COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN TO HOLD FORTY-FIRST SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS, 10-21 MARCH
Press Release
WOM/955
COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN TO HOLD FORTY-FIRST SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS, 10-21 MARCH
19970307 Background Release The Commission on the Status of Women, the only intergovernmental body devoted to women's equality, will hold its forty-first session at Headquarters from 10 to 21 March, as it observes the fiftieth anniversary of its first session.The Commission, a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council and the main body charged with monitoring the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, will employ an interactive panel format, to follow up on emerging issues brought out in the Conference's outcome.
Participants in panel discussions will include experts chosen from the fields of study addressed by the Beijing outcome, including governmental and non-governmental representatives, with due consideration to equitable geographical distribution.
The Beijing Platform for Action, that the Commission is charged with monitoring, is an agenda for women's empowerment. It reaffirms that the human rights of women and the girl child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights. It reflects a review of progress since the 1985 World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women, which adopted the "Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the year 2000".
Building on accomplishments since then, the Platform establishes a basic group of priority actions to be carried out over the next five years. Twelve critical areas of concern are dealt with in depth: poverty, education, health, violence against women, armed conflict, economic structures, power sharing and decision-making, mechanisms to promote the advancement of women, human rights, the media, the environment and the girl child.
Following a timetable for considering the Platform's 12 critical areas of concern, the Commission will focus on and review four of those areas, which are interrelated and interdependent: education and training of women; women and the economy; women in power and decision-making; and women and the environment.
To prepare for the session, expert group meetings on each of the four critical areas of concern were organized by the Division for the Advancement
of Women in 1996. The meetings focused on issues that had not previously received specific attention as well as on issues which required further exploration in light of the Platform for Action. Recommendations from the expert group meetings are included in a Secretary-General's report on thematic issues before the Commission.
As in previous years, the Commission will also discuss the situation of Palestinian women and the status of women working in the United Nations Secretariat. On that subject, it has before it the Secretary-General's report on mainstreaming a gender perspective within the United Nations system. The report states that the second session of the Inter-agency Standing Committee on Women and Gender Equality of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) took place on 5 and 6 March at Headquarters. During the session, the Committee identified performance indicators and developed tools for mainstreaming and for monitoring the Platform for Action and the system-wide medium term plan for the advancement of women, 1996-2001. An oral report on the results of that session is to be presented to the Commission.
In addition, the Commission will take up emerging issues affecting the situation of women and equality between men and women, as well as the Organization's response to violations of women's human rights. It has before it the Secretary-General's report on the comparative summary of existing communications and inquiry procedures under international human rights instruments and the Charter of the United Nations.
The report points out that there are four major human rights treaties that provide for the competence of the supervisory body to receive and consider communications alleging violations of rights protected by the respective: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in its first Optional Protocol; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in its article 14; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment in its article 22; and the International Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families in its article 77. Beyond those mechanisms, the Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission on Human Rights under specific procedures are authorized to appoint working groups from among its members to consider communications attesting injustice and discriminatory practices against women.
Also, for the second consecutive year, an Open-ended Working Group on the Elaboration of a Draft Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women will meet in parallel with the Commission. If approved, the optional protocol would allow women to file complaints of human rights violations with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which monitors the implementation of the Convention.
- 3 - Press Release WOM/955 7 March 1997
In that regard, the Commission will consider the Secretary-General's report on additional views of governments, intergovernmental and non- governmental organizations on an optional protocol to the above-mentioned Convention. The report provides a synthesis of such replies and notes that an optional protocol would contribute to the promotion of respect for women's human rights and a more effective implementation of the rights guaranteed to women in the Convention. It views the optional protocol as an international mechanism for keeping the Convention up to date and for integrating the human rights of women throughout the United Nations system.
Highlights from Thematic-Issues Report before Commission
The Secretary-General's report on thematic issues before the Commission (document E/CN.6/1997/3) offers recommendations made by expert groups on four of the 12 critical areas of concern included in the Beijing Platform for Action. The expert group meetings on those areas were convened by the Division for the Advancement of Women in 1996.
So far as the critical area of concern dealing with "women and education and training" is concerned, experts had focused on vocational training and lifelong learning, the report says. Among their conclusions was that sufficient effort needed to be made by all actors to meet the targets set in the Platform for Action with regard to eradication of illiteracy and the achievement of universal primary education.
