Background
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural) today is effected to conclude its discussion of women’s issues after which it will begin consideration of issues relating to the rights of the child. (For background on women’s issues, see Press Release GA/SHC/3744 of 15 October.)
Before the Committee there is a note of the Secretary-General on the protection of children in armed conflict prepared by his Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict (document A/58/328). The report states that progress in this field includes a significant increase in advocacy and awareness. Children are now firmly placed on the international peace and security agenda, and norms and standards have been strengthened. Child protection has been incorporated by regional organizations, and important steps have been taken to develop systematic monitoring and reporting. Children are being given increasing priority and are focused upon more in post-conflict programmes, and a major child protection movement has developed among non-governmental organizations. However, the situation for children remains grave and precarious in war zones.
The report proposed an agenda for action encompassing the interrelated challenges of embarking on a campaign for the “era of application” and ensuring that the initiatives taken and gains made so far are consolidated and institutionalized. The core task is to establish a systematic and integrated monitoring and reporting network that can provide objective, regular and accurate reports on violations being committed against children. Such reports should, in turn, serve as “triggers for action” on the part of various international, regional and local bodies, mechanisms and actors, each employing all means and levers of influence at their disposal for the protection of war-affected children.
A report of the Secretary-General on the Status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (document A/58/282) states that as of 2 July 2003, the Convention on the Rights of the Child had been ratified or acceded to by
192 States. In addition, two States had signed the Convention. Also, as of
2 July 2003, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the involvement of children in armed conflict had been ratified by 53 States and signed by
111 States, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography had been ratified by 52 States and signed by 105 States.
Before the Committee is a letter from the Permanent Representative of Honduras to the United Nations (document A/58/272) containing a report by that State on the violent deaths of children and youths. The report deals with the topic of the 744 young people under the age of 18 that have been murdered in Honduras, mostly in gang-related incidents, from 1998 until December 2002. Some of the difficulties faced by the Government were the lack of a centralized database that would permit corroboration of all the information received on the number of deaths; shortages of specialized investigators; a lack of equipment and logistical support for field work; and the lack of specific legislation on gangs (“pandillas” or “maras”).
There is a note of the Secretary-General on the promotion and protection of the rights of children (document A/58/329) which draws the attention of Member States to the report of the Secretary-General on progress towards implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS (document A/58/184).
Statements on Women’s Issues
PATRICIA OLAMENDI (Mexico) said that 50 years after the recognition of the right to vote for Mexican women, they were carrying out various activities to take stock of progress that had been made as well as barriers that continued to exist concerning gender equity. Most Mexican legislation had taken into account equality and non-discrimination and the electoral law obliged Congress to include at least 30 per cent of women as congressional candidates. Also, institutes had been created to ensure that public policy prioritized gender equity, and further measures had been taken to promote equality of access to primary and secondary education.
She said that in spite of such progress, women in Mexico continued to be paid wages that were 20 per cent lower than those of men. The responsibilities of home and childcare remained exclusively women’s, reflecting the cultural battle that women still faced in Mexican society.
Both in Mexico and internationally, violence against women was of great concern. This problem placed particular challenges on authorities responsible for justice. Homicide cases that victimized women must be tried and the perpetrators punished in order to bring justice for victims. In Mexico federal, state and local authorities had strengthened cooperation, but Mexico welcomed the cooperation of the international community to strengthen prevention of violence against women.
ANDREI A. TARANDA (Belarus) said the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action remained a priority on the international agenda. The situation was still far from perfect since women continued to face various forms of violence and discrimination. The Beijing Platform for Action was an essential document on which States based their policies for the advancement of women, and his country had developed a national plan of action to ensure gender equality. Research had also been carried out on gender issues in Belarus, and a centre for gender information and policy had been established. The successful implementation of the above-mentioned measures was based on the close cooperation between the Government of Belarus and the United Nations, particularly the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
Belarus welcomed the increasing gender mainstreaming within the United Nations in order to achieve gender equality, he said. Belarus also appreciated the important role played by the Commission on the Status of Women. However, its last session would have been more constructive with the adoption of the agreed conclusions of the session.
