UNITED NATIONS FINANCIAL CRISIS WILL AFFECT COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN, UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR POLICY COORDINATION TELLS COMMISSION
Press Release
WOM/905
UNITED NATIONS FINANCIAL CRISIS WILL AFFECT COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN, UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR POLICY COORDINATION TELLS COMMISSION
19960311 The "cash crunch" faced by the United Nations would cause it to curtail services affecting the work of the Commission on the Status of Women, Under- Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development Nitin Desai told the Commission this afternoon, as it continued consideration of the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace (Beijing, 1995).Mr. Desai called on all members of the international community to ensure that the work concerning the advancement of women would be disrupted as little as possible. He stressed that the Commission's work was essential to mainstreaming development issues throughout the United Nations system. The Commission must ensure that its deliberations were treated by the world at large with as much importance as those of the Beijing Conference.
Speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries, the representative of Costa Rica said the most important factor towards the full implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action was the mobilization of new and additional resources to face the problem of poverty. Because poverty was too broad and fundamental an issue to be treated exclusively in one session, the Commission should monitor it each year, she said.
The Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that agency had identified three key areas for priority action for UNICEF in helping governments to implement the Platform for Action: education for girls; health for adolescent girls and women; and the rights of children and women. A representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said that it had undertaken to implement 10 special projects, which would focus on: promoting girls' and women's education in Africa; women in higher education, science and technology; and empowering women as agents for change in community development.
The Senior Coordinator for Refugee Women of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) described a symposium it had hosted on gender-based persecution in Geneva, with the participation of 16 Western governments, which aimed to increase acceptance of gender-based claims to refugee status.
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Also participating in the discussion were the representatives of Namibia, Dominican Republic and Mali. Representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centre for Human Rights, the International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) also spoke. In addition, statements were made by representatives of the Women's Environment and Development Organization and the NGO Committee on the Status of Women.
Also this afternoon, the Commission elected Ljudmila Boskova (Bulgaria) as Vice-Chairman and Sweeya Santipitaks (Thailand) as Rapporteur.
The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 12 March, to continue its discussion of the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women.
Commission Work Programme
The Commission on the Status of Women met this afternoon to continue its general discussion on follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace (Beijing, 1995). (For detailed background, see Press Release WOM/904, issued today).
Statement by Under-Secretary-General
NITIN DESAI, Under-Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, said the Beijing Conference had been one of the most important in the current series of global conferences, which included the forthcoming second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and the Ninth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD IX).
The United Nations was now under severe financial constraints, he said. The Organization faced arrears in contributions, which had led to a cash crunch. "I speak to you of this because I know that your work will be affected by this curtailment of services." The Organization had not curtailed services willingly, but rather had been forced to do so by the financial situation. All members of the international community must ensure that the work would be disrupted as little as possible.
He went on to say that the mainstreaming of a gender perspective was critical to carrying forward all work on the status of women, as well as work on development issues. There was no doubt that mainstreaming the gender perspective was essential not only to following up on the outcome of the Beijing Conference, but also in implementing the results of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995), and certainly the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994). The Commission's work was essential to the mainstreaming of development issues throughout the United Nations system.
The Beijing Conference had been a very high-profile event that had generated a political momentum that must be maintained, he continued. The Commission must recognize its special role and importance. It must ensure that its deliberations were treated by the world at large with as much importance as those in Beijing. In order to achieve that end, the Commission would experiment with a new format characterized by panel discussions. "Look at all of the processes that have come after the different conferences and see what it is that you can do to ensure that this political momentum is not lost", he said.
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Other Statements
EMILIA CASTRO DE BARISH (Costa Rica) said the close link between the promotion of women and the development process was valid for every society. In situations of economic and social crisis, negative repercussions affected women first and most severely. In developing countries, the socio-economic crisis of women had been largely due to weak national economic growth and the lack of a favourable international economic environment. In some cases, the status of women could be equated to a daily struggle for survival in inhuman conditions and extreme poverty. Eradication of poverty was a critical issue that must be adequately addressed when referring to the advancement of women. The most important factor towards the full implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action was the mobilization of new and additional resources to face the problem of poverty. Developing countries had endeavoured with their modest resources to face the challenge of poverty eradication. Poverty was a too broad and fundamental item to be treated exhaustively in one session; its implementation process should be monitored by the Commission annually.
