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10 October 2000
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Fifty-Fifth General Assembly
Third Committee
16th Meeting (AM)
10 October 2000
Women should be involved in conflict-solution because they could convey the horrors they and their children underwent when wars broke out, the representative of Uganda told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), as it met to continue considering issues related to the advancement of women. Also being considered this morning was the implementation of follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women, including the five-year review at a 2000 special session of the General Assembly.
At present, women in both developed and developing countries faced all types of violence because such behaviour was still accepted from the past, she continued. That violence had many forms, including harmful traditional practices and the misuse of power by men. Both men and women needed to learn that violence was not to be inflicted on women. Women's participation in decision-making was the start to making decisions at national and international levels.
His country promoted women's participation through official directives at the highest levels, the representative of Oman said. The Government stimulated interest in involving women in the employment sector. It created opportunities for women, trained them and placed them. It also encouraged and facilitated women's participation at the local decision-making level on community issues, reinforcing such initiatives through constitutional and legal provisions.
The representative of Benin said her country aimed to empower women by making them partners in development. Eighty per cent of women did not know how to read or write. That contributed to making them tolerate traditional cultural practices such as polygamy, the obligation to marry widowers and female circumcision, which all stood in the way of women's progress.
The representative of the Philippines called for a concerted focus on the trafficking that was particularly prevalent in the Asian region. She said the victims of trafficking were not just statistics. The suffering in the eyes of victims showed the abuse was all too real. She called for data collection, information sharing and the dissemination of good practices.
In Cyprus, said the representative of that country, women were taking an active part in peace initiatives. After living under occupation and displacement for 26 years, they were particularly sensitive to matters involving human rights and peace. The movement they had launched, including women from the Turkish-Cypriot community, initiated bi-communal contacts promoting reconciliation and a federal solution to the Cyprus problem.
Finally, the representative of Rwanda welcomed the Security Council debate on women, peace and security. He said rape had been one of the tools used by the perpetrators of genocide as a means of torture during the 1994 killings. Most of Rwanda's women were still traumatized by those events. They deserved to be heard by the international community, which must hold accountable the perpetrators of those heinous crimes.
Also expressing their views this morning were the representatives of Guyana, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Australia, Israel, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kuwait, Yemen, Venezuela, Tunisia, Lithuania, Angola, Ghana, Madagascar, Mongolia and Kazakhstan.
The observer of Palestine made a statement.
A representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also spoke.
The Committee will meet again at 3:00 p.m. to continue its consideration of women's advancement along with implementation of the results of the Fourth World Conference on Women, including the five-year review at the 2000 General Assembly special session.
Committee Work Programme
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this morning to continue considering issues related to the advancement of women and to implementation of the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, including the 2000 five-year review at a special session of the General Assembly. (For background see Press Release GA/SHC/3583 of 6 October.)
Statements
FUAD MUBARAK AL-HINAI (Oman) recalled the development of his country from a primarily rural society to a prosperous modern State. By the time of the pre-Beijing review process, he said, the involvement of women and girls as active partners in the public domain was a high priority for his country. That objective was pursued through promotion of their personal status and through their participation at the social, economic and political levels.
Women's enhanced participation in all fields of national development was underscored by official directives at the highest level, he continued. The Government actively stimulated interest in creating opportunities for women, training them, and placing them in positions that included the decision-making level in both the State Council and the Consultative Council. The Government of Oman also encouraged and facilitated the wide participation of women at the local decision-making level on community issues. Those initiatives were reinforced by constitutional and legal provisions fostering women's involvement in the public and personal spheres. Future actions would continue on a cooperative basis with the United Nations system and in line with the Beijing Platform for Action.
CATHERINE OTITI (Uganda) said the human rights of women and girls were being increasingly respected, although obstacles to their advancement were numerous. Yet, empowering women economically would tackle poverty. Many women in the Third World lived in rural areas and were producers of food, while education and training were becoming more important for all women.
At the present moment, however, women in both developed and developing countries were facing all kinds of violence. That violence was an accepted condition, rooted in the past and having many forms, she said. Harmful traditional practices and misuse of power by men were just two forms. Both men and women needed to be sensitized to the realization that violence should not be inflicted on women. In addition, women should be involved in solving conflicts because they alone could convey the horrors they and their children underwent when wars broke out. Participation in decision-making at the household level was the start to making decisions at the national and international level.
The advancement of women was grounded in how the girl child was treated by society, she concluded. When girls were left at home while their brothers went to school, when they were married off too young and when they were the most common form of labour -- that constituted a statement that the girl child was discriminated against. As long as that continued, advancement could not take place.
SONIA ELLIOTT (Guyana), speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said that international statistics offered some insight into the progress that still had to be made in order to fully empower women worldwide. Women constituted almost two thirds of the world’s illiterates; they constituted the largest portion of society living in poverty and without access to education or health-care services; and each year, more than 500,000 women died from pregnancy-related difficulties. Those statistics did not begin to reflect the situation of women in developing countries, she continued. Their situation was even worse, as it reflected the widening gap between developed and developing countries, particularly in terms of access to skills training and resources. Women in the developing world accounted for 99 per cent of the world’s maternal mortality rates and more than 93 per cent of the world’s illiterate. Restricted access to adequate and nutritious food, education or gainful employment further increased the vulnerability of those women.
Cognizant of the complex nature of women’s empowerment and of the important contribution that women could make to national development, she said that CARICOM States had adopted a holistic approach to promoting gender equality, women’s participation in the economy and decision-making, as well as furthering their protection under the law. Increasingly, a gender perspective had been mainstreamed into economic and social policies, and particular attention had been paid to critical areas such as poverty, education, health and violence against women. Poverty affected women and their roles in the wider community -- in the Caribbean particularly adversely. CARICOM’s post-Beijing Plan of Action highlighted the serious nature of that problem, recognizing that poverty was particularly high among female single heads of households, teenage mothers, rural and indigenous women, elderly women and women with disabilities.