Noting that the work of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women had led to a reform in the reporting procedures, he said that last year, Belarus had presented its combined fourth, fifth and sixth reports on the Convention’s implementation.
Any form of violence against women constituted a violation of human rights, he continued. One of the most horrible crimes was the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation – a modern form of slavery. A State programme had been adopted to deal comprehensively with the trafficking in women and girls. A project for technical assistance had also been development and was being carried out with the aim of preventing trafficking of women.
C.P. RADHAKRISHNAN (India) said that while the primary responsibility for the advancement and empowerment of women lay with national governments, international cooperation was indispensable. Without such cooperation, developing countries could not respond adequately to the serious challenges they faced, especially in this era of globalization. International cooperation should include financial assistance, technology transfer, and information sharing. India called upon the developed country partners to fulfill their commitments made in the Millennium Declaration and other international conferences so as to enable the developing countries to attain poverty eradication and sustainable development goals.
He said women in India constituted 48 per cent of India’s population, with the majority residing in rural areas. The socio-economic transformation of villages must therefore play a crucial role in the country’s development and required the participation of women and a gender perspective in rural development policies.
He added that India welcomed legislative and public awareness measures undertaken by governments to address and eliminate harmful traditional or customary practices affecting the health or women and girls.
DAW KHIN THANDAR (Myanmar) said in Myanmar, teaching was one of the most popular careers chosen by women. Thus, schools in Myanmar at all levels were “female oriented”. At the primary school level, 73.11 per cent of the teaching force were women and at the secondary level 76.49 per cent were women. As for the percentage of school principals, women principals constituted 51.92 per cent in urban areas and male principals constituted 57.60 per cent in rural areas.
The Myanmar Women Entrepreneurs Association, founded by successful women entrepreneurs, also played an active part in the advancement of women, she said. The Association reached out to women entrepreneurs offering advice and microcredit to women wishing to start a business or further expand existing businesses.
Trafficking of people, particularly of women, was a global phenomenon that posed serious danger to women everywhere, she said. Myanmar, a country with
3,805 miles of land boundary with five countries was very much aware of the issue of trafficking in persons and the Government was committed to combat it. Her country had put in place a National Action Plan for the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons, consisting of four pillars -– prevention, prosecution, protection and repatriation. The Myanmar Penal Code contained provisions for meting out heavy sentences for human traffickers. To further strengthen national legislation, Myanmar was now in the process of enacting a separate anti-human trafficking law.
RANIA AL HAJ ALI (Syria) said her Government’s commitment to promoting gender equity and advancing the status of women was evident in its national strategy that focused on increasing the participation of women in Syria’s economic and political life. Education was the main way to ensure the advancement of women in society and to meet the challenges of poverty and illiteracy. Therefore, Syria had organized a forum of Arab women that stressed the need for women’s education and the participation of Arab women in development. The forum had drafted several recommendations to increase school enrollment of girls as well as access to technical training programmes. Recommendations had also been adopted for rural women to increase their access to education and social services to enable them to participate actively in development.
Syria remained convinced of the need for international cooperation to promote the advancement of women, and this was reflected in its accession to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Regarding violence against women, she said laws in Syria were very severe concerning crimes affecting women’s health and their rights.
She stressed that women’s rights must be for all women and not just a few. Equality and freedom for women would not be realized without considering the situation of women in areas under foreign occupation. Syrian and Lebanese women who lived under Israeli occupation had been denied their fundamental rights, including access to health and education services, and were routinely subject to discrimination. Women in Syria would continue to struggle for women in the occupied areas in order to promote full protection of their rights. Until peace was established and occupation eliminated, the advancement of women would be incomplete.
