COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN WOULD URGE STATES TO ENSURE EQUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, UNDER PROPOSED TEXT

12th meeting
WOM/1049*/
12 March 1998

Other Drafts Introduced Address Women in Afghanistan, Palestine; Violence against Women, Conflict Situations, Gender Perspective, Older Women

The Commission on the Status of Women would urge States to design and revise laws to ensure that women were accorded full and equal rights to own land and other property, including through the right to equal inheritance, by the terms of a draft resolution introduced this afternoon by Zambia, on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

By other terms of the text, one of seven introduced this afternoon, States would also be urged to undertake administrative reforms and other necessary measures to give women the same right as men to credit, capital, appropriate technologies, and access to markets and information. The Commission would stress the need for full and urgent implementation of women's rights, as guaranteed in the relevant international human rights instruments.

Under the provisions of other drafts introduced today, the Commission would:

-- Condemn the continuing violations of the human rights of women and girls, including all forms of discrimination against them, in Afghanistan; and strongly urge all of the Afghan factions to end discriminatory policies and to recognize, protect and promote the equal rights and dignity of women and men (introduced by the United States);

-- Condemn violent acts against civilian women and children in areas of armed conflict and call for the immediate release of women and children taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned (introduced by Azerbaijan);

-- Call upon concerned governments, particularly of sending and receiving countries, to put in place penal and criminal sanctions to punish perpetrators of violence against women migrant workers and to provide victims of violence with immediate assistance, such as counselling, legal and consular assistance, and temporary shelters (introduced by the Philippines);

Women's Commission - 1a - Press Release WOM/1049 12th Meeting (PM) 12 March 1998

-- Invite Member States to consider implementing at the national level recommendations on older women and support systems, including research, economic security, education and empowerment (introduced by the Dominican Republic);

-- Reaffirm that the Israeli occupation remains a major obstacle to Palestinian women's advancement, self-reliance and integration in the development planning of their society (introduced by Indonesia, for the "Group of 77" developing countries and China); and

-- Urge the Secretary-General to ensure that the obstacles encountered in implementing the medium-term plan for the advancement of women are dealt with effectively; and stress, in particular, the importance of mainstreaming a gender perspective into the formulation and implementation of operational activities for development of the United Nations system (introduced by Canada). Also this afternoon, the representative of Namibia, speaking on behalf of the SADC, withdrew a draft resolution on the girl child, on the understanding that the proposals contained in it would be incorporated in the Commission's agreed conclusions on the subject.

The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 13 March, to consider the draft texts.

Commission Work Programme

The Commission on the Status of Women met this afternoon to hear the introduction of eight draft resolutions on a number of issues it considered during the current session.

The draft texts are on the following issues: human rights and land rights discrimination; the girl child; the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan; the release of women and children taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned, in armed conflicts; women migrant workers; older women and support systems: gender and caregiving; Palestinian women; and the system-wide medium-term plan.

Draft Texts

A draft resolution on Human rights and land rights discrimination (document E/CN.6/1998/L.3) would have the Commission stress the need for full and urgent implementation of the rights of women, as guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

States would be urged to design and revise laws to ensure that women were accorded full and equal rights to own land and other property, including through the right to equal inheritance. They would also be urged to undertake administrative reforms and other necessary measures to give women the same right as men to credit, capital, appropriate technologies, access to markets and information.

By other terms of the text, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights would be called upon to increase awareness that land rights discrimination was a violation of human rights and that in addressing the right to development, secure land tenure for women should be taken into account. The Secretary-General would be requested, as Chairman of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC), to ensure that all organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, particularly the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), take into account land rights discrimination and its negative impact on women in all poverty eradication programmes and policies.

States would be called upon to, among other things: set goals and implement gender-sensitive strategies for addressing the rights and needs of women; generate support to change the social and cultural patterns of conduct of women and men to eliminate prejudices and customary and all other practices; and develop innovative activities at all levels, including human rights education, to increase women's awareness of their human rights and the mechanisms available to protect and enforce their full enjoyment of them.

The text was sponsored by Botswana, Canada, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Finland, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia. By the terms of a draft text on the girl child (document E/CN.6/1998/L.4), the Commission would stress the need for more awarenessraising at the global level on the plight of the girl child. It would demand that Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) ensure the full and urgent implementation of the rights of the girl child, as guaranteed to her under all human rights instruments.

