REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH IS A RIGHT FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, UNFPA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TELLS STATUS OF WOMEN COMMISSION

Press Release
WOM/967

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH IS A RIGHT FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, UNFPA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TELLS STATUS OF WOMEN COMMISSION

Reproductive health was a right for both men and women and no one should be coerced about whether or not they should have children or on how they should space their children, the Commission on the Status of Women was told this morning as it discussed the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women.

The Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr. Nafis Sadik, said a bruising battle had been fought on the reproductive rights of women in the various United Nations conferences. As a result, a consensus had emerged on the importance of those rights. However, international agreement was one thing, acceptance was another. Although governments might have agreed, policies establishing women's rights had been slow in formulation. In that regard, men had to be convinced that they had nothing to fear from better health, education, or from women who earned and spent money, she said.

The Director of United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), Noeleen Heyzer, stressed that the gains in the advancement of women were fragile and specific organizations were required, within and outside governments, to address gender issues. She also emphasized that mainstreaming was not an end in itself, but was a process of working towards gender equality.

Also, this morning, the observer for Palestine drew attention to the situation of Palestinian women. The long years of Israeli occupation had resulted in a rise in the number of refugees, in the break-up of families and a deterioration of health conditions. She called for an integrated approach in dealing with the occupied Palestinian territories as one territorial unit and stressed the need to report more strongly on the impact of Israeli occupation.

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The representative of Canada underlined the need for a good framework to incorporate women's paid and unpaid work in economic policy development and said her country was now implementing a "federal plan for gender equality, which it had formulated in response to the Fourth World Conference on Women.

Several other representatives underscored the need for the provision of new and additional resources for the implementation of the outcome of the Beijing Conference. The representative of Bangladesh said such resources were required particularly in Africa and in the least developed countries. Also, Member States were urged by the Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Salma Khan, to ensure that adequate resources were provided for the Committee.

The Commission also heard statements by the representatives of Japan, Iran, India, Philippines, Syria, Antigua and Barbuda (on behalf of the Caribbean Community - CARICOM), Côte d'Ivoire, Algeria, Nigeria, Peru, Tunisia, Liechtenstein, Kenya, Slovak Republic, Malaysia, Morocco, Costa Rica, Bahrain, Cuba, Mali, Congo and Guinea. A representative of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also spoke.

The Commission will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its deliberations.

Commission Work Programme

The Commission on the Status of Women met this morning to continue discussing the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995).

Statements

ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said international cooperation and assistance was a vital element as societies and governments took up the challenge of implementing the Beijing Platform for Action. The Beijing Conference had strongly endorsed the critical role of the United Nations for translating its outcome into action. In that context, he underlined the need for strengthening the mandate and capacity of relevant mechanisms for the advancement of women in the United Nations.

The Beijing Conference had strongly underscored the need for the provision of new and additional resources for the implementation of the Platform for Action in developing countries, particularly in Africa and the least developed countries, he said. Specific proposals and recommendations had been addressed to both bilateral and multilateral financial sources to reinforce the national efforts, and he hoped that actions, in that regard, would be more forthcoming.

MAKIKO SAKAI (Japan) said that her country had formulated a new national plan of action called "Plan for Gender Equality 2000", which identified four basic targets for promoting gender equality. The plan had been prepared in conformity with the request made in the Platform for Action. It identified four basic targets, including building social systems that promoted gender equality; achieving gender equality in the workplace, family and the community; promoting and defending human rights of women; and contributing to equality, peace and development in the global community.

She said Japan welcomed the establishment of a trust fund by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) aimed at eliminating violence against women, adding that Japan had made a contribution of $1 million to the trust fund.

FROUZANDEH VADIATI (Iran) said advancement of women was a prerequisite for development, adding that women played a crucial role in bringing about transformation in the society. In that regard, appropriate strategies were required to address their needs and to correct misperceptions concerning them. Also, an allocation of new and additional resources was required. The Fourth World Conference on Women had revealed the existing obstacles to women's advancement. At the international level, the formulation of any effective plan required the strengthening of UNIFEM and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women.

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Iran had drafted plans for implementing the Beijing Platform for Action, she said. It had held seminars to create greater awareness of women's rights. In addition, it had promoted greater participation of women in social and economic activities. That had been done by providing them with banking credit, an employment advisory and by the provision of technical training. Moreover, steps had been taken to regulate the working hours of women. She emphasized that although governments were the main actors in implementing the Platform for Action, improvement in women's situation required collective efforts at national and international levels, as well as mobilization of financial and human resources.

