COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONTINUES DEBATE ON INTEGRATION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN

Commission on Human Rights
57th session
9 April 2001
Afternoon






Speakers Address Issues of Violence against Women,
Poverty and Gender Discrimination, and
Trafficking in Girls and Women



The Commission on Human Rights this afternoon continued its debate on the question of integration of the human rights of women and the gender perspective, including the issue of violence against women.

Several country delegations decried the prevalence of violence in all its forms, including domestic violence, against women. Sweden, on behalf of the European Union, urged Governments to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and punish acts of violence against women. It said protection and assistance should be given to the victim and the perpetrator should be prosecuted. And Pakistan said that its rights-based agenda for women was evidence that it was no longer possible to tolerate violence against women, particularly the violence hidden behind the doors of family homes in all countries across all boundaries, rich and poor, in developing and developed countries.

Gender discrimination was another issue raised by a number of speakers. Among others, Norway said that while the principle of non-discrimination was a widely accepted norm, some aspects of it had proved easier to implement than others. Women experienced multiple discrimination all too often, and the intersectionality of gender-based and other forms of discrimination should be taken into account in the efforts to eradicate this serious problem. Echoing similar sentiments, Canada said that women’s inequality was further compounded by their race; ethnic, immigrant and indigenous status; sexual orientation; and age.



Most speakers described national efforts to promote and protect the rights of women. Syria said that all obstacles had been eliminated to enable women to participate in the society. El Salvador, on behalf of the Central American Group, said gender-oriented measures had been taken in all fields in order to improve the conditions of women in those countries. And Argentina said that it had increased penalties to punish sexual harassment, and sexual abuse of and violence against women.

The link between poverty and women’s rights was also made by several speakers. China said the impoverishment of women was becoming increasingly prominent and poverty constituted a major obstacle to the realization of women’s rights. Poverty eradication should be the foremost priority as poverty was a source of evil. Indonesia said that poverty and ignorance were the root causes of racism, gender discrimination and violence against women, and that it had taken several measures to address these problems.

And concerning trafficking of girls and women, Viet Nam said Governments should take appropriate measures to address poverty, unemployment and social discrimination which were among the root causes leading to the trafficking in women and girls. The Russian Federation added that it was wrong to lay the blame for the increasing scale of trafficking of women simply at the door of the countries from where they came. Responsibility should equally be placed on the receiving country.

Representatives of the following States took the floor today: Sweden on behalf of the European Union, Germany, Syria, El Salvador on behalf of the Central American Group, Norway, Canada, Pakistan, Senegal, the United States, Libya, Cuba, Indonesia, China, Viet Nam, the Russian Federation, Argentina and Japan.

Iran spoke in exercise of its right of reply.

The Commission was scheduled to continue its work in an evening meeting until 9 p.m. to continue its debate on the human rights of women.


Statements

JOHAN MOLANDER (Sweden), on behalf of the European Union, said the principles of non-discrimination and equality together with a general recognition of the human rights of women were found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These principles had since been confirmed and developed in several human rights instruments, including the milestone Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1979. However, while there had been some improvements in the human rights of women in some countries, the European Union was deeply concerned that many women were not part of this development. Governments should demonstrate the political will and commitment and should shoulder their responsibilities by implementing effective legislation, policies and programmes and taking other appropriate measures, so that every woman was given the opportunity to enjoy her human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with men.

Violence in all its forms against women and girls was still shockingly prevalent in societies. It posed a great challenge to everyone. Women and girls, in all parts of the world, continued to be victims of various forms of violence, including domestic violence. Governments should take their responsibility seriously and exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and punish acts of violence, irrespective of whether the act was perpetrated or condoned by the State or its agents, or by a private individual. Protection and assistance should be given to the victim, and the perpetrator must be prosecuted. The European Union also believed that harmful traditional or customary practices, including female genital mutilation and so-called crimes committed in the name of honour, which threatened the health and dignity and even lives of women and girls, should be urgently addressed. The European Union was firmly convinced that social, cultural or religious factors could not be invoked as a justification for violating the human rights of women and girls.

