WOMEN'S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF BULGARIA'S REPORT

28 January 1998

Press Release
WOM/1018

WOMEN'S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF BULGARIA'S REPORT

19980128 Experts Express Concern Over Lack of National Machinery for Women; Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance Also Addresses Committee

Bulgaria had not implemented a national machinery to elevate the status of women partly because of anticipated changes related to the country's overall reform process, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs told the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this afternoon, as it concluded its consideration of that country's second and third periodic reports on its implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Also, responding to questions posed earlier by Committee members on the plight of Roma, or Gypsy, children, Antoinette Primatarova said that efforts were being made to address their difficulties. The Bulgarian Government took matters related to ethnic minorities very seriously. In the future, the Government planned to cooperate with the European Union to alleviate the plight of the Roma. Their integration into Bulgarian society had been included in discussions concerning Bulgaria's membership in the Union.

To the concern expressed by many experts about the lack of legislation to prevent violence against women, she said that legislation would not be neglected, but raising awareness was considered a preventive action plan. The Government was aware of the need for information campaigns, which would be conducted in close collaboration with non-governmental organizations and the mass media.

One expert said that it appeared that Bulgarian women were faring better than women in some other countries facing transition. Women, children and older people, as society's most vulnerable groups, suffered particular hardships during times of transition. It was therefore necessary to have national machinery to study the matter from a macroscopic perspective, and to provide advice on women's issues, she said.

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Addressing the Committee for the first time, the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, Abdelfattah Amor, said that religion was frequently used as an alibi for preserving intolerable situations that limited women's humanity and relegated them to subordinate positions. States' reservations concerning the status of women, however, could not be excused by invoking religion. Rather, the status of women in certain religions must be analysed in a more dynamic and fluid way.

Several experts said that the work of the Special Rapporteur to combat hatred and intolerance based on religious extremism was of great importance to the Committee, given that much of the discrimination suffered by women was linked to religion. Violence against women committed in the name of religion must be prevented through an international strategy.

The Chairperson of the Committee, Salma Khan of Bangladesh, thanked the Rapporteur for his valuable comments, noting that many in the room had experienced the impact of religion on their lives. Greater religious tolerance and paramount respect for rights could create a better environment for the implementation of the Convention, as well as for a better quality of life.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. Friday, 30 January, to begin consideration of Mexico's initial report.

Committee Work Programme

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women met this afternoon to continue its consideration of the second and third periodic reports of Bulgaria on its implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Also this afternoon, the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, Abdelfattah Amor, was scheduled to address the Committee.

(For background, see Press Releases WOM/1017 of 28 January.)

General Comments

An expert said that it appeared that Bulgarian women were faring better than women in some other countries facing transition. Women, children and older people, as society's most vulnerable groups, suffered particular hardships during times of transition. In light of that fact, it was necessary to have national machinery to study the matter from a macroscopic perspective, and to provide advice on women's issues.

The Foreign Ministry was currently serving as the focal point for the permanent intergovernmental counsel for the implementation of the national platform of action, relating to the Fourth World Conference on Women, she continued. While she welcomed the possible creation of an ombudsman for human rights, she noted that no specific mechanism for women's issues was currently envisaged. The question of gender equality must be raised not on a case-by- case basis, but rather from a broader perspective.

She said more consideration should be given to article 4, on temporary measures to accelerate de facto equality between men and women. The next report should provide more information on the matter. As women were in a disadvantaged position, special measures were needed to help achieve gender equality.

Response of Bulgaria

ANTOINETTE PRIMATAROVA, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, thanked the Committee for its constructive comments and said she would try to provide answers to the questions posed.

On the matter of the Roma ethnic group, she said the Bulgarian Government attributed particular importance to the well-being of ethnic minorities. She drew attention to a report published last year on the situation of the Roma in Bulgaria, which contained further details on their situation, as well as a programme for resolving the problems they faced. She would leave the report with the Secretariat for further perusal by interested Committee members.