KAMALA SINHA (India) said that her country had made four specific commitments at the Beijing Conference. The first was the formulation of a national policy on women which currently awaited final approval by the Council of Ministers. That policy was necessary for mainstreaming concerns in government. The second commitment was to increase the investment on education to 6 per cent of gross national product (GNP) by the year 2000. Several new programmes had been launched in that regard, the most notable being the midday meal scheme aimed at both improving the nutritional status of school-going children and provide an incentive to enhance enrolment and retention in schools.

The third commitment was the universalization of the mother and child care programme through the integrated child development services scheme, she said. The coverage of the scheme which aimed to meet the health care and nutrition needs of pregnant and nursing mothers, as well as pre-school children, had been extended to the whole country. The fourth commitment was the creation of the posts of commissioners of women's rights and setting up resources centres at both the national and State levels.

PATRICIA LICUANAN (Philippines) said the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action should be the main focus of the deliberations of the Commission on the Status of Women. In that regard, Member States should be asked to report annually on their implementation of that document. Those reports should be brief and simple following a proposed outline that included 12 areas of concern and developments in the area of policy. In the panel discussions within the Commission, the speakers should address implementation and implementation only, she stressed.

Panellists, delegations and non-governmental organizations should fight the temptation to go into the presentation of advocacy positions, she said. She stressed that such presentations would only lead to a re-hash of Beijing discussions. She also expressed satisfaction with the work in the 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.

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FAYSSAL MEKDAD (Syria) said Syria had been able to provide for free education among all strata of the population, especially rural women. Legislation had been enacted to ensure legalization of rights for women. Women had been allowed to take part in decision-making. Women were represented in all state functions. They were members of local councils, Government and were also in diplomacy. Foreign occupation prevented basic rights of Syrian women in the occupied territories in southern Lebanon and the Golan Heights. She said she hoped Israel would agree to withdrawal from the areas it occupied. Syria was determined to stay on the path of promoting women's rights. SHEILA ROSEAU (Antigua and Barbuda), speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said CARICOM delegations were currently preparing individual plans of actions for the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. Also, a Caribbean Ministerial meeting held in Trinidad and Tobago from 28 October to 1 November 1996 had developed a directional plan of action for the subregion. That plan analysed the current situation, set goals and targets and identified strategies to be followed. On the critical issue of poverty, she said there was an alarming rate of 30 per cent unemployment among women in the Caribbean. Therefore, the reduction of poverty among single mothers and the incorporation of gender-relations in the long-term planning or "mainstreaming" was crucial. Also, a subregional meeting had been held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in October 1996 to discuss a formal regional plan of action for the Beijing follow-up, she said. That document had been presented to the Commonwealth meeting of ministers responsible for women's affairs held in Trinidad and Tobago in November 1996. To address the issues raised by the Platform for Action, workshops had been conducted on the critical issue of violence against women and media campaigns had been launched. It had also been stressed that networking remained a viable means of promoting women's equality agenda. While she expressed pleasure at the strengthening of the Division for the Advancement of Women, she expressed concern that the goal of 25 per cent women at the D-1 level and above in the Secretariat had not been met. HEPIE GNANANZAN ALBERTINE (Côte d'Ivoire) said it was up to women to fight to have their rights respected. A white book had been prepared by Côte d'Ivoire that pinpointed actions that needed to be followed to engender equality for women. These actions were in areas that included improvements in health, education guarantees, laws regarding marriage especially adultery laws, co-ownership of agricultural work, and equality of legal code. In economic areas, women were being protected and loans would be facilitated. Women would have a 40 per cent quota in all echelons of decision-making. The creation of a women's bank was well under way. Women had been promoted to highest levels of civil service, three, in fact, had been promoted to the rank of ambassadors. The political will of all men and women would make it possible for women's equality would be achieved.

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MARY GLEN (Canada) said her country had always been a strong supporter of the Commission. The United Nations had been undergoing significant institutional change and reform as it positioned itself for the twenty-first century. Institutional follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women, including the key goal of mainstreaming gender perspectives throughout the United Nations system, was vital to the success of the broader revitalization and renewal objectives of the United Nations.