LETICIA RAMOS SHAHANI (Philippines) said gender mainstreaming, a major component of the Beijing Platform for Action, had been a part of the United Nations agenda since the adoption in 1985 of the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies and had been given major impetus in Beijing in 1995. The international community must always be alert and sensitive to those sectors where there was discrimination against women. In such cases affirmative action and special intervention was required, as in the case of migrant women or rural women who had no access to economic empowerment.
The Philippine Government continued to implement policies and programmes to ensure gender mainstreaming, she said. Three very important such measures were the allocation of 5 per cent of each government department’s budget for the advancement of women; the increased participation of women in local government; and the support for the participation of women in economic activities through microfinancing.
She expressed concern that the majority of the 1.2 billion poor of the world were women. Aside from persistent poverty, another challenge that must be addressed during this post-Beijing period was violence against women. That problem underscored the existing harmful traditional cultural, social and economic practices and belief systems that sanctioned, reinforced and perpetuated the devaluation of women. The protection of women migrant workers and combating trafficking of women were issues that intersected in their most essential elements. She favoured the convening of an International Conference on Migration.
MARINE DAVTYAN (Armenia) said the problems her country faced in the area of women’s advancement had been aggravated by earthquake and the influx of refugees. Despite those obstacles, Armenia was committed to move forward in its efforts to improve the situation of women. The equality of rights for men and women was guaranteed by Armenian law. An inter-agency commission had been established, and a deputy minister of social development had been appointed to deal particularly with coordinating activities to promote gender equity. There had been an increase in the number of women both in the Parliament and Government.
She said women in Armenia made up 66 per cent of the unemployed. Special consideration had therefore been given to the gender perspective in the poverty reduction programme, with special attention to the needs of women refugees and residents in earthquake-affected areas. Efforts were also underway to create more employment opportunities for women and to promote their entrepreneurship in small and medium-sized businesses. In response to threats posed by trafficking in human beings, Armenia had established an interagency commission to ensure safe migration by providing information on legal conditions and labour opportunities in foreign countries.
DON MACKAY (New Zealand), speaking on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum, said his Group of countries was characterized by an enormous range and diversity of cultures, geography and circumstance. The Group was however united in its commitment to the promotion and protection of women’s rights. In Australia and New Zealand, women were now fully represented in the economy and were critical to the industrialization process over the past century. In many Pacific Islands communities, women today provided the main labour force for subsistence food production and sale. There was also an increasing trend of women assuming leadership in development. All countries in the region had dedicated personnel and resources focused on addressing gender issues.
A major challenge for many of the members in the Group was the capacity and resources required to implement the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, he said. Even so, and in spite of often-formidable constraints, the Pacific Islands Forum had made real process in support of this important Convention. Women had been at the very forefront of the peace movement in the Pacific region in efforts that ranged from global disarmament to peace-building at the grass-roots level. The UNIFEM’s work on women, peace and security in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, and Vanuatu had been instrumental in revealing the important role played by women in promoting peace in the region.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic had reached the Pacific Islands, he said. The rate of new infections was on a rapid increase since the first discovery in the late 1980s. Many of the factors that were driving the pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa were prevalent in the region -– increasing poverty, gender inequality, violence against women and children, unequal distribution of resources and development, and conflict. A regional strategy for combating HIV/AIDS would be presented to Forum Leaders at their next meeting in 2004. The Pacific Islands Forum was also working toward the elimination of violence against women. Despite the existence of norms and standards, violence against women was still widespread and much work remained to be done both in the region and internationally.
PIO SCHURTI (Liechtenstein) said his country placed great importance on ensuring full realization of equal rights for women and on eradicating discrimination and violence against women. The Government had made the advancement of women a priority and had adopted an action plan to promote equal opportunities for both women and men. The plan focused on combating violence against women, the reconciliation of family responsibilities with work and the increased participation of women in politics and decision-making.