She said it was important to strengthen the role and mandate of the Commission as the monitoring body within the United Nations. The Division for the Advancement of Women should be strengthened and provided with human and financial resources to enable it to undertake its new responsibilities as provided for in the Platform. The budget and mandate of existing institutions for women at the national, regional and international levels should be strengthened. They should have accountability mechanisms, transparency in their operations and a clear commitment to international norms and standards of equality between men and women. Governments had the primary responsibility for implementing the Platform. Commitment at the highest political level was essential, particularly with the establishment of or the improvement of the effectiveness of national mechanisms for the advancement of women. Regional and subregional structures should support national institutions or mechanisms in the monitoring and implementation of the Platform. They should also mainstream women's issues and gender perspectives. The existing United Nations machinery on women should be given the necessary financial and human resources to strengthen their roles in implementing the provisions of the Platform. The participation of non-governmental organizations was important for achieving the goals of the Conference.
Full and effective implementation of the Platform, including the relevant commitments made in Beijing would require a strong political commitment by governments, international organizations and institutions at all levels, she said. New and additional financial resources for the implementation of those commitments would need to be identified and mobilized from all sources and across all sectors. The Bretton Woods institutions and other financial institutions should adopt policies and guidelines to ensure
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full consideration of the differential impact of lending programmes and related activities on women and men.
NETUMBO NANDI-NDAITWAH (Namibia) said the Namibian Government had committed itself to the fullest implementation of both the African Platform for Action adopted at Dakar in September 1994 and the Beijing Platform. The Namibia National Preparatory Committee for the Beijing Conference held its last meeting in November 1995 to assess the Conference and to map out implementation strategies.
Nine Gender Sectoral Committees had been established. Working with relevant ministries, they would coordinate and evaluate the mainstreaming of gender issues in all ministries and other governmental institutions. For instance, in education, illiteracy eradication programmes were being used effectively. Career guidelines at schools were gender sensitive, thus, enabling both girls and boys to be treated equally in choosing subjects of their choice. Namibia's health policy placed emphasis on primary health care. A family-planning policy had been formulated and a national Namibia Planned Parenthood Association established. The Women and Law Reform Committee within the Law Reform and Development Commission had started reviewing discriminatory laws against women. The Married Persons Equality Bill had been tabled in Parliament. When it became law, married women would no longer be regarded as minors before their husbands; they would be able to enter into legal agreements and would have equal say on matters regarding joint estates. More laws to eradicate gender inequality were in the pipeline.
The absence of peace in some of the African regions had a negative impact in the implementation of gender programmes, she said. For example, in Burundi, women were unable to plan as the situation was not favourable. In Rwanda, where 70 per cent of the country's population were women, support and encouragement of the international community was needed for peace to be sustained and economic recovery to be achieved.
She said since this was the first meeting of the Commission after the Beijing Conference, the Commission should accelerate the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the Year 2000, review its own mandate, organize its multi-year work programme and mainstream gender issues in the United Nations system. The mandate of the Commission had to be clear and concise if it was to effectively execute its work as mandated by the Platform for Action. The Commission should give clear guidance on the coordination of all issues pertaining to gender mainstreaming within the United Nations system. It was absolutely important that all United Nations agencies and bodies had the same understanding or guidelines on the issues. The monitoring aspect was essential so as to ensure success and "not at the end of it all just tokenism". The recommendation of the Commission could only be implemented if the Division for the Advancement of Women was
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strengthened. "Namibia is of the strong view that eradication of discrimination against women must start with women themselves." The Division must be the starting point. It must be adequately staffed to ensure implementation of the broad mandate from the Platform. "In doing so, the principle of equitable geographical distribution must be applied in earnest. Africa shall not accept tokenism."
JULIA TAVARES DE ALVAREZ (Dominican Republic) said the work of the Commission was being hampered by the fact that documents had been issued late. Further, it was unclear as to why the agenda had been restructured to devote three days to dialogues and presentations by panels of experts when adequate time had already been devoted to expert presentations at the Beijing Conference.
She stressed the need for the Commission to define its roles and responsibilities. The Commission must strengthen its mandate, as it would play a central role in monitoring implementation of the Platform. The reports before the Commission did not clearly address those matters, nor did they contain concrete recommendations on how to strengthen the Commission's recommendations. "We lack clear recommendations on how to proceed." There was also a failure to identify a focal point lead agency for the advancement of women within the United Nations system.
The need to adopt more efficient methods and coordination within the United Nations system must be predicated on goals that could only be set within policy-making bodies, she said. "In the Secretary-General's reports, the tail seems to be wagging the dog. New operational approaches and strategies are guiding policy, not the other way around." All efforts aimed at restructuring must be conducted in a transparent manner with Member States at the helm. The Commission must seize the present unique opportunity to consolidate itself, thereby advancing the status of women.
