SPEAKERS BEFORE COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS DECRY CONTINUING ABUSES COMMITTED AGAINST WOMEN

Commission on Human Rights
57th session
9 April 2001
Evening






National delegations and international agencies speaking before the Commission on Human Rights this evening condemned ongoing violations of the rights of women around the world, mentioning repeatedly such abuses as wartime rape and sexual slavery, trafficking in women and girls, harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation, and widespread discrimination that left women and girls vulnerable to poverty, exclusion and disease.

A Representative of Nigeria contended that as a result of the huge foreign debts facing developing countries which resulted in extreme poverty, unemployment and lack of basic necessities of life, millions of women and girls were tricked, sold and coerced into situations of exploitation.

The United Nations Population Fund said that 500,000 maternal deaths occurred each year, mostly in developing countries; that only 53 per cent of all births were professionally attended; that trafficking in women and children for sexual purposes was on the increase; that millions of young women were at risk of female genital mutilation and were likely to be HIV/AIDS positive; and that two-thirds of the world's illiterates and poorest inhabitants were women and girls.

On a positive note, the Republic of Korea applauded the first-ever convictions for rape and enslavement in armed conflicts as a crime against humanity, in rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and said the convictions had sent out a powerful message that such acts of violence would not go unpunished.

Also addressing the meeting were Representatives of Zambia, Mexico, Malaysia, International Committee of the Red Cross, Iraq, New Zealand, Honduras, Egypt, Tanzania, Yemen, Cyprus, Switzerland, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, the Philippines, Chile, Croatia, Sudan, Angola, Albania, Belarus, the World Bank, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and Iran.

Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea spoke in exercise of the right of reply.

The Commission will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 10 April, to continue its debate on the human rights of women.

Statements

BONAVENTURE BOWA (Zambia) said the issue of gender equality was paramount to any sustainable development process. As a party to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, Zambia had put in place a National Gender Policy in March 2000 which aimed at incorporating the priorities for gender issues so as to address the disadvantages that women faced. This policy was being implemented at the local, provincial and national levels, and was coordinated by the Gender in Development Division, which was placed at the highest administrative level of the Government. The Government recognized the necessity for gender mainstreaming in national development programmes and legislation. Indeed, empowerment of women was central to the development of the nation and particularly to the eradication of poverty.

The Special Rapporteur had pointed out that violence against women continued unabated. The international community and individual Governments should redouble their efforts to eliminate this most vicious practice, which at its worst violated women's right to life itself. The Commission and the international community should ensure appropriate follow-up to the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur. The seriousness of this matter called for continued monitoring by the Commission, and this inevitably called for the commitment of sufficient human and financial resources. Zambia encouraged the United Nations to continue its efforts to increase the representation of women in all institutions of the organization and at all levels of decision-making. In doing so, it was hoped that the United Nations would ensure equitable geographic representation as an indication of the advancement of women within the UN system.

ALICIA ELENA PEREZ DUARTE Y NORONA (Mexico) said that last January the Women's National Institute was created, reflecting the priority accorded by the Government of Mexico to combatting discrimination, marginalization and violence against women. As indicated by the President of the Republic, the Institute was a landmark in the long path women had run in seeking equality. The primary objective of the Institute was to promote and foster non-discrimination, equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women, the full exercise of all the rights of women and their equitable participation in the political, cultural, economic and social life of the country.

The Government was convinced that combatting female poverty and marginalization and violence against women was a social imperative at all levels: national, regional and international. Statistics showed that efforts undertaken to strengthen the economic capacity of women and promote their rights had immediate effects on the integral development of their children. Statistics also showed that there was a tendency for women to become poor and that a link existed between the economic dependency of women and perpetuation of violence in the family. Indeed, the Fourth World Conference on Women recognized that the feminization of poverty was directly linked to a lack of opportunities and economic autonomy, and a lack of access to education, services and economic resources. It was also recognized that these economic disadvantages resulted in the sexual exploitation of women.

CHUNG EUI-YONG (Republic of Korea) said that his Government had established the Ministry of Gender Equality in January, which focused on women's issues. This illustrated the Republic of Korea's commitment to the Beijing Platform for Action, which called upon States to set up national machinery for gender-related issues.

