SPEAKERS CALL FOR URGENT ACTION TO ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST GIRL CHILD AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, AS DEBATE IN WOMEN'S COMMISSION CONTINUES

2 March 1998

Press Release
WOM/1031

SPEAKERS CALL FOR URGENT ACTION TO ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST GIRL CHILD AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, AS DEBATE IN WOMEN'S COMMISSION CONTINUES

19980302 Human Rights of Women, Women and Armed Conflict Also Discussed

Discrimination against the girl child and violence against women were urgent priorities that had to be addressed for the attainment of gender equality, several speakers stressed this afternoon as the Commission on the Status of Women continued its general debate on the follow-up to the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women.

The discussion also focused on the two other areas of critical concern selected for the current session: human rights of women; and women and armed conflict.

Among those stressing that the issue of the girl child was fundamental for the achievement of gender equality, the representative of Namibia said parents and teachers had an equal role to play if the girl child's dignity and fundamental rights were to be restored. She called upon the Commission to conclude the current session with a clear and strong decision expressing the international community's commitment towards eradicating all forms of discrimination against the girl child.

In their strong condemnation of violence against women as a violation of women's human rights, speakers stressed the need for national and international programmes to tackle the problem effectively. The representative of Liechtenstein said violence was one of the major obstacles to equality, development and peace. Prevention was a crucial tool to address the phenomenon, she said, adding that legislative and educational measures were also important to promote eradication of violence against women.

The Commission heard several statements addressing national plans and programmes to address the problem of violence against women. The representative of Singapore said her Government had taken such action as adopting legislation that widened the definition of violence against women and provided for counselling for the abuser; setting up of family courts to deal specifically with violence against women; promoting conflict resolution among family members; and providing emotional support and information to help victims make informed choices through social service agencies.

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Statements were also made by the representatives of Brazil, Ecuador, Japan, Spain, South Africa, Bangladesh, Israel, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, China and Botswana.

Representatives of the following organizations also made statements: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Bank and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Representatives of the Council of Europe, as well as of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the All India Women's Conference, also spoke.

The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 3 March, to continue its general discussion on the follow-up to the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women.

Commission Work Programme

The Commission on the Status of Women met this afternoon to continue its discussion of national plans on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action adopted at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women. (For background on the session, see Press Release WOM/1029 of 27 February.)

Statements

NANCY RICHE, of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), said its organization had been established in 1949 and had 206 affiliates in 141 countries on five continents, with a membership of 125 million, 43 per cent of whom were women. She said the situation of women had deteriorated. Globalization of markets, structural adjustment programmes, free trade and investment agreements had turned out to be devastating for women. The Asian financial crisis would result in the loss of 13.4 million jobs in Indonesia and 2 million in Thailand, 80 per cent of the 2 million being women.

She said the economic processing zones, which were attracting large corporations from the North, were the scene of some of the most brutal forms of exploitation of female, and male, workers. Those women who had attempted to unionize had been dismissed, and, in a case in the Dominican Republic, two women, one of whom was pregnant, had been attacked with clubs and left to die. Globalization of trade, and competition combined with deregulation of national financial and labour markets, had reinforced inequalities for women. Large numbers of women, including an even larger percentage of part-timers, were going without basic benefits, such as paid sick leave, health coverage and pension plans.

MARCELA NICODEMOS (Brazil) said her Government, together with the National Council for Women's Rights, was promoting the necessary changes in the Constitution to ensure equal rights for women in the civil, political, economic and social domains. The Government considered combating violence against women one of its priorities. It had launched a national programme for preventing and combating domestic and sexual violence with the support of non- governmental organizations and many other actors in civil society. As part of the campaign, a draft legislation had been adopted to amend the Brazilian criminal code, whereby sexual crimes would no longer be considered crimes against morality. The Brazilian Congress was also considering draft legislation on domestic violence.

The rights of the girl child were an essential component in ensuring the promotion and protection of women's human rights, she said. The Brazilian statute of the child and adolescent had been praised by many international organizations, including the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), as one of the most comprehensive pieces of legislation on the rights of children.