KARIN SHAM POO, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said that the Fund's follow-up of the Women's Conference, approved by its Executive Board earlier this year, had identified areas where its comparative advantages and resources could make the greatest difference on the ground. Three key areas had been identified for priority action for UNICEF in helping governments in implementing the Platform for Action. They were girls' education, health for adolescent girls, and women and the rights of children and women.
Regarding the first area, she said girls' education was a basic human right and an urgent development priority. The Fund's action to increase opportunities for girls aimed to bring about changes in the education system through curriculum reform, increases in enrolment, special facilities for girls and greater involvement for parents. On health, she said that
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preventable illnesses, malnutrition, early marriages, unplanned pregnancies and high rates of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, worked to undermine girls' education. The Fund had recently continued to address those problems in the second decade of the lives of women, from the age of 18. It was working with other agencies to promote healthier lifestyles among adolescents and provide them information to help make more informed choices. It was also working to reduce maternal mortality.
On the rights of children and women, UNICEF had proposed that the priority focus should be the promotion of legal literacy to make people more aware of their rights and the facilitation of networking between organizations promoting women's and children's rights, she continued. The UNICEF would provide more increased attention to gender issues in emergency programmes and promote women's equal participation in decision-making in all UNICEF-assisted programmes.
TRAORE HAOHIZA DJIBO (Mali) said her country had elaborated a national plan of action for the advancement of women in light of the recommendations of the Beijing Conference. Non-governmental organizations had participated in the development of the plan and would also participate in its implementation. The plan of action had the objective of advancing the education of young women and girls, including health education; promoting women's participation in public life; ensuring women's participation in the development process; and strengthening mechanisms for the advancement of women. The Government would contribute as much as possible, but outside resources would be essential to the realization of the plan's objectives.
ANN HOWARTH-WILES, Senior Coordinator for Refugee Women of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said that the High Commissioner had announced that implementation of the Platform for Action was to be a priority activity of the agency. "Subsequently, various structures have been put in place which will contribute to our ongoing efforts to ensure that refugee women will benefit from our implementation of the Beijing recommendations, particularly under the strategic objectives of human rights, violence against women and women in conflict situations." Senior advisers on refugee women would work to reinforce and encourage implementation of guidelines on the protection of refugee women and on sexual violence. A Refugee Women's Initiative Fund had been established to provide funding for small innovative projects initiated by refugee women.
She said that the UNHCR had held a symposium on gender-based persecution in Geneva with the participation of 16 Western governments which aimed to increase their acceptance of gender-based claims to refugee status. The UNHCR reproductive health manual, produced in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and non-governmental organizations, was now being field-tested. In addition, the UNHCR was working to adjust its policies,
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which currently provided for the routine inclusion of sanitary supplies in basic commodity distributions.
YOUYUN ZHAN, Special Adviser on Women Workers' Rights, International Labour Organisation (ILO), said that many of the 12 critical areas of the Platform for Action were closely linked to the ILO fields of competence and mandate. They included productive employment and poverty reduction, for instance. The ILO measures and actions helped to ensure that the equality of women was reflected in its work. It would enhance mainstreaming of the gender perspective in all of its programmes, supported by training on gender issues. It would then undertake activities to improve legal literacy to promote workers' rights on, for example, equal pay for work of equal value. The ILO follow-up plan was action-oriented. Among the actions it would take was the publication of a manual on more and better jobs for women, which analysed the effects on women of the globalization of the world's economy and structural adjustment programmes. It would carry out further research on employment segregation and develop indicators that would help collect data on women's paid and unpaid work. She reviewed other programmes and projects that the ILO was planning to undertake to enhance women's participation in, among other endeavours, small enterprises and to improve the conditions of migrant workers.
She called for concerted efforts at all levels to enhance the progress of women, a project in which the ILO was ready to take part in to make equality, development and peace a reality.
SEV S. FLUSS, Human Rights Coordinator of the World Health Organization (WHO), said it was hoped that women's health concerns would receive appropriate attention in the Commission's deliberations. Health was an overarching issue. Poverty and women's ill-health were inextricably linked. "It is self-evident that poor, unhygienic, unsafe working conditions cannot but have an adverse impact on women's health."
The Beijing Conference had restated and expanded women's health and health related rights, and the WHO was taking that development seriously, he said. It would be giving priority attention to violence, especially domestic violence, as a public health issue. Attention would also be paid to such issues as malnutrition of women and girls and to HIV/AIDS as a women's health issue.