The first-ever convictions for rape and enslavement in armed conflicts as a crime against humanity, in rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, had sent out a powerful message that such acts of violence against women, who were particularly vulnerable in conflict situations, constituted a serious crime and could not go unpunished. The delegation drew the Commission's attention to a most abominable case of war-time human rights violations against women -- the issue of Comfort Women. In this case, Korean women were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army during the Second World War. In April 1998, the Government of the Republic of Korea expressed its intention not to pursue this matter at the Governmental level, and provided financial support from its own resources to the surviving Korean victims. It also refrained from raising the issue on an international level on the understanding that this page of history could be turned with the 1998 Joint Declaration on a New Korea-Japan Partnership. The Republic of Korea expected that the Japanese Government would demonstrate sincere contrition and make every effort to prevent such gross human-rights violations from recurring. However, given the recent outcome of Japanese history textbook screenings, there was regret that some of the textbooks intentionally concealed or abridged Japan's wrongdoings. The Comfort Women issue was altogether left out or depicted in far more imprecise terms than in previous editions. The Republic of Korea urged Japan to take the necessary measures to rectify this problem, and to eliminate and prevent such distortions of history.

HUSSAIN RAJMAH (Malaysia) said that as an expression of the Malaysian Government's commitment to promoting the advancement of women and gender equality, the lead government agency on the subject had been upgraded from a department to a Ministry. With this significant move, the lead agency, now renamed as the Ministry of Women's Affairs and Family Development, was better positioned and furthered strengthened to perform more effectively its catalytic role of promoting gender equality. Malaysia continued to provide an enabling environment and support mechanisms to enhance the participation and contribution of women towards the social and economic development of the country.

Malaysia continued to undertake measures to improve female participation in the labour market. Malaysia had always recognized the importance of education and had invested heavily in this field. In the area of health, women had equal access to health care services in the country. Malaysia also supported initiatives undertaken by relevant United Nations agencies to address specific problems of HIV/AIDS among women. Recognizing that a violence-free environment was crucial to the achievement of the full integration of women in development, Malaysia was intensifying efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women.

HOCINE SAHRAOUI (Algeria) said efforts of developing countries to promote women’s rights were hampered by the effects of globalization, including the intolerable debt burden, which hampered the financing of social programmes. For true realization of the rights for all women, courageous and concrete measures should be taken by the developed countries to eliminate obstacles to the realization of women’s rights in less-developed nations. Sexual violence against women, included during times of armed conflict, represented one of the most abject and traumatic of violations. The Special Rapporteur was not aware that non-State actors who violated the human rights of women were not always rebels. In truth, there were small warlords who sacked and pillaged for personal gain. In certain countries, armed terrorist groups declared war on whole groups of people.

Countries of the South and of Eastern Europe were seeing many women trafficked out of their countries and into receiving countries, which were the countries of the North. States should take all appropriate measures to eliminate the trafficking of women and the prostitution of women. Humiliating or degrading treatment, which migrant workers could be victims of, was a major source of concern for Algeria and most other developing countries. Algeria urged the Special Rapporteurs on torture and violence against women to investigate this issue, draft a report, and present it to the next session on the Commission. Algeria, in spite of a difficult environment, helped promote and protect the rights of women through hard work. It was conscious of the challenges that still had to be faced.

P. O. OKUNROMADE (Nigeria) said trafficking in women was a new form of violence confronting the international community. As a result of the huge foreign debts facing developing countries which resulted in extreme poverty, unemployment and lack of basic necessities of life, millions of individuals, mostly women and girls were tricked, sold and coerced into situations of exploitation. These vulnerable groups became commodities and were abused sexually. A bill to outlaw child labour and trafficking in women and children was currently before the Nigerian National Assembly.

The administration of President Obasanjo had demonstrated that it was gender-sensitive. The Government had launched a national policy on women designed to enhance the status of women and their effective participation in development. NGOs had formed a national coalition on violence against women to identify its trends, forms and prevalence in the country. A national tribunal on violence against women was also set up by NGOs with the objective of exposing increasing incidences of women's human-rights violations. Based on their activities, new legislation had been passed and changes had been made to end some of these practices, especially in the areas of harmful traditional practices, early marriage and trafficking in women and children.