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In the critical area of women in armed conflict, Brazil believed that women should not only be protected against all kinds of violence, but also that their role as caretakers, as well as peace promoters and negotiators, should be recognized and enhanced.

ROSINA WILTSHIRE, Acting Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Development Policy of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said gender mainstreaming involved bringing the results of economic and policy analysis into the core decision-making processes. Emphasis should be placed on the gender mainstreaming of all human development themes, which would contribute to a more holistic sustainable human development framework. Capacities at the country level were being strengthened to support the Resident Coordinator system for inter-agency collaboration for follow-up to the Beijing Conference. United Nations Volunteers gender specialists were being placed in 20 UNDP offices. In addition, the UNDP, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), was supporting the placement of 10 gender advisers in UNDP offices in selected United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) designated countries.

In January, the UNDP had approved a new gender balance policy for 1997-2001, she said. That policy provided the following: increased female staffing targets; accountability measures for those targets; a recruitment policy exclusively targeted to women; stronger commitment to mainstreaming gender issues in human resource management; balancing work and family life; and a commitment to a work environment free of sexual harassment.

She went on to say that actions supported by the UNDP at the regional and country levels strengthened women's legal rights to assets and opportunities, and linked human rights to women's greater participation in conflict resolution and peace-building. There had also been an increased commitment to address violence against women. In addition, the UNDP had made a commitment, through its Resident Representatives, to support government reporting in compliance to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The UNDP urged governments to strengthen gender-balanced representation and gender advocacy in all United Nations forums.

YAKIN ERTURK, Director of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), said that while progress was being achieved in women's rights, changing global patterns were generating new threats to the rights of women. Emerging areas of particular concern to INSTRAW included the trend towards defining identity on the basis of community membership rather than on the basis of the individual. Another was the lack of sufficient legal infrastructure to provide social contract at the international level to address the problems of trafficking of women, seasonal migrations across national boundaries, displacements caused by environmental disasters, among others.

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She said forced marriages, involuntary virginity tests, honour killings and female genital mutilations were just some examples of severe transgressions on the human rights of women, which were legitimized on the grounds of culture. The examination of women's rights as human rights, particularly by the Commission on the Status of Women, might serve as a litmus test for the questions that human rights advocates and governments must face in the twenty-first century.

Turning to the second area of concern to INSTRAW, she said it was urgent that International Labour Organization's (ILO) labour agreements and other international instruments were expanded to provide minimum standards for the rights of women, the girl child and older women. The changing global conditions carried many contradictions for women. Those changes embodied equally strong tendencies either towards greater subjugation or greater emancipation of women. The INSTRAW was committed to conducting policy research that would contribute to the emancipation of women. It held the view that transforming unequal gender structures required a focus on men's role and deconstruction of the existing understanding of masculinity. Reconstructing gender roles to achieve an ungendered human rights discourse would undoubtedly be the agenda for the next millennium, she concluded.

ELSIE AGUILAR (Ecuador) said a plan for equal opportunity had been adopted by her Government to bring about gender equality. As regards four areas of critical concern being dealt with by the Commission during the session, she said her Government had still a great deal of work to do. Ecuador was committed to the eradication of violence against women, and had put in place measures to deal with the problem and to provide protection for victims. Slowly, but surely, it was hoped that the goal of 20 per cent decision-making positions in Government for women would be achieved.

The Government also planned to improve the quality of education of women and children, including introduction of programmes to improve literacy, she said. There was a public policy for the improvement of the rights of women. She hoped the outcome of the Commission's work would contribute to the attainment of the objectives of the Beijing Platform for Action.

PATRICE ROBINEU, representative of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), said special measures were required to enable women in the States of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to have access to the opportunities in the transition to market economy. Reforms carried out by the ECE placed emphasis on gender mainstreaming. Focal points on women had been established. ECE functions included preparing for gender equality in all its subsidiary bodies. The ECE organized on regular basis meetings that enabled all its organs to exchange ideas and take joint initiatives. It also worked with non-governmental organizations.

