legal had been at the same time the starting point for the independent women's movement in Poland. Women's NGOs had initiated public debate on women' rights and women's human rights. It was women's NGOs that started education on the issue, organized aid for the affected and victimized, and monitored Governmental and institutional policies.

Domestic violence was one of the most frequently committed crimes in Poland. Police statistics showed that in the 1990s, the number of reported cases of domestic violence had doubled. Female victims of domestic violence were finally becoming less reluctant to report such incidents to the police. Thanks to educational work and information campaigns carried out by NGOs, Polish society had become more sensitive to the issue of domestic violence, which had allowed for positive changes in the existing law. Polish penal law prohibited violence against women, but in practice penalties were light and usually suspended; and restriction orders were non-existent. Further, the issue of trafficking in women had begun to be recognized in the country in the beginning of the 1990s.

KATHARINA VOGELI (Switzerland) said that hundreds of millions of women and girls were victims of violence and lived in insecurity and fear. Often committed by close relatives in indifference and impunity, human rights violations against women had enormous social and human costs. Cultural practices at the origin of violence against women within the family often constituted serious attacks on integrity and amounted to torture or even violation of the right to life. No State could invoke consideration of customs, traditions or religion to avoid its obligation to fight against these forms of violence.

It also had to be recognized that the elimination of certain practices, such as sexual mutilation, often required a change in behaviour and taking into account sociocultural dimensions. States had the obligation to fight against domestic violence. Switzerland joined other States in denouncing the sexual exploitation of children by some members of local humanitarian organizations and international peace-keeping forces in Western Africa. These criminal acts undermined the very foundation of humanitarian action.

SOUAD AL-ERYANI (Yemen) said the Government was making untiring efforts to make a decent life accessible to all its citizens. In addition to the Islamic law of the Shari'a, the Government had put in place measures to improve the rights of women in the country. A number of institutions had been established to further strengthen the rights of women and children. The involvement of non-governmental organizations had helped to improve the living conditions of women. Specialized institutions had been set up for children and marginalized persons. A law had been enacted to put an end to the practice of female genital mutilation, which had been practiced in rural areas of the country.

KIM YONG HO (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) said violence against women, especially sexual slavery in wartime, was the most vicious and brutal form of women's rights violations -- the practice had been defined as a crime against humanity. There had been no real progress in the elimination of sexual slavery due mainly to the lack of the thorough resolution of problems resulting from sexual slavery committed in the past. The most typical and still pending sexual slavery practice in recent history was the crime against "comfort women" committed by Japan against women and girls from Korea and other Asian countries before and during the Second World War. The Special Rapporteur on violence against women had urged the Japanese Government to accept legal responsibility, make a public apology, pay compensation to victims, and raise awareness of these issues and punish the perpetrators.

Any country which had violated international law must accept due legal and moral responsibility and compensate accordingly. Only Japan, far from resolving its past problems, was striving to evade even the acceptance of its responsibility. It was a bitter lesson of history that a country like Japan, which was not willing to resolve its past problems, might repeat its past. The only way for Japan to be a qualified member of the international community was to separate from its criminal past which had stained human history with brutal aggressions, plunders and collective rapes. Japan must first of all accept its legal responsibility for the past crimes and make a sincere apology and provide State compensation to victims of sexual slavery.

ALGIMANTAS RIMKUNAS (Lithuania) said trafficking in women continued to increase around the world. It had become a fast-growing business of highly organized international crime. Regional cooperation was a significant instrument for fighting this phenomenon. An International Women and Democracy Conference held in Vilnius in June 2001 had called for collective efforts by all Nordic and Baltic countries, whether they be countries of origin, transit or destination, in fighting trafficking in women. An information campaign against trafficking in women launched in Lithuania and other Baltic States by the International Organization of Migration in 2001 gad been another important step.

Poverty was a driving force in the rise of trafficking and traffickers' prey were the most vulnerable, the poorest and least educated. Prevention of trafficking was inseparable from the advancement of equal rights to women. Lithuania would work closely with other Governments, organizations and concerned people to put an end to this crime against humanity.