JELENA PEJIC, of International Committee of the Red Cross, said women were protected under international humanitarian law. Violence against women in situations of armed conflict -- be they captured combatants or civilians -- was a violation of this law which must be condemned. The international community had at its disposal the means both to prevent and to put a stop to violence against women in wartime. This protection was enshrined in the four Geneva Convention of 1949, and two additional Protocols of 1977, and in a number of other instruments. In these instruments, women were afforded both general protection -- on the same basis as men -- and special protection reflecting their particular needs as women. Women who were not, or were no longer, taking part in hostilities were protected against the effects of fighting and also against abusive treatment by the parties to hostilities.

The plight of women in wartime could be dramatically improved if international humanitarian law was implemented and respected. Violations of this law were carried out with impunity in armed conflicts, but such violations were not inevitable.


BASHIR S. MUNTASSER, of United Nations Population Fund, said that in spite of efforts made at national and international levels to improve reproductive health, the access of women to information, education, and quality reproductive health was still below the level required. Today, 500,000 maternal deaths occurred each year, mostly in developing countries. Only 53 per cent of all births were professionally attended.

Women underwent an estimated 50 million abortions every year, resulting in the deaths of 80,000 and the suffering of millions. Trafficking in women and children for sexual purposes was on the increase. Millions of young women were at risk of female genital mutilation and were likely to be HIV/AIDS positive. Two-thirds of the world's illiterates and poorest inhabitants were women and girls.

RIADH A. HADY (Iraq) said women's rights had made great strides recently as a result of international instruments and declarations. Given this worldwide approach, women's rights had become a priority for international organizations. Iraq had adopted a resolute position on the issues of women's rights. It based it on its social philosophy and its political system, which was centred on humanitarian affairs. The rights of women were safeguarded in every sphere of activity -- education, health and political participation, for example. Legal measures had been taken to protect women from acts of violence and to punish those who committed acts of violence. In seeking to promote the necessary legal measures, the Government had seen provisions of international instruments become part of national laws. There was a Programme of Action that helped implement the Beijing Programme of Action.

Women in Iraq, however, were suffering from the economic embargo that was being maintained against the country. They struggled every day just to exist, and the conditions were unbearable. Iraq called for an end to the embargo and to this form of violence perpetrated against women. The minimum moral responsibility of the international community was to put an end to the embargo, since to continue it was a violation of human rights.

SARAH PATERSON (New Zealand) said the rights of women were a particular priority for New Zealand, which was committed to achieving equality of opportunity and to improving the position of women. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women was the fundamental platform on which New Zealand worked to ensure that the rights of women were promoted. There had been some significant developments for women over the last year. The United Nations General Assembly Special Session had provided a timely opportunity for addressing the need for gender equality, development and peace in the twenty-first century by reviewing progress on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and by outlining further actions.

New Zealand fully agreed with the Special Rapporteur that the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was a major step forward for the rights of women with its recognition that rape and other forms of sexual violence, including sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy and enforced sterilization constituted crimes against humanity. New Zealand had ratified the Statute and called on all States to do the same in order to truly end impunity for these most serious crimes against women.

OLMEDA RIVERA RAMIREZ (Honduras) said many women held leadership posts in the Honduran Government. In the executive chamber, 33 per cent of Cabinet posts were held by women. Between 1998 and 1999, the number of women in the labour force had increased 12.6 per cent, while the number of men had increased only 5.1 per cent. Women mostly took part in the labour market between the ages of 25 and 49. Unfortunately, it was also women who bore the greater burden of the chores at home, even if they had jobs outside the home. Therefore, women were more likely to work in the informal sector, which allowed for flexible schedules.

The Government had ratified several international instruments that helped reduce levels of inequality when it came to women's opportunities. There was also national legislation against domestic violence, including harsher penalties for sexual crimes, and penalties for sexual harassment. Honduras had been conquering new and broader horizons. It was trying to improve pay, generate employment, and address programmes at general nutrition, adequate housing, and social security. These would help give women greater power in society.

