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07 April 2000
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Commission on Human Rights
56th session
7 April 2000
Morning
Hears Statement by Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
The Commission on Human Rights this morning concluded its debate on civil and political rights throughout the world and took up the issue of the integration of the human rights of women and the gender perspective, including violence against women.
The Commission was addressed by the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Dimitrov, who stated that the situation in Kosovo and in the neighbouring Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) was tense and difficult, and everyday there were reports of constant violations of even the most basic human rights. The concept of ethnically clean states and exclusive tendencies of superiority of one group over the other should be eradicated. The multi-cultural and multi-ethnic character of the province had to be preserved and the creation of the necessary conditions for the return of the refugees had to be fully supported by the international community.
Also speaking before the Commission this morning was Dubravka Simonovic, Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women, who said the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women had been signed in October 1999, and would hopefully enter into force before the end of the year 2000. It would be an additional tool for advancing women' interests through government reform of legislation and policy. The success of the adoption would lie in the capability to provide change at the national level.
Among speakers on the situation of women, the European Union noted with concern the phenomenon of the feminization of poverty and reiterated that gender inequality remained one of the major obstacles to eradication of poverty, as well as of other forms of social exclusion.
The Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance and the Vice President of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions gave concluding remarks before the closure of the topic on civil and political rights.
Several speakers from non-governmental organizations presented a catalogue of violations of civil and political rights in a number of countries and many of them urged Governments to abide by their international obligations by promoting the civil and political rights of their peoples. A number of speakers complained about some States' violations of the civil and political rights of citizens in other States.
Representatives of the following non-governmental organizations spoke on civil and political rights: the International Human Rights Association of American Minorities; the Indian Council of South America; the National Union of Jurists of Cuba; the Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization; the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; the International Council of Nurses; the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation; the European Union of Public Relations; the International Indian Treaty Council; and the Catholic Institute for International Relations.
The representatives of Japan, Mexico, Pakistan, Portugal (on behalf of the European Union), Botswana and India spoke on the integration of the human rights of women and violence against them.
The representatives of Zambia, Iraq, Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt, Viet Nam, the United States and Thailand exercised their rights of reply.
The Commission will reconvene at 3 p.m. to continue its debate on the human rights of women. It was also expected to take action on resolutions on item 4 - report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and follow-up to the World Conference on Human Rights - and item 5 - the right of peoples to self-determination and its application to peoples under colonial or alien domination or foreign occupation - which it already dealt with during its current session.
Statements
NIKOLA DIMITROV, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, said the international community had for several years been articulating the political will for global democracy through the activities of the United Nations, resulting in the impressive development of international human rights law in the last 50 years into a generally accepted basic standard and a goal to be reached by all people and nations. However, there had been violations, gross neglect of the Geneva Conventions, humanitarian disasters, utter poverty, hunger and the sexual exploitation of women.
The situation in Kosovo and in the neighbouring Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) was tense, difficult, and everyday there were reports of constant violations of even the most basic human rights. In this respect, the primary aim was to get rid of the concept of ethnically clean states and exclusive tendencies of superiority of one group over the other. This concept generated new conflicts and suffering. The multi-cultural and multi-ethnic character of the province and the creation of the necessary conditions for the return of the refugees had to be fully supported by the international community. The concept of open civil societies, based on individualism and not collectivism, had to be encouraged. Lasting stability in the region was to a great extent determined by the peace and democratization of Kosovo. Mr. Dimitrov reaffirmed his support for the effective implementation of Security Council resolution 1244. The urgent democratization of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was also a priority for the region's stability.
Mr. Dimitrov highlighted the importance of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Rome Statute of the International Crime Tribunal. More steps had to be undertaken for the effective implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Development and the combat against racism through full support for the World Conference on Racism which would be held in South Africa. The promotion and strengthening of the UN bodies working on human rights, and especially the revision of mechanisms of the Commission, was as important as the implementation of standards. Reform was necessary to strengthen the Commission. Education was required for the full implementation of human rights, all States were recommended to promote human rights education on a national level.
Mr. Dimitrov said his country welcomed the work of regional groups in the protection of persons belonging to national, religious and linguistic minorities, particularly the work of the Council of Europe. Two important documents were highlighted, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the Charter of the Protection of Regional and Minority Languages. His country had been continuously promoting ethnic minorities rights. Related problems should be treated through a regional approach in order for them to be resolved. The Government had set an important example in the region, being one of the rare States with a developed system of protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities. The Republic of Macedonia was a true model of a multi-cultural civil society. In this connection, the overall success of the Stability Pact would, to a large extent, depend on the success of the Working Table on Democratization and Human Rights
Conclusion of debate on civil and political rights
LOUIS JOINET, Vice-President of the Working Group on Detention, said that concerning Peru, the cases of some prisoners would be brought up again during the next session of the Commission. He thanked the Swiss delegation for the positive criticism made on the report. With regard to Viet Nam, the Government had responded positively to the follow-up requests of the Working Group. A broad amnesty had also been handed down by the Government. Concerning Cuba, he thanked the delegation for its thorough reading of the report. He appreciated the suggestion that the Working Group should stress the question of asylum-seekers, which the Group did and would continue to do so.
ABDELFATTAH AMOR, Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance, in closing remarks, said he regretted that the report was not distributed in time. He would take into account all the observations made. It was true that the Indian Constitution was very liberal and official statements were very open, but India had a very complex society with many religious minorities. In recent years, a form of Hindu extremism had developed which had resulted in attacks on Christians; the problem sometimes had been acknowledged by official bodies. It even had been debated in Parliament. He did not believe he had acted on insufficiently founded information, as stated by the representative of India. As for indigenous communities in the United States, the spirituality of indigenous peoples deserved as much respect and consideration as that shown to other religions; when he had visited the United States, he had said that and he continued to believe it. He continued to believe as well that women's rights in relation to religion needed to be scrupulously defended.
COLIN MC NAUGHTON, of the International Human Rights Association of American Minorities, said the most heinous of crimes was forced disappearance; in various parts of the world, such disappearances were used to stifle dissent; the tragic effects lingered for years, and impunity for such crimes was the norm. In Guatemala, children and young adults still sought to discover the fate of their disappeared parents; for seeking the truth, these young people were now being threatened themselves. The problem appeared to be that the perpetrators of up to 40,000 disappearances included those in the high levels of the Government; after 36 years of brutal internal armed conflict, these high-ranking people did not want the truth to come out.
In Chiapas, Mexico, paramilitary groups continued to grow, to become more violent, and to inflict torture, rape, and enforced disappearances on the people of Chiapas; Mexican police and troops also committed such crimes. This had to stop. In Colombia, the Colombian Government, backed by the United States and its anti-drug programme, was conducting an undeclared war against indigenous peoples, using paramilitary groups. The intent was to enrich themselves on the natural resources of the indigenous people's lands. Finally, more had to be done to stop human-rights violations in Kashmir. India and Pakistan must behave responsibly to reach a solution to the conflict with the full participation of Kashmiris.