KRISTIN HAFSELD JORGENSEN (Norway) said Norway regretted that universal ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) had not yet been achieved. Norway urged States that had not ratified CEDAW to do so. The Optional Protocol to the Convention was a significant step that provided a new opportunity for strengthening the human rights of women. The path towards full respect for women's human rights was beset with obstacles and challenges that should be properly addressed. Violence against women was one such area. The report of the Special Rapporteur on cultural practices in the family that led to violence contained recommendations for eradication of violence that had not been subject to national and international scrutiny because they had been regarded as cultural practices that merited tolerance and respect. Violence in the private sphere was not a private matter. Those forms of violence were among the most difficult to eliminate because they were surrounded by taboos and because they required the victims to come forward so that the perpetrators could convicted and punished.

Some children were more in distress than others. Situations of armed conflict posed extreme risks, not only of hunger, disease and death but displacement, bereavement and traumatizing violations of human rights. Girls were raped and exposed to other forms of gender-based violence. Boys were exploited as child soldiers. The international community should invest much more of its energies in the prevention of war and in the protection of civilians once armed conflict had broken out.

ALESSANDRA ROVERSI, of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said vulnerability and its impact on individuals could be very different for men and women, and any emergency response, long-term humanitarian assistance or development programme would normally have a markedly different result for men and women. Field experience showed that through planned and gender-sensitive capacity-building, one could achieve better responses to disasters. This was why the Federation had built its capacity with gender perspectives at the core of its planning. Achieving gender equality through capacity building was a long-term process, and there was still a long way to go to achieving full recognition of the contribution that gender equality brought. The Federation had a unique opportunity to create a culture and atmosphere of diversity in this context.

The Federation considered that the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on children illustrated a human rights problem of massive proportions. Stigma and discrimination were among the major factors that drove the epidemic. This was so even where voluntary counselling and testing and treatment for prevention of mother to child transmission freely existed. It was unhappily common, due to fear of stigma and discrimination, that women of child-bearing age avoided these services, thereby increasing the population of children affected with HIV/AIDS.

OLIVIER COUTAU, of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said women and girls not or no longer taking part in hostilities should not be subjected to violence -- not by parties to an armed conflict, not by those sent to protect or enforce peace agreements, not by humanitarian organizations present to alleviate their suffering. Women, like men, were afforded general protection but were also afforded additional protection aimed at their particular needs. If women were suffering in situations of armed conflict today it was not because of a lack of rules protecting them. Women were suffering today because these rules were not implemented or respected.

The entry into force this year of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child marked an important step forward in the improvement of the protections accorded by international law to children. The Red Cross welcomed the entry into force of the Protocol, which set more rigorous limits on recruitment of children into the army.

PETRU DUMITRIU (Romania) said the country had non-discriminatory legislation that had been constantly modernized to incorporate the most advanced international norms and standards. A law on paternal leave, for example, had been adopted in 1999 to facilitate a more equitable sharing of family and professional responsibilities. Parliament would soon finalize its debates on a draft law on equal opportunities for men and women which would provide specific obligations for the public and private sectors. Improvements had been made top national legislation to address violence against women and domestic violence. The democratic transformation Romania had undergone since the 1990s had provided increased opportunities for the promotion of the human rights of women and gender equality. However, those opportunities could not be fully turned to account owing to the multiple challenges faced by transition countries. Romania's ongoing economic reforms had had as side effects a rise in unemployment and a reduction in social security. Among the most vulnerable groups were women heads of families, unemployed women, elderly women, and women living in rural areas.

The political empowerment of women was also essential for guaranteeing their contribution, on an equal footing with men, to the socio-economic management of society. Some progress had occurred in Romania in that field. Following the year 2000 elections, the share of women in Parliament had increased from 5 to 9.5 per cent, although obviously that still left room for further improvement.

ALJAZ GOSNAR (Slovenia) said the Regional Centre for the Psychological Well-Being of Children in Ljubljana had been established to strengthen first and foremost local structures -- such as institutional child care organizations and NGOs -- and to develop models specifically adapted to social trends, history and understanding of current local situations and needs that could be sustained after foreign assistance had been withdrawn. The overall aim was to develop expert social concepts which linked the psychological well-being of an individual with social rehabilitation and development.

This initiative already had received quite positive initial reaction in other multilateral fora, such as the OSCE and within the Human Security Network. Those countries that had indicated their willingness to pledge donations for the Centre were thanked, particularly Sweden, the first major foreign contributor.