HANY SELIM-LABIB (Egypt) said a new law had been enacted in Egypt to promote the rights of women and enhance the equality of men and women. A national debate had also been undertaken on the issue of human rights and gender equality. In this context, a National Women's Council had been set up. Among the Council's activities was the recent organization of a conference on women's rights. The Council had brought together non-governmental organizations and Government agencies so as to enable the exchange of ideas on gender and human rights.

The Arab Summit had also adopted a programme of action to enhance women's rights and had provided for a follow-up mechanism. The Committee on the Prevention of Discrimination against Women, in its concluding observations on the report submitted by Egypt, had highlighted the will of and efforts undertaken by Egypt to promote the rights of women and reduce female illiteracy. Egypt was determined to undertake all necessary efforts to combat all the problems Egyptian women encountered.

IRENE F. KASYANJU (Tanzania) said believing that violence against women was a violation against fundamental human rights, Tanzania had ratified almost all instruments dealing with human rights, including the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. Undeniably in the past, there had been human-rights abuses in Tanzania. Women had suffered such abuses as sexual harassment at places of work, assaults, rape, defilement, denial of the right to own property, denial of the right to inherit, domestic violence and early marriages.

Beliefs in various old bad taboos and harmful traditional practices had resulted in the denial of human rights. The Government had had to take serious measures to stamp out all kinds of violence and discrimination against women. These included the enactment of criminal legislation and procedures by the Parliament which provided for severe punishments. The Government in 1998 had decided to amend and repeal discriminatory laws, including those that denied basic rights. The Government was also vigorously dealing with the problem of female genital mutilation, which had not yet been completely stamped out. Tanzania believed that as long as violations and abuses against women continued, no meaningful development for women or the nation as a whole could be achieved. The fight for women's rights was a continuous process.

AMAT AL-SALAM AL-SHAMI (Yemen) said the Yemeni Constitution emphasized equality between men and women and prohibited any kind of discrimination against women. Yemen persisted in applying and practising this right on the ground, thereby leading to the participation of women on all levels including the political and judicial.

Women now occupied many important positions they had been barred from in the past. For the first time in the country's history, a woman had been appointed Minister of State for Human Rights. Women were also held positions as Ambassador, Deputy Minister, and Counsellor, and worked in the legal profession, including in the courts and the Attorney General's Office, and were employed in many other fields. Women had also participated effectively in the Parliamentary elections of 1997. A decision had also been made by the Prime Minister to set up a High Council for Women's Affairs in order to contribute to women's standing in all spheres of life.

FRANCES-GALATIA WILLIAMS (Cyprus) said Governments must act to prevent, investigate and punish all acts of violence against women. Concerted national, regional and international cooperation was required to prevent and combat trafficking in women and girls. Governments should ensure that women fully enjoyed their economic, social and cultural rights, and should guarantee women equal access to education and to a high standard of health care.

In Cyprus in recent years, more and more important offices in both the Government and private sector had gone to women. Many of these were in areas previously thought of as inappropriate or unsuitable for women. For example, a decade ago, less than 15 per cent of the intake to the Cyprus diplomatic service was female. However, in the last five years, at least 50 per cent of those joining were women. This change had been accelerated by the Government's efforts to ensure equal rights and opportunities for women and men through the adoption of specific legislative measures and the strengthening of national mechanisms. Although Cyprus had not yet achieved full gender equality, it was on the right track.

FRANCOIS NORDMANN (Switzerland) said hundreds of millions of women and girls worldwide were victims of violence and had lived or lived in insecurity and fear without respite or land of exile. The perpetrators of these crimes were often State agents, members of armed groups, family members, or members of the community. These acts of violence were often committed with impunity despite the fact that their social and human costs were beyond measure. States had the obligation to prevent such abuses, investigate cases of violence and prosecute and punish those responsible. States also had the obligation to provide reparation for victims of violence without discrimination.

A State which did not respect its international obligations in the area of the rights of the individual connived at abuses. This was the case when a State did not undertake appropriate preventive measures. Switzerland welcomed the fact that for the first time in history perpetrators of rape in times of war had been condemned for a crime against humanity by the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Switzerland accorded high priority to the ratification of the Rome Statute for the establishment of an International Criminal Court; such a court would be a valuable tool for ending impunity.