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In the future, the Bulgarian Government would be cooperating with the European Union on the plight of the Roma, she said. One of the issues that must be dealt with for membership in the European Union was integration of the Roma into Bulgarian society. She expressed appreciation for the Committee's interest in the establishment of an ombudsman for Bulgaria. Members of the Council of Europe would be participating in a seminar related to the establishment of that office. Also, later in the year, the Government would be hosting a workshop under the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Both those events would provide guidance on the legislation establishing the office.

Turning next to the national action plan that resulted from the Fourth World Conference on Women, approved in July 1996, she said it had been printed with the sponsorship of UNDP. It had been submitted to the Committee's Secretariat. She recalled that she had mentioned that an intergovernmental body had been established for the implementation of the plan. In the future, she expected that women would be fully involved in the group.

One reason why an implementing mechanism had not been established to date was that extensive changes were being planned, related to the country's overall reform process, as well as to the country's accession to the European Union. A new law on administration in general and another on civil servants would be of use in deciding the appropriate place for the national machinery.

She then turned to the questions and comments on affirmative action. The present Government had inherited a positive law from the former regime. Women were allowed to retire with full pension at 55 years of age, while the age for men was 60. That age difference amounted to a kind of compensation for the double burden of public and private involvement. However, in the framework of the country's accession to the European Union, the retirement age for both sexes would be increased. It was difficult to push affirmative action in some fields, such as the judiciary, due to overrepresentation of women. Such plans must be promoted cautiously.

In some cases, the questions posed about both affirmative action and unemployment had been based on incorrect information, she continued. In 1996, the number of unemployed was 490,000 men and women. Of that number, 258,000 were men and 232,000 women. Thus, there were less unemployed women than men, both in percentages and real numbers. The State had been careful to not discriminate against women during the painful process of national transition.

Statistics were not available concerning paedophilia, she said. It was not the country's most severe issue. Violence against women, trafficking in women and prostitution were all related to the country's transitional period. Regarding the latter two, she said that they had clear international and regional dimensions. Cooperation in combating organized crime was a government priority.

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On violence, which had a more domestic focus, there were working groups -- in the Ministry of Justice and within Parliament -- investigating citizens' complaints, she said. The State was aware of the need for information campaigns, to be conducted in close collaboration with non-governmental organizations and the mass media. Legislation would not be neglected, but raising awareness was considered a preventive action plan.

She said that the Bulgarian Government had extensive programmes regarding both abortion and family planning. Contraceptives were distributed to young people. A new, temporary system provided free health services. She hoped that equivalent services would be designed upon that programme's termination. In close cooperation with the European Union, the Government was implementing a programme to provide financial support for the elderly.

To a question concerning the publication and dissemination of the Convention, she said that it had been translated and broadly disseminated. The data presented in the areas of unemployment and poverty during the transitional period did not provide a full picture. Last year, Bulgaria had an annual inflation rate of 560 per cent. While that necessitated harsh financial restrictions, everything was being done to make it bearable. According to the budgetary projections for 1998, annual inflation should be 16.8 per cent, representing a substantial improvement.

She said that she was aware that the Committee was dissatisfied that she had not responded to the individual questions of the experts, but had rather, offered an abbreviated reply. More time was needed to analyse the questions. However, she assured the Committee that its questions and recommendations would be conveyed to the appropriate government authorities.

Statement by Chairperson

As she concluded consideration of Bulgaria's report, the Chairperson of the Committee, SALMA KHAN, commended the efforts of the Bulgarian Government in providing much additional information in its report. She also commended the country's ratification of several human rights instruments that were particularly important to women. The withdrawal of its reservation to article 29 of the Convention and its incorporation into domestic law was also appreciated. While the Convention could not be invoked in the Bulgarian courts, she hoped that it would soon be possible for women to claim their human rights.