LESLEY MILLER, of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said that despite significant progress made since the World Summit for Children in 1990, children throughout the world still faced poverty, lack of access to health services and denial of their right to quality education. An increasing number of children were suffering as a result of HIV/AIDS, exploitation, abuse and armed conflict. The protection of the most vulnerable children was, of course, one of UNICEF's priorities. For that reason, UNICEF welcomed the decision of the General Assembly to ask the Secretary-General to initiate an in-depth study on the protection of children from violence. UNICEF was fully prepared to support the development of such a study, joining hands with other partners, including the UN family and NGOs, and to share its own experience in addressing the appalling phenomenon of violence against children.

Over the last decade, the scale of sexual exploitation of children had begun to emerge -- and it was clear that millions of children were being victimized. At the Second World Conference against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, held in Yokohama last December, 134 Government delegations had gathered to create and consolidate alliances to tackle the underlying issues that put children in such terrible danger, adopting the Yokohama Global Commitment. Further, in many countries, children's lives had been shattered by war. Many were killed; many more were mutilated physically and emotionally, violently abducted, brutalized and used as child soldiers. The entry into force of the Statute of the International Criminal Court would be a decisive step in the fight against impunity for crimes committed against children in times of war.

FRITZ KWABENA POKU (Ghana) said Ghana was concerned and troubled by the growing incidence of violence in the international community and in societies everywhere. The threat to peace and security, the outbreak of intra- and inter-State conflicts, communal violence and terrorist activities did not create the best environment in which to bring up children and uphold their human rights. Ghana refused to accept this situation as the human condition and called for a dispassionate examination of the degeneration of the world's societies. Despite the marked progress made in humanitarian law and codification of the rights of the child, serious obstacles existed that impaired the usefulness and the effectiveness of these instruments.

It was against this backdrop that Ghana called on the international community, all religious bodies, political leaders, parents, teachers and every responsible member of the society to get involved in the effort to inculcate in children the tenets of human rights. This would not only provide them with a shield but also with a good foundation for growing into responsible and useful citizens.

SAMUEL AMEHOU (Benin) said Benin had ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in August 1990 and had also signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. According to Benin's legislation, it was prohibited to displace a child without respect to conditions fixed by the law or without the full agreement of the parents or the legal custodian. Benin had also ratified ILO Convention 182 on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

The Government of Benin was committed to ensuring the country's children all their material needs and their full enjoyment of human rights. To that effect, a programme of action had been put in place through the adoption of Benin's Code of the Child; there also had been strengthening of NGO capacity in fighting against trafficking in children; and there had been agreement on various accords on children with neighbouring countries.

ANA ANGARITA, of the United Nations Population Fund, said women's access to reproduction health services was a fundamental right. Yet it was a right that had not been recognized until 1994 during the International Conference on Population and Development. During this Conference, 179 Governments had agreed that they must advance gender equality and the empowerment of women, eliminate violence against women and girls, and ensure women's ability to control their own fertility. If one promoted women's empowerment, it was because one believed that strengthening women would also make men stronger. Poverty and economic insecurity, the loss of traditional roles and the absence of new ones, made accepting women's equality very difficult for many men. But men were increasingly recognizing that they would gain strength to the extent that they gave up power over women. Gender partnership was part of the fight against poverty, and the two efforts must go hand in hand.

To close the poverty gap, one must close the gender gap. When women were left out of development, families, societies and nations suffered -- economically, socially and culturally. One had seen this in many parts of the world. Women were a key to development and therefore one must invest in women's participation in development. All over the globe, women were eager to participate in the development of their countries and in the prosperity of their communities. Yet their vision and leadership remained largely unnoticed. Women must have access to better reproductive health care. Everything learned indicated that when women were empowered -- through laws that ensured their rights, health care that ensure their well-being and education that ensured their active participation -- the benefits went far beyond the individual: they benefited the family, the community and the nation.