Similarly, she continued, lack of social support for child and family care, and gender segregation in the labour market were among some of the other factors contributing to gender-based poverty in the region. To address those problems, interventions by CARICOM countries had ranged from poverty alleviation programmes, increasing the number of pre-school and day-care centres, legal reforms and strengthening public assistance support. Many countries in the region had launched programmes aimed at poverty alleviation. Following the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) ruling on the banana regime, Saint Lucia had initiated a Social Recovery Programme, which focused on such issues as adult education and community empowerment, and was targeted at rural women, children and older persons. Similarly, the Women’s Leadership Institute in her own country was aimed at improving the capacity of women to participate more effectively in activities that affected their lives. Her region had struggled to overcome many obstacles and looked forward to close collaboration with the international community to ensure that international trade and the financial and economic environment promoted continued development of women in the region.
PENNY WENSLEY (Australia) said that the Outcome Document and Political Declaration that emerged from the Beijing +5 review had provided world Governments and other actors with a blueprint for action aimed at universal gender equality and the empowerment of women. The challenge now was not only to put that blueprint into action, but to keep the promotion and protection of women’s rights on international and regional agendas. That called for creativity and resourcefulness. The international community needed to look for opportunities to make sure the Beijing commitments were implemented in all areas of the international agenda.
The coming year, she said, would provide such opportunities. As the links between gender equality and development were drawing increasing international attention, the General Assembly special session on financing for development in 2001 would help keep minds focused on that important issue. Also, the particular impact of racial discrimination and racially-motivated violence on women and girls, particularly in conflict situations, deserved special focus at the upcoming World Conference on Racism to be held in September 2001. She also believed that Member States should take advantage of other opportunities to mainstream gender perspective into international agendas. For example, she said that implementing the recommendation of the Brahimi Report on United Nations peacekeeping operations would provide opportunities to consider the role of women in peace-building.
Indeed, she continued, the important role of the United Nations remained foremost in advocating women’s rights through mainstreaming and integrating women’s issues into all the Organization’s mechanisms. In that context, both States and the United Nations should continue efforts to identify qualified women for positions throughout the United Nations system, including as Special Representatives and Deputy Special Representatives of the Secretary-General. The appointment of women as decision makers at the international level would also help to promote their greater participation in regional and national decision-making processes.
YOSEPHA STEINER (Israel) said her country had undergone a number of striking developments in the past few years. The peace process with Israel’s Palestinian and Arab neighbours had injected great hope for equal rights in the region. The absorption of immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia had required great efforts in education and social programmes to ensure equal rights for men and women without discrimination.
The Authority for the Advancement of Women had been set up in March 1998, she continued. Its main goal was to promote gender equality and to formulate policies towards that end. It furthered education, legislation and law enforcement. It coordinated activities of public and private organizations advancing women's status.
Describing projects initiated, she said that measuring results was like looking in a mirror. Were there fewer poor women today? Had violence and sexual assault been reduced? Would the next generation have greater respect for gender equality and equal rights for all? Had the glass ceiling been broken, were women equal partners to men, was the political system providing equal power to those in decision-making positions? The next decade should be devoted to measuring those results.
MARY JO ARAGON (Philippines) welcomed the growing focus on the issue of trafficking, particularly in women and children. Earlier this year, she said, her country had co-hosted the Asian Regional Initiative against Trafficking in Persons (ARIAT). That had called for a yearly, action-oriented meeting of governments and organizations to address the problem of millions of women and children bought and sold throughout the world, particularly in the Asian region. The action plan was aimed at "prevention, protection, prosecution, repatriation and reintegration". Implementation at the national level was being encouraged.
Emphasizing that the victims of trafficking were not mere statistics, she said the dazed suffering in the eyes of victims of abuse was all too real. She called for data collection and information sharing on trafficking patterns and strategies. She also called for the compiling and dissemination of good practices.
DAUDI MWAKAWAGO (Tanzania) said the review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action had revealed that for many countries, some progress had been made in a few of the 12 “critical areas of concern”. That review also made clear, however, that much remained to be done. It was further disconcerting that new challenges had arisen which might also impede success in implementing the Beijing commitments. For example, country reports form Africa indicated, among other things, that women’s access to resources and services was still a critical problem. Moreover, developing countries, faced with the negative effects of globalization, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and armed conflict, found themselves particularly unable to fulfil those commitments.
He went on to say that the Secretary-General’s report on improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat revealed that there had been modest progress in addressing the issue of gender balance throughout the Organization. Notwithstanding those efforts, more work had to be done to ensure gender balance at all levels. In that regard, recruitment of women should be made on the basis of equitable geographical distribution. At the country level, governments should also endeavour to promote gender balance through appointment of women to decision- making positions in all sectors. Another important way of achieving gender balance was by putting emphasis on education of women and girls. By doing that, the international community could ensure that women would compete on the same level as their male counterparts.
LULIT ZEWDIE MARIAM (Ethiopia) said that ensuring the well-being and advancement of women at all levels had been a priority item on her Government’s development agenda. Ethiopia had taken effective measures to integrate gender perspective into its poverty-eradication policies. It had also provided credit for urban and rural poor, 50 per cent of whom were female heads of household or girls who were school drop-outs. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were also playing a significant role in national efforts to reduce poverty by strengthening women’s participation in income-generating activities. The NGOs had also organized micro-credit institutions to disburse credit to poor women.
She said that Ethiopian women, like many women in developing countries, had been victims of various types of discriminatory, gender-based customs, regulations and laws. That being the case, Ethiopia’s Government had made efforts to eliminate discriminatory provisions in its Civil Code, with particular emphasis on marriage and family relations, property ownership and child-rearing. There had also been significant action taken to address the problem of violence against women. A National Committee on rape and abduction had been formed. It had also been recognized that it was important to raise public awareness with regard to the constitutional rights of women, relevant to laws and international treaties.