She called for enhancing links among United Nations bodies, agencies and mechanisms. The Commission should continue to strengthen its ability to play a catalytic role in mainstreaming gender perspective throughout the United Nations system. Canada was now implementing the "federal plan for gender equality" which it had formulated in response to Beijing. She stressed that in addressing the underrepresentation of women in economic decision-making, one of the critical factors continued to be unpaid work. There was a need for a good framework to incorporate paid and unpaid work in economic policy development.

AMINA MESDOUA (Algeria) said the international community needed to keep all its signed commitments in regard to securing the equal rights of women around the world by implementing the actions recommended by the Beijing Conference. In that context, international cooperation needed to be strengthened. Algeria had always invested in ways to strengthen women's role in society. One of the measures that had been adopted in the wake of the Beijing Conference was the setting up of a national commission for a follow-up plan which was now in its implementation phase. That process would help the lengthy process of modernization and quest for freedom and equality in Algeria, notwithstanding the acts of terrorism and barbarity that had recently been carried out in the name of Islam in Algeria. She stressed that women must work with men to attain legal rights.

SAM OTUYELU (Nigeria) said while his delegation had always supported international cooperation in the advancement of women, it had rarely benefited from such cooperation. Nigeria supported the statement made by the representative of the United Republic of Tanzania on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China in that regard. It also welcomed the Secretary-General's commitment to a 50-50 gender distribution of professional positions within the Secretariat by the year 2000.

He noted the appointment of Angela King as Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and on the Advancement of Women and called for cooperation and coordination among the various departments and agencies of the United Nations in the area of women's advancement. Also, there should be a clear line of authority in those departments and agencies as the present arrangement left a lot to be desired. That would facilitate the implementation of the Secretary-General's commitment to mainstreaming a gender perspective in a better manner.

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MIRIAM SCHENONE, Minister of Women's and Human Development of Peru, said President Alberto Fujimori had adopted important decisions for the establishment of institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women. A ministry for the promotion of women was playing an important role in the execution of power in Peru. A special commission of the Congress had been created to address the women's agenda as part of the national political agenda. She stressed that the Government was committed to the eradication of poverty, especially in rural areas.

She said the violence of terrorist groups had exercised particular harm against women. However, the new mechanisms would bring a new lease of life for women. Among the new mechanisms she cited the creation of banking and micro-credit tools.

ZAKIA AMARA BOUAZIZ (Tunisia) said she welcomed the decisive role of the United Nations in the advancement of women. The Fourth World Conference on Women had consolidated a number of achievements for women. Tunisia welcomed the commitments undertaken at that Conference. The implementation of the Beijing Platform had received considerable attention in Tunisia. The Government had tried to ensure that legislation established the necessary conditions for equality. A new code had been put into place which protected women from forced marriages. It had been reaffirmed that the principle of equality was no less important than freedom.

Tunisia had also focused on the equality of opportunity, she said. A number of legislative reforms had been undertaken in 1992 to remove archaic laws. The situation of single mothers had also been looked into. In addition, the right to work of all women had been reaffirmed. Also, a right of nationality had been enacted which allowed mothers to transfer their nationality to children. Further, a principle of mandatory education had aimed to eradicate the high drop-out rate from schools among girls in rural areas. In improving the situation of women, international solidarity was fundamental, she concluded.

CLAUDIA FRITSCHE (Liechtenstein) said that peace was a prerequisite for the attainment of equality between women and men. Unfortunately, armed and other types of conflict persisted in many parts of the world. Women, however, rarely had any role in the decisions leading to armed conflicts. It was also women and children who suffered most during a conflict. Recalling that the Secretary-General had said that women were notably absent from the peace table, she said her delegation welcomed his pledge to call upon women in increasing numbers for their unique skills in promoting environments conducive to stability and peace.