Trafficking in human beings for the purpose of commercial and sexual exploitation, where most of the victims were women and children, was on the increase worldwide and concerted national and international actions were indispensable. The European Union welcomed the adoption of the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, in particular the Protocol to Prevent and Punish Trafficking in Women and Children, supplementing this Convention.

The European Union urged States to sign and ratify international human rights instruments and to implement them at a national level so that all individuals, including women and girls, could enjoy the rights enshrined in them. Unfortunately, this was not the case in many parts of the world today. The empowerment of women was a process in which men had to take an active part so that discriminatory practices could be combatted and eliminated. All Governments should cooperate with the United Nations' human rights mechanisms in their efforts to promote and protect the human rights of women. The countries of the European Union were ready to cooperate with these human rights mechanisms and were prepared to receive them. Gender equality would benefit society at large, as this was an essential condition for the full implementation of all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

RUDOLF BINDIG (Germany) said his country had been both a destination as well as a transit country of trafficking in human beings. There was an unprecedented rise in the number of victims and the high figure was appalling. It now ranked third after drug and arms trafficking. Large-scale criminal structures had appeared with unprecedented brutality and recklessness. What was needed above all was to fight this hideous phenomenon effectively in cooperation with other countries which were affected by it. Germany on its side had already achieved a lot in that regard. It had acted on several fronts and had consistently adopted a victim-oriented approach. Intensive counselling of victims had become a standard procedure in Germany. In order to help victims speak out and testify against traffickers, German authorities were currently probing into ways to improve witness protection. Germany was also contributing to help overcome the root causes in the countries of origin. It had cooperated in carrying out programmes in the countries of origin aimed at education, job creation, infrastructure building as well the improvement of investment conditions.

Germany was doing its part to combat violence against women by having adopted an action plan on violence against women as well as by pursuing an active advocacy of women's rights internationally. Germany supported numerous projects all over the globe designed to improve the situation of women and it was engaged in an active dialogue with partners all over the world on how to tackle that common concern.

TAHER AL-HUSSAMI (the Syrian Arab Republic) said that in his country, all legislation and laws were designed to stress the role of the family because the family was the core of society. And the most important person in this nucleus was the woman. All the obstacles had been eliminated to enable women to participate in Syrian society. There had been legislation particular to women passed on labour law, insurance, and agriculture for example. Syrian women made up 50 per cent of those in education, and 11 per cent of public servants. Syria was among the first countries to confirm a woman as an ambassador. In the private economy, women had 10 per cent of managerial posts.

The protection and promotion of the rights of women was a tradition in the country. In all public areas, women were favoured and helped, particularly when they were pregnant. Handicapped women were given every possibility to overcome their handicaps, and were given the opportunity to work. Syria supported all efforts at the local, regional and international levels to promote and protect human rights for women.

MIGUEL ANGEL ALCAINE CASTRO (El Salvador), speaking on behalf of the Central American Group, said that women had been taking part in the highest echelon of public affairs of their countries. Gender-oriented measures had been under taken in all fields in order to improve the conditions of women in those countries. Special attention had been given to the health and food situation of girls and women in the region. The education system had been reformed in a manner that allowed women to become actively involved in it. The campaign for literacy had been intensified in the regions in order to reduce the rate of illiterate women both in the urban and rural areas. The Central American Group had also taken measures in fighting against HIV/AIDS disease in the regions. The victims of that disease being women, the countries of the region had taken preventive measures in the combat against that pandemic. Concerning the treatment of AIDS victims, the Group had been concerned by the high cost of pills demanded by the transnational pharmaceutical companies.

The Central American Group had also taken measures against sex-tourism which had become a phenomenon affecting children and women of the region. The Governments had undertaken common strategies in order to discourage sex-tourism from taking a wider scale in the region.