MARGARET McCAFFERY, of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), said the Commission's relations with non-governmental

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organizations concerned with women's issues had been strengthened. A meeting organized by those organizations, held at ECLAC, culminated in the adoption of a political declaration which was presented to a regional conference following the event. Another key task of the Commission had been to devise a strategy for incorporating the gender perspective in its programmes and projects. A pilot project had been designed with support from the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), and its execution phase should start in the coming months.

A joint project had been initiated with Latin American educational institutions dealing with social sciences to develop indicators on the empowerment of women and leadership, she said. The objectives was to determine the extent of existing indicators on aspects of the role of women in the region. More than 300 requests had been sent out to various national, subregional and regional bodies. Replies so far received attested to a great willingness to collaborate. The Commission hoped the project would establish a basis for systematic cooperation among entities that generated information on women in Latin America and the Caribbean.

YORIKO MEGURO (Japan) said her Government had formulated a new national plan for gender equality by the year 2000. The plan identified four basic targets, including building a social system that promoted gender equality; achieving gender equality in the workplace, family and community; creating a society where the human rights of women were promoted and defended; and contributing to equality, development and peace in the global community.

To monitor the plan's implementation, she said an annual report was being compiled by the Prime Minister's Office, the first of which was issued last year. Japan preferred that the planned high-level plenary review be convened as a special session in June 2000 or, alternatively, May of the same year.

JANE ZHANG, of the International Labour Organization (ILO), said the Fourth World Conference on Women had placed women and gender issues on the top of the international agenda. The ILO had since strengthened its cooperation on issues related to gender equality in the workplace. The organization had addressed working women's rights -- to raise gender awareness and mainstream gender concerns in labour and social programmes. The ILO programme was designed to improve the quality and quantity of women's employment in the national context. Three national plans had been prepared. The ILO had also prepared a comprehensive guide for integrating gender issues in collective bargaining, which would be implemented in all regions of the world.

Another area of progress included gender planning in the area of labour administration, she said. A guide had been prepared for labour administrators. Practical guidelines in operating social funds and safety net programmes had also been prepared. Workshops and seminars had been organized in countries such as the United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe in the area of employment

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and structural adjustment. Seminars had also been held in countries with economies in transition.

She provided further details of workshops and seminars on a range of areas such as "breaking through the glass ceiling". The promotion of social justice was a major mandate and was being addressed with dissemination of information on issues such as equal pay, equality of treatment in employment and equal access to vocational training. Some progress had been made after Beijing, but a great deal still needed to be done. The ILO would continue to work to make its commitments made in Beijing a reality.

CONCEPTION DANCA USA (Spain) supported the statement made by the United Kingdom on behalf of the European Union. At the national level, many efforts had been made since Beijing to implement the Platform for Action. The area of primary focus had been violence against women. The Government had adopted a third plan for gender equality, which focused on violence against women. With the recognition that violence was an obstacle that prevented women from enjoying their human rights, the national plan focused on such issues as the eradication of violence, sexual harassment in the workplace and trafficking against women. The plan was already being implemented. However, greater efforts would have to be made by the entire society to ensure its full implementation in all the regions of the country. Last November, a conference on violence against women had been held with the participation of all the State sectors. The result was the establishment of an interministerial commission to coordinate activities to address the issue.

The national plan was a platform to design specific strategies to improve the status of women, she said. The problem of battered women was also being addressed; centres were being created for them. In addition, training for officers in the police force and in the civil guard had begun to make those groups more sensitive to violence against women. Also, more women would be employed in the police force and as members of the civil guard. Assistance would also be provided to victims of violence in the courts. The national plan of action also took account of other issues such as prevention, sensitization, health and research. The entire nation would be sensitized to the issue of violence because it was a problem that affected the whole society.

SOPHIE PIQUET, of the Council of Europe, said that combating violence against women was "an absolute priority" of the Council. At the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1996, its 40 member States had rated violence against women as the most urgent issue in Europe. As such, the Council had recently prepared a plan of action for combating such violence, and had begun preparation of a non-binding legal instrument in that regard.