RUKIA HUSEEN ADEN, Focal Point for the Human Rights of Women of the Centre for Human Rights, reviewed the work of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, who had recently submitted her report to the Commission on Human Rights on all forms of violence against women in the family, examining domestic violence as a violation of international human rights norms. An addendum to the report contained a framework for model
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legislation on domestic violence. Another addendum to the report discussed the Special Rapporteur's mission to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Japan on the issue of military sexual slavery in wartime. During 1996- 1997, the Special Rapporteur would undertake field missions to Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and Africa on the issues of domestic violence, violence against migrant workers, trafficking and forced prostitution, and violence against refugee women.
The Centre's analysis of the present situation had revealed some progress in integrating a gender perspective into the overall human rights machinery but much needed to be done in that field, she said. The High Commissioner for Human Rights had taken steps to ensure that the equal status of the human rights of women were fully incorporated into human rights activities. In coordinating the activities commemorating the Decade for Human Rights Education, the High Commissioner would give special emphasis to the human rights of women and girls by combating gender inequalities and bias through the dissemination of information.
BREDA PAVLIC, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said that shortly after the Beijing Conference, the General Conference of UNESCO had adopted its new medium-term strategy for 1996-2001, in which women were recognized as one of the organization's priority groups, the others being Africa, the least-developed countries and youth. The General Conference had also adopted five resolutions on gender equality, such as those on the elimination of discriminatory stereotypes of women and on the Toronto and Beijing Platforms for Action. The UNESCO would take part in the proposed follow-up to the Beijing Conference in its three- pronged approach which focused on mainstreaming the gender perspective in all planning and implementation, on the full use of women's potential and on specific programmes for projects benefitting girls and women.
Presently, she said, within the 1996-1997 biennium, UNESCO had undertaken to implement 10 special projects of some $10 million, which would focus on promoting girls' and women's education in Africa; women in higher education, science and technology; and empowering women as agents for change in community development. The overriding concern for UNESCO remained lifelong education for girls and women as a human right, as a key to genuine social and economic development and as an indispensable element in promoting a culture of peace in all societies. Top priority would be given in its programmes and budget to helping Member States achieve universal primary education and adult literacy for girls and women. Despite past efforts, more than 100 million children -- out of them nearly 60 million girls -- had no access to primary education. In the least developed countries, the number of illiterates was rising and could reach 170 million by the year 2000. The UNESCO would conduct a international campaign to promote the right of women and girls to education, in addition to its other commitments.
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AYUMI FUJINO, of the Unit for the Integration of Women into Industrial Development, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), stressed the need to introduce gender-based policies in industry, which played a critical role in the development process. Governments must implement gender-sensitive policies and move women up from the lower levels of the labour force to decision-making levels. The UNIDO had identified an action- oriented agenda involving the provision of advice on human resource development, technology and entrepreneurship using a gender-sensitive approach. Efforts were also being made to encourage the training of women managers.
The UNIDO had also launched a series of awards for women who had shown excellence in the field of industrial development, she continued. In addition to training programmes, other forms of support were being provided to women to enable them to enter new markets and achieve competitiveness. The UNIDO was also working to create a network of investment and information centres for women, so that they would be able to educate themselves and gain access to investment opportunities. Priority attention would be paid to the role of women in environment and energy, rural industrial development, and the development of African and least developed countries.
BELLA ABZUG, of the Women's Environment and Development Organization, said women would, among other things, like to know what governments had done since the Beijing Conference. While its Platform for Action was not legally binding, it was a politically binding contract with the world's women. Political will was necessary to implement agreements that had been reached.
The Commission should formulate and monitor concrete indicators that would measure the progress made by governments and the United Nations on gender integration and system-wide implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, she said. Concrete commitments must be established for receiving reports from the other functional commissions, the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization, specialized agencies, the Secretariat and other United Nations bodies. The Commission should concentrate on annual reviews of the most significant elements of progress and identify linkages to major reviews of implementation progress on other United Nations conferences, identify obstacles to implementation and ways that the United Nations system could help overcome those barriers. An outcome of the current session could be a document of action steps or proposed benchmarks for assessing improvement, making specific recommendation to the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly.
She added that non-governmental organizations accredited to Beijing should be allowed to take part permanently in the Commission's future meetings. Governments should reach out to women's groups and non-governmental organizations to solicit their views before each session and meet with them
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afterwards. They should also make every efforts to include non-governmental organizations in their delegations.
SUDHA ACHARYA, a representative of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, said that group and the Commission had a long tradition of collaborating with one another which should continue. The NGO Committee was now collecting information from its 200 member organizations on their efforts to implement the decisions taken in Beijing. The initial responses indicated a great willingness to work in various areas highlighted in the Platform for Action. The NGO Committee was willing to share the information it was gathering with all interested parties.
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