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SIHAM SUKKAR, Observer for Palestine, said the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies had formulated a basis for the advancement of women. Following that, the Beijing Platform for Action had set concrete goals and achievements. So far as the Palestinian women were concerned, the impact of Israeli occupation continued to affect all aspects of their daily life. The harsh economic conditions, the building and the expansion of Israeli settlements, isolation and closure of areas of the occupied territory, including Jerusalem, and land and water confiscation were issues which had impacted negatively on Palestinian women. Further, as a result of long years of occupation, there had been a rise in the number of refugees, an increase in the break-up of families and a deterioration of health conditions, she said. Also, it had led to decline in education, an increase in unemployment and depletion of the environment. In that regard, she called for an integrated approach in dealing with the occupied Palestinian territory as one territorial unit and the need to report more strongly on the impact of Israeli occupation. She stressed the need for monitoring more closely the severe consequences of continuous Israeli illegal settlements. RUTH OERI (Kenya) said her Government had prepared a paper on a national policy on gender and development and was awaiting cabinet approval. A training manual was being developed that would be used to provide skills in leadership, gender sensitization and gender analysis. At pre- and primary school levels, gender parity had almost been achieved nationally with respect to access. At the university level, however, gender disparities still existed. Economic advancement of women was crucial for their development. The creation of a national fund for women would see women get access to credit. A similar plan was being put into place for the disabled. ZUZANA VRANOVA (Slovak Republic) said the Beijing Platform for Action had called for equality between men and women in all spheres. It had stressed the need for empowering women in all areas of social life. In the Slovak Republic, a draft legislation on unemployment was being contemplated so that women would have equal rights in the area of employment. She stressed that the whole social system was in transition in her country. In order to improve the situation of women, the Slovak Republic was implementing a national project with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), she said. It had also cooperated with non- governmental organizations in that regard. She stressed that there was no parity at all in power and decision-making between men and women in her country. The quota system had been rejected as a relic of the socialist system and that had diminished women's role in politics. Efforts were being made to improve women's situation by providing them training services. She also noted that women-dominated professions tended to pay less and said that situation had to be remedied. Moreover, access to micro-credit was also required.

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FATIMAH HAMID DON (Malaysia) said the national women's policy adopted by her Government in 1989 continued to garner support from all quarters. Malaysia had also adopted a national plan of action for the advancement of women in July 1996 which incorporated salient elements of the Beijing Platform. It called for a fundamental shift in development policies that would address the realities of women's lives and actively assist women in gaining equal access to scarce and valued resources of society, such as wages, employment, health care, education, personal autonomy and decision-making. Women's advancement programmes had also received massive financial support from the Government with sizeable increases in budgetary allocations.

She said that Malaysia was currently in the process of upgrading and strengthening the secretariat for women's affairs and the national machinery for women's advancement. A consultation team had been commissioned to conduct a thorough assessment of the existing machinery and come up with recommendations that could serve as the basis for future actions for strengthening the secretariat.

AICHA EL KABBAJ (Morocco) said for decades the public sector had been the instrument of social policy but now it was afflicted by a lack of resources. However, Morocco had prepared a programme to ensure that national legislation was compatible with international instruments vis-à-vis the situation of women. It had made efforts to strengthen training and literacy programmes and to ensure that all women benefited from those. Moreover, steps had been taken to address the problem of schooling and the high drop-out rates. Vaccination campaigns had been strengthened and an effort had been made to create greater awareness about women's rights through the media. This year the country had seen constitutional and democratic reforms which would be beneficial for women.

ANA ISABEL GARCIA (Costa Rica) said her country had revised the status of women through various national programmes. There were three that were most prominent. The first involved a plan for the eradication of poverty aimed to end the feminization of poverty and create concrete opportunities for poor women. The second was a set of government actions aimed at the detection and prevention of family violence. The third strategic plan addressed the quality of opportunities for women, involving a set of public instruments that harmonized the many efforts to create those opportunities for women.

SAFIYA BUALLAY (Bahrain) said women's participation was crucial for the eradication of poverty. To enable such participation, her Government had prepared plans in the area of housing, education and health. Those plans were for the medium and long term. In addition, strategies had been formulated for the participation of women in decision-making. Equality between men and women in the workplace and in the area of education was crucial and a centre had been set up for that purpose. Moreover, projects were under way to promote leadership roles of women.

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Participation of women was also being promoted by governmental bodies, she said. She stressed that the wages of men and women were equal in her country and women had reached the top positions in many banks and industries. Moreover, national legislation provided working women with protection and guarantees in the areas of salary and promotion.

MAGALYS AROCHA (Cuba) said that clear advances had been made by Cuban women in all areas, from the economy to political participation. Her Government would continue to advance the concerns of women in all areas of the economy, the community, culture and the media. Women in Cuba would retain the vital need to be an integral part of decision-making. Women would also continue to share in economic progress and in general, overall literacy. Health and legal concerns would also continue to favour the advancement of women.