The European Convention on Human Rights was another relevant instrument designed to protect women's human rights, she said. In fact, it was recently invoked during a court case concerning a 17-year old girl allegedly raped and

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beaten by Turkish gendarmes. The Council was also intensively working to tackle the "rapidly expanding phenomenon" of trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Recent migratory flows, combined with economic and other factors, had made Europe one of the most attractive zones for traffickers. That phenomenon, associated with prostitution, was reaching proportions requiring concerted international action. The Council had published a plan of action to combat trafficking in women, and a multisectoral group of specialists on action against trafficking was preparing a draft recommendation on that subject to the Council, among other actions in that area.

She said that the Council of Europe had always been a laboratory for ideas. In recent years, intensive work had been carried out in the area of gender mainstreaming, and a comprehensive report on the subject would soon be published. In addition, the Council was actively studying ways to involve men in equality issues.

IRMA ENGELBRECHT (South Africa) said her country supported international efforts to promote human rights. It was aware that it had an immense task to make human rights, especially women's rights, a reality for all South Africans. The human rights of women were positively structured in the country's Constitution. The empowerment of women at all levels of society was a priority of the Government. South African women were eager not to lose the momentum created by the Fourth World Conference on Women and were committed to playing a vital role in focusing the attention of the Government on its undertaking to implement the Beijing Platform for Action.

She said the high incidence of violence against women in South Africa, especially rape, was still a cause of great concern. The Government was actively engaged in implementing a combination of coordinated strategies and programmes to improve the situation. Some of the measures taken had already been explained to the Commission on Human Rights' Special Rapporteur on violence against women, who had visited South Africa in 1996. As an example of the Government's resolve to remedy the situation, it would be hosting a Southern African Development Community (SADC) Conference on Violence against Women this month to coincide with the International Women's Day.

On the question of the girl child, she said Africans had to carefully consider policies and programmes to ensure the social integration of the girl child and to assist in developing their potential as an equal member of society. South Africa strongly condemned acts of violence and other atrocities against women and children trapped in conflict situations, and, as a State party to Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, encouraged member States to reaffirm their opposition to the devastation caused by such acts.

ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said that the Bangladesh Ministry of Women and Children Affairs had been designated as the focal Ministry for

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the follow-up and implementation of the commitments of the Beijing Conference. Other important developments included the announcement last year of a national policy for women's advancement. That policy embraced a holistic framework for women's equality, strove to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and girls, establish their human rights in society and ensure their empowerment. Also formulated was a national plan for women's advancement aimed at integrating women's development in national development efforts in all sectors, and an interministerial coordination and evaluation committee to monitor the progress of implementation of the national action plan.

Greater national awareness of women's issues was an encouraging outcome of the Beijing Conference, which had been translated into Bangla and widely disseminated, he said. Following up on its commitments made at Beijing, the Government had withdrawn two of its four reservations to the Convention, and the remaining reservations were under consideration. Also being considered was the withdrawal of reservations from the Convention on the Rights of the Child. At the same time, the Government was contemplating signing and acceding to a few other international human rights instruments pertaining to women, including the Convention on the Rights of Women Migrant Workers and the Convention on the Political Rights of Women.

As part of its multi-pronged approach to implement the Beijing Platform for Action, the Government had also undertaken steps to address the critical areas being considered at the current session, he said. To help combat violence against women, a multi-sectoral project would be launched to provide women with better access to legal justice and create greater awareness through public education campaigns. A similar project would be undertaken by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs to address the problem of trafficking in women and children. Other new measures included the creation of women's investigation cells, supported by female police officers, to provide safe and confidential protection services to women, and a decade action plan for the girl child to protect and promote their rights, education and health.

MASHA LUBELSKY (Israel) said the road to equality was reached through the field of employment. The more women were integrated in the workplace, the better their chances would be to achieve economic independence. In Israel, efforts to encourage the female labour force were accompanied by the development of legislation relating to the rights of working women. The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare was making efforts to enforce that legislation, and a chain of day-care centres for working families had also been established.

The dynamic international economy required a change in work patterns, she said. Flexibility and mobility were important. Such circumstances presented obstacles for many women who did not have access to new work places and professions. Women who lived far from the central region of the country found it difficult to leave their homes for long hours. Therefore, the Israeli Government was initiating professional training frameworks and was encouraging

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women to join the field of small businesses. Governments and institutions must lead the efforts for the advancement of women and set an example for the private sector.