The strong showing of women in high places was positive, but that did not reflect the situation of women who were vulnerable during the time of transition, she said. With 80 per cent of Bulgarians living below the poverty line, women were even more vulnerable. Unless specific measures were undertaken to alleviate poverty, it posed a very critical situation for women.

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Affirmative action was strongly recommended, especially in the area of employment, where specific projects might help address the situation more effectively.

Measures to combat all forms of violence against women were welcome, she continued. Nevertheless, it was quite apparent that Bulgaria had an "unacceptably high rate of violence against women" as well as a high level of prostitution and trafficking in women. Those problems were structural and social. She hoped that the next report would illustrate that many of those problems had been adequately addressed.

Reports on Recent Conferences

A Committee expert described a September 1997 meeting sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Oslo, Norway, on male roles and masculinity in the perspective of a culture of peace. The conference had brought together peace and gender researchers and activists to examine gender-related factors that hampered the development of a culture of peace. A report on the conference would be published in a few months.

She described some of the recommendations that resulted from the conference. One recommendation had urged State-supported paternity leave in addition to maternity leave. Also, participants felt that in educational curricula, mass media and instruments of mass culture -- such as video games - - men should be depicted as behaving in a non-aggressive manner. Another recommendation pertained to the need for supporting community groups' efforts to prevent violence against women. Participants also called on UNESCO to disseminate, through national commissions, information on masculine behaviours.

Another expert described a conference held in Addis Ababa, in October 1997, concerning the rights of young women. The conference had been based on three themes: the creation of an environment for emancipation; the social needs of young women; and the question of teenage health, including sexual and reproductive health. The conference had concluded that all States should ratify both the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Also, traditional and common laws should be harmonized. Greater qualitative and quantitative information on adolescent girls was needed. Specific programmes should be developed for adolescent girls to protect and promote their well- being and enhance their capabilities.

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Statement by Special Rapporteur

ABDELFATTAH AMOR, Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, said that he was frequently faced with issues concerning the status of women and their position with regard to religion. Very frequently, "specificity" was a comfortable alibi for preserving intolerable situations that limited women's humanity and ensured their relegation to an inferior position. The reservations which States observed regarding the status of women, however, could not be explained by invoking religion and declaring that their status was carved in stone and could not be changed. Rather, the status of women in certain religions must be analysed in a dynamic way.

Indeed, the official attitude in some States towards women was "shocking", he continued. Sometimes it was not the attitudes of States, but of societies or groups which relegated women to an inferior status. The problem of discrimination against women emanated from culture, which implied that it was the responsibility of certain organizations, such as schools, to eliminate discrimination.

Schools, however, did not fully play their role, he continued. A study of textbooks that he was conducting had illustrated that the image of women that was presented to children in schools today was "scandalous". It was time to make schools contribute to a culture of non-discrimination. With international law relatively well developed in that regard, change called for action through culture.

Comments by Experts

A number of experts thanked the Special Rapporteur for a statement, which "went right to the heart of the matter". The Committee was trying to strengthen cooperation and coordination among all United Nations bodies, and contribute to an awareness in the international community, one expert said. It endeavoured to reveal the scope of discrimination of all kinds suffered by women worldwide.

While the Special Rapporteur's mandate was to combat hatred and intolerance and acts of violence based on religious extremism, the current discrimination suffered by women in many countries was linked to religion, said an expert. Violence against women was often committed in the name of religion or the religious culture. That must cease, but it must be prevented through an international strategy that exerted pressure on all States to put an end crimes and human rights violations.

Another expert agreed that specificity was sometimes invoked as an excuse or alibi to commit violence against women. That the treatment of women at the end of this century was "scandalous" was often felt in the Committee, but never expressed, she said. It was scandalous that people still used

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religion and culture to relegate women to the background. A new modern culture would be used in the next century as a basis for peace and equality between men and women. A large number of States had issued reservations to certain articles of the Convention by invoking religion.