He called on Member States to step up efforts to implement international standards established to protect and promote women’s rights. Liechtenstein strongly agreed with a rights-based approach that was not limited to attempts to prevent women from becoming victims but one that drew on the capabilities of women on national and international levels.
FESSEHA TESEFU (Ethiopia) said a number of encouraging legislative and administrative measures had been taken to eliminate discrimination against women in Ethiopia. The Family Law and the Penal Code had been revised by repealing provisions that were discriminatory against women. Under the revised family code, the minimum age for marriage had been changed to 18 for both the female and male as opposed to 15 for the female in the past.
Female genital mutilation continued to constitute violence against women in Ethiopia, undermining women’s equality and infringing on their human rights and fundamental freedoms, he said. Although its prevalence had decreased from 92 per cent to 80 per cent in the last decade, much remained to be done. Revisions in the Penal Code meant that there was a minimum imprisonment of five years and a maximum of 10 years of rigorous for rape; female genital mutilation was outlawed as a crime; and abduction and domestic violence were also being carefully addressed.
Ethiopia’s economy, as in many developing countries, was predominantly agricultural, and women contributed the largest share of the production –- yet their situation remained precarious, he said. Despite many efforts with the support of non-governmental organizations and development partners, women in Ethiopia still faced many challenges including the spread of HIV/AIDS, drought, extreme poverty and a lack of access to education and health services. Such challenges could only be overcome if national efforts were complemented by international cooperation in the areas of resource mobilization, capacity-building and technology transfer.
O. ENKHTSETSEG (Mongolia) said her country had launched a national programme for the advancement of women, which had made considerable progress in building a national consensus on the protection of women’s rights, improvements in health and access to education. However, since unemployment and poverty rates had not improved, living standards, particularly of women and elderly people, had continued to deteriorate. There was an urgent need therefore to revisit the basic concept of Mongolia’s development strategy with a focus on introducing gender equity and human-centred development goals.
She stressed that women played an important role in consolidating and deepening democracy. Issues related to gender equity and the role of women’s participation in promoting democracy was strongly considered during the International Conference of New or Restored Democracies that was held in Mongolia last September.
Turning to the special challenges facing rural women, she said their needs should be a major focus of international efforts to realize Millennium Development Goals and commitments made in Beijing.
MOHAMED BENNOUNA (Morocco) said it was inconceivable that women did not fully enjoy their human rights. All development and democratization efforts must consider women as full-fledged partners. The implementation of the Millennium Development Goals required the full participation of all, and a few days ago, the King of Morocco had made a statement on a new Family Code. Also, a consultative committee had been established to address revisions to the family code. That committee had completed its work and the new Family Code was respectful of human rights, fundamental freedoms and equality between men and women. The reform clearly established the principle of gender equality in all areas. Both of the spouses were now responsible for the family, and women were no longer obliged to “obey” their husbands. The legal age of marriage for women had also been increased to 18 years of age for women, as opposed to the previous 15 years of age.
There had also been a revision of the rules of distribution of property acquired during a marriage, he said. Finally, a committee had been established to draft a practical guide on the provisions of family law. Another event worth noting was the presentation by the Government of Morocco of a report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Morocco was very involved in this process and would continue on the path of women’s advancement.
MINA WESTMAN (Israel) said her country placed gender equality high on its political and social agenda and noted the status of women in Israel had improved significantly in the political sphere. She said the Government currently included three female Ministers and two female Deputy Ministers. Eighteen out of the 120 Members of Parliament were women, marking an increase of more than 20 per cent in parliamentary representation. Israel’s commitment to the mainstreaming of a gender perspective was also reflected in the adoption of several laws, backed up by enforcement, to eliminate discrimination against women and to address the issue of violence against women.
She said violence against women was one of the most serious problems facing women in almost every country, noting that 12 per cent of women in Israel suffered from violence. In response to this problem the Government had initiated efforts to increase public awareness and set up facilities to provide support for battered women.