ALGIMANTAS RIMKUNAS (Lithuania) said the adoption by the Lithuanian Parliament of a Law on Equal Opportunities for Men and Women, as well as the appointment of an Ombudsman for Equal Opportunities, had led to a significant enhancement of all systems for monitoring issues related to equal opportunities of the genders. The State Labour Inspectorate was charged with immediately informing the Ombudsman for equal opportunities of every case of violations of such rights. A Public Commission for the Implementation of Gender Equality had been established to ensure better implementation of gender-equality rights.

The understanding of the Government was that equal opportunities for men and women were an inseparable part of the democratic process, and equal participation of the genders in State structures, various professional areas and in business was one of the most important conditions for the creation of an open and democratic society.

ALICIA LANGLE-SCHLEGEL (Liechtenstein) said the reality on the ground made it clear that numerous forms of violence against women during armed conflicts continued unabated in all regions of the world. As in other areas of the protection of women's rights, there was a wide gap between existing legal standards and their implementation. More could and needed to be done in the area of standard-setting, in particular at the national level. The establishment of an International Criminal Court was a positive development as it would both hold perpetrators of sexual crimes accountable and at the same time have a strong preventive effect. The International Criminal Court would thus be the most effective tool for combatting what had been described as a culture of impunity.

One root cause of acts of violence against women was women’s exclusion from processes in which they should naturally play a crucial role. It was ironic that women routinely bore the greatest burden in post-conflict situations, and that they were often only marginally involved in the decision-making mechanisms dealing with such situations. This was an area where the United Nations had to formulate its own policies and practices in a manner which would lead to the empowerment of women.

DENIS Y. LEPATAN (Philippines) said the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Report for 1999 described illegal trafficking in women and girls for sexual exploitation as a thriving industry in the age of globalization. Trafficking in women and girls was among the most brutal crimes, victimizing not just the innocent and the helpless but people who had already been traumatized by other misfortunes, such as war and the despair of poverty. It was truly saddening that situations of conflict provided opportunities for profit for traffickers. The global situation remained gloomy. Nevertheless, there was cause for optimism following the Millennium Declaration where heads of State had expressed resolve to intensify efforts to fight transnational organized crime in all its dimensions, including trafficking in human beings.

Unless the economic and developmental aspects of trafficking were fully addressed, there would be no end to the problem. At the same time, it needed to be recognized that trafficking was demand-driven and that something should be done on the demand side. Without demand, there would be no opportunity for profit, and therefore no incentive for traffickers to engage in their nefarious activities. As in previous years, the Philippines would introduce a resolution on Traffic in Women and Girls. It looked forward to the traditional support the resolution had enjoyed in the Commission.

JANE COTTINGHAM, of the World Health Organization, said that over the past few years it had become clear that women and girls were particularly vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. In many situations women were dependent financially and emotionally on their male partners, family members or employers, leading to a lack of power to control when, how and with whom they had sex. By the end of 1999, some 46 per cent of HIV positive adults were women. Violence against women continued to be a major public health and human-rights concern. Rape and domestic violence accounted for an estimated 5 to 16 per cent of healthy years of life lost by women of reproductive age, and the proportion of women who experienced violence at the hands of an intimate partner during their lifetime ranged from 10 per cent to more than 50 per cent.


Discrimination against girls and women manifested itself in culture-specific practices such as female infanticide, forced marriages of girls, dowry killings, abusive widowhood practices and female genital mutilation. Between 100 and 140 million women had undergone female genital mutilation and it was estimated that 2 million girls were at risk of undergoing some form of such mutilation every year.

PEDRO OYARCE (Chile) said building human development was an objective shared by the international community. Equality between women and men was a fundamental principle in modern democratic society, and was enshrined in Chile's Constitution. Governments and societies needed the contributions of women. Chile had established a Council of Ministers to incorporate equal opportunity plans into national life. The Government also had strengthened coordination between state agencies that enhanced women's participation in civil society and those that improved their economic conditions and their working conditions.

Chile sought to give practical implementation to relevant international instruments, and was considering ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. Chile would offer a draft resolution before the Commission that had the modest goal of promoting women's rights throughout the United Nations system.