PAYMANE HASTEI (Iran) said that at the beginning of the Third Millennium, the international community did not seem to have been able to create a more suitable world for children to grow up in. The deprivation suffered by children whose basic rights and needs remained to be fulfilled continued to pose a great problem for human societies. Violation of children's rights in many parts of the world and in various forms carried on. Smuggling, the slave trade and misuse of child labour, sexual abuse through forced prostitution and pornography and even what was known as sexual tourism flourished today. Violence against children in the family as well as at the communal level, children drawn into armed conflicts, the lack of access to proper education and hygiene, the existence of street children due to severe poverty and the generalized break-up of the family environment were all spreading at an alarming rate.

By showing further respect for the richness of all civilizations and encouraging the seeking of common ground to address threats to global society, especially to children, the international community could foster policies, programmes and actions which would go far towards ensuring the protection and promotion of the rights of children.

PETER HEYWARD (Australia) said Australia considered that development and implementation of further effective measures to improve the situation of children should retain a central position on all of its agendas. The Second World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children held in Yokohama last December had provided an opportunity for reviewing progress and identifying critical areas for further action. Australia would look forward to continuing to work with other countries, particularly in its region, in tackling commercial sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. Australia had signed the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography in December 2001. Consideration of the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflicts was ongoing and it was hoped that Australia would be in a position to make a similar announcement on that soon.

The General Assembly Special Session on Children to be held in New York next month would provide a unique opportunity for all not only to reaffirm and restate the international community's commitment to improving the lives of children but to focus on practical means for achieving those objectives of the World Summit on Children that had yet to be met.

ALFREDO SFEIR-YOUNIS, of the World Bank, said that while saying that women were the key actors in development was an uncontestable statement, the challenge was to make this an uncontestable reality. It was women who would bring the supremacy of human rights at all levels. One knew that gender equality was a major determinant for development effectiveness and economic growth and was central to attaining human rights. Addressing gender equality and human rights must be mandatory and not voluntary, to enhance human security, peace and social stability. Changes in social structures without due consideration of a feminine identity in the process of human transformation and self-realization was tantamount to causing more social conflict and instability. With regard to children and the youth, one must create the space for them to be the architects of their own future. For this reason, the Bank had recently adopted a life-cycle approach to policy-making. Leadership must not be conditioned by age; doing so would be tantamount to violating children's rights and freedom of self-expression.

One foundational aspect of improving children's rights was through the provision of high quality basic education. Girls' education had been identified as particularly important for low-income countries. The Bank recognized that child labour was one the most devastating consequences of persistent poverty and had taken a clear position to help reduce harmful child labour through its ongoing poverty reduction efforts.

SUMEDHA EKANAYAKE (Sri Lanka) said promotion and protection of the rights of the child was an integral part of the policies and programs of the Government of Sri Lanka. The provision of free and compulsory education and free preventive health care had been the bedrock of a policy to help children in Sri Lanka realize their rights. Having ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991, Sri Lanka was one of the first countries to sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. Sri Lanka warmly welcomed the entry into force of this critical international legal instrument, which it believed would effectively safeguard countless children from being used as combatants and cannon fodder during war.

Sri Lanka hoped that the long standing problem of recruitment of children as combatants by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) would be effectively addressed under recently concluded cease-fire agreement with the Government. The international community should support measures to reintegrate child combatants.

YOSHIE NOGUCHI, of the International Labour Office, said the principle of non-discrimination and equal remuneration for men and women were at the core of a rights-based approach for promoting decent work for all and were contained in the ILO Conventions on equal remuneration and non-discrimination. The ILO was pleased to announce that those two instruments, which were among the eight Conventions recognized as establishing fundamental human rights and principles in the field of labour, continued to ratified -- with 157 ratification of Convention No. 100 and 155 of Convention No.11 registered to date. The ILO welcomed the continuous efforts of the UN to integrate a gender perspective into its human rights activities.

The ILO was mainstreaming in its work on gender in the promotion of all fundamental principles and rights, including freedom of association, the abolition of forced labour and the effective elimination of child labour. In addition to non-discrimination and equal remuneration, women and girls were often deprived of rights due to socialization, social norms and traditional values, poverty and the need for family survival.