AYADAH AL SAIDI (Kuwait) said the Bretton Woods institutions and the WTO should assist in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action and the final document of this year’s special session. Those institutions should help ensure that all necessary measures were taken at the national level to revise statutes hindering women's full participation. In addition, women must be provided with equal opportunities and young girls must be given the means to participate in activities –- just as they should be encouraged to play a part at all levels, for example in sports. He said his country had guaranteed equal rights for women and had signed conventions to protect women, such as that against violence. The Government was promoting laws to strengthen the woman's role in society and promote her equality with men in everyday life. Kuwaiti women had leadership roles, including at the ambassadorial level. A ministerial decree had led to the implementation of a work plan for women. A royal decree had proposed voting rights for women, but the legislative body had rejected the measure.
Despite all those efforts, women who had lost relatives still suffered social and psychological difficulties. For 10 years now, he said, the Iraqis had been concealing the existence of Kuwaiti prisoners of war.
NAGIBA AHMED AL-NADARI (Yemen) said the advancement of women, and women's political advancement in particular, was the basis for advancement of all societies. Yemen's constitution provided equal rights for women and protected all their rights. As women's issues had gained greater momentum in the international world, more of Yemen's attention and efforts had turned to promoting their advancement. Yet poverty was the greatest impediment to the woman-related strategies being laid down.
Even so, she said the Government's poverty-alleviation strategies made specific provisions for participation by women. In particular on the larger scale, the women and children living in both poverty and under foreign occupation must be protected and their rights promoted. That pertained especially to those living in the Palestinian territory.
SOMAIA BARGHOUTI, observer for Palestine, said that the continued Israeli occupation of her country had resulted in great difficulties for women, and had seriously hampered efforts to promote a viable and comprehensive plan of action for their advancement and empowerment. Palestinian women had long been prevented from developing their socio-economic potential because of oppressive Israeli policies and measures which included confiscation of land, exploitation of natural resources, detention of prisoners and the judaization of occupied East Jerusalem. Moreover, Israeli occupation had denied Palestinian women the opportunity to implement the provisions of the Beijing Platform for Action. The latest tragic events in that country had claimed the lives of over 80 Palestinians, mostly young men, women and children.
Despite all those hardships, Palestinian women had been able to establish the long-overdue foundations for social, economic and institutional development, she said. That had included creating foundations for education, health and economic infrastructures as well as other networks needed for development. All that work had been done bearing gender in mind. Women’s units had been created in all ministries, and those organizations had actively cooperated with NGOs to create a national strategy for Palestinian women. That strategy would be the launching point for future plans to achieve equality, peace and prosperity.
LUISA KISLINGER (Venezuela) said that gender equality and the advancement of women were fundamental in her country. Enshrined in the Venezuelan constitution were the principles of the equal rights of men and women. The Government had also undertaken a series of measure aimed at tackling poverty. The National Institute for Women encouraged employment for women as well as increased access to credit. Other programmes in Venezuela had been aimed specifically at addressing the unique situation of rural women, who were traditionally among the most vulnerable members of society. Despite those initiatives, Venezuela recognized that greater efforts were required for the advancement of women at the political level, particularly in the executive and legislative bodies. She was pleased to announce her country’s signature of the Optional Protocol to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
DEMETRIS HADJIARGYROU (Cyprus) said the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was a milestone in promoting and safeguarding the rights of women worldwide. The special session had given it new impetus. Expressing support for the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), he called for networking at the international, regional and national levels to mobilize support for enhancing the visibility of women and empowering them at the social, economic and political levels.
His Government had achieved important progress in a number of areas, he said. Those included legal reforms and the increased participation of women through intensive training, encouragement and support. The economic independence of women had been enhanced through services such as improved child-care facilities. Violence against women had received priority attention. Developing the legal framework, along with measures to implement and enforce provisions, had been emphasized. Adjunct services had been also developed, such as support for victims and training of law-enforcement officials to deal with domestic violence.
Finally, he said, important developments had taken place in the area of Women and Peace. After 26 years of living under occupation and displacement, the women of Cyprus were particularly sensitive to matters involving human rights and peace. The Women's Movement, which included an emerging movement within the Turkish-Cypriot community, was active in initiatives such as bi-communal contacts to promote reconciliation and a federal solution to the Cyprus problem.
SAID BEN MUSTAPHA (Tunisia) said the link between the alleviation of poverty and the advancement of women had to be emphasized. The international community should shoulder its share of the responsibility by supporting the development efforts of developing countries, and searching for a solution to the decline of official development assistance (ODA). There should be special funds to help deal with problems in the world's poorest countries, such as the World Solidarity Fund, established with the aid of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
He said Tunisia respected human rights, and was concerned with enhancing the linkage between the advancement of women and the development of society. There could be no development without women because, as women advanced, they became a powerful force in society. His country had introduced legislative reforms to end gender-based discrimination. Tunisia was confident of being able to preserve its culture, based on Muslim traditions, while adapting to international standards. It promoted women's participation in civil life by such measures as setting aside 20 per cent of seats for women in the last parliamentary election. Violence against women was combated through awareness-raising programmes.
GEDIMINAS SERKSNYS (Lithuania) said that one of the priority guidelines of his country’s State policy was ensuring equal opportunities for men and women. Indeed, equality was treated as the main principle of democracy. The success of the State in seeking social and economic progress and promoting human rights was directly related to the level of participation of both men and women in the development of those processes. The national institutional machinery for implementing principles of equal opportunity covered the governmental and public sectors of society. Lithuania’s Parliament had a permanently functioning Commission on Family and Children’s Issues.
He went on to say that following the recommendations of the Beijing Platform for Action, Lithuania’s Government had approved a Women’s Advancement Programme and two National Plans of Action. Lithuania was actively preparing for the follow-up conference “Women, Men and Democracy”, to be held in June 2001. His country’s attempts at solving gender problems in the education, labour and health fields required more work. The Government would have to take appropriate measures to combat trafficking in women, reduce poverty of older women and increase the number of women in decision-making positions.
ANTONIO LEAL CORDEIRO (Angola) said that the spirited debate on gender issues within the United Nations community during the last 12 months had been important and instructive. The General Assembly special session on women had highlighted the notion that regional, cultural and religious diversity, combined with the lack of funds required to improve the status of women, continued to be a major hindrance to strengthening institutional mechanisms and their international coordination at the national, regional and subregional levels. Therefore, a considerable amount of work was needed to strengthen those mechanisms and ensure the implementation of the programmes and policies agreed upon at the special session.