The report stresses that in order to bridge the gender gap and increase access of girls and women to science and technology education and to vocational training, action must be taken using a wide range of strategies and mixed modalities. A gender balance in the teaching profession and educational administration at all levels had to be ensured. Moreover, the education, training and lifelong learning of women should be mainstreamed in national human development plans and industrial policies with an emphasis on the employment and employability of women. The reform of textbooks, teaching aids and curricula as well as removal of bias from teacher training was a prerequisite for non-discriminatory training and education.
Concerning "women and the economy", the Platform for Action had focused on three categories of the economically active female population: women as employees, women as entrepreneurs and women as economic decision makers, the report says. It had stressed that women were virtually absent from economic decision-making, including in the formulation of policies for poverty eradication, structural adjustment programmes, loans and grants.
In that connection, experts had recommended that transnational corporations as well as international financial institutions appoint a critical mass of women in decision-making. Moreover, the United Nations system should take a lead in ensuring that a critical mass of women are
- 4 - Press Release WOM/955 7 March 1997
represented in top levels of management in its own agencies and in its Member States. It was suggested that non-governmental organizations act as both advocacy groups and catalysts for change.
Experts had also concluded that there is ample evidence that increasing the representation of women in decision-making is good for business, not just for equality, the report says. Exclusion of women from decision-making translates into costs of staff turnover and loss of talent; loss of real and potential market share due to overlooking the needs of major consumer bases; and the loss of shareholder value. It translates into loss of half the potential talent if companies are not seen by women as attractive employers.
Concerning "women's role in power and decision-making", the report says less prominent in the international discussion of women's role in decision- making has been their potential contribution in areas such as peace, security and conflict resolution. Yet, women had in particular suffered as victims of wars and other conflicts, mass rape, and today constituted the majority of refugees. In addition, the downward trend in women's representation in parliaments had continued. Generally, there seemed to be an apparent glass ceiling for women in government administration and they continued to be concentrated in the more "social" ministries.
The report notes that the number of women in political decision-making continued to be negatively affected by obstacles such as an unequal division of household duties; women's lack of financial independence; custom and tradition that define the public sphere as the male domain while relegating women to the private domestic sphere; prevailing negative attitudes towards women's political participation; a lack of confidence in and support for female candidates by the electorate, including women and political parties; media stereotyping and more demanding criteria for women politicians than for men.
Experts had stressed that attention should be paid to removing discriminatory practices from the structure of political parties, the report says. Gender issues should be incorporated in political agendas and the impact of various types of electoral systems on women's representation should be noted. In addition, the existence of comprehensive databases disaggregated by sex was essential to demonstrate the extent to which women did or did not participate in government and other political arenas.
On "women's role vis-a-vis the environment", the report emphasizes that the consideration of environmental issues should not focus exclusively on women. An understanding of the gender differences would provide a scope for identifying whether joint or targeted programmes were necessary. It suggests that governments and international agencies should increase funding and re- assign budget allocations for gender sensitive population and sustainable development programmes.
- 5 - Press Release WOM/955 7 March 1997
Other Reports
Also before the Commission are the following documents, to be summarized in future press releases as they are taken up, including Secretary-General's reports on: mainstreaming a gender perspective within the United Nations system (document E/CN.6/1997/2); comparative summary of existing communications and inquiry procedures under international human rights instruments and the Charter of the United Nations (document E/CN.6/1997/4); additional views of governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations on an optional protocol to the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (document E/CN.6/1997/5); and on progress in improving the status of women in the Secretariat (document E/CN.6/1997/7).
Also before the Commission are a note by the Secretariat on the Economic and Social Council's agreed conclusions 1996/1 on the coordination of the United Nations system activities for poverty eradication (document E/CN.6/1997/6); and the Secretary-General's note transmitting information provided by the United Nations Development Fund for Women on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 50/166 (document E/CN.6/1997/8).
Membership, Officers
The 45 members of the Commission on the Status of Women are elected for four-year terms on the following basis: 13 from African States; 11 from Asian States; four from Eastern European States; nine from Latin American and Caribbean States; and eight from Western European and Other States.
The 1997 membership of the Commission is as follows: Angola, Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Dominican republic, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Swaziland, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, United Kingdom and the United States.
As per the recommendation of the Economic and Social Council in resolution 1987/21, the officers elected at the fortieth session of the Commission will continue to serve in their capacities during the forty-first session.
The Commission Chairperson is Sharon Brennen-Haylock (Bahamas). Its Vice-Chairpersons are: Karin Stoltenberg (Norway) and Ljudmila Boskova (Bulgaria), and Sweeya Santipitakas (Thailand) is the Rapporteur.
* *** *