The Commission would call upon the Secretary-General to appoint a special ambassador to raise awareness on the special needs and concerns of the girl child. Governments, the United Nations system and NGOs would be requested to give due account to the recommendations of the expert group meeting on adolescent girls and their rights (held in Addis Ababa from 13-17 October 1997). The Secretary-General would be requested to submit a report to the Commission on the Status of Women prior to the five-year review of the Fourth World Conference on Women in the year 2000, and thereafter on a biennial basis, progress made in the implementation of the Platform for Action adopted by the Conference relating to the girl child.

The draft resolution is sponsored by Angola, Bangladesh, Botswana, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Pakistan, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

By a draft resolution on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan (document E/CN.6/1998/L.5), recommended for adoption by the Economic and Social Council, it would condemn the continuing violations of the human rights of women and girls, including all forms of discrimination against them, in that country. The Council would strongly urge all of the Afghan factions to end discriminatory policies and to recognize, protect and promote the equal rights and dignity of women and men, including their rights to full and equal participation in the life of the country, freedom of movement, access to education and health facilities, employment outside the home, personal security, and freedom from intimidation and harassment, with special respect to the implications of discriminatory policies for the distribution of aid.

The Commission would appeal to all Member States and to the international community to ensure that all humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people integrates gender concerns and actively attempts to promote the participation of both women and men and to promote peace and human rights. It would encourage the continuing efforts to ensure that all United Nations-assisted programmes in Afghanistan promote and ensure the participation of women in those programmes, and that women benefit equally with men from such programmes.

By other terms of the text, the Commission would welcome the establishment of the ad hoc Inter-Agency Task Force on Gender in Afghanistan under the leadership of the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, and would encourage Member States to make particular efforts to promote the human rights of women in Afghanistan.

The draft text is sponsored by Austria, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Netherlands, Panama, Portugal, Rwanda, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.

By the terms of another draft resolution (document E/CN.6/1998/L.6), the Commission would condemn violent acts in contravention of international humanitarian law against civilian women and children in areas of armed conflict, and would call for an effective response to such acts, including the immediate release of such women and children taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned, in armed conflicts.

All parties to armed conflicts would be strongly urged to respect fully the norms of international humanitarian law in armed conflict and to take all necessary measures for the protection of these women and children and for their immediate release. All parties to conflicts would also be urged to provide unimpeded access to specialized humanitarian assistance for these women and children. The Secretary-General and all relevant international organizations would be requested to facilitate the release of those women and children. The draft text is sponsored by Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, Guatemala, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, South Africa, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.

Another draft resolution (document E/CN.6/1998/L.7) would have the Commission call upon concerned governments to put in place penal and criminal sanctions to punish perpetrators of violence against women migrant workers and to provide survivors with immediate assistance, such as counselling, legal and consular assistance, temporary shelters and other measures that would allow them to be present during the judicial process.

The Commission would request concerned governments to include in their national action plans information on the problems of women migrant workers which could form part of a database for formulating measures to address the problem of violence against them. It would invite the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to develop a general recommendation on women and migration.

Governments would be encouraged to avail themselves of such expertise available in the United Nations, to develop appropriate data-collection methodologies that would generate comparable data on violence against women migrant workers as bases for research and analyses on the subject. They would be invited to undertake further research on the causes and consequences of violence against those workers.

Member States would be encouraged to ratify and comply with International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions and to sign and ratify or accede to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. The Secretary-General would be requested to establish a database of good practices and lessons learned relating to genderbased violence.

Also by the draft, relevant agencies of the United Nations system would be requested to support national measures designed to strengthen preventive action, in particular, education and information campaigns to increase awareness of the issue of violence against women migrant workers.

The draft text is sponsored by the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

By another draft text (document E/CN.6/1998/L.8), the Commission would invite Member States to consider implementing recommendations on caregiving and older persons, contained in an annex.