Turning to the situation in Angola, he said that in spite of a law which stipulated equality between both men and women, there had been no significant improvement in that regard. That had been due in part to the ongoing conflict in the country. Though the war appeared to be coming to an end, the situation had presented difficult challenges for women, as they were chiefly in charge of supporting families and caring for children and the elderly. The war had also had a tremendous impact on literacy rates in his country. The Government had moved to counter those difficulties by enacting programmes through the Ministry for Family and the Advancement of Women. Some of those projects included support for rural women’s associations, the creation of community development centres and the implementation of a national microcredit programme. Success in achieving some of those goals had contributed to the development of the female population and introduced a new way of thinking -- looking at relationships between both genders -- that could be a basis for future development of the nation.
JOSEPH MUTABOBA (Rwanda) described his country's gender policy, designed to provide overall orientation on gender mainstreaming and the advancement of women in order to attain gender equality and to empower women. Gender training and sensitization were taking place at all levels, he said, to ensure that gender was an integral part of development priorities.
He said his country was undergoing a democratization and decentralization process which would lead to the election of communal leaders and councillors. Both men and women were receiving intensive sensitization about their civil and political rights. Elections for commune leaders and councillors were expected by the end of the year. "In the history of Rwanda, these leaders are the first to be elected by the people", he said. That meant policies would no longer be imposed from the top but would be based on bottom-up planning, with grass-roots people defining the priorities for shaping programmes. Welcoming the Security Council debate on women, peace and security, he said rape had been one of the tools used by the practitioners of genocide as a means of torture during the 1994 killings. Most of Rwanda's people were still traumatized by those events. They deserved to be heard by the international community, which must hold accountable the perpetrators of those heinous crimes.
NICOLE ELISHA (Benin) said her country's national policy for advancing women was aimed at promoting their social and material improvement. It aimed to advance their empowerment and to make them partners in development. Traditional cultural practices such as polygamy, the obligation to marry widowers and female circumcision stood in the way of women's progress. Eighty per cent of Benin's women did not know how to read or write. Their lack of education contributed to their tolerance of their condition.
BEATRICE BROBBEY (Ghana) said the significant number of leaders participating in “Women 2000” had been a testament to the importance the international community attached to the issue of gender equality and the advancement of women. That special session had revealed, however, that -- despite some successes -- much remained to be done. Her delegation was gravely concerned at the persistent disregard for the rights of women and the continued perpetration of violence against them identified during the session. While she applauded the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the CEDAW Convention, she was disappointed that the target of universal ratification of the Convention had not yet been reached. She urged countries that had not ratified or acceded to the Convention to do so.
She went on to say that since the Fourth World Conference on Women, Ghana had banned traditional practices that affected the health of women and violated their human rights. Those practices included female genital mutilation and harmful widowhood practices. The Government had fixed the marriageable age at 18. A divorce law had been passed which provided for one standard form of inheritance; that law also corrected injustices suffered by women and children under customary laws. The Government had also reviewed a law on the distribution of property acquired upon divorce to allow for more equitable distribution where women were concerned.
HELENA RAJAONARIVELO (Madagascar) said the challenge for governments, following Beijing and the General Assembly special session on women, was to produce and promote concrete actions aimed at implementing the provisions of the Platform as well as those of the session’s Outcome Document. Her own country had been working actively to achieve gender equality and the signing of the Optional Protocol to the CEDAW Convention was a testament to its determination in that regard. The President of Madagascar had been stressing gender specificity in policies and programmes. She appealed to all Member States to ratify and sign the Convention and its Protocol as soon as possible.
She said that the adverse effects of globalization on women had been well documented. But that must not become an excuse for failing to address the important issue of universal gender equality. The international community must struggle to overcome and effectively eliminate obstacles such as widespread poverty and poor access to quality health care and education. Increasing participation by women in decision-making positions would be an important tool in that regard. She called on the international community to strengthen its commitment to the United Nations agencies which aimed to integrate gender perspective in their work and the work of other national and international organizations.
OCHIR ENKHTSETSEG (Mongolia) called for making women equal collaborators and beneficiaries in development through the forging of genuine partnerships: between men and women; between public sector, civil society and private sector; and between affluent and poor nations. Her country had enacted new legislation and revised older laws to mainstream gender into policies and official programmes.
Poverty reduction was of primary concern for her country, she continued. Other challenges included the complex conditions inter-related with poverty, including unemployment, health, education, social protection, culture and behaviour. Women had less job security as workers and less access to information and credit. Social dislocation generated frustration, which translated into crime and violence, including domestic abuse. Complacency and silence led to substance abuse and the breakdown of the family in a vicious cycle. There should be zero tolerance of violence against women. Prevention and education were the tools for enforcing it.
MADINA JARBUSSYNOVA (Kazakhstan) expressed full support for the activities of the United Nations system in promoting gender mainstreaming and the system-wide coordination needed to achieve it. She said the Commission on the Status of Women should play the central role in monitoring and advancing the aims both of the Beijing Platform for Action and the special session Outcome Document. The Economic and Social Council should strengthen its mandate for the role. In her own country, legislation was undergoing review: it was changing in order to increase women's integration in social and political life, as well as to increase their representation in leadership posts.
ZOFIA OLSZOWSKA, representing of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said the promotion of genuine gender equality was among her agency’s key objectives. While the intended mainstreaming of gender perspective in all UNESCO’s undertakings might seem daunting, it was not unrealistic, given that the basis for its accomplishment had already been laid in programme sectors, and necessary tools for its implementation were being developed.
Turning to the issue of education of women and girls, she said that the 10-year initiative on girls’ education (UNGEI) had been launched by the Secretary- General last April at the World Education Forum. That initiative had been designed for system-wide participation, and UNESCO would be working actively to achieve its goals. The agency had developed the work plan to support the UNGEI Programme now under review by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other partners. Through the agencies’ cooperation with UNICEF, activities under the Initiative would be carried out at the country, regional and subregional levels.