Last year, the Prime Minister's Office had taken steps to establish a government authority for the improvement of the status of women, she said. That authority would supervise and coordinate all government offices regarding the advancement of women and equal opportunity, and would be in contact with all non-governmental bodies dealing with that issue. The Prime Minister's Office also had established a public awareness campaign to prevent domestic violence. In a joint effort with other government offices, it held a campaign to encourage victims to file complaints and join shelters for battered women. The number of such shelters had recently been increased to 12, including one for Arab women.

YOUSSOUFOU BAMBA (Côte d'Ivoire) said the themes chosen this year by the Commission were the most sensitive and decisive for the advancement of women. The implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action related to those areas was essential to improve the status of women. His Government had organized broad consultations on the advancement of women that had resulted in the preparation of a white paper on the participation of Ivorian women in all areas of society. Priority had been given to the rights of women and to integrating them into development.

In the area of legislation, under the auspices of the Ministry of the Family and the Advancement of Women, a working group had drawn up a list of all laws that discriminated against women. Action was being taken to abolish discrimination in a number of areas. Draft laws had been prepared to address such issues as co-ownership and inheritance. A campaign of awareness was also being carried out to inform the population of the contents of the Beijing Platform for Action.

The Government of Côte d'Ivoire was taking measures to protect women from violence, he said. The rights of the girl child were of utmost importance, and laws were being strengthened to protect the girl child and prevent exploitation of young girl workers. The change in the attitude of parents was important. Children and women were the main victims of armed conflict. Women must, therefore, be given a voice in promoting peace. The cooperation of the United Nations and non-governmental organizations in the area of the advancement of women was welcome. They had organized several workshops in Côte d'Ivoire. His Government would participate fully in all efforts to assist in the full implementation of the Platform for Action.

NINA SIBAL, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), urged the Commission to consider as a theme for its high-level plenary review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action planned for 2000, the role of women in the culture of peace and their

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contribution to that culture. The Secretary-General had asked UNESCO to present a draft declaration and a draft programme of action for the observance of the year 2000 as the International Year for the Culture of Peace.

The UNESCO was giving major attention to integrating fully the gender perspective in science and in cultural policies, she said. Three conferences planned -- on cultural policies and development (Stockholm, in March), world conference on higher education (October 1998) and world conference on science (June 1999) offered special opportunities to mobilize UNESCO member States in favour of involving women fully in each of those areas, thereby implementing some of the Beijing commitments. Assessments and proposals regarding women's role in science and research, including scientific and technical education for girls and women were thus being prepared through regional forums.

CLAUDIA FRITSCHE (Liechtenstein) said it was the duty of States to empower women through measures to achieve the advancement of their human rights. Violence was one of the major obstacles to equality, development and peace. Prevention was a crucial tool to address the phenomenon. Legislative and educational measures were of equal importance to promote the process leading to the eradication of violence against women.

On women and armed conflicts, she said it was crucially important that the voices of women were heard more clearly and that women were actively involved in all stages of conflict resolution processes, including post- conflict peace-building. The United Nations itself could and should make a major contribution towards that end by including more women in its relevant field missions, in particular, in leading positions such as Special Representatives of the Secretary-General.

ASHA WILLIAMS, of the World Health Organization (WHO), said that in 1995 the organization had begun work on an initiative focused on the role of the health sector in the prevention of violence against women and the management of its consequences. The priority issues included: violence against women committed by parties and families, rape and sexual assault. The long-term aims of WHO activities in that area were to identify effective strategies to prevent violence and to decrease morbidity and mortality among the women who were victims of abuse.

As part of its plan of action on the matter, the WHO was undertaking a multi-country study on the prevalence and health consequences of violence against women, she said. It was also supporting the documentation of existing interventions, and the development and testing of new ones, for the prevention of violence against women. Currently, there was little or no documentation of even the limited number of interventions that were being tried in developing countries.