ROBERT CASTILLO, of the Indian Council of South America, brought the case of Leonard Peltier to the attention of the Commission. He was a Lakota-Chippewa and the life-long defender of traditional, cultural, civil and human rights of indigenous people. He was currently incarcerated in a Minnesota jail for a crime he did not commit. Mr. Peltier had been arbitrarily held in U.S. federal prisons for twenty-four years for vindicative and political reasons. The United States had admitted it was directly responsible for his fraudulent extradition from Canada in 1976 and the preparation and submission of falsified affidavits to Canadian officials. This alone violated extradition and international laws.
Every State was bound by the prohibition against torture, nevertheless, torture of persons in detention persisted, most often for political reasons. There were thousands of prisoners in the United States who did not receive adequate physical or mental heath care according to several human rights non-governmental organizations. In light of President Clinton's executive order in 1998 for the implementation of human rights treaties, the organization called upon the Commission to ask the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to carry out an investigation on the U.S. administration of justice, and to investigate all the cases of political prisoners and the conditions of detention of the 2 million prisoners in the United States, and to submit a report to the Commission at its next session.
ODALY HERNANDEZ FUENTES, of the National Union of Jurists of Cuba, said that the people of Cuba had the right to demand reparations from the United States for the violence they were subjected to against their right to life and their physical integrity. Between 1959 and 1965, the United States through its terrorist bands and mercenaries had caused great damage, including death, to Cubans and their development. During the literacy campaign launched by Cuba, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had carried out sabotage and terrorist attacks and had assassinated young teachers and peasant families.
The mercenary invasion carried out by the United States had been organized by the CIA with the approval of the Government. The invasion of Cuba had killed many innocent people, including children and women. Through its permanent external policy of terrorism, the United States had been waging war against Cuba for the last 40 years to destroy the people's revolution. Its terrorist actions included the destruction of coastal installations, naval and other infrastructures. It had also continued its constant instigation of subversive acts through radio and television transmissions. The United States had to repair the damage it had caused to the people of Cuba.
M. V. GUPTA, of the Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization, said the system of political parties and democratic elections was designed to permit the widest cross section of people to have a role in determining their destiny and to elect their own representatives whom they trusted. In Pakistan today that entire system had been usurped. Not satisfied with overthrowing an elected Government, the military rulers of Pakistan had now banned pubic political rallies, the very core activity of democracy. Freedom of travel was constrained through a system of exit controls that barred even respected political leaders. The reason advanced was the classic one of autocrats and dictators everywhere that the state of the nation was not suitable for conflict.
It was as if the overthrow of an elected Government, at point gun, was not a conflict with the very spirit of freedom. Political and civil rights had never been of much concern to the feudal power elite of Pakistan. It had always been military rule in civilian garb designed only to delude the donor countries. The latest episode of Nawaz Sharif's overthrow for exercising his right to dismiss an army chief merely proved once again that Pakistan had evolved not as a democracy but a military dictatorship masquerading as a democracy.
LEYLA PERVIZAT, of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, said that among the worst forms of extra-judicial killings were so-called honour killings, the premeditated systematic killing of women by the male family members after a family committee decision when the women were accused of shaming or dishonouring the family by behaving or not behaving in certain ways under the traditional and cultural society codes. These were the practices and beliefs of a patriarchal society. This constituted a systematic failure on the part of the States in not using legal tools to prevent these human rights violations and to honour international obligations. These practices occurred around the world in Egypt, Venezuela, Ecuador, Jordan, Iran, Argentina, Brazil, Bangladesh, Iran, Peru and the state of Texas in the United States of America where there were official laws, policies or practices which displayed indifference, acceptance, approval or even gave the permission for these executions.
The Commission was called upon to question the established understanding of current mandates of the Special Rapporteurs in solving these violations. The organization wanted the Special Rapporteurs on torture, freedom of expression and extra-judicial killings to look into this situation so that these so-called honour killings could be brought to an end.
TESFAMICAEL GHEBREHIWET, of the International Council of Nurses, in a joint statement with the International Pharmaceutical Federation and World Medical Association, said that health professionals had an ethnical duty to serve humanity in times of peace, during conflicts and disasters, and to care for those who had been tortured and those who were sick and dying, regardless of their political affiliations. It was incompatible with the professional duty of health care providers to be directed by governments as to who they could or could not treat. Indeed, it was against the medical ethical codes to discriminate on the basis of colour, gender, creed, religion, social status or political affiliation. To deny health care to anyone on those grounds would be a gross violation of professional conduct and subject to severe measures.
Health professionals often suffered reprisals for providing treatment and counselling to those whose human rights had been violated. Governments which did not respect human rights often used torture as one of their methods of coercion. Torture victims required treatment by health professionals, who in turn often themselves became the victims of further attacks and reprisals. At present, health professionals in several countries were being harassed, imprisoned and tortured because they treated patients.
KHALID JAHANGIR, of the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, said that while the Commission and its Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance had made commendable efforts to combat religious intolerance, it continued to occur in different forms. While countries in the West sought to end such intolerance on their territories, the East was witnessing a spurt of such incidents. In South Asia, religious fundamentalism promoting intolerance was growing. Groups of terrorists styling themselves as Mujahideen had been threatening peaceful and tolerant South Asian societies for more than ten years, selectively targeting non-Muslims, destroying their hearths and homes, performing acts that were completely contrary to the message of tolerance and peace that was the true essence of Islam. In Kashmir, they even had lately targeted Muslims who were opposed to their inhuman actions.
It was an open secret, and well-documented, that these extremists were supported, financed and armed by a particular Government. The Commission must take note of this alarming situation and impress upon the concerned Government that it must stop supporting terrorist groups which, among other things, were creating havoc in Jammu and Kashmir State.
FIRDOUS SYED, of the European Union of Public Relations, said this agenda item offered an integrated approach to what would ideally constitute a society where basic civil liberties were protected by law, regionally, nationally and internationally. On the issue of freedom of religion and belief, concern was raised that in the name of religion, the polarization of communities could degenerate into horrendous acts of violence, curbing all civil liberties. Peace was the sole guarantor to fundamental freedoms, and terrorism was the driving force of instability. Furthermore in modern international relations there was a growing concern that States were using terrorism in inter-State conflicts. Modern warfare was in a transforming phase. By the choice of hard and soft targets, the violence unleashed by non-State actors deregulated the regulations of warfare. In these cases human rights became the first and foremost casualty. Kashmir was ravaged by sheer aggression and unimaginable violence perpetrated by foreign mercenaries induced by a belligerent nation. No one had been spared.