* *** *
Third Committee
16th Meeting (AM)
10 October 2000
Women should be involved in conflict-solution because they could convey the horrors they and their children underwent when wars broke out, the representative of Uganda told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), as it met to continue considering issues related to the advancement of women. Also being considered this morning was the implementation of follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women, including the five-year review at a 2000 special session of the General Assembly.
At present, women in both developed and developing countries faced all types of violence because such behaviour was still accepted from the past, she continued. That violence had many forms, including harmful traditional practices and the misuse of power by men. Both men and women needed to learn that violence was not to be inflicted on women. Women's participation in decision-making was the start to making decisions at national and international levels.
His country promoted women's participation through official directives at the highest levels, the representative of Oman said. The Government stimulated interest in involving women in the employment sector. It created opportunities for women, trained them and placed them. It also encouraged and facilitated women's participation at the local decision-making level on community issues, reinforcing such initiatives through constitutional and legal provisions.
The representative of Benin said her country aimed to empower women by making them partners in development. Eighty per cent of women did not know how to read or write. That contributed to making them tolerate traditional cultural practices such as polygamy, the obligation to marry widowers and female circumcision, which all stood in the way of women's progress.
The representative of the Philippines called for a concerted focus on the trafficking that was particularly prevalent in the Asian region. She said the victims of trafficking were not just statistics. The suffering in the eyes of victims showed the abuse was all too real. She called for data collection, information sharing and the dissemination of good practices.
In Cyprus, said the representative of that country, women were taking an active part in peace initiatives. After living under occupation and displacement for 26 years, they were particularly sensitive to matters involving human rights and peace. The movement they had launched, including women from the Turkish-Cypriot community, initiated bi-communal contacts promoting reconciliation and a federal solution to the Cyprus problem.
Finally, the representative of Rwanda welcomed the Security Council debate on women, peace and security. He said rape had been one of the tools used by the perpetrators of genocide as a means of torture during the 1994 killings. Most of Rwanda's women were still traumatized by those events. They deserved to be heard by the international community, which must hold accountable the perpetrators of those heinous crimes.
Also expressing their views this morning were the representatives of Guyana, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Australia, Israel, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kuwait, Yemen, Venezuela, Tunisia, Lithuania, Angola, Ghana, Madagascar, Mongolia and Kazakhstan.
The observer of Palestine made a statement.
A representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also spoke.
The Committee will meet again at 3:00 p.m. to continue its consideration of women's advancement along with implementation of the results of the Fourth World Conference on Women, including the five-year review at the 2000 General Assembly special session.
Committee Work Programme
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this morning to continue considering issues related to the advancement of women and to implementation of the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, including the 2000 five-year review at a special session of the General Assembly. (For background see Press Release GA/SHC/3583 of 6 October.)
Statements
FUAD MUBARAK AL-HINAI (Oman) recalled the development of his country from a primarily rural society to a prosperous modern State. By the time of the pre-Beijing review process, he said, the involvement of women and girls as active partners in the public domain was a high priority for his country. That objective was pursued through promotion of their personal status and through their participation at the social, economic and political levels.
Women's enhanced participation in all fields of national development was underscored by official directives at the highest level, he continued. The Government actively stimulated interest in creating opportunities for women, training them, and placing them in positions that included the decision-making level in both the State Council and the Consultative Council. The Government of Oman also encouraged and facilitated the wide participation of women at the local decision-making level on community issues. Those initiatives were reinforced by constitutional and legal provisions fostering women's involvement in the public and personal spheres. Future actions would continue on a cooperative basis with the United Nations system and in line with the Beijing Platform for Action.
CATHERINE OTITI (Uganda) said the human rights of women and girls were being increasingly respected, although obstacles to their advancement were numerous. Yet, empowering women economically would tackle poverty. Many women in the Third World lived in rural areas and were producers of food, while education and training were becoming more important for all women.
At the present moment, however, women in both developed and developing countries were facing all kinds of violence. That violence was an accepted condition, rooted in the past and having many forms, she said. Harmful traditional practices and misuse of power by men were just two forms. Both men and women needed to be sensitized to the realization that violence should not be inflicted on women. In addition, women should be involved in solving conflicts because they alone could convey the horrors they and their children underwent when wars broke out. Participation in decision-making at the household level was the start to making decisions at the national and international level.
The advancement of women was grounded in how the girl child was treated by society, she concluded. When girls were left at home while their brothers went to school, when they were married off too young and when they were the most common form of labour -- that constituted a statement that the girl child was discriminated against. As long as that continued, advancement could not take place.
SONIA ELLIOTT (Guyana), speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said that international statistics offered some insight into the progress that still had to be made in order to fully empower women worldwide. Women constituted almost two thirds of the world’s illiterates; they constituted the largest portion of society living in poverty and without access to education or health-care services; and each year, more than 500,000 women died from pregnancy-related difficulties. Those statistics did not begin to reflect the situation of women in developing countries, she continued. Their situation was even worse, as it reflected the widening gap between developed and developing countries, particularly in terms of access to skills training and resources. Women in the developing world accounted for 99 per cent of the world’s maternal mortality rates and more than 93 per cent of the world’s illiterate. Restricted access to adequate and nutritious food, education or gainful employment further increased the vulnerability of those women.
Cognizant of the complex nature of women’s empowerment and of the important contribution that women could make to national development, she said that CARICOM States had adopted a holistic approach to promoting gender equality, women’s participation in the economy and decision-making, as well as furthering their protection under the law. Increasingly, a gender perspective had been mainstreamed into economic and social policies, and particular attention had been paid to critical areas such as poverty, education, health and violence against women. Poverty affected women and their roles in the wider community -- in the Caribbean particularly adversely. CARICOM’s post-Beijing Plan of Action highlighted the serious nature of that problem, recognizing that poverty was particularly high among female single heads of households, teenage mothers, rural and indigenous women, elderly women and women with disabilities.