ZAKARIYA AL-SA'DI (Oman) said from the beginning of the 1970s, Oman had been giving particular attention to the rights of the child. There was a clear political will to improve the status of children and to address their needs and their development. Oman had always acceded to international conventions on the rights of children. It was inconceivable that children were not protected even in the twenty-first century. It had been internationally recognized that the children of Oman, being brought up in an Islamic country, were fortunate to have escaped several of the scourges suffered by children in other countries. International reports had proved that Oman had showed its commitment to children. Oman's achievements had been noted and the improvements it had made had been given international recognition.

Oman had been able to achieve a drop in child mortality, and was working even harder to consolidate its achievements so as to improve the well-being of its people. Oman had always been committed to working for the survival and well-being of children. In this context, Oman was deeply concerned about the innocent, suffering children in both Palestine and Iraq who had had all their human rights violated, including the right to life.

TOLGA KAYA (Turkey) said that as a State party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Turkey was fully committed to respecting and ensuring the rights of the child without discrimination of any kind. Substantial results had been achieved. The rights of women constituted an integral part of universal human rights. However, despite numerous international instruments and mechanisms, women's full enjoyment of these rights remained elusive.

Discrimination against women violated the principles of equality of rights and respect for human dignity. It also constituted an obstacle to the full participation of women in political, economic, social and cultural life. Violence against and traffic in women and girls continued to be among the main issues of concern and impeded the enjoyment of human rights by women and girls. Turkey was fully committed to respecting the rights of women and substantial results had been achieved to this end.

JALILA HOUMMANE (Morocco) said Morocco had always placed the promotion and protection of women's rights at the top of its national development policy. That interest had been reiterated and strengthened by His Majesty King Mohammed VI during a speech in August 1999, in which he had stressed the urgency of integrating women into development. He had also underlined the need to give more place to women in the economic, political and social spheres.

Morocco's Islamic values and its civilization were based on the principles of justice and equality. The political will of the Moroccan authorities was being consolidated through the participation of women in the decision-making process and in public administrative affairs. A number of political parties in Morocco had increased the number of women members and the number of women among leaders of political parties had also increased.

RIHAME ALLILE (Egypt) said the Government was working to protect the rights of women. Respect for women was enshrined in the Egyptian Constitution which stipulated that there could be no discrimination on the basis of sex or religion. Women in Egypt had all political rights, including the right to participate in elections and be elected. Egyptian women also had the right to seek divorce if they had been mistreated. Recently a law on the passing of nationality from woman to child had been adopted. This had not been possible in the past and meant that Egypt could now withdraw a reservation to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The rights of the child were being respected and Egyptian society was being modernized in this context. Activities had been undertaken in education and in the field of health. In fact the Government was trying to ensure that all children had access to health care and vaccinations. The Government was also working on awareness-raising, in teaching children high values, tolerance, rejection of racism and acceptance of other people. There was a special focus in Egypt on the rights of the child and the mother. It was necessary here to refer to the suffering of innocent Palestinian children whose human rights were being violated on a daily basis.

ALICIA LANGLE (Liechtenstein) said violence against women remained an issue of concern within the international community. Cultural values and practices were to be respected and appreciated as an important source of common identity within societies. Cultural practices harming human rights or threatening the lives of individuals, however, must not be invoked as reasons for violations of international human rights standards. The victim's chances of relief were especially weak where social or cultural obligations stood against them. In such cases the protective framework of the family could assist perpetrators rather than victims. Prevention was therefore a key responsibility of States in eliminating domestic violence.

An Act on Protection against Violence provided Liechtenstein with a strong preventive tool. The Act contained the right to expel potential perpetrators from their homes, where a grievous attack on the life, health or liberty of a person was anticipated. In the revision of its national laws on sexual offences Liechtenstein had established marital rape as a criminal offence.

PAVLOS KOMBOS (Cyprus) said Cyprus remained strongly committed and would continue to pursue policies and programmes to ensure that women fully enjoyed their human rights and were equal partners in determining the country's economic, political and social development. That commitment stemmed from the belief that Cyprus should all redouble its efforts so that women and men walked next to each other in real partnership sharing the fruits of development in the family, in the workplace, in the political and economic spheres, in all sectors and at all levels.

Cyprus considered itself a child-centred society and as such strongly supported issues related to the protection of the human rights of child and the promotion of their interests.