The recommendations focus on research, economic security, and education and empowerment, as well as the well-being of caregivers. They call upon national and international statistical and research institutes to, among other things, analyse the needs of older persons and caregivers from a gender perspective; and to pay special attention to the situation of older women and men in developing countries and carry out research on how support systems affect women and men differently. On the issue of economic security, and education and empowerment, the recommendations call on governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to, among other things: value the important contributions older women make to development; ensure that older women have access to credit and income-earning possibilities; promote lifelong learning on the part of women; provide possibilities for training and retraining; and equip older women with knowledge of modern and traditional technologies so they remain in the mainstream of society. On the well- being of caregivers, the recommendations call for higher value to be attached to unpaid caregiving labour; the provision of financial assistance to informal caregivers; and support to women and men who combine paid work and elder care with measures such as flexible working arrangements, family leave for the care of older dependent family members, and reintegration of caregivers after a career break.

The draft text is sponsored by Austria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Israel, Mali, Morocco, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Spain and the United States.

A draft resolution on Palestinian women (document E/CN.6/1998/L.9), recommended for adoption by the Economic and Social Council, is sponsored by Indonesia on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China. By that resolution, the Council would stress its support for the Middle East peace process and the need for speedy and full implementation of the agreements already reached between the parties. It would reaffirm that the Israeli occupation remains a major obstacle to Palestinian women's advancement, self-reliance and integration in the development planning of their society.

By other provisions of the text, the Council would demand that Israel, the occupying Power, comply fully with the provisions and principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Regulations annexed to The Hague Convention of 1907, and the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War in order to protect the rights of Palestinian women and their families.

The draft resolution calls upon Israel to facilitate the return of all refugees and displaced Palestinian women and children to their homes and properties in the occupied Palestinian territory. Member States, financial organizations of the United Nations system, NGOs and other relevant institutions are urged to intensify their efforts to provide financial and technical assistance to Palestinian women for the creation of projects responding to their needs, especially during the transitional period.

The draft resolution on the mid-term review of the system-wide mediumterm plan for the advancement of women, including the status of women in the Secretariat (document E/CN.6/1998/L.10), is also recommended to the Economic and Social Council for adoption. By the terms of the text, the Council would emphasize the need to implement the plan fully and would urge the SecretaryGeneral to ensure that the obstacles encountered in its implementing are dealt with effectively. It would stress in particular the importance of mainstreaming a gender perspective into the formulation and implementation of operational activities for development of the United Nations system and into the United Nations Development Assistance Framework, notably at the country level.

The Economic and Social Council would recommend that gender equality and women's empowerment goals be integrated into the continuing United Nations reform process, including in the work of the executive committees. In that regard, it reaffirms the goal of 50/50 gender distribution by the year 2000 in all categories of posts within the United Nations system, especially at the level of Principal Officer (D-1) above, with full respect for the principle of equitable geographical distribution. The lack of representation or underrepresentation of women from certain countries, in particular from developing countries and from countries with economies in transition, should be taken into account.

By other provisions of the text, Member States would be urged, when considering the triennial policy review of the Organization's operational activities for development during the General Assembly's fifty-third session, to integrate fully a gender perspective into those activities. It would request the United Nations Development Group to institute guidelines and procedures for implementing relevant aspects of the Beijing Platform for Action into the planning of those activities.

Introduction of Draft Texts

MWILA GRACE BANDA CHIGAGA (Zambia) introduced the draft resolution on human rights and land rights discrimination, on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). She said the governments of SADC countries had undertaken to confront the difficult and sensitive issues in the subregion, including land reforms, out of a realization that gender equality was a prerequisite for development. There was no other viable option. The following States were added as co-sponsors of the draft: Austria, Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Ghana, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Saint Lucia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.

NETUMBO NANDI-NDAITWAH (Namibia), also speaking for the SADC, said the draft resolution on the girl child had been withdrawn on the understanding that the proposals contained in it would be incorporated in the Commission's agreed conclusions on the subject.

LINDA TARR-WHELAN (United States) introduced the draft resolution on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. She then read out an additional operative paragraph, to appear at the end of the draft, as follows:

"7. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the reports of future gender missions are made available to the Commission on the Status of Women."

Ms. TARR-WHELAN said the draft text had been presented in support of the women and girls who had lost their voice in Afghanistan. Reports from within Afghanistan, including from NGOs operating within the country, revealed that women's rights had been sharply curtailed under the Taliban leadership. The loss of those rights, such as the right to an education, could not be justified. The Commission should ensure that Afghan women and girls were heard.

The following Member States were added as co-sponsors of the draft: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Mali, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Romania, and Slovakia.