To combat poverty among women, Israel had established a unit within the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to encourage women to open small and medium-sized businesses and to destroy barriers impeding the advancement of women in business. Microloan funds had also been established for women, and women loan recipients were encouraged to participate in entrepreneurship courses. She added that Israel had also held vocational training courses, through the Center for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for hundreds of women trainees around the world, including Palestinian women.
SAR SAMBATH (Cambodia) said the legacy of war in the past three decades had left tremendous burdens on the people, mainly women and children. Cambodian women constituted the majority of the labour force in rural areas working with agriculture. Endemic poverty and porous borders had been and were the main root causes for violence and human trafficking –- problems that transcended geography and nationality. Efforts had been made to improve women’s lot in Cambodia, he said. At the National Assembly level, among 122 representatives, 12 were women in the second legislature, compared to 5 out of 120 in the first legislature. There was also a plan that included strategies monitoring the status of women in four major areas –- education, reproductive health, economic empowerment and legal protection.
Many countries had organized or supported campaigns against domestic violence, and some had set up and supported shelters, he said. In Cambodia, since 2001, his Government had launched a campaign against all forms of violence against women. Despite the various difficulties, the Royal Government of Cambodia had made every effort through the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Veterans to coordinate with other women’s organizations around the globe in order to implement the United Nations Platform for Action. He stressed that women were the key for sustainable development.
OCTAVIAN STAMATE (Romania) said his country was fully engaged in pursuing the objectives defined by the Beijing Conference, recognizing that sustainable development and global peace could only be achieved by ensuring the full and equal participation of both men and women in all aspects of life. Romania had set up a department for coordination of the labour market and wage policy to implement gender mainstreaming in the social policies of Romania. Support centres for victims of domestic violence had also been set up. To promote the advancement of women in political life, a project on gender equality was under way to encourage more women to participate as candidates in local and national elections.
He said Romanian authorities had also intensified efforts to prevent, punish, and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. A law had been adopted in May to combat domestic violence and to establish an agency to outline measures to prevent domestic violence and protect victims. Public awareness and education campaigns were also under way to decrease the victimization of women and promote women’s rights.
CATHERINE OTITI (Uganda) said the National Gender Policy of Uganda emphasized the cross-cutting nature of gender and sought to integrate it into development efforts at national, district and local levels, and to further strengthen already existing gender-oriented sectoral policies. The overall policy of Uganda was geared towards the removal of all impediments to women’s effective participation in all activities, at all levels, and in accordance with the decentralized framework, democratic principles and good governance. The Government of Uganda was also strengthening effective monitoring and evaluation with appropriate feedback mechanisms at all levels.
Poverty eradication, economic growth and sustainable development must not be misunderstood as measures to address material needs only, she said. Poverty was a multidimensional problem that also connoted a lack, deficiency, or loss of social, economic, cultural or other value for human existence. Means of production and income-generation, health care and education were crucial areas that continued to require attention. Article one of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women had by no means been entirely achieved in Uganda, but the stereotyping, suppression and exploitation of women was progressively being ended.
BHUPNARAYAN CHARTIMAGAR (
Nepal) said the eradication of poverty for women in ruraL areas was of special concern to Nepal, where the majority of women lived in such areas. Rural women faced poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and inadequate health care. His Government placed a high priority on rural development in the national development plan, and on integrating a gender perspective in development policy. Microcredit programmes had been initiated to assist rural women.
He said equal rights protection for women in Nepal was guaranteed under the law, and strategies to improve the status of women focused on increasing women’s access to education and health. Education could do much to enhance the status of women, and women’s empowerment was at the focus of all development efforts. Nepal supported all international efforts to increase the participation of women in political, economic and social life. His Government had adopted measures to mainstream a gender perspective on a national level, and Nepal supported the elimination of traditional or customary practices that were harmful to the health of women and girls.
