HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CALLS FOR ACTION FOR EQUALITY IN STATEMENT TO COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
Press Release
WOM/895
HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS CALLS FOR ACTION FOR EQUALITY IN STATEMENT TO COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
19960130 Action was of the essence to remove remaining obstacles to women's full and equal participation in all spheres of life and to protect their rights, the High Commissioner for Human Rights told the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this afternoon. The 23-member expert Committee is the monitoring body of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.In a statement delivered by his representative, Purificacion Quisumbing, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jose Ayala-Lasso, said the Committee had his full support and he counted on its ideas and experience to translate the commitments of recent global conferences into concrete plans.
Responding to the High Commissioner's statement, experts stressed the need for institutionalized contact with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women. They also expressed their readiness to relocate the Committee secretariat to Geneva to strengthen cooperation with the bodies of the human rights system located there.
Also this afternoon, the Committee concluded its consideration of the third periodic report of Hungary. Experts expressed concern over the fact that provisions relating to family law, child support and quotas for women had been struck down under the new Constitution. One expert stressed that the transition to democracy and a free market should not be undertaken at the expense of the rights of women.
The Committee will meet again at a time to be announced.
Committee Work Programme
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women met this afternoon to continue its consideration of the report of Hungary. (For background information, see Press Release WOM/894, issued today.)
Introduction of Report
Continuing the presentation of the third periodic report of Hungary, ERZSBET KARDOS-KAPONYI, Professor, Budapest University of Economics, said one fifth of the country's population had resided in Budapest in 1994 and there were a significantly higher number of women than men in the city.
Commenting on article 14, which takes account of the particular problems of rural women and spells out their rights in the economic and social areas, she said women were at a disadvantage to men in gaining high-profile offices, although they stood a better chance of being elected to local offices. In 1985, women candidates filled 8 per cent and in 1990 3 per cent of mayors' offices in towns. However, in the same two years, that proportion was 15 and 10 per cent, respectively, in small settlements.
Regarding article 16, which spells out the equality of women's rights in matters relating to marriage and family relations, she said no substantial changes had occurred since 1990 on child maintenance and divorce. The decrease in the standard of living had produced a deterioration in the situation of families and women. As in previous decades, the number of divorces had remained high.
Since 1991, significant changes had been initiated in the social security system, she said. In June 1993, social security self-governments had been set up and in 1992 it had been mandated that pensions had to be increased in parallel with the increase in the income of the active population.
The Act on Adoption had been modified both in 1990 and in 1995, she said. The first Act had increased the number of children eligible for adoption and the second Act had provided that foreigners could adopt children from Hungary only as an exception. The Act had also entitled the mother to give consent to the adoption of her child before giving birth. Prior to that amendment, consent could be given only after birth, which had led in many cases to abortions as well as murder of new-born children.
The Chairman of the Committee, IVANKA CORTI, expert from Italy, said she appreciated the frank and exhaustive report of Hungary. She said the project to open an International Labour Organisation (ILO) centre in Budapest was welcome and expressed the hope that it would improve women's skills in the
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labour market. She commended the report for addressing the situation of older women in the country.
Another expert said that the new Constitution had struck down many provisions relating to family law, while the withdrawal of the child support system and the quota had adversely affected women. She stressed that the Convention had provided for temporary measures to alleviate the situation of women. She expressed surprise that even though women's education level was higher than that of men, their compensation levels remained 20 to 30 per cent lower than men's. She also sought more information on violence against women and the national machinery for women.
Another expert said she would like the Government to disseminate the Convention and the general comments of the Committee more widely. She said more thought ought to be given to affirmative action for women, stressing that it might be required due to unjust conditions in the labour market. Affirmative actions were not designed to place in women in positions for which they were not professionally equipped, rather they were meant to place qualified women in positions from which they were precluded due to stereotypes. She warned that in rejecting the past, countries should not fall into the trap of supporting stereotypes. She also emphasized that the Committee's recommendation on violence should be taken into account.
An expert expressed appreciation for the measures taken to alleviate the situation of the Romany women. She expressed concern at the numbers of minors engaged in prostitution and wondered if such minors could be provided with vocational training and directed to self-employment. Effective family life education for minors and women engaged in prostitution was also suggested.
Another expert said the number of abortions after the liberalization of the abortion law was disturbing. Family planning was important and perhaps the Government should consider subsidizing contraception. Regarding AIDS awareness, she said such programmes should be as broad as possible, targeting a full range of citizens. Persons infected with the disease could help in planning awareness programmes.
She asked what happened to women who suffered domestic violence, stating that mandatory reconciliation should be reviewed. Violence against women was a social and health concern and personnel involved in intervention required training.
While praising the report, another expert called attention to the poverty of women in Hungary. It would have been helpful to have more information on rural women in the country, she said.
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An expert said the level of violence against women was a very serious problem. The cost of democracy could not be at the expense of women's rights. There was a problem of invisible violence. Rising consumption of tobacco, alcohol and drugs required further Government measures. While appreciating the difficulties of transition, she said that democratization should not take place at the expense of the rights of Hungarian women.
The representative of Hungary, Ms. Kardos-Kaponyi, thanked the experts for their proposals, which the Government would consider. It was hoped that the next report would contain a more complete and brighter picture of women's rights in Hungary.