Similarly, she continued, lack of social support for child and family care, and gender segregation in the labour market were among some of the other factors contributing to gender-based poverty in the region. To address those problems, interventions by CARICOM countries had ranged from poverty alleviation programmes, increasing the number of pre-school and day-care centres, legal reforms and strengthening public assistance support. Many countries in the region had launched programmes aimed at poverty alleviation. Following the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) ruling on the banana regime, Saint Lucia had initiated a Social Recovery Programme, which focused on such issues as adult education and community empowerment, and was targeted at rural women, children and older persons. Similarly, the Women’s Leadership Institute in her own country was aimed at improving the capacity of women to participate more effectively in activities that affected their lives. Her region had struggled to overcome many obstacles and looked forward to close collaboration with the international community to ensure that international trade and the financial and economic environment promoted continued development of women in the region.
PENNY WENSLEY (Australia) said that the Outcome Document and Political Declaration that emerged from the Beijing +5 review had provided world Governments and other actors with a blueprint for action aimed at universal gender equality and the empowerment of women. The challenge now was not only to put that blueprint into action, but to keep the promotion and protection of women’s rights on international and regional agendas. That called for creativity and resourcefulness. The international community needed to look for opportunities to make sure the Beijing commitments were implemented in all areas of the international agenda.
The coming year, she said, would provide such opportunities. As the links between gender equality and development were drawing increasing international attention, the General Assembly special session on financing for development in 2001 would help keep minds focused on that important issue. Also, the particular impact of racial discrimination and racially-motivated violence on women and girls, particularly in conflict situations, deserved special focus at the upcoming World Conference on Racism to be held in September 2001. She also believed that Member States should take advantage of other opportunities to mainstream gender perspective into international agendas. For example, she said that implementing the recommendation of the Brahimi Report on United Nations peacekeeping operations would provide opportunities to consider the role of women in peace-building.
Indeed, she continued, the important role of the United Nations remained foremost in advocating women’s rights through mainstreaming and integrating women’s issues into all the Organization’s mechanisms. In that context, both States and the United Nations should continue efforts to identify qualified women for positions throughout the United Nations system, including as Special Representatives and Deputy Special Representatives of the Secretary-General. The appointment of women as decision makers at the international level would also help to promote their greater participation in regional and national decision-making processes.
YOSEPHA STEINER (Israel) said her country had undergone a number of striking developments in the past few years. The peace process with Israel’s Palestinian and Arab neighbours had injected great hope for equal rights in the region. The absorption of immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia had required great efforts in education and social programmes to ensure equal rights for men and women without discrimination.
The Authority for the Advancement of Women had been set up in March 1998, she continued. Its main goal was to promote gender equality and to formulate policies towards that end. It furthered education, legislation and law enforcement. It coordinated activities of public and private organizations advancing women's status.
Describing projects initiated, she said that measuring results was like looking in a mirror. Were there fewer poor women today? Had violence and sexual assault been reduced? Would the next generation have greater respect for gender equality and equal rights for all? Had the glass ceiling been broken, were women equal partners to men, was the political system providing equal power to those in decision-making positions? The next decade should be devoted to measuring those results.
MARY JO ARAGON (Philippines) welcomed the growing focus on the issue of trafficking, particularly in women and children. Earlier this year, she said, her country had co-hosted the Asian Regional Initiative against Trafficking in Persons (ARIAT). That had called for a yearly, action-oriented meeting of governments and organizations to address the problem of millions of women and children bought and sold throughout the world, particularly in the Asian region. The action plan was aimed at "prevention, protection, prosecution, repatriation and reintegration". Implementation at the national level was being encouraged.
Emphasizing that the victims of trafficking were not mere statistics, she said the dazed suffering in the eyes of victims of abuse was all too real. She called for data collection and information sharing on trafficking patterns and strategies. She also called for the compiling and dissemination of good practices.
DAUDI MWAKAWAGO (Tanzania) said the review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action had revealed that for many countries, some progress had been made in a few of the 12 “critical areas of concern”. That review also made clear, however, that much remained to be done. It was further disconcerting that new challenges had arisen which might also impede success in implementing the Beijing commitments. For example, country reports form Africa indicated, among other things, that women’s access to resources and services was still a critical problem. Moreover, developing countries, faced with the negative effects of globalization, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and armed conflict, found themselves particularly unable to fulfil those commitments.
He went on to say that the Secretary-General’s report on improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat revealed that there had been modest progress in addressing the issue of gender balance throughout the Organization. Notwithstanding those efforts, more work had to be done to ensure gender balance at all levels. In that regard, recruitment of women should be made on the basis of equitable geographical distribution. At the country level, governments should also endeavour to promote gender balance through appointment of women to decision- making positions in all sectors. Another important way of achieving gender balance was by putting emphasis on education of women and girls. By doing that, the international community could ensure that women would compete on the same level as their male counterparts.
LULIT ZEWDIE MARIAM (Ethiopia) said that ensuring the well-being and advancement of women at all levels had been a priority item on her Government’s development agenda. Ethiopia had taken effective measures to integrate gender perspective into its poverty-eradication policies. It had also provided credit for urban and rural poor, 50 per cent of whom were female heads of household or girls who were school drop-outs. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were also playing a significant role in national efforts to reduce poverty by strengthening women’s participation in income-generating activities. The NGOs had also organized micro-credit institutions to disburse credit to poor women.
She said that Ethiopian women, like many women in developing countries, had been victims of various types of discriminatory, gender-based customs, regulations and laws. That being the case, Ethiopia’s Government had made efforts to eliminate discriminatory provisions in its Civil Code, with particular emphasis on marriage and family relations, property ownership and child-rearing. There had also been significant action taken to address the problem of violence against women. A National Committee on rape and abduction had been formed. It had also been recognized that it was important to raise public awareness with regard to the constitutional rights of women, relevant to laws and international treaties.