BILL SIMMONS, of the International Indian Treaty Council, said he had received an important update on the medical condition of political prisoner Leonard Peltier in the United States. Mr. Peltier, who had been in jail for the last 24 years, had been allowed to undergo a medical treatment after years of requests and widespread international outcry. Although the humanitarian gesture of the United States officials was to be recognized, the Council continued to regret that lack of medical care for all those years had resulted in serious disability and suffering tantamount to torture while it could have been cured in five hours. The Council called on the President of the United States to further demonstrate the change of heart in the case of Leonard Peltier by granting him executive clemency and releasing him from prison without further delay.
CHRISTIANE DEHOY, of the Catholic Institute on International Relations, spoke about religious intolerance in Asia where religion was sometimes perceived as a threat to national security. This was not a legitimate ground for limiting the exercise of beliefs. There were particularly worrying trends in Laos, where worshipping in churches had not been recognized by the State. At least 46 people were imprisoned on charges of believing in Jesus. This discrimination affected Catholics and Protestants equally. They were only released after abandoning their faith. Similar difficulties had been encountered by ethnic minorities in Viet Nam as observed by the Special Rapporteur. Christians faced daily harassment, the destruction of places of workshop and intimidation aimed at forcing them to renounce their faith. A decree in April had further eroded the right of belief and gave security services even more power in determining whether religious activities were permissible. Problems were also experienced in Myanmar with monitoring, desecration, restrictions and discrimination. In India the Freedom of Religion Bill in the Gujarat State and the Uttar Pradesh Construction of Religions Places Act were inimical to the rights of Christian and Muslim minorities. In Pakistan the blasphemy law and the associated impunity clause had led to it being used in personal disagreements. Furthermore there were separate electoral systems and inequality before the law. The right to religious freedom was at the core of human rights, the core of the being and the concept of life. The Commission was urged to pay greater attention and to implement new measures to address these core violations of human rights.
Rights of Reply
The representative of Zambia said in right of reply that his country had a young democracy where freedom of expression and the freedom of the press were protected by the 1996 Constitution. The Zambian Government was attempting to enhance press freedom and there were currently over ten private newspapers and ten private radio stations. However, the legal system allowed for certain limitations to safeguard the fragility of the new democracy. The statement by the non-governmental organization had been uninformed.
The representative of Iraq, speaking in right of reply, said the United States had referred to Iraq yesterday. Everyone knew the United States was at war with Iraq -- a permanent war that had begun in 1991; United States planes bombarded Iraq on a daily basis. All religious minorities and all citizens were exposed to these attacks. Yesterday, when the United States had spoken against Iraq, new bombings had killed 14 people. The U.S. economic embargo had killed more than a million children so far; it killed one child every six minutes. The United States was not fit to be teaching lessons on human rights, as its own record was blotted, among other things, by what it had done to its own indigenous peoples and to African Americans.
The representative of Tunisia, speaking in right of reply concerning a statement made by a non-governmental organization yesterday evening, said that the organization had abused the forum by levelling false accusations against his country concerning the treatment of journalists. The organization referred to the activities of a notorious journalist known for his extremist ideas, who was carrying out professional defamation. Tunisian laws had given adequate protection to journalists and free expression was guaranteed. The Government was engaged in its irreversible devotion in the promotion of human rights.
The representative of Jordan, speaking in right of reply, said the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom had said his country had laws that allowed honour killings and that Jordan thus did not sufficiently protect the right to life. Although Jordan thought this issue was usually dealt with under item 12, the delegation stressed that Jordanian criminal law protected all persons and was enforced comprehensively. No one was immune to the law. The perpetrators of such crimes did not go unpunished. However, as in other countries, the State did allow for extenuating circumstances that could result in reduced sentences or suspension of punishment. Reforms, meanwhile, were being undertaken to eliminate any discrimination against women that might be contained in the country's laws; old habits died hard, however; and old customs did not change overnight. The Government hoped soon to be able to change the legal article mentioned by the NGO as being discriminatory to women.
The representative of Egypt said in right of reply that the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom must have confused two totally different concepts with regards to honour killings and the 'defense of property excuse'. There were no obscurities in Egypt when it came to the rights to life. All extenuating circumstances were compatible with international standards. Dishonouring any human being was a crime in Egypt. Egypt had recently adopted a Family Affairs Law which consisted of affirmative legal action for the benefit of women's rights and was unprecedented in the most civilized countries.
The representative of Viet Nam said in right of reply that the Catholic Institute for International Relations had created a misperception. That NGO had misused this forum and misused Commission mechanisms. Viet Nam in fact scrupulously protected all religious minorities and protected freedom of religion. The number of Christians had doubled in Viet Nam in recent years. The cases mentioned by the NGO were distorted and were in clear contrast to reality in Viet Nam.
The representative of the United States, speaking in right of reply, refuted the accusations addressed against his country by Iraq; he reminded the Iraqi delegation that they should search for the truth and let the truth be heard. Iraq had to open its doors to Special Rapporteurs and other experts so that the people of Iraq would see the realities of their leader, Saddam Hussein.
The representative of Thailand, speaking in right of reply, said the statement by Pax Romana about events in 1992 had been misleading. An amnesty decree had been issued involving all parties involved in the issue. All parties had upheld the amnesty decree in order to aid national reconciliation. Regarding the disclosures of the findings of the investigating committee that had looked into the incident, they were in keeping with the regulations of the Disclosures Act.
Debate on integration of the human rights of women and the gender perspective, including violence against women
DUBRRAVKA SIMONOVIC, Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women, said the Commission's work on the follow-up and implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action had formed the main part of its work programme since 1996. The Beijing Plus 5 Review presented an opportunity to consolidate this work, and to reflect on the impact of the Conference which had established crucial links between the advancement of women and economic and social progress in all parts of the world. The challenge was to build on the achievements of the Beijing Conference. Four resolutions had been adopted at the forty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, including two draft resolutions on the situation of women in Afghanistan and the situation of the girl-child in Asia. The provisional agenda adopted at the forty-fifth session included two thematic issues, women, the girl-child and HIV AIDS; and gender and all forms of discrimination, in particular issues related to racism. The second theme was chosen specifically so that the Commission could provide an input to the World Conference on Racism in South Africa. Ms. Simonovic reaffirmed that the Commission on the Status of Women remained committed to the ongoing cooperation between the two secretariats of their Commission nd the Commission on Human Rights which serviced these commissions in the spirit of the Vienna declaration and Programme of Action and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
The adoption of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women had been signed in October 1999, and would hopefully enter into force before the end of the year 2000. This would be an additional tool for advancing women’s' interests through government reform of legislation and policy. The success of the adoption would lie in the capability to provide change at the national level. It was important to translate into practice what had been achieved conceptually, through legislation, judicial decisions and policies at the national level as well as through the work of the Commission and its subsidiary machinery, the Commission on the Status of Women, as well as expert bodies, including the treaty bodies, such as the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
HIDEAKI KOBAYASHI (Japan) said that violence against women was a subject which was not given serious attention at both the international and national levels. It had been recognized that violence against women amounted to the violation of human rights. That was the view of the Japanese Government which had designated the eradication of violence against women as one of the priority objectives of its national action plan and had been dealing with that issue in a comprehensive manner. For example, local police forces had set up hotlines that women who were subjected to violence could call for advice and assistance so they would not have to simply suffer in silence.
Violence against women was but one of the threats to the human rights and dignity of women. In the Asian region, another newly emerging issue was trafficking in persons, especially women and children. The problem was recognized by the Economic and Social Commission for the Asia Pacific region at its meeting in Bangkok last October. Japan was one of the countries to identify that matter and grave concern was shared by other Asian Pacific members.
ALICIA PEREZ DUARTE (Mexico) said Mexican women had seen progress in their participation in the full range of activities in Mexican society, but the authorities also knew that much progress remained to be carried out. The Government had started an "Alliance for Equality" programme to advance women's rights. Poverty remained a major obstacle; it was a social injustice that afflicted both urban and rural populations; women's poverty needed special action and special focus. To cure it, there had to be greater opportunities for women and obstacles such as laws barring women from inheritance of property should be eliminated. The Mexican Government was working hard to overcome women's poverty. The Commission should carefully study the draft resolution Mexico had tabled on the matter.
Violence against women had to be eliminated; Mexico had carried out legal and other reforms to combat such violence, and especially violence within the family; efforts were also being made to make authorities aware of the problem and of an official Mexican standard for medical care related to family violence that would enable early detection and help with prevention. Other forms of violence against women were also being given concerted attention. The Special Rapporteur on violence against women had been invited to visit the country and Mexico had worked with UNIFEM to set up a database that elucidated gender differences.
ATTIYA INAYATULLAH (Pakistan) gave an account of the many positive actions taken by the new Government in redressing the gender imbalance. It was clear that the new leadership was women friendly. The Government had taken into serious consideration the rank of Pakistan in the UNDP Human Development Report as one of the most gender insensitive countries. There had been a perceptual and policy progression in Pakistan; before gender issues had been seen as welfare whereas today no agenda was complete without a central focal attention on women. A national plan of action was under implementation since the fourth World Conference on Women. The initiatives taken included the empowerment of women. Women now held positions in the National Security Council and in Government. Leadership training was underway for the orientation of the women who would be elected in the district elections, a task force was set up to evaluate how women could be main streamed in the judicial, political and legislative aspects of the system. There were expert groups on the development of women in the media and the feminization of power. A $ 25 million fund for women in distress had been set up, ensuring assistance to protection houses.
The delegation made a special mention of the so-called honour killings. There was nothing honourable about these murders and they were not sanctioned by religion or the State. The Government was combatting this problem with all its resources. There had been administrative instruction that law should follow its course in this field; there could be no manipulation of the law in the case of honour killings. The Pakistani Government was working to ensure equality in remuneration, and was redressing the gender gap through primary school education. The poverty reduction strategy had given a practical shape to the Government’s resolve to have a comprehensive development package. These changes would have far-reaching effects on the lives of Pakistani women and this was only the beginning of the process of change, not the end.
ALVARO MENDONCA E MOURA (Portugal), speaking on behalf of the European Union and States associated with it, said that although progress had been made in the sphere of the human rights of women, the Union was deeply concerned about the fact that by no means did all women and girls currently enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms in full equality with men and boys. In addition, gender-based discrimination and stereotypes as well as harmful behaviour patterns persisted all over the globe on a daunting scale. Furthermore, women were often confronted with additional obstacles in their path to empowerment and advancement, because of such factors as their poverty, education, race, age, language, ethnicity, culture, religion, disability or sexual orientation, or because they were indigenous people.
The European Union noted with concern the phenomenon of the feminization of poverty -- it had been highlighted by the Beijing Platform for Action, and reiterated that gender inequality remained one of the major obstacles to eradicate poverty, as well as other forms of social exclusion. Those phenomena undermined human dignity and inhibited in particular the enjoyment by women of basic economic, social and cultural rights. Consistent with that view, the importance of access by women to food, health care, education and employment should be underlined, as it was instrumental for their empowerment and advancement.
Women had played a relevant and dynamic role in society and were key actors in the promotion, protection and enhanced implementation of human rights. No woman should suffer from discrimination, neither de jure nor de facto. They should be granted effective and active participation in all fields of life -- civil, political, social, economic and cultural -- especially in the processes of democratic transition and development of their countries. Moreover, access of women to power strengthened participatory democracy, consolidating its proper functioning. The Union advocated equal opportunities and equal participation of women and men in all local, national, regional and international bodies and policy-making processes.
T. R. DITLHABI OLIPHANT (Botswana) said the last century had provided both harrowing experiences and hard lessons for humanity. Commendable strides had been made on gender equality which not so long ago had been considered a Utopian dream. The road from Vienna to Beijing had been long, but full with hope. Since Beijing, the Government of Botswana had established a multi-sectoral body which facilitated gender equality and aimed at advising the Government with a view to remove all obstacles in law and practice. The National Policy on Women and Development was also aimed at empowering women through gender awareness in development planning and women's reproductive health and rights. There was also a collaboration of women's non-governmental organizations which was dedicated to consolidating a united position on critical areas of concern which had been identified in the National Gender Programme. The representation of women in decision-making areas had increased as had the number of women in senior and middle-management levels. Education and health had become more gender-sensitive and the scourge of HIV/AIDS had brought into the open the issue of sex education and sex awareness.
Violence against women was addressed as one of the critical areas in the development of women. Awareness-training of the law enforcement and social welfare workers was pursued. The penal code had been amended to enable the courts to impose higher penalties for rapists. Concern and abhorrence was expressed at the violations of the rights of women and girls in conflict areas all over the world and in particular in countries such as Angola, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Palestine. The international community should not only pronounce outrage at these beastly acts but should call for stern measures to be taken against the perpetrators.
SAVITRI KUNADI (India) said her country had a Department of Women and Child Development, a National Commission for Women, a Parliamentary Committee for the empowerment of women, a Central Social Welfare Board, and a National Women's Fund. The Fund provided credit to poor and needy women in the informal sector and since its inception in 1993 had disbursed over US$11 million in credit. Women's cells had been created in police stations to combat violence against women, and gender-specific support services at village centres had been set up throughout the country. Violence against women was a serious concern of the Government and society, and the Special Rapporteur on the topic had been invited to visit India.
The Fifth World Conference on Women scheduled for June should look into such emerging issues as the impact of globalization on women; the increasing numbers of aged women; and insufficient health and social services for women.
* *** *
56th session
7 April 2000
Morning
Hears Statement by Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
The Commission on Human Rights this morning concluded its debate on civil and political rights throughout the world and took up the issue of the integration of the human rights of women and the gender perspective, including violence against women.
The Commission was addressed by the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Dimitrov, who stated that the situation in Kosovo and in the neighbouring Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) was tense and difficult, and everyday there were reports of constant violations of even the most basic human rights. The concept of ethnically clean states and exclusive tendencies of superiority of one group over the other should be eradicated. The multi-cultural and multi-ethnic character of the province had to be preserved and the creation of the necessary conditions for the return of the refugees had to be fully supported by the international community.
Also speaking before the Commission this morning was Dubravka Simonovic, Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women, who said the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women had been signed in October 1999, and would hopefully enter into force before the end of the year 2000. It would be an additional tool for advancing women' interests through government reform of legislation and policy. The success of the adoption would lie in the capability to provide change at the national level.
Among speakers on the situation of women, the European Union noted with concern the phenomenon of the feminization of poverty and reiterated that gender inequality remained one of the major obstacles to eradication of poverty, as well as of other forms of social exclusion.
The Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance and the Vice President of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions gave concluding remarks before the closure of the topic on civil and political rights.
Several speakers from non-governmental organizations presented a catalogue of violations of civil and political rights in a number of countries and many of them urged Governments to abide by their international obligations by promoting the civil and political rights of their peoples. A number of speakers complained about some States' violations of the civil and political rights of citizens in other States.
Representatives of the following non-governmental organizations spoke on civil and political rights: the International Human Rights Association of American Minorities; the Indian Council of South America; the National Union of Jurists of Cuba; the Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization; the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; the International Council of Nurses; the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation; the European Union of Public Relations; the International Indian Treaty Council; and the Catholic Institute for International Relations.
The representatives of Japan, Mexico, Pakistan, Portugal (on behalf of the European Union), Botswana and India spoke on the integration of the human rights of women and violence against them.
The representatives of Zambia, Iraq, Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt, Viet Nam, the United States and Thailand exercised their rights of reply.
The Commission will reconvene at 3 p.m. to continue its debate on the human rights of women. It was also expected to take action on resolutions on item 4 - report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and follow-up to the World Conference on Human Rights - and item 5 - the right of peoples to self-determination and its application to peoples under colonial or alien domination or foreign occupation - which it already dealt with during its current session.
Statements
NIKOLA DIMITROV, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, said the international community had for several years been articulating the political will for global democracy through the activities of the United Nations, resulting in the impressive development of international human rights law in the last 50 years into a generally accepted basic standard and a goal to be reached by all people and nations. However, there had been violations, gross neglect of the Geneva Conventions, humanitarian disasters, utter poverty, hunger and the sexual exploitation of women.
The situation in Kosovo and in the neighbouring Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) was tense, difficult, and everyday there were reports of constant violations of even the most basic human rights. In this respect, the primary aim was to get rid of the concept of ethnically clean states and exclusive tendencies of superiority of one group over the other. This concept generated new conflicts and suffering. The multi-cultural and multi-ethnic character of the province and the creation of the necessary conditions for the return of the refugees had to be fully supported by the international community. The concept of open civil societies, based on individualism and not collectivism, had to be encouraged. Lasting stability in the region was to a great extent determined by the peace and democratization of Kosovo. Mr. Dimitrov reaffirmed his support for the effective implementation of Security Council resolution 1244. The urgent democratization of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was also a priority for the region's stability.
Mr. Dimitrov highlighted the importance of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Rome Statute of the International Crime Tribunal. More steps had to be undertaken for the effective implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Development and the combat against racism through full support for the World Conference on Racism which would be held in South Africa. The promotion and strengthening of the UN bodies working on human rights, and especially the revision of mechanisms of the Commission, was as important as the implementation of standards. Reform was necessary to strengthen the Commission. Education was required for the full implementation of human rights, all States were recommended to promote human rights education on a national level.
Mr. Dimitrov said his country welcomed the work of regional groups in the protection of persons belonging to national, religious and linguistic minorities, particularly the work of the Council of Europe. Two important documents were highlighted, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the Charter of the Protection of Regional and Minority Languages. His country had been continuously promoting ethnic minorities rights. Related problems should be treated through a regional approach in order for them to be resolved. The Government had set an important example in the region, being one of the rare States with a developed system of protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities. The Republic of Macedonia was a true model of a multi-cultural civil society. In this connection, the overall success of the Stability Pact would, to a large extent, depend on the success of the Working Table on Democratization and Human Rights
Conclusion of debate on civil and political rights
LOUIS JOINET, Vice-President of the Working Group on Detention, said that concerning Peru, the cases of some prisoners would be brought up again during the next session of the Commission. He thanked the Swiss delegation for the positive criticism made on the report. With regard to Viet Nam, the Government had responded positively to the follow-up requests of the Working Group. A broad amnesty had also been handed down by the Government. Concerning Cuba, he thanked the delegation for its thorough reading of the report. He appreciated the suggestion that the Working Group should stress the question of asylum-seekers, which the Group did and would continue to do so.
ABDELFATTAH AMOR, Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance, in closing remarks, said he regretted that the report was not distributed in time. He would take into account all the observations made. It was true that the Indian Constitution was very liberal and official statements were very open, but India had a very complex society with many religious minorities. In recent years, a form of Hindu extremism had developed which had resulted in attacks on Christians; the problem sometimes had been acknowledged by official bodies. It even had been debated in Parliament. He did not believe he had acted on insufficiently founded information, as stated by the representative of India. As for indigenous communities in the United States, the spirituality of indigenous peoples deserved as much respect and consideration as that shown to other religions; when he had visited the United States, he had said that and he continued to believe it. He continued to believe as well that women's rights in relation to religion needed to be scrupulously defended.
COLIN MC NAUGHTON, of the International Human Rights Association of American Minorities, said the most heinous of crimes was forced disappearance; in various parts of the world, such disappearances were used to stifle dissent; the tragic effects lingered for years, and impunity for such crimes was the norm. In Guatemala, children and young adults still sought to discover the fate of their disappeared parents; for seeking the truth, these young people were now being threatened themselves. The problem appeared to be that the perpetrators of up to 40,000 disappearances included those in the high levels of the Government; after 36 years of brutal internal armed conflict, these high-ranking people did not want the truth to come out.
In Chiapas, Mexico, paramilitary groups continued to grow, to become more violent, and to inflict torture, rape, and enforced disappearances on the people of Chiapas; Mexican police and troops also committed such crimes. This had to stop. In Colombia, the Colombian Government, backed by the United States and its anti-drug programme, was conducting an undeclared war against indigenous peoples, using paramilitary groups. The intent was to enrich themselves on the natural resources of the indigenous people's lands. Finally, more had to be done to stop human-rights violations in Kashmir. India and Pakistan must behave responsibly to reach a solution to the conflict with the full participation of Kashmiris.
ROBERT CASTILLO, of the Indian Council of South America, brought the case of Leonard Peltier to the attention of the Commission. He was a Lakota-Chippewa and the life-long defender of traditional, cultural, civil and human rights of indigenous people. He was currently incarcerated in a Minnesota jail for a crime he did not commit. Mr. Peltier had been arbitrarily held in U.S. federal prisons for twenty-four years for vindicative and political reasons. The United States had admitted it was directly responsible for his fraudulent extradition from Canada in 1976 and the preparation and submission of falsified affidavits to Canadian officials. This alone violated extradition and international laws.
Every State was bound by the prohibition against torture, nevertheless, torture of persons in detention persisted, most often for political reasons. There were thousands of prisoners in the United States who did not receive adequate physical or mental heath care according to several human rights non-governmental organizations. In light of President Clinton's executive order in 1998 for the implementation of human rights treaties, the organization called upon the Commission to ask the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to carry out an investigation on the U.S. administration of justice, and to investigate all the cases of political prisoners and the conditions of detention of the 2 million prisoners in the United States, and to submit a report to the Commission at its next session.
ODALY HERNANDEZ FUENTES, of the National Union of Jurists of Cuba, said that the people of Cuba had the right to demand reparations from the United States for the violence they were subjected to against their right to life and their physical integrity. Between 1959 and 1965, the United States through its terrorist bands and mercenaries had caused great damage, including death, to Cubans and their development. During the literacy campaign launched by Cuba, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had carried out sabotage and terrorist attacks and had assassinated young teachers and peasant families.
The mercenary invasion carried out by the United States had been organized by the CIA with the approval of the Government. The invasion of Cuba had killed many innocent people, including children and women. Through its permanent external policy of terrorism, the United States had been waging war against Cuba for the last 40 years to destroy the people's revolution. Its terrorist actions included the destruction of coastal installations, naval and other infrastructures. It had also continued its constant instigation of subversive acts through radio and television transmissions. The United States had to repair the damage it had caused to the people of Cuba.
M. V. GUPTA, of the Afro-Asian Peoples Solidarity Organization, said the system of political parties and democratic elections was designed to permit the widest cross section of people to have a role in determining their destiny and to elect their own representatives whom they trusted. In Pakistan today that entire system had been usurped. Not satisfied with overthrowing an elected Government, the military rulers of Pakistan had now banned pubic political rallies, the very core activity of democracy. Freedom of travel was constrained through a system of exit controls that barred even respected political leaders. The reason advanced was the classic one of autocrats and dictators everywhere that the state of the nation was not suitable for conflict.
It was as if the overthrow of an elected Government, at point gun, was not a conflict with the very spirit of freedom. Political and civil rights had never been of much concern to the feudal power elite of Pakistan. It had always been military rule in civilian garb designed only to delude the donor countries. The latest episode of Nawaz Sharif's overthrow for exercising his right to dismiss an army chief merely proved once again that Pakistan had evolved not as a democracy but a military dictatorship masquerading as a democracy.
LEYLA PERVIZAT, of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, said that among the worst forms of extra-judicial killings were so-called honour killings, the premeditated systematic killing of women by the male family members after a family committee decision when the women were accused of shaming or dishonouring the family by behaving or not behaving in certain ways under the traditional and cultural society codes. These were the practices and beliefs of a patriarchal society. This constituted a systematic failure on the part of the States in not using legal tools to prevent these human rights violations and to honour international obligations. These practices occurred around the world in Egypt, Venezuela, Ecuador, Jordan, Iran, Argentina, Brazil, Bangladesh, Iran, Peru and the state of Texas in the United States of America where there were official laws, policies or practices which displayed indifference, acceptance, approval or even gave the permission for these executions.
The Commission was called upon to question the established understanding of current mandates of the Special Rapporteurs in solving these violations. The organization wanted the Special Rapporteurs on torture, freedom of expression and extra-judicial killings to look into this situation so that these so-called honour killings could be brought to an end.
TESFAMICAEL GHEBREHIWET, of the International Council of Nurses, in a joint statement with the International Pharmaceutical Federation and World Medical Association, said that health professionals had an ethnical duty to serve humanity in times of peace, during conflicts and disasters, and to care for those who had been tortured and those who were sick and dying, regardless of their political affiliations. It was incompatible with the professional duty of health care providers to be directed by governments as to who they could or could not treat. Indeed, it was against the medical ethical codes to discriminate on the basis of colour, gender, creed, religion, social status or political affiliation. To deny health care to anyone on those grounds would be a gross violation of professional conduct and subject to severe measures.
Health professionals often suffered reprisals for providing treatment and counselling to those whose human rights had been violated. Governments which did not respect human rights often used torture as one of their methods of coercion. Torture victims required treatment by health professionals, who in turn often themselves became the victims of further attacks and reprisals. At present, health professionals in several countries were being harassed, imprisoned and tortured because they treated patients.
KHALID JAHANGIR, of the Himalayan Research and Cultural Foundation, said that while the Commission and its Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance had made commendable efforts to combat religious intolerance, it continued to occur in different forms. While countries in the West sought to end such intolerance on their territories, the East was witnessing a spurt of such incidents. In South Asia, religious fundamentalism promoting intolerance was growing. Groups of terrorists styling themselves as Mujahideen had been threatening peaceful and tolerant South Asian societies for more than ten years, selectively targeting non-Muslims, destroying their hearths and homes, performing acts that were completely contrary to the message of tolerance and peace that was the true essence of Islam. In Kashmir, they even had lately targeted Muslims who were opposed to their inhuman actions.
It was an open secret, and well-documented, that these extremists were supported, financed and armed by a particular Government. The Commission must take note of this alarming situation and impress upon the concerned Government that it must stop supporting terrorist groups which, among other things, were creating havoc in Jammu and Kashmir State.
FIRDOUS SYED, of the European Union of Public Relations, said this agenda item offered an integrated approach to what would ideally constitute a society where basic civil liberties were protected by law, regionally, nationally and internationally. On the issue of freedom of religion and belief, concern was raised that in the name of religion, the polarization of communities could degenerate into horrendous acts of violence, curbing all civil liberties. Peace was the sole guarantor to fundamental freedoms, and terrorism was the driving force of instability. Furthermore in modern international relations there was a growing concern that States were using terrorism in inter-State conflicts. Modern warfare was in a transforming phase. By the choice of hard and soft targets, the violence unleashed by non-State actors deregulated the regulations of warfare. In these cases human rights became the first and foremost casualty. Kashmir was ravaged by sheer aggression and unimaginable violence perpetrated by foreign mercenaries induced by a belligerent nation. No one had been spared.
BILL SIMMONS, of the International Indian Treaty Council, said he had received an important update on the medical condition of political prisoner Leonard Peltier in the United States. Mr. Peltier, who had been in jail for the last 24 years, had been allowed to undergo a medical treatment after years of requests and widespread international outcry. Although the humanitarian gesture of the United States officials was to be recognized, the Council continued to regret that lack of medical care for all those years had resulted in serious disability and suffering tantamount to torture while it could have been cured in five hours. The Council called on the President of the United States to further demonstrate the change of heart in the case of Leonard Peltier by granting him executive clemency and releasing him from prison without further delay.
CHRISTIANE DEHOY, of the Catholic Institute on International Relations, spoke about religious intolerance in Asia where religion was sometimes perceived as a threat to national security. This was not a legitimate ground for limiting the exercise of beliefs. There were particularly worrying trends in Laos, where worshipping in churches had not been recognized by the State. At least 46 people were imprisoned on charges of believing in Jesus. This discrimination affected Catholics and Protestants equally. They were only released after abandoning their faith. Similar difficulties had been encountered by ethnic minorities in Viet Nam as observed by the Special Rapporteur. Christians faced daily harassment, the destruction of places of workshop and intimidation aimed at forcing them to renounce their faith. A decree in April had further eroded the right of belief and gave security services even more power in determining whether religious activities were permissible. Problems were also experienced in Myanmar with monitoring, desecration, restrictions and discrimination. In India the Freedom of Religion Bill in the Gujarat State and the Uttar Pradesh Construction of Religions Places Act were inimical to the rights of Christian and Muslim minorities. In Pakistan the blasphemy law and the associated impunity clause had led to it being used in personal disagreements. Furthermore there were separate electoral systems and inequality before the law. The right to religious freedom was at the core of human rights, the core of the being and the concept of life. The Commission was urged to pay greater attention and to implement new measures to address these core violations of human rights.
Rights of Reply
The representative of Zambia said in right of reply that his country had a young democracy where freedom of expression and the freedom of the press were protected by the 1996 Constitution. The Zambian Government was attempting to enhance press freedom and there were currently over ten private newspapers and ten private radio stations. However, the legal system allowed for certain limitations to safeguard the fragility of the new democracy. The statement by the non-governmental organization had been uninformed.
The representative of Iraq, speaking in right of reply, said the United States had referred to Iraq yesterday. Everyone knew the United States was at war with Iraq -- a permanent war that had begun in 1991; United States planes bombarded Iraq on a daily basis. All religious minorities and all citizens were exposed to these attacks. Yesterday, when the United States had spoken against Iraq, new bombings had killed 14 people. The U.S. economic embargo had killed more than a million children so far; it killed one child every six minutes. The United States was not fit to be teaching lessons on human rights, as its own record was blotted, among other things, by what it had done to its own indigenous peoples and to African Americans.
The representative of Tunisia, speaking in right of reply concerning a statement made by a non-governmental organization yesterday evening, said that the organization had abused the forum by levelling false accusations against his country concerning the treatment of journalists. The organization referred to the activities of a notorious journalist known for his extremist ideas, who was carrying out professional defamation. Tunisian laws had given adequate protection to journalists and free expression was guaranteed. The Government was engaged in its irreversible devotion in the promotion of human rights.
The representative of Jordan, speaking in right of reply, said the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom had said his country had laws that allowed honour killings and that Jordan thus did not sufficiently protect the right to life. Although Jordan thought this issue was usually dealt with under item 12, the delegation stressed that Jordanian criminal law protected all persons and was enforced comprehensively. No one was immune to the law. The perpetrators of such crimes did not go unpunished. However, as in other countries, the State did allow for extenuating circumstances that could result in reduced sentences or suspension of punishment. Reforms, meanwhile, were being undertaken to eliminate any discrimination against women that might be contained in the country's laws; old habits died hard, however; and old customs did not change overnight. The Government hoped soon to be able to change the legal article mentioned by the NGO as being discriminatory to women.
The representative of Egypt said in right of reply that the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom must have confused two totally different concepts with regards to honour killings and the 'defense of property excuse'. There were no obscurities in Egypt when it came to the rights to life. All extenuating circumstances were compatible with international standards. Dishonouring any human being was a crime in Egypt. Egypt had recently adopted a Family Affairs Law which consisted of affirmative legal action for the benefit of women's rights and was unprecedented in the most civilized countries.
The representative of Viet Nam said in right of reply that the Catholic Institute for International Relations had created a misperception. That NGO had misused this forum and misused Commission mechanisms. Viet Nam in fact scrupulously protected all religious minorities and protected freedom of religion. The number of Christians had doubled in Viet Nam in recent years. The cases mentioned by the NGO were distorted and were in clear contrast to reality in Viet Nam.
The representative of the United States, speaking in right of reply, refuted the accusations addressed against his country by Iraq; he reminded the Iraqi delegation that they should search for the truth and let the truth be heard. Iraq had to open its doors to Special Rapporteurs and other experts so that the people of Iraq would see the realities of their leader, Saddam Hussein.
The representative of Thailand, speaking in right of reply, said the statement by Pax Romana about events in 1992 had been misleading. An amnesty decree had been issued involving all parties involved in the issue. All parties had upheld the amnesty decree in order to aid national reconciliation. Regarding the disclosures of the findings of the investigating committee that had looked into the incident, they were in keeping with the regulations of the Disclosures Act.
Debate on integration of the human rights of women and the gender perspective, including violence against women
DUBRRAVKA SIMONOVIC, Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women, said the Commission's work on the follow-up and implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action had formed the main part of its work programme since 1996. The Beijing Plus 5 Review presented an opportunity to consolidate this work, and to reflect on the impact of the Conference which had established crucial links between the advancement of women and economic and social progress in all parts of the world. The challenge was to build on the achievements of the Beijing Conference. Four resolutions had been adopted at the forty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, including two draft resolutions on the situation of women in Afghanistan and the situation of the girl-child in Asia. The provisional agenda adopted at the forty-fifth session included two thematic issues, women, the girl-child and HIV AIDS; and gender and all forms of discrimination, in particular issues related to racism. The second theme was chosen specifically so that the Commission could provide an input to the World Conference on Racism in South Africa. Ms. Simonovic reaffirmed that the Commission on the Status of Women remained committed to the ongoing cooperation between the two secretariats of their Commission nd the Commission on Human Rights which serviced these commissions in the spirit of the Vienna declaration and Programme of Action and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
The adoption of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women had been signed in October 1999, and would hopefully enter into force before the end of the year 2000. This would be an additional tool for advancing women’s' interests through government reform of legislation and policy. The success of the adoption would lie in the capability to provide change at the national level. It was important to translate into practice what had been achieved conceptually, through legislation, judicial decisions and policies at the national level as well as through the work of the Commission and its subsidiary machinery, the Commission on the Status of Women, as well as expert bodies, including the treaty bodies, such as the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
HIDEAKI KOBAYASHI (Japan) said that violence against women was a subject which was not given serious attention at both the international and national levels. It had been recognized that violence against women amounted to the violation of human rights. That was the view of the Japanese Government which had designated the eradication of violence against women as one of the priority objectives of its national action plan and had been dealing with that issue in a comprehensive manner. For example, local police forces had set up hotlines that women who were subjected to violence could call for advice and assistance so they would not have to simply suffer in silence.
Violence against women was but one of the threats to the human rights and dignity of women. In the Asian region, another newly emerging issue was trafficking in persons, especially women and children. The problem was recognized by the Economic and Social Commission for the Asia Pacific region at its meeting in Bangkok last October. Japan was one of the countries to identify that matter and grave concern was shared by other Asian Pacific members.
ALICIA PEREZ DUARTE (Mexico) said Mexican women had seen progress in their participation in the full range of activities in Mexican society, but the authorities also knew that much progress remained to be carried out. The Government had started an "Alliance for Equality" programme to advance women's rights. Poverty remained a major obstacle; it was a social injustice that afflicted both urban and rural populations; women's poverty needed special action and special focus. To cure it, there had to be greater opportunities for women and obstacles such as laws barring women from inheritance of property should be eliminated. The Mexican Government was working hard to overcome women's poverty. The Commission should carefully study the draft resolution Mexico had tabled on the matter.
Violence against women had to be eliminated; Mexico had carried out legal and other reforms to combat such violence, and especially violence within the family; efforts were also being made to make authorities aware of the problem and of an official Mexican standard for medical care related to family violence that would enable early detection and help with prevention. Other forms of violence against women were also being given concerted attention. The Special Rapporteur on violence against women had been invited to visit the country and Mexico had worked with UNIFEM to set up a database that elucidated gender differences.
ATTIYA INAYATULLAH (Pakistan) gave an account of the many positive actions taken by the new Government in redressing the gender imbalance. It was clear that the new leadership was women friendly. The Government had taken into serious consideration the rank of Pakistan in the UNDP Human Development Report as one of the most gender insensitive countries. There had been a perceptual and policy progression in Pakistan; before gender issues had been seen as welfare whereas today no agenda was complete without a central focal attention on women. A national plan of action was under implementation since the fourth World Conference on Women. The initiatives taken included the empowerment of women. Women now held positions in the National Security Council and in Government. Leadership training was underway for the orientation of the women who would be elected in the district elections, a task force was set up to evaluate how women could be main streamed in the judicial, political and legislative aspects of the system. There were expert groups on the development of women in the media and the feminization of power. A $ 25 million fund for women in distress had been set up, ensuring assistance to protection houses.
The delegation made a special mention of the so-called honour killings. There was nothing honourable about these murders and they were not sanctioned by religion or the State. The Government was combatting this problem with all its resources. There had been administrative instruction that law should follow its course in this field; there could be no manipulation of the law in the case of honour killings. The Pakistani Government was working to ensure equality in remuneration, and was redressing the gender gap through primary school education. The poverty reduction strategy had given a practical shape to the Government’s resolve to have a comprehensive development package. These changes would have far-reaching effects on the lives of Pakistani women and this was only the beginning of the process of change, not the end.
ALVARO MENDONCA E MOURA (Portugal), speaking on behalf of the European Union and States associated with it, said that although progress had been made in the sphere of the human rights of women, the Union was deeply concerned about the fact that by no means did all women and girls currently enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms in full equality with men and boys. In addition, gender-based discrimination and stereotypes as well as harmful behaviour patterns persisted all over the globe on a daunting scale. Furthermore, women were often confronted with additional obstacles in their path to empowerment and advancement, because of such factors as their poverty, education, race, age, language, ethnicity, culture, religion, disability or sexual orientation, or because they were indigenous people.
The European Union noted with concern the phenomenon of the feminization of poverty -- it had been highlighted by the Beijing Platform for Action, and reiterated that gender inequality remained one of the major obstacles to eradicate poverty, as well as other forms of social exclusion. Those phenomena undermined human dignity and inhibited in particular the enjoyment by women of basic economic, social and cultural rights. Consistent with that view, the importance of access by women to food, health care, education and employment should be underlined, as it was instrumental for their empowerment and advancement.
Women had played a relevant and dynamic role in society and were key actors in the promotion, protection and enhanced implementation of human rights. No woman should suffer from discrimination, neither de jure nor de facto. They should be granted effective and active participation in all fields of life -- civil, political, social, economic and cultural -- especially in the processes of democratic transition and development of their countries. Moreover, access of women to power strengthened participatory democracy, consolidating its proper functioning. The Union advocated equal opportunities and equal participation of women and men in all local, national, regional and international bodies and policy-making processes.
T. R. DITLHABI OLIPHANT (Botswana) said the last century had provided both harrowing experiences and hard lessons for humanity. Commendable strides had been made on gender equality which not so long ago had been considered a Utopian dream. The road from Vienna to Beijing had been long, but full with hope. Since Beijing, the Government of Botswana had established a multi-sectoral body which facilitated gender equality and aimed at advising the Government with a view to remove all obstacles in law and practice. The National Policy on Women and Development was also aimed at empowering women through gender awareness in development planning and women's reproductive health and rights. There was also a collaboration of women's non-governmental organizations which was dedicated to consolidating a united position on critical areas of concern which had been identified in the National Gender Programme. The representation of women in decision-making areas had increased as had the number of women in senior and middle-management levels. Education and health had become more gender-sensitive and the scourge of HIV/AIDS had brought into the open the issue of sex education and sex awareness.
Violence against women was addressed as one of the critical areas in the development of women. Awareness-training of the law enforcement and social welfare workers was pursued. The penal code had been amended to enable the courts to impose higher penalties for rapists. Concern and abhorrence was expressed at the violations of the rights of women and girls in conflict areas all over the world and in particular in countries such as Angola, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Palestine. The international community should not only pronounce outrage at these beastly acts but should call for stern measures to be taken against the perpetrators.
SAVITRI KUNADI (India) said her country had a Department of Women and Child Development, a National Commission for Women, a Parliamentary Committee for the empowerment of women, a Central Social Welfare Board, and a National Women's Fund. The Fund provided credit to poor and needy women in the informal sector and since its inception in 1993 had disbursed over US$11 million in credit. Women's cells had been created in police stations to combat violence against women, and gender-specific support services at village centres had been set up throughout the country. Violence against women was a serious concern of the Government and society, and the Special Rapporteur on the topic had been invited to visit India.
The Fifth World Conference on Women scheduled for June should look into such emerging issues as the impact of globalization on women; the increasing numbers of aged women; and insufficient health and social services for women.
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