Statement by High Commissioner for Human Rights
PURIFICACION QUISUMBING, speaking on behalf of Jose Ayala Lasso, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women played an outstanding role in the promotion and protection of women's rights. The international community had established that women's rights were human rights. This required the promotion of women's rights, the integration of the gender issue into the work and activities of all organs and bodies of the human rights programme, and the strengthening of the mechanisms and procedures addressing the equal status and human rights of women.
She said this was a time of tremendous change in the area of human rights, evidenced by the growing extent of ratification of instruments and the refinement of methods of work of the treaty bodies. The issue of procedures dealing with non-compliance with States parties on reporting obligations was one of the outstanding items on the agenda of the meeting of chairpersons of treaty bodies. Various actions had been taken by different human rights treaty bodies to deal with the problem.
Recalling that the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education started in January 1995, she said treaty bodies could contribute to the successful implementation of the Decade's Plan of Action. The chairpersons recommended that treaty bodies elaborate related reporting guidelines or general comments and recommendations to States parties. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights had decided to monitor the implementation of the right to human rights education during its consideration of State reports. The Committee on the Rights of the Child had referred to the Decade in its concluding observations when recommending that greater attention be paid to human rights campaigns and education for children. She said she looked forward to actions to be taken by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to promote the Decade. A campaign was under way to seek support for the establishment of national focal points for the Decade to mobilize funds for national programmes.
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One of the concerns expressed by the chairpersons of the treaty bodies concerned the unsatisfactory status they had experienced in past international conferences, she continued. They urged the General Assembly to ensure that treaty bodies would be fully involved in the preparations for the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), to be held in Istanbul in June. The Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights had adopted a statement for submission to the Conference in which it addressed the issue of the right to housing as a human right. That view was supported a few days ago at an expert group meeting organized by the Centre for Human Rights and the Centre for Human Settlements.
The chairpersons of the treaty bodies had agreed that treaty bodies should fully integrate gender perspectives into their working methods including identification of issues and preparation of questions, general comments, general recommendations and concluding observations, she went on. In March 1995, the Human Rights Committee had amended its guidelines for State reports to address factors that might affect the enjoyment by women of the rights contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The chairpersons had suggested that exchange of information between treaty bodies, specialized agencies, non-governmental organizations and regional human rights mechanisms and the sharing of expertise could play in important role in the prevention of situations of massive violations of human rights, she continued. Cooperation with an increasing number of partners was an essential feature of the treaty system and its success. Efforts were being made in the Secretariat to develop a database of national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations so that they could be informed well in advance of the consideration of country reports.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights had concluded its first technical assistance mission in April 1995, when two members had travelled to Panama to provide assistance with respect to the right of housing. That Committee had also adopted a comment which pays particular attention to the situation of older women, she stated.
He said the Special Rapporteur on violence against women would submit her second report to the Commission on Human Rights at its next session. She would also inform the Commission about her mission to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea and Japan, on the issue of military sexual slavery in war-time. She would also propose the elaboration of a model framework for national legislation on domestic violence.
The provisions relating to women's human rights in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women and those of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights coincided and
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called for coordinated action. Action was of the essence if the international community wanted to hasten the removal of the remaining obstacles to women's full and equal participation in all spheres of life, to protect their fundamental human rights and to integrate their concerns into all aspects of sustainable development.
She went on to say that a high-level panel discussion on women's rights had been held in New York in October 1995 on ways to increase cooperation for the promotion and protection of women's rights. The support, ideas and experience of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women would help translate commitments into concrete plans. The High Commissioner pledged to support the Committee and noted the proposal to move its secretariat to Geneva to strengthen cooperation with other human rights treaty bodies and his Office. The High Commissioner would do his best to promote system-wide cooperation and coordination on women's rights and to include the women's perspective in new initiatives on the right to development.
Discussion of Statement
The Chairman of the Committee, Ms. CORTI, expert from Italy, said the exchange of information and expertise between the treaty bodies and closer cooperation with the special rapporteurs was vital. A letter had been sent from the Committee to the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing concern about the lack of regular contact with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women. A positive reply was hoped for so that a relationship could be institutionalized. The High Commissioner could count on the support of the Committee to help translate the commitment to women's rights into concrete plans. It was not up to the Committee to give further ideas on relocating the Committee to Geneva; it was up to High Commissioner to take a decision on the matter.
An expert said she wanted to convey to the office of High Commissioner for Human Rights that until it was decided where the Committee secretariat would be, very close cooperation with the human rights bodies would be required so that the Committee would remain aware of developments in other bodies.
Another expert expressed disappointment and regret that the Special Rapporteur on violence against women had not been able to present her report to the Committee. She said the Committee was very interested in the issues of violence against women and desired a direct link with the Rapporteur.
An expert noted the effort of the High Commissioner to highlight women's rights within the realm of human rights. She stressed that when special
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reports were done by other treaty bodies, ideas ought to be sought from the Committee's experts.
The representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. QUISUMBING, said she would convey the sentiments of the experts to the High Commissioner. The Office of the High Commissioner was committed to closer cooperation with the Committee. The High Commissioner had written to the Secretary-General on the issue of implementation of the decision of the Committee to relocate to Geneva. She also clarified that the reason for the Special Rapporteur's absence was not a lack of funds but her unavailability due to other reasons.
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