AYADAH AL SAIDI (Kuwait) said the Bretton Woods institutions and the WTO should assist in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action and the final document of this year’s special session. Those institutions should help ensure that all necessary measures were taken at the national level to revise statutes hindering women's full participation. In addition, women must be provided with equal opportunities and young girls must be given the means to participate in activities –- just as they should be encouraged to play a part at all levels, for example in sports. He said his country had guaranteed equal rights for women and had signed conventions to protect women, such as that against violence. The Government was promoting laws to strengthen the woman's role in society and promote her equality with men in everyday life. Kuwaiti women had leadership roles, including at the ambassadorial level. A ministerial decree had led to the implementation of a work plan for women. A royal decree had proposed voting rights for women, but the legislative body had rejected the measure.
Despite all those efforts, women who had lost relatives still suffered social and psychological difficulties. For 10 years now, he said, the Iraqis had been concealing the existence of Kuwaiti prisoners of war.
NAGIBA AHMED AL-NADARI (Yemen) said the advancement of women, and women's political advancement in particular, was the basis for advancement of all societies. Yemen's constitution provided equal rights for women and protected all their rights. As women's issues had gained greater momentum in the international world, more of Yemen's attention and efforts had turned to promoting their advancement. Yet poverty was the greatest impediment to the woman-related strategies being laid down.
Even so, she said the Government's poverty-alleviation strategies made specific provisions for participation by women. In particular on the larger scale, the women and children living in both poverty and under foreign occupation must be protected and their rights promoted. That pertained especially to those living in the Palestinian territory.
SOMAIA BARGHOUTI, observer for Palestine, said that the continued Israeli occupation of her country had resulted in great difficulties for women, and had seriously hampered efforts to promote a viable and comprehensive plan of action for their advancement and empowerment. Palestinian women had long been prevented from developing their socio-economic potential because of oppressive Israeli policies and measures which included confiscation of land, exploitation of natural resources, detention of prisoners and the judaization of occupied East Jerusalem. Moreover, Israeli occupation had denied Palestinian women the opportunity to implement the provisions of the Beijing Platform for Action. The latest tragic events in that country had claimed the lives of over 80 Palestinians, mostly young men, women and children.
Despite all those hardships, Palestinian women had been able to establish the long-overdue foundations for social, economic and institutional development, she said. That had included creating foundations for education, health and economic infrastructures as well as other networks needed for development. All that work had been done bearing gender in mind. Women’s units had been created in all ministries, and those organizations had actively cooperated with NGOs to create a national strategy for Palestinian women. That strategy would be the launching point for future plans to achieve equality, peace and prosperity.
LUISA KISLINGER (Venezuela) said that gender equality and the advancement of women were fundamental in her country. Enshrined in the Venezuelan constitution were the principles of the equal rights of men and women. The Government had also undertaken a series of measure aimed at tackling poverty. The National Institute for Women encouraged employment for women as well as increased access to credit. Other programmes in Venezuela had been aimed specifically at addressing the unique situation of rural women, who were traditionally among the most vulnerable members of society. Despite those initiatives, Venezuela recognized that greater efforts were required for the advancement of women at the political level, particularly in the executive and legislative bodies. She was pleased to announce her country’s signature of the Optional Protocol to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
DEMETRIS HADJIARGYROU (Cyprus) said the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was a milestone in promoting and safeguarding the rights of women worldwide. The special session had given it new impetus. Expressing support for the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), he called for networking at the international, regional and national levels to mobilize support for enhancing the visibility of women and empowering them at the social, economic and political levels.
His Government had achieved important progress in a number of areas, he said. Those included legal reforms and the increased participation of women through intensive training, encouragement and support. The economic independence of women had been enhanced through services such as improved child-care facilities. Violence against women had received priority attention. Developing the legal framework, along with measures to implement and enforce provisions, had been emphasized. Adjunct services had been also developed, such as support for victims and training of law-enforcement officials to deal with domestic violence.
Finally, he said, important developments had taken place in the area of Women and Peace. After 26 years of living under occupation and displacement, the women of Cyprus were particularly sensitive to matters involving human rights and peace. The Women's Movement, which included an emerging movement within the Turkish-Cypriot community, was active in initiatives such as bi-communal contacts to promote reconciliation and a federal solution to the Cyprus problem.
SAID BEN MUSTAPHA (Tunisia) said the link between the alleviation of poverty and the advancement of women had to be emphasized. The international community should shoulder its share of the responsibility by supporting the development efforts of developing countries, and searching for a solution to the decline of official development assistance (ODA). There should be special funds to help deal with problems in the world's poorest countries, such as the World Solidarity Fund, established with the aid of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
He said Tunisia respected human rights, and was concerned with enhancing the linkage between the advancement of women and the development of society. There could be no development without women because, as women advanced, they became a powerful force in society. His country had introduced legislative reforms to end gender-based discrimination. Tunisia was confident of being able to preserve its culture, based on Muslim traditions, while adapting to international standards. It promoted women's participation in civil life by such measures as setting aside 20 per cent of seats for women in the last parliamentary election. Violence against women was combated through awareness-raising programmes.
GEDIMINAS SERKSNYS (Lithuania) said that one of the priority guidelines of his country’s State policy was ensuring equal opportunities for men and women. Indeed, equality was treated as the main principle of democracy. The success of the State in seeking social and economic progress and promoting human rights was directly related to the level of participation of both men and women in the development of those processes. The national institutional machinery for implementing principles of equal opportunity covered the governmental and public sectors of society. Lithuania’s Parliament had a permanently functioning Commission on Family and Children’s Issues.
He went on to say that following the recommendations of the Beijing Platform for Action, Lithuania’s Government had approved a Women’s Advancement Programme and two National Plans of Action. Lithuania was actively preparing for the follow-up conference “Women, Men and Democracy”, to be held in June 2001. His country’s attempts at solving gender problems in the education, labour and health fields required more work. The Government would have to take appropriate measures to combat trafficking in women, reduce poverty of older women and increase the number of women in decision-making positions.
ANTONIO LEAL CORDEIRO (Angola) said that the spirited debate on gender issues within the United Nations community during the last 12 months had been important and instructive. The General Assembly special session on women had highlighted the notion that regional, cultural and religious diversity, combined with the lack of funds required to improve the status of women, continued to be a major hindrance to strengthening institutional mechanisms and their international coordination at the national, regional and subregional levels. Therefore, a considerable amount of work was needed to strengthen those mechanisms and ensure the implementation of the programmes and policies agreed upon at the special session.