FIKRET M. PASHAYEV (Azerbaijan), an observer in the Commission, introduced the draft resolution on the release of women and children taken hostage. He said in every region of the world, innocent women and children seemed to be the most vulnerable in conflict situations.

The following Member States were added as co-sponsors of the draft:

Angola, Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, and Togo.

LINGLINGAY F. LACANLALE (Philippines) introduced the draft resolution on women migrant workers, which she said should be renamed, "Violence against Women Migrant Workers. She also introduced a number of changes to the text.

Operative paragraph 2 would be revised to read as follows:

"2. Invites concerned Governments, particularly of sending and receiving countries, to include in their national action plans information on the problems of women migrant workers;"

In the first line of operative paragraph 3, the phrase "Encourages Governments to avail themselves of the expertise of the United Nations" would now refer to "Governments, particularly of sending and receiving countries". The paragraph's reference to the development of "appropriate data collection methodologies" would now cite "appropriate national data collection methodologies".

Operative paragraph 5 "requests concerned States Parties" to information on violence against migrant workers in their periodic reports to relevant human rights treaty bodies. It would be revised so that it "invites concerned States Parties, particularly of sending and receiving countries" to do so.

Operative paragraph 6 would be revised to read as follows:

"6. Invites Member States and non-governmental organizations to contribute information to the proposed database of good practices and lessons learned on all forms of violence against women, initiatives and projects which have proved viable and effective as reference in evolving national strategies and strengthening bilateral, regional and international cooperation for dealing with violence against women migrant workers."

Operative paragraph 7 "calls upon concerned Governments to put in place penal and criminal sanctions to punish perpetrators of violence against women migrant workers and to provide survivors with the full range of immediate assistance, such as counselling, legal and consular assistance, temporary shelters and other measures that will allow them to be present during the judicial process".

It would be revised so that it "calls upon concerned Governments, particularly of sending and receiving countries, if they have not done so", to take such actions. The latter part of the paragraph, beginning with the words "women migrant workers, would be revised to read as follows: "women migrant workers and to the extent possible, to provide victims of violence with the full range of immediate assistance, such as counselling, legal and consular assistance, temporary shelters and other measures that will allow them to be present during the judicial process, as well as establishing reintegration".

Operative paragraph 8 reads as follows: "Encourages Member States to ratify and comply with International Labour Organization conventions and to sign, ratify or accede to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families."

It was revised to read: "Encourages Member States to consider ratifying and complying" with those conventions "and to consider signing and ratifying or acceding to" the International Convention.

Operative paragraph 9, which would have invited Member States to implement, as appropriate, the Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, was deleted.

Operative paragraph 10 "invites the 'Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women' to develop a general recommendation on women and migration." It was revised so that the Commission would "encourage" the Committee to "consider developing a general recommendation on the situation of women migrant workers".

An additional operative paragraph was added, as follows:

"10 bis. Encourages concerned Governments, in particular those of sending and receiving countries, to adopt measures to regulate the recruitment and deployment of women migrant workers, including considering adopting appropriate legal measures against intermediaries who deliberately encourage the clandestine movement of workers and who exploit women migrant workers;"

Operative paragraph 11 requests that various United Nations bodies "support national measures designed to strengthen preventive action, in particular, education and information campaigns to increase awareness of the issue of violence against women migrant workers". It was revised to specify national measures "in both sending and receiving countries".

It was also revised to request that those agencies "ensure adequate briefing and training of prospective women migrant workers on the laws, culture, working and living conditions, possible problems, coping mechanisms and support services in the receiving countries".

The following States were added as co-sponsors of the draft on violence against women workers: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cote d'Ivoire.

JULIA TAVARES DE ALVAREZ (Dominican Republic) introduced the draft resolution on caregiving and older women. She said the following member States were being added as co-sponsors: Australia, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Ireland, Japan, Lesotho, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Portugal, Sudan, and Togo.

SUDJADNAN PARNOHADININGRAT (Indonesia), speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, introduced the draft resolution on Palestinian women. He underlined the continuing solidarity of the Group with the Palestinian women, whose situation had not improved. Their daily lives continued to be threatened by the Israeli occupation, he said.

ANDRE FRANCOIS GIROUX (Canada) introduced the draft resolution on the mid-term review of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women.

The following States were added as co-sponsors of the draft: Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, Denmark, Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Japan, Lesotho,

Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan, and Uganda.

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*/ The 11th meeting was a closed meeting.