ROALD NAESS (Norway) said the human rights of women were an integral part of human rights, which was recognized in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted in 1993, and reaffirmed in the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action in 1995, as well as in the outcome document of the United Nations Special Session on women in 2000. While the principle of non-discrimination was a widely accepted norm, some aspects of it had proved easier to implement than others. The elimination of discrimination on grounds of sex was still far from being attained despite the general gains made in the field of human rights. This was once again confirmed by the Secretary-General in his report.

Women experienced multiple discrimination all too often. The intersectionality of gender-based and other forms of discrimination should be taken into account in the efforts to eradicate this serious problem. Recently, light had been shed on the fact that inequality between men and women was linked to poverty. The eradication of poverty was not possible without the full and equal participation in society by women and men. Poverty reduction should begin with the protection and realization of the human rights of children. Investment in children, in particular girls, was the best means of achieving equitable human development. The role of civil society, including NGOs, in defending the human rights of women, continued to be of the utmost importance. Women's organizations should be commended for their tireless efforts to promote the human rights of women. They should be encouraged to continue their work, and support should be provided. There was no chance for success unless this valuable knowledge at the grass roots level was used. Genuine democracy presupposed gender equality, equality for women and men under the law, and respect for human rights. Efforts could not be relaxed in trying to achieve gender equality. Only then would women fully enjoy their human rights.

MARIE GERVAIS-VIDRICAIRE (Canada) said that the universal ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women had yet to be achieved. The target for universal ratification by 2000 still stood; the number of reservations on that Convention remained high and the lack of implementation continued to impair the realization of the human rights of women throughout the world. Discrimination on the basis of sex, and violence against women and girls was pervasive; and women's inequality was further compounded by their race, ethnic, immigrant and indigenous status, sexual orientation, disability and age. Situations of armed conflict only exacerbated those inequalities.

The importance of integration of a gender perspective in the United Nations system could not be overstated. It was crucial to the work of the Commission and the United Nations system as a whole. Canada was pleased to lead a resolution on that important issue on behalf of Canada, Australia and New Zealand at the recently concluded Commission on the Status of Women. The resolution reflected the consensus that it was time to establish a more regular, systematic effort at the inter-governmental level to promote and monitor the efforts of United Nations entities to mainstream gender into their work.

ATTIYA INAYATULLAH (Pakistan) said the Pakistani Constitution was predicated on the noble principles of Islam and the international instruments that accorded primacy to the equality and mainstreaming of women in all fields of national life. Pakistan was proud of the enormous contributions that women of the country had made and were making in the social, political, economic and cultural development of the country. From agricultural farms to the management of sophisticated industries, women continued to play an important role in the economic development as equal partners. Pakistan had also made steady and consistent progress in the economic and social conditions of women. With its feet firmly on the ground, the women's agenda was mainstreamed in the Government's sustainable economic growth package.

Pakistan’s rights-based agenda for women was evidence that it was no longer possible to tolerate violence against women, particularly the violence hidden behind the doors of family homes in all countries across all boundaries, rich and poor, in developing and developed countries. The perpetrators had to be dealt with firmly, and the victims had to be given justice and had to be protected. In Pakistan, this was a serious matter for the Government which recognized the inalienable right to development because women carried the brunt of many development failures and service cuts associated with debt and structural adjustment. The Government's economic revival package had a strong preferential strategy for the economic empowerment of women through capacity building, skill training and credit facilities. On honour killing, it was unfortunate that this inhuman practice had wrongly been associated with Islamic societies. There was no compatibility between such criminal acts and Islamic States or the religion of Islam. All forms of crimes against women, especially crimes committed in the name of passion, including honour killings, were reprehensible and should be unequivocally condemned by the international community.


ABSA CLAUDE DIALLO (Senegal) said that the issue of the integration of the fundamental freedoms of women and the gender-orientation approach constituted a critical strategy of the process and implementation of the Beijing Platform’s plan of action and the outcome of the Special Session of the General Assembly in June 2000. The final document of the Special Session had welcomed the progress achieved in matters of equality between men and women. The gender-perspective approach was an integral part of the strategies to strengthen the empowerment of women and was aimed at ensuring equality between the two sexes. Senegal welcomed the efforts deployed by the Security Council in integrating a gender-perspective in the activities of the United Nations system.