CATHERINE MAHOUVE SAME (Cameroon) said among the Millennium Development Goals, one goal was dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the advancement of women. Gender equality was not a goal in itself, but a determinant factor for sustainable development. The Government of Cameroon attached high priority to the promotion of the rights of women and had established a ministry in charge of issues related to women. This ministry focused on certain key areas of importance for the advancement of women, including the eradication of poverty, education and training, health, the environment and the promotion of women’s human rights.
Concerning the fight against poverty, she said that studies showed that the causes for the feminization of poverty were the lack of infrastructure and roads for transport, the lack of resources to initiate income-generating activities, lack of information, lack of training, and the weight of family and tradition. Concerning education and training, the Ministry on women’s issues had initiated projects and awareness-raising campaigns to ensure that parents recognized the importance of sending their little girls to school. Cameroon on its own could not address the many obstacles preventing the advancement of women and counted of the international community to provide bilateral and multilateral development assistance, she concluded.
MAVIS KUSORGBOR (Ghana) said her Government considered the total elimination of discrimination against women as indispensable in any agenda for attaining socio-economic development. The need to empower women to make them equal partners in formulating and implementing development policy was of major importance to Ghana, which had initiated nationwide programmes to promote the protection of women’s rights. A microfinancing fund had been set up to reduce the widening economic inequality between men and women. The Government had also promoted gender mainstreaming at all levels.
She said Ghana’s rich cultural background included some traditional and customary practices that were harmful to the health of women, and this had undermined the important role of women in the promotion of sustainable development. To address that challenge, the Government had criminalized such negative traditional and customary practices through enhanced legislation. It was determined to end such harmful practices that degraded womanhood.
Regarding the gender implications of HIV/AIDS, she said the Ghana AIDS Commission, in conjunction with other governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations, had developed initiatives to reduce the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV/AIDS infection. In addition, it was important for men to be encouraged to act as key partners in the effort to reverse the spread of the pandemic.
MWELWA C. MUSAMBACHIME (Zambia) said Zambia had five priorities concerning the advancement of women: Education, poverty eradication and skills development, health, decision-making, and rights of the child. A comprehensive framework had been created for their implementation, encompassing legal, institutional, advocacy, capacity-building and women’s empowerment issues.
Zambia had placed emphasis on developing the legal framework for the empowerment of women, he said, and there had been considerable progress in addressing a number of legal challenges to the advancement of women. The Government had also engaged in training and capacity-building for women aspiring to political position and training in gender and human rights for judges, police and local court justices.
Zambia was also facing challenges in relation to the health of women and HIV/AIDS, and gender violence, especially against women and children. Increases in the cases of defilement and spousal abuse had led to the establishment of a Victim Support Unit in the Zambia Police Service responsible for addressing all complaints of domestic violence. Gains made in development would not be sustainable if due consideration was not given to addressing the poverty and economic empowerment of women, he concluded.
YUNUS BAZEL (Afghanistan) said the Transitional Government of Afghanistan was committed to promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the rights of women and girls. For the past two years, Afghanistan had taken major steps to promote the full realization of women’s human rights and their increased participation in the economic, political and social life of the country.
The establishment of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, headed by a woman, was a major achievement in the context of Afghan society. Afghanistan had also ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and efforts were under way to enact new laws and regulations in observance of its provisions. Moreover, an independent human rights commission had also been established. Affirmative action policies adopted by the Government were intended to promote women’s rights, he said, noting that the Presidential Decree in July concerning the convening of the Constituent Assembly had allocated 64 seats for women.
The right to work, receive an education, and have access to health care without discrimination were among the fundamental rights that had been restored to Afghan women. He said the main problems of rehabilitation and reconstruction faced by his war-torn country had affected all segments of Afghan society, including women and girls. The full realization of the human rights of women and girls could only be achieved through the creation of a prosperous and developed Afghan society.