Another expert thanked the Rapporteur for his statement. Many States had enshrined in their constitutions the right to freedom of religion, she said. However, religious intolerance sometimes violated the basic right to life itself. One religion, for example, forbade women from receiving blood transfusions. Most States also protected the right to life in their constitutions, in addition to the right to religion. Being in the medical profession, however, she knew of many cases in which women in labour lost substantial amounts of blood, but doctors were not allowed to transfuse blood, resulting in death. She asked how many women had lost their lives because of such religious intolerance. Governments sometimes intervened in those cases, but often too late.

Another expert welcomed the Rapporteur's visit to cities in the United States, where sects were proliferating that violated the rights of individuals. Under the cover of freedom of belief and religion and respect for the principle of human rights, such groups committed atrocities against human dignity and the dignity of women and children. She hoped he would visit those "churches", which were created to exploit women and children.

An expert noted that the Committee examined countries where women's rights were impeded by culture and religion and welcomed the Rapporteur's presence. From the moment of birth and in all aspects of women's lives, even the control of their bodies and reproductive functions, religion was used to entrench social attitudes and practices that consigned them to second class status. Many practices that were oppressive to women were supported philosophically by religious beliefs. The Convention addressed this interrelationship in many of its articles.

Thus, the work of the Rapporteur had an important bearing on the work of the Committee, she continued. Religion could be harnessed for good, but in the Committee's view it had largely been harnessed by States to subjugate women. She said she would be interested in hearing the Rapporteur's view on whether the gender perspective should be included in analysing the major religions of the world. She also drew attention to indigenous belief systems, which were not recognized or tolerated by official authorities in many countries, but which remained the primary belief system for many women in those societies.

Mr. AMOR, the Special Rapporteur, said he had not prepared a specific text, because he had wanted to speak both in his official capacity and from the heart. One could not be said to believe in human rights without paying particular consideration to the female half of humanity. His interest in the

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status of women very often related to discrimination as explained in terms of religious conditions. His next report formally requested the Human Rights Commission to take efforts to ensure respect of the status of women vis-a-vis religion. Much remained to be done, however, and he hoped the United Nations would find the appropriate means to see that human rights did not become the "third world" of the Organization's work.

Often, texts were void of practical impact because of attitudes, he said. Religion and religious practices were often confused and hypocrisy was prevalent. There were constants and variables in religion, but even the constants should be interpreted intelligently. Religious interpretation had resulted in the suppression of women in many places in the world, such as in Afghanistan, where terrible things had been done to women in the name of religion.

Freedom of belief was an absolute freedom, he said. It could not be limited according to national law. Freedom of belief could only be limited in very rare instances, in the name of public order. The importance of freedom of belief should not be doubted simply because bad things were sometimes committed in the name of that principle.

Can the lives of women be threatened because of religious consideration? he asked. The right to life was the ultimate right. Undeniably, grave abuses were committed regarding women's right to life when blood transfusions were refused. In those instances, the paramount right to life must be applied. The basic rights of women could not be restricted. He hoped the Committee would not hesitate to call on him in that regard. The United Nations must work to ensure and protect rights. Countries that did not pay their contributions must do so, to avoid negatively effecting the Organization's ability to protect rights.

Ms. KHAN, the Committee Chairperson, thanked the Rapporteur for his valuable comments, noting that many in the room had experienced the impact of religion on their lives. She noted a pattern of many countries placing reservations on their ratification of the Convention, particularly related to article 2, on legal and administrative measures to eliminate discrimination, and article 16, on discrimination against women in marriage and in the family. There were grave inconsistencies regarding religious reservations.

She agreed with the Rapporteur on the importance of education to promote a culture of human rights. She also concurred that more emphasis was needed on the ways and means for tackling the situation. Greater religious tolerance and paramount respect for rights could create a better environment for the implementation of the Convention, as well as for a better quality of life.

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