Turning to the situation in Angola, he said that in spite of a law which stipulated equality between both men and women, there had been no significant improvement in that regard. That had been due in part to the ongoing conflict in the country. Though the war appeared to be coming to an end, the situation had presented difficult challenges for women, as they were chiefly in charge of supporting families and caring for children and the elderly. The war had also had a tremendous impact on literacy rates in his country. The Government had moved to counter those difficulties by enacting programmes through the Ministry for Family and the Advancement of Women. Some of those projects included support for rural women’s associations, the creation of community development centres and the implementation of a national microcredit programme. Success in achieving some of those goals had contributed to the development of the female population and introduced a new way of thinking -- looking at relationships between both genders -- that could be a basis for future development of the nation.
JOSEPH MUTABOBA (Rwanda) described his country's gender policy, designed to provide overall orientation on gender mainstreaming and the advancement of women in order to attain gender equality and to empower women. Gender training and sensitization were taking place at all levels, he said, to ensure that gender was an integral part of development priorities.
He said his country was undergoing a democratization and decentralization process which would lead to the election of communal leaders and councillors. Both men and women were receiving intensive sensitization about their civil and political rights. Elections for commune leaders and councillors were expected by the end of the year. "In the history of Rwanda, these leaders are the first to be elected by the people", he said. That meant policies would no longer be imposed from the top but would be based on bottom-up planning, with grass-roots people defining the priorities for shaping programmes. Welcoming the Security Council debate on women, peace and security, he said rape had been one of the tools used by the practitioners of genocide as a means of torture during the 1994 killings. Most of Rwanda's people were still traumatized by those events. They deserved to be heard by the international community, which must hold accountable the perpetrators of those heinous crimes.
NICOLE ELISHA (Benin) said her country's national policy for advancing women was aimed at promoting their social and material improvement. It aimed to advance their empowerment and to make them partners in development. Traditional cultural practices such as polygamy, the obligation to marry widowers and female circumcision stood in the way of women's progress. Eighty per cent of Benin's women did not know how to read or write. Their lack of education contributed to their tolerance of their condition.
BEATRICE BROBBEY (Ghana) said the significant number of leaders participating in “Women 2000” had been a testament to the importance the international community attached to the issue of gender equality and the advancement of women. That special session had revealed, however, that -- despite some successes -- much remained to be done. Her delegation was gravely concerned at the persistent disregard for the rights of women and the continued perpetration of violence against them identified during the session. While she applauded the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the CEDAW Convention, she was disappointed that the target of universal ratification of the Convention had not yet been reached. She urged countries that had not ratified or acceded to the Convention to do so.
She went on to say that since the Fourth World Conference on Women, Ghana had banned traditional practices that affected the health of women and violated their human rights. Those practices included female genital mutilation and harmful widowhood practices. The Government had fixed the marriageable age at 18. A divorce law had been passed which provided for one standard form of inheritance; that law also corrected injustices suffered by women and children under customary laws. The Government had also reviewed a law on the distribution of property acquired upon divorce to allow for more equitable distribution where women were concerned.
HELENA RAJAONARIVELO (Madagascar) said the challenge for governments, following Beijing and the General Assembly special session on women, was to produce and promote concrete actions aimed at implementing the provisions of the Platform as well as those of the session’s Outcome Document. Her own country had been working actively to achieve gender equality and the signing of the Optional Protocol to the CEDAW Convention was a testament to its determination in that regard. The President of Madagascar had been stressing gender specificity in policies and programmes. She appealed to all Member States to ratify and sign the Convention and its Protocol as soon as possible.
She said that the adverse effects of globalization on women had been well documented. But that must not become an excuse for failing to address the important issue of universal gender equality. The international community must struggle to overcome and effectively eliminate obstacles such as widespread poverty and poor access to quality health care and education. Increasing participation by women in decision-making positions would be an important tool in that regard. She called on the international community to strengthen its commitment to the United Nations agencies which aimed to integrate gender perspective in their work and the work of other national and international organizations.
OCHIR ENKHTSETSEG (Mongolia) called for making women equal collaborators and beneficiaries in development through the forging of genuine partnerships: between men and women; between public sector, civil society and private sector; and between affluent and poor nations. Her country had enacted new legislation and revised older laws to mainstream gender into policies and official programmes.
Poverty reduction was of primary concern for her country, she continued. Other challenges included the complex conditions inter-related with poverty, including unemployment, health, education, social protection, culture and behaviour. Women had less job security as workers and less access to information and credit. Social dislocation generated frustration, which translated into crime and violence, including domestic abuse. Complacency and silence led to substance abuse and the breakdown of the family in a vicious cycle. There should be zero tolerance of violence against women. Prevention and education were the tools for enforcing it.
MADINA JARBUSSYNOVA (Kazakhstan) expressed full support for the activities of the United Nations system in promoting gender mainstreaming and the system-wide coordination needed to achieve it. She said the Commission on the Status of Women should play the central role in monitoring and advancing the aims both of the Beijing Platform for Action and the special session Outcome Document. The Economic and Social Council should strengthen its mandate for the role. In her own country, legislation was undergoing review: it was changing in order to increase women's integration in social and political life, as well as to increase their representation in leadership posts.
ZOFIA OLSZOWSKA, representing of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said the promotion of genuine gender equality was among her agency’s key objectives. While the intended mainstreaming of gender perspective in all UNESCO’s undertakings might seem daunting, it was not unrealistic, given that the basis for its accomplishment had already been laid in programme sectors, and necessary tools for its implementation were being developed.
Turning to the issue of education of women and girls, she said that the 10-year initiative on girls’ education (UNGEI) had been launched by the Secretary- General last April at the World Education Forum. That initiative had been designed for system-wide participation, and UNESCO would be working actively to achieve its goals. The agency had developed the work plan to support the UNGEI Programme now under review by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other partners. Through the agencies’ cooperation with UNICEF, activities under the Initiative would be carried out at the country, regional and subregional levels.
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