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In addition, she said the WHO was developing a database on the prevalence of violence against women in families, rape and sexual assault, and their consequences to the health of women and their families. The data collection would be used to ascertain: if there was sufficient data upon which to develop policies and programmes on women's health in those areas; where further research was needed; and the magnitude and severity of related-health risks. That information would be useful in various forums for policy and planning, and would ultimately be made accessible through the Internet.

MOLLY ANIM-ADDO (Ghana) said her Government's Plan of Action for the implementation of the Beijing Platform addressed women's rights as a whole, with special emphasis on violence against women. The appropriate legal bodies were empowered to review laws in order to provide women with comprehensive legal protection from various forms of violence. The National Council on Women and Development, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations, had embarked on extensive awareness programmes to change stereotyped attitudes and negative cultural and traditional practices that gave rise to the violation of women's rights. Women victims who had suffered various types of violence were given access to counselling services, free legal aid and temporary shelters and relief support.

Increasing incidents of armed and ethnic conflicts exposed women to the dangers of sexual violence, including rape, she said. The international community must take appropriate action against the targeting of women in conflict situations. The perpetrators of gender violence should be actively pursued and brought to justice under international law. Consideration should also be given to the insertion of specific clauses in the Geneva Convention on the Protection and Treatment of Prisoners of War to deal with gender-based violations of human rights during armed conflicts.

She went on to say that Ghana had supported the elaboration of the optional protocol to the Women's Anti-Discrimination Convention and had participated widely in the working group elaborating it. That process would eventually allow victims of the violations of the provisions of the Convention to make individual complaints, which would bring its application in line with other human rights instruments.

FENG CUI (China) said that the concept of equality between women and men had become a strong call for action by the international community. Women's rights to subsistence and development had been universally recognized with unprecedented progress in their status, dignity and rights in the fields of politics, economy, society, culture and family. China had been exerting unremitting efforts to improve the status of women, protect their human rights and promote gender equality in legislation, institution and policy formulation.

Towards implementing the Beijing Platform for Action, she said that her Government had taken some new initiatives that included the promotion of a 1992

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law designed to protect women's rights and interests. In addition, a series of regulations and protections in the area of criminal law were further defined in the last two years. For example, more explicit and comprehensive provisions protecting the personal freedom and dignity of women, and the right to health of the girl child were incorporated in the criminal code. Another revision was under way in the current marriage law. The new law sought to further protect women's human rights, eliminate domestic violence, promote gender equality, advocate democracy and strengthen the sense of family responsibility.

The protection of women's human rights was not an isolated issue, but rather one which required the assistance of the international community, she said. Developed countries should assist developing countries in their efforts to advance their economies, and promote and protect the rights of women and children in order to realize the goals set forth in the Beijing Platform for Action.

A representative of the All India Women's Conference said the critical areas of concern embodied in the Beijing Platform for Action could not be viewed in isolation. For two decades, attention had been drawn to violence against women, which was a human rights issues. The issue of women and armed conflict should be given more attention than previously.

Her organization had demonstrated determination to combat violence against women, she said. Non-governmental organizations in India had organized mass campaigns to draw attention to the rights of women. Violence against women had to be recognized as a social issue. Law enforcement machinery had to be made gender sensitive. Legislative procedures should also be made sensitive to the plight of victims. Religious practices needed to be reviewed.

FOO CHIA HSIA (Singapore) said her Government had a comprehensive civil and penal system to protect women. A women's charter adopted by the government was widely recognized as a progressive piece of legislation. A recent amendment to it widened the definition of violence against women and provided for counselling for the abuser. Family courts had been set up to deal specifically with violence against women. Conflict resolution among family members was also dealt with. Social service agencies provided emotional support and information to help victims make informed choices. Public education could also help combat family violence. Singapore had training programmes to deal with the problem, she added.

She also stressed the importance attached by Singapore to the problem of violence against women migrant workers and suggested a holistic and comprehensive approach to dealing with it. The problem should be dealt with jointly by States that supplied the migrant workers and the recipient countries. A bill was before the Parliament on measures to deal with violation of rights of migrant women workers, she concluded.