Five years after Beijing, the abolition of exclusive laws against women were not sufficient to avoid the oldest form of discrimination against women which was based on sex. In addition, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other intolerance continued to affect the full enjoyment by women of their fundamental freedoms. In Senegal, initiatives had been undertaken to harmonize national legislation with the provisions of international conventions against the discrimination of women. The new fundamental law adopted last January in a referendum constitutionalized the fundamental freedoms of women and children in its preamble.

SHIRIN TAHIR-KHELI (the United States) said women had travelled a great distance in the 53 years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It had been a long and difficult journey, one that was far from finished. Few issues struck such deep and emotional strains in any society as a woman's place within it. Against this complicated backdrop, the progress that women had made was both remarkable and remarkably insufficient. If there was a single key to women's progress, it was education. Education was the key to individual empowerment, and individual empowerment was the key to a nation's growth and development. The benefits that accrued to States where women were encouraged to attend school and compete on an equal footing with men in every field could not be stressed. The proof was everywhere. Where women had the opportunity, they had proven themselves, improving their families, their communities and their countries in the process.

In retrospect, the United States did not pay enough attention to women's issues early in its history. But it was a democratic nation, and the laws and customs changed when people wanted them to. Today, women in the United States were not just making progress -- they were breaking new grounds and assuming more and more leadership positions in business, government, academia, the sciences, the law, the media and the arts and every field imaginable. Today, there was nothing unusual about seeing women at the senior-most levels of Government, working on issues that until recently were almost entirely in the hands of men. But despite the obvious progress, there remained much to do. Efforts had been made to incorporate women's concerns directly into its national laws. Today, the legal protections against discrimination, sexual harassment, violence and domestic abuse were far more inclusive than just a decade ago. Women made up half the world's population. A long way had been travelled to promote and protect all women's human rights and fundamental freedoms, but a long way to go remained. The path was straight, the duty was clear.

NAJAT AL-HAJJAJI (Libya) said the condition of women under the Koran had been a sensitive issue, particularly concerning inheritance. There had been controversial arguments which alleged that the Koran had not respected the equality between women and men. However, the interpretation of some verses and the depth vision of the Koran had revealed the contrary. The repercussion of civilization on the culture of Islam had also to be considered in the interpretation of some verses of the Koran. The Korean said that "the boy takes double", but that verse concerned a situation of old times. In the Koran, however, there was no prohibition for a person on what to do with his or her money. It could be equally distributed according to the will of the owner of the money. The law of inheritance was therefore not conditioned by the Koran.

MERCEDES DE ARMAS GARCIA (Cuba) said the emerging gap between the opulence of the north and the abandonment of the south was also reflected in the situation that women faced in the world today -- more than 820 million people were suffering from hunger, and 790 million of them lived in the Third World. Two-thirds of them were women. Some 99.5 per cent of all material deaths happened in the Third World, and life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa was hardly 48 years, 30 years less than in the developed countries. By the end of 2000, 34.3 million people were infected with HIV/AIDS, and 15.5 million of them were women. In addition, 70 per cent of the almost two billion poor people living in the world today were women. Their priorities were not "empowerment" nor "full development in all the facets of life" nor "mainstreaming of women's human rights". While all of those were important and necessary goals, survival itself was what really counted for these women.

A review of the United Nations reports on women and human rights showed that the item of integration of women's human rights suffered the same double standards and the same eagerness of singling out negatively and fundamentally the developing countries, which underlay a racist background that held the idea that these were the only countries where women's human rights were violated. How could all these reports include the real situation that working women were facing in the United States, in which women still received 73 per cent of the wages received by men under the same conditions and qualifications. Why did the reports not include an analysis on what was the real reason that 60 per cent of women prisoners in the United States were Afro-Americans or Hispanics. For Cuba, the position reached by the women in society, their cultural, technical and professional level, constituted revealing aspects not only of the social progress, but also of the continued effort of Cuban women, and the Government's unbreakable political will to realize their rights. The experience of the Cuban Revolution demonstrated, in its work of more than 40 years of social transformations, that a different life for the benefit of human beings was possible. In Cuba, women made up 43.6 per cent of the labour force in the civil state sector; 32.2 per cent of the persons appointed to economic, social and political posts and positions; and 27.6 per cent of the members of Parliament.