APOMENKA CEK (Croatia) said that as a country which still dealt with the consequences of war, Croatia understood entirely the gravity of the problem of violence against women perpetrated during times of armed conflict. Croatia was among the pioneers in the battle that had made this problem internationally recognized by insisting that systematic rape and humiliation of women in war meant more than common crime, that it was a weapon of war, a war crime that under certain circumstances could be also defined as a crime against humanity or an element of the crime of genocide.

As a reflection of this policy, rape as a war crime was introduced into Croatian criminal legislation in 1997. The gender-specific consequences of the armed conflict in Former Yugoslavia could be noticed in almost every segment of society. The Croatian Government had identified the necessity of especially addressing the issue of women and armed conflict as a priority area in its first National Plan of Action for Gender Equality in 1997. Unfortunately, for lack of financial resources and infrastructure, some of the programmes envisaged had remained unimplemented. The Government was currently drafting a new national programme introducing a new approach to the problem.

SUMAYA ABU KASHAWA (Sudan) said the integration of women's rights was an important concept of human rights. Great importance was attached to the contribution of Sudanese women to all aspects of national life -- not because they were half the population in number, but because they shouldered the responsibilities for the country's survival and development. The process of revision of laws and drafting of the Constitution ongoing since 1992 had witnessed great contributions by women to the changes in the laws, and the integration of women's rights therein. Article 21 of the Constitution -- the right to equality -- stated that there should be no discrimination by reason of race, sex or religious creed.

Sudan was aware that written laws and Constitutions were not sufficient by themselves. The challenge was to translate those laws into action in real life. That was why issues like equal pay for equal work, paid maternity leave, equal retirement benefits and social benefits, for example, were integral parts of working conditions for women in Sudan. Sudan was an embracing homeland, wherein races and cultures came together. This could not be attained without respect for different values, support for women's development programmes, and encouragement and understanding at the international level.

JULIA MACHADO (Angola) said the integration of the rights of women and the gender perspective was based on 12 critical areas identified by the Beijing and Dakar Platforms. The Angolan Government was currently implementing a programme of micro credit at the national level. An intersectoral commission had been set up to elaborate a strategy to combat extreme poverty. Initiatives had been undertaken to increase the number of women in Parliament, government, political posts, trade unions, and other areas of Government and commercial life.

At present, there were four female Government Ministers and 6 Vice-Ministers, and 30 per cent of the deputies in Parliament were women. The Government had extended public-information programmes to prevent violence against women. In the health area, reproductive health programmes as well as educational programmes on HIV/AIDS had been launched.

LAVDIE RUCI (Albania) said a wide movement on women's rights had developed in Albania during its transition period. More than 100 women’s NGOs operated not only in the capital but in the other towns in Albania. The Government was working to increase the participation of women in power and decision-making positions. Although the number of women Ministers of Parliament at present represented only 11 per cent of the general number of deputies, there existed good political will between the main political forces to increase the number of women in future Parliaments.

Albania was facing cases of trafficking in women and children, and had prepared a programme for combatting it. Today, Albania was more aware of trafficking, and knew how dangerous it was. Users of trafficked persons and managers of the network lived in the Western rich countries. These countries must interrupt the demand for trafficking and make their societies aware of the issue, considering the harsh discrimination against women it produced.

IRINA ANANICH (Belarus) said the Constitution of the country established the principle of equality of men and women before the law. The State guaranteed the rights of all citizens independent of gender or creed. This principle was reaffirmed in all legislative acts. Women enjoyed the same rights as men at all levels. The labour code forbade the use of women in work involving the lifting of heavy weights, and during night shifts.

Women represented the majority of the population of the country and its work force. The Government had developed a national plan of action to improve the situation of women and to ensure the implementation of all legislative acts concerning women. The State cooperated with NGOs as well as international agencies in the area of gender equality and women's rights.

ALFREDO SFEIR-YOUNIS, of the World Bank, said gender-based violence was a worldwide problem. Although reliable statistics were hard to come by, studies estimated that, worldwide, 20 to 50 per cent of women had experienced physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner or family member. Over a woman's life cycle, gender-based violence could include abortion of female fetuses; selective neglect of young girls; female genital mutilation; sexual exploitation; and forced prostitution.


There was no doubt that the effect of organized violence against women during warfare was a growing concern. Globally, women and children made up 80 per cent of the 13.2 million refugees and 30 million people displaced within their country's borders. Women in these situations were especially at risk of sexual violence and other forms of abuse, crimes that were often used as weapons against members of a particular race or ethnicity. In refugee camps in Tanzania, more than a quarter of the women aged 12 to 49 had been victims of sexual violence. In the former Yugoslavia, women and girls had been imprisoned in rape camps, and the physical and psychological scars from that violence had persisted.

KIM SONG CHOL (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) said that last year in July, a US solider stationed in Futemma Air Base had committed sexual abuse against a 14- year-old Japanese girl. This case had led to massive anti-US protests demanding the closure of US military bases in and the withdrawal of US troops from Japan.

While responding sensitively to violence against an individual girl of its own ethnic origin, Japan was striving to avoid responsibility for the crime against humanity it had committed against women of other nations by forcing them to serve the Japanese imperial army as sexual slaves during World War II. The Japanese had an ethics that regarded violence against their women as humiliation and abuse of other nations' women as normal. As the Japanese were upset over this violation against one girl, the Korean people were burning with much more indignation at the sexual abuse against their nation's more than 200,000 women by Japan in the past. Furthermore, justification of criminal past history was now being made openly in Japan. A revision of school history textbooks to beautify Japan’s history of aggression and atrocities had been officially approved in April.

AFSANEH NADIPOUR (Islamic Republic of Iran) said violence against women, which happened to be prevalent and perpetrated in different forms and at different levels in the wide spectrum of human societies, was a problem. It acted as a formidable obstacle in the way of the full and meaningful presence of women in the social life of their country and the process of development. Violence against women was the main source of the violation of women's human rights and fundamental freedoms. A thorough elimination of such violence was contingent upon effective government action and forceful cooperation of civil society as a whole, including the NGOs.

Advancing the rights of women and enhancing their participation in every aspect of life was of paramount important to Iran. Given the crucial role of women in ensuring the formation and betterment of Iranian society and its system of values, the Government had undertaken efforts to remove barriers towards the full realization of women's rights and to prevent violence against women. The Government believed that efforts at the global level towards the promotion of these rights required a critical reassessment of traditional views held about women, which so often proved to be inappropriate.

Rights of reply

A Representative of Japan, speaking in right of reply, said he wished to reiterate the view of the Government on World War II. Japan had caused damage and suffering to several nations during World War II, especially in southeast Asia. Japan apologized to the victims and expressed remorse for its past deeds. With regard to school textbooks, the Government did not choose textbooks for schools. The choice was made by the schools themselves.

A Representative of the Republic of Korea, exercising the right of reply, said various UN mechanisms had addressed the Comfort Women issue over the last several years, reflecting the international community's serious concern over the issue. The Beijing Declaration of 1995 had called for the eradication of such crimes. The Commission's Special Rapporteur on violence against women had submitted a report on the Comfort Women issue in 1996. She had recommended that the Japanese Government accept responsibility and pay compensation. The victims had expressed their disappointment with the Japanese Government over their failure to pay compensation. The Republic of Korea called on the Japanese Government to resolve the Comfort Women issue once and for all in an acceptable way.

A Representative of Japan, speaking in a second right of reply, said Japan had assumed moral responsibility for crimes committed by Japan during World War II. Japan had cooperated with the Asian Women's Fund. As for the compensation of victims, Japan considered the issue as settled between Japan and the relevant parties in accordance with the San Fransico Treaty and other relevant international instruments.

A Representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, speaking in right of reply, said the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea rejected the assertion of Japan. Japan had committed a crime against humanity by forcing 200,000 Korean women into sexual slavery, and by killing over 1 million Koreans. But there was no payment to the victims, and there was no recognition by Japan of the crime. The International Labour Office had stated that the Asian Women's Fund could not be the solution to the issue of compensation of the victims. Japan should accept its responsibility for past crimes.

A Representative of the Republic of Korea, in a second right of reply, said he wished to remind the Commission of the 1998 report by Special Rapporteur Gay McDougall according to which the Asian Fund did not meet Japan's responsibility for providing official legal compensation to victims.



* *** *