UNITED NATIONS OFFICE AT GENEVA COMMEMORATES INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY WITH ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION ON WOMEN AND HEALTH

M/99/11
8 March 1999





Director-General of UNOG and High Commissioner for Human Rights
Address Round Table

The United Nations Office at Geneva today commemorated International Women’s Day with a Round Table discussion which took stock of the progress made in implementing the main recommendations of the Beijing Platform for Action which was adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women in the area of “Women and Health”

At the start of the discussion, Vladimir Petrovsky, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, said the United Nations strongly supported and had always been committed to the promotion and the protection of equal rights for women. He said that new and emerging issues such as adaptation to globalization and economic restructuring had resulted in adverse economic consequences to women in regards to health and employment among other areas, and had hampered women’s advancement.

Mr. Petrovsky stressed that legal reforms were urgently needed to curtail all forms of violence and appalling abuses which were still being committed against women and the girl child. The inhumane practices of rape as a weapon of war, trafficking in women and children and traditional practices which adversely effected the health of women and children, as well as domestic and other forms of violence specifically directed against women were, at long last, being scrutinized and condemned by the international community.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson also addressed the Round Table, saying a discussion on women and health often turned, sadly, into one on the denial of women’s right to health. Women’s lack of access to health took many forms, so utmost vigilance was required to combat it. For example, trafficking in women and girls, a phenomenon that had reached horrible proportions, had direct and indirect effects on women’s health.

Mrs. Robinson referred to the situation of women in Rwanda where it was estimated that seven to eight out of ten women survivors had physical scars or wounds, or suffered from physical or psychological health problems. She also pointed to the situation of women in Afghanistan where the unprecedented repression of women was reportedly fuelling depression and suicide. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was working with the World Health Organization in the integration of human rights concerns in activities in the area of health and women.

Olive Shisana, Executive Director for Health Systems and Community Health Cluster at the World Health Organization, said it was clear that there was a broader understanding of reproductive health and the notion of reproductive rights today. Ms. Shisana listed many positive changes in the area of reproductive health. She concluded by noting that this broad agenda was too big and complex for any single agency and stronger alliances should be created to deal with it.

Mireille Kingma of the International Council of Nurses said violence in all its forms had increased dramatically worldwide, and had become a public health concern of epidemic proportion with extensive health care ramifications. The burden of violence was disproportionally born by young people and women. Gender violence was a universal plague even though it continued to be grossly under reported. Violence was destructive by nature and had profoundly negative health implications on observers as well as the victims. There needed to be a concerted effort to eliminate violence and its negative consequences. A no-tolerance campaign had to be introduced and reinforced.

Acting as moderator of the Round Table was Danuta Hubner, Focal Point for Women and Personal Advisor of the Director-General for Women who is also Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe, who said that prevention was one of the most cost-efficient strategies of dealing with health problems in the area of women’s health. Prevention was more efficient and effective if designed and carried on in a comprehensive way. A crucial issue was education. In conclusion, Ms. Hubner said prevention was not an event but a process which required fundamental changes in societal attitudes and efforts on local, national, regional and international levels.

Following the addresses and a brief question and answer session, Ms. Hubner thanked the Director-General, the speakers and all the participants. Finally, she thanked the staff of the Information Service which had organized the Round Table.