MOHAMED AL-MALKI (Qatar) said that despite developments in international legal standards, such as the optional protocols and the relevant ILO convention, there were a number of concerns related to the child rights in a number of countries. This was a result of an unfair socio-economic order in many parts of the world and to such factors as armed conflict, displacement, intolerance, discrimination and inadequate legal protection. The Palestinian people were being annihilated in an unprecedented manner. The Palestinian child had been denied the most basic human rights as a result of the Israeli machinery that showed no distinction between children, civilians, men and women.

Qatar had implemented and honoured its commitment to children. This was a vital area of action and there was therefore a need to improve the situation. Further funds had been allocated to the sectors of education, health and social services. The Committee on the Rights of the Child had commended Qatar's efforts, particularly in the field of health care.

NAFSHIA MBOI, of the World Health Organization, said discrimination on the basis of sex and gender violated the fundamental human rights principles. Discrimination manifested itself in neglect which in turn resulted in poor health. It even manifested itself in violence. Violence against women, a major public health problem and a serious human rights issue, constituted one of the gravest manifestations of inequality between men and women.

Poverty and inequalities in gender roles and decision-making forced millions of young women into unprotected, non-consensual, often violent, high-risk sex. Each occurrence violated the dignity and rights of the woman concerned and each placed her at the risk of infection with HIV. If she was pregnant or was nursing a baby, these violations of her rights placed her child at risk as well.

CAMILO REYES RODRIGUEZ (Colombia) said that many measures had been taken in Colombia to enhance the rights of women, including the ratification of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women. Several other activities had been undertaken to support the family, particularly the provision of tools for the State to deal with family situations in terms of protection. Initiatives had also been taken with regard to women who were the head of households. Punishments for sexual offenders had been increased. Several other initiatives had been taken in the form of peace programmes in society and in the family.

The Special Rapporteur on violence against women had unfortunately written an abstract report which was not based on reality, and Colombia emphatically disputed the accuracy of her observations. Women were participating in the judiciary and in other areas of society. Sexual abuse had been talked about by the Special Rapporteur in a way which implied that it was a programmed method of intimidation. Colombia particularly disagreed with chapter 3 of the report.

SAMIR KOUBAA (Tunisia) said Tunisia saw women as equal partners and to that end a number of legislative measures had been put in place. Special attention had been focused on the situation of women in rural areas. The Government had also improved women's conditions by implementing a number of measures. The country's personal law had also been improved to increase women's responsibilities in society.

Tunisian women played an important role in the development of society by taking their share of activities as equal partners. The rule of institutions had been strengthened and a national observatory system had been put in place. Non-governmental organizations also had their places in the Tunisian society as partners in civil society.

LISE-LOTTE VAN ECK RASMUSSEN (Netherlands) said that in view of time constraints she would limit herself to mentioning the main points of her original intervention, which were the glimmer of hope for women and girls in Afghanistan; resolution introduced by the Netherlands in the Third Committee of the General Assembly on female genital mutilation; and honour crimes and the right of women on matters regarding their sexuality.

ABDUL KARIM M. (Iraq) said humanity had never seen in modern history a repugnant crime committed against childhood and children like that being perpetrated against Iraq's children since August 1990 by using the most hideous means ever known by international society, namely the comprehensive embargo which did not exempt even food, especially over the period from 1990 to 1991. From that date up to 1996, Iraq had been prevented from exporting its oil and using its revenues to meet the needs of the people.

The economic sanctions had adversely affected child existence, survival, security and physical safety as well as education and social welfare. Iraq had lost as a result of this barbaric action about 1.6 million Iraqi citizens, including hundreds of thousands of children.

DENIS Y. LEPATAN (Philippines) said trafficking in women and girls was among the most brutal crimes, victimizing not just the innocent and the helpless but people who had already been traumatized by other misfortunes -- the vicissitudes of war and the despair of poverty, underdevelopment and lack of equal opportunity. Although the global situation on trafficking continued to be gloomy, the Philippines was pleased to note the continued increasing interest and attention given by States, international and regional organizations and NGOs to the problem of trafficking.

The report of the Secretary-General provided a comprehensive view of measures being taken at national, sub-regional, regional and international levels. While all activities to address the problem of trafficking were equally important, the High Commissioner for Human Rights was to be commended for the high priority she had given to the problem of trafficking.



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