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SREE GURURAJA, Senior Adviser on Gender Development of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said the complementarity of children's and women's rights was critical both to child development and to the empowerment of women. In adopting the rights-based approach to development, UNICEF country programmes were increasingly addressing gender as a cross-cutting issue and expressing support to the implementation of the conventions on the rights of the child and on the elimination of discrimination against women. Both Conventions contained mutually reinforcing principles which, if fully implemented, would ensure the fulfilment of the rights of girls and women, from childhood to adulthood, and would put an end to gender-based discrimination. For that reason, UNICEF country offices continued to support national machineries for the implementation of the Women's Convention, as well as the mainstreaming of gender issues in national development plans and programmes for women and girls.

She said UNICEF had identified three priorities in its follow-up to the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. Those priorities were: girls' education; the health of girls, women and adolescents; and children's rights and women's rights. Through its country programmes, UNICEF had planned and implemented new programmes in girls' education, rights-based approaches to addressing adolescent pregnancy and maternal mortality reduction, and building new partnerships for the promotion of women's and children's rights. The rights and needs of girls were central to the achievement of the human rights of women, the elimination of violence against women and protection of women in armed conflict. The Commission should consider the themes in an interrelated manner and make recommendations that would accelerate the implementation of the commitments made at Beijing.

NETUMBO NANDI-NDAITWAH, Director General of the Department of Women's Affairs in the Office of the President of Namibia, said, since Beijing, some progress had been made in Namibia in the empowerment of women aimed at bringing about gender equality. In November 1997, the Government had adopted the national gender policy, the main purpose of which was to strategize on how it could encourage and value the contribution of women in national development and the society as a whole. The national plan of action for the period 1998- 2003 would become operational from 1 April, after which a comprehensive review would be made to determine the progress achieved. The plan was the result of a very broad-based consultative process throughout the country. The areas of concern in the national plan included: gender poverty and rural development; gender balance in education and training; gender and reproductive health; violence against women and children; gender and economic empowerment; the girl child; and gender and legal affairs. All sectors of the society were responsible for its implementation.

On the critical areas being taken up during the current session, the girl child and violence against women were of particular concern to Namibia, she said. The issue of the girl child was fundamental for the achievement of gender equality. Parents and teachers had an equal role to play if the girl

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child's dignity and fundamental rights were to be restored. Namibia would like the Commission to adopt a clear and strong decision expressing the international community's commitment towards eradicating all forms of discrimination against the girl child. Her Government was devoting increasing attention to violence against women and children, and there was a high level of mobilization in Namibia around that issue.

ALFREDO SFEIR-YOUNIS, of the World Bank, said that nearly 70 per cent of the Bank's recent assistance strategies devised for country clients had addressed gender issues. At a more strategic level, the Bank now had a number of training programmes covering such areas as gender and poverty, gender and violence, gender in the labour market, and developing qualitative and quantitative indicators.

He said that, while most donors were satisfied that a significant percentage of their operations included gender components, a number of non- traditional sectors -- such as electricity and power -- comprised only a very small portion of development operations that included gender considerations. The Bank, therefore, undertook a number of initiatives in the last couple of years, including a symposium in Asia, the creation of a gender analysis and policy group in cooperation with Columbia University, and a rural travel and transport programme in Africa aimed at shifting focus away from roads towards rural access, mobility and household transport needs.

The World Bank's gender group was now part of the network dealing with poverty reduction and economic management, he said. In addition, many non- governmental organizations were actively involved through the External Gender Consultative Group, which met annually since the Beijing Conference to advise the President of the World Bank on gender issues. The new network structure significantly strengthened the Bank's ability to mainstream gender by, among other initiatives, breaking down the old barriers of geographical location, sector and hierarchy and providing incremental funds for promoting gender research.

In order to make significant progress in the social, economic and political fronts, the countries, individually and collectively, needed to establish the ground for a "new social contract" where the gender dimensions were central to a way of thinking about growth and sustainable development. Such a social contract was the only way to confront what the Bank's President had called "the challenge of inclusion". More financial resources, per se, would not resolve the problems, which required a change in the value system, language, attitudes and level of commitment.

VALENCIA K.D. MOGEGEH, Director, Women's