LUCIA H. RUSTAM (Indonesia) said her country had taken several measures to address problems with regard to racism, gender discrimination and violence against women. Poverty and ignorance were the root causes of those social ills, given the strong link that existed between social and economic development and between peace and stability. The recent economic crisis had enabled the exploitation of ethnic differences in certain areas of the country. As a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, Indonesia did not accept racial or ethnic discrimination and condemned it wherever and whenever it manifested itself. In addition, Indonesia was deeply concerned over the problem of violence against women, which should remain at the forefront of its attention, and recognized it as constituting a criminal offence.

Indonesia was and always had been an ardent supporter of women's human rights and was an advocate for the advancement of women in all respects. Although its capacity to implement the follow-up activities of the Beijing Plan of Action had been weakened by other events, its commitment and determination to achieve the goals set at Beijing and at many other conferences prior to that landmark event had not been diminished. The strengthened cooperation between the Government and its national NGOs was opening a new chapter in that effort. Likewise, the Government would continue to cooperate with the international community in working towards the mutual goals for the enjoyment of human rights by all women, men and children.

LI DONGSHENG (China) said that last June, the Special Session of the General Assembly on women's issues in New York had adopted a plan for further actions for realizing the goals set forth in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. At the same time, the difficulties faced by many countries, the developing countries in particular, should be taken into account. The benefits from globalization had not been distributed equally. The gap between rich and poor was getting wider. The impoverishment of women was becoming increasingly prominent and poverty constituted a major obstacle to the realization of women's rights. Poverty eradication should be the foremost priority. Poverty was a source of evil. Faced with difficulties and challenges, the developing countries should strive to develop their economies and eradicate poverty. The level of health for women should be raised effectively. Diseases and poverty formed a vicious circle. Efforts should be made to improve education, so that the quality of citizens, including that of women, was enhanced. The international community and the developed countries should provide positive and genuine assistance and support to back up the efforts made by the developing countries.

The Chinese Government had always attached great importance to the protection of women's rights, progress and development, and had made tremendous efforts in this regard. However, today women's rights were trampled upon by various evil powers, one of which was the Falun Gong cult. Among the Falun Gong practitioners, women took a considerable part. By taking advantage of women's sincere and kind nature, and their ardent eagerness for a happy life, the Falun Gong enticed them to be under the obsession of the cult. Falun Gong practised inhumane mind control upon women, gradually depriving them of freedom of expression, and making them abandon family and become irrational, which ultimately led to great misfortunes to their families, and irremediable disaster to their health and lives. Several hundred women had died of curable diseases just because they, following the absurd doctrine of the Falun Gong, refused to go to hospitals. What was more striking and horrible was that female practitioners, tempted by the so-called going-to-heaven, even paid the price by mutilating themselves or committing suicide to escape the "dooms-day". In January, seven Falun Gong practitioners set fire to themselves at Tiananmen Square -- five of them were females. The international community should act together to eradicate all evil cults, one of the common hazards of the world, to protect women's rights and interests.

DINH THI MINH HUYEN (Viet Nam) said she was concerned about the increasing number of women and girls from developing countries who were being trafficked to developed countries, as well as within and between regions and States. In that regard, Viet Nam welcomed the efforts made and initiatives undertaken by the international community, particularly by the United Nations system, in combatting those crimes. The Vietnamese Constitution and law guaranteed the principle of equality and non-discrimination between men and women in all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Viet Nam also attached great importance to the realization of equal enjoyment by women of all those rights.

Viet Nam had experienced problems of drug abuses and trafficking in women and girls. They were social evils that should be effectively fought and eradicated. The trafficking in women and girls constituted a crime that trampled upon the human dignity. It was the policy of the Government to wage an uncompromising fight in eradicating those social evils under any form. Governments should take appropriate measures to address poverty, unemployment, and social discrimination which were among the root causes leading to the trafficking in women and girls. All those forms of violence against women would be eradicated only when the principle of equal rights and freedoms and non-discrimination between men and women was realized. It would be a long and difficult fight and one should not give up hope.

YULIA GUSYNINA (the Russian Federation) said that in the report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, there was no proof in the broad generalizations and accusations levied against the Russian Federation in dealing with the Chechen Republic. The Special Rapporteur should not listen to rumours and fabrications. Six months ago, the Special Rapporteur was invited to visit the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic, and there had been no response to the invitation.

In many countries, women were unaware of their rights. It was hoped that the specialized agencies of the United Nations systems would take into account the document that came out of the Special Session of the General Assembly in New York last June. National governmental structures were at the centre of improving the situation of women, including the prevention of discrimination against women. The National Plan of Action to Improve the Status of Women was just about complete in the Russian Federation. There was a problem with the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation. It was wrong to lay the blame for the increasing scale of trafficking of women simply at the door of countries from where they came. It should equally place the responsibility on the receiving country.

HORACIO EMILIO SOLARI (Argentina) said that different international conferences on women had been committed to the defence of women. In Argentina, international instruments had been incorporated in the national legislation, including the International Convention against All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The effective inclusion of women in parliament had been successful despite problems in the society and they now made up 30 per cent of the body.

Argentina supported the mainstreaming of gender perspective in the United Nations system. In addition, the problems of violence in Argentina had been dealt with in accordance with a national plan of action on that field. Provincial authorities had included in their respective constituencies legislation designed to fight domestic violence. Penalties had been increased to punish sexual harassment and sexual abuse of and violence against women. Other measures had also been undertaken to improve the conditions of women in the society. The Government of Argentina was also committed to the defence of the human rights of women and had taken it as its prime objective to eradicate violence against them.

MASARU WATANABE (Japan) said the Government had approved the Basic Plan for Gender Equality, the first comprehensive legal document of its kind, which set out 11 important objectives, described the direction of long-term measures up to 2010, and detailed concrete measures to be implemented by the end of Fiscal Year 2005. Included were measures to expand women's participation in the policy- and decision-making process, remove actual disparities between male and female workers, and eliminate all forms of violence against women. Moreover, as a reform of the central government that was put into effect in January, the organization and functions of Japan's national machinery for gender equality had been strengthened. First, a Gender Equality Bureau was established within the Cabinet office headed by the Prime Minister, which had been given the mandate of formulating an overall coordination of plans for matters related to promoting the formation of a gender-equal society. Also, a Council for Gender Equality was installed, to survey and deliberate a basic policy concerned with promoting the formation of a gender-equal society as well as basic measures and important issues, and also to monitor the implementation status of those measures and assess and evaluate gender impacts of government policies in general.

The Government believed that international cooperation was crucial in furthering the empowerment of women in developing countries. For the past five years, it had taken the initiative in supporting UNDP projects and programmes, such as "Support for the Programme on Girls Education in Guatemala", that sought to empower women in developing countries through the Japan Women in Development Fund. The Government reaffirmed its commitment to the full implementation of the "Political Declaration" and "Further Actions and Initiatives" adopted at the Special Session of the General Assembly entitled Women 2000. Recognizing the crucial impact that the debate in the Commission could have, Japan was determined to make every effort to promote gender equality in Japan and in the international community.


Right of Reply

A Representative of Iran, speaking in a right of reply in reference to the report of the Special Rapporteur on religious freedom, said that all the Bahai persons mentioned in the report were spies. For that reason, they were sentenced to prison terms. As in many other cases, the Government had been granting amnesties while those who remained behind bars also enjoyed their fundamental freedoms.




* *** *