DIAKITE FALOUMATA N'DIAYE (Mali) said her country was committed to the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. In the area of education and training, it was promoting literacy for young girls. In the area of health, it was promoting reproductive health. In the economic area, it was trying to reduce the poverty of women through access to resources and had tried to enhance the participation of women in decision-making. Those actions were being undertaken under a plan that had been conceived in consultation with non-governmental organizations and it was already being implemented. A family code that would protect women's rights in the area of marriage was also in the works.

ABOU CORNELIE (Congo) said her country had adopted an emergency plan that focused on poverty eradication following the Platform for Action's adoption in Beijing. Through a special agreement arranged with all players involved in the effort, the Government would be working on the improvement of opportunities for women in many areas, including telecommunications and housing. Women were being given more access to banking credit especially in rural areas. She noted that a direct dialogue was needed to aid grass-roots efforts. Women and children were every day abandoned to their own resources. Sustainable development needed international attention. The necessary assistance needed to be mobilized in that regard.

KABA SARAN DARABA, Minister for Social Affairs, Promotion of Women and Children of Guinea, said a new national policy for the advancement of women had been adopted in her country. That policy was focused on improving the legal framework, ensuring women's economic advancement and raising their status in society. Currently a national code on women was being finalized. That code would be presented to the parliament in April.

She also told the Commission that a national council for the advancement of women had been set up in her country to monitor the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women. In addition, a national support fund had been set

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up for women. Twelve studies had been undertaken in various areas such as women in power and decision-making, women and health, and women and work. Elderly women and girls had been the special subject of attention. The Government of Guinea was also cooperating with its neighbours to take action for the advancement of women.

EIGIL PEDERSEN, Head of the Delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said a working group with members from 14 societies who operated in different cultural contexts were working to identify and share specific strategies to integrate a gender perspective in the Federation's work. He said his organization pledged to continue to promote women in all its activities with special emphasis on promoting sustainable income for vocational training, training in disaster preparedness, community health care, illiteracy programmes and ensuring access to a comprehensive range of health services.

Dr. NAFIS SADIK, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said the Commission's work had laid the foundation for the first conference on women held in 1975. All the international conferences of the 1990s had stressed the need for closer attention to gender issues. However, a bruising battle had been fought on the reproductive rights of women. As a result of the various conferences, today the consensus was stronger than ever that reproductive health was a right for both men and women and that there should be no coercion on any one about whether or not they should have children or on how they should space their children. That consensus had been achieved not once or twice but six times in the last few years.

However, international agreement was one thing, acceptance was another, she said. Although governments might have agreed, policies which would establish women's rights had been slow to appear. There had been a concern in some quarters that men might be hurt if progress for women moved too fast. She quoted an instance where a man in one country had murdered his wife. His defence had been that she had provoked him by using contraceptives and the men in the village had made fun of him when she had not got pregnant for two years. That man had already fathered five children by his wife. Why was he so unsure of his manhood? Was there not something out of balance there? She stressed that in the past women might have been too tender about men's feelings.

Men had nothing to fear from better health, education, or from a women who not only earned money and spent it, but spent it on herself, she said. Culture and tradition were used to oppress women. However, that was a perversion of culture and tradition. In that sense, the battle had just begun. "We must convince our colleagues in government, we must convince our husbands and our sons that they have nothing to lose and everything to gain from gender equality", she said.

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SALMA KHAN, Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, said 156 countries had ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women to date. She said it was hoped that the optional protocol to the Convention would create greater public awareness and would promote greater attention to the women's anti-discrimination convention as an effective instrument to redress individual grievances and violations of women's rights. She urged Member States to ensure that adequate resources were provided for the Committee.

NOELEEN HEYZER, of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), said mainstreaming was not an end in itself, it was a process of working towards gender equality. She stressed the importance of accepting a gender perspective in development. There were two components to mainstreaming, the technical and the political, and adequate attention had to be paid to both.

To further gender mainstreaming, UNIFEM's regional programme advisers were involved in interpreting gender equality in their particular regions, she said. It had to be understood that mainstreaming at the national level was different from mainstreaming at the international level. She stressed that an equitable access to resources was important in shaping the direction of development. In that context, autonomous women's organization did not represent a threat to mainstreaming nor did they undermine it. In several countries women-specific approaches were needed because mainstreaming was still difficult in those areas. So far, the gains in the advancement of women were fragile, therefore, specific organizations within governments and outside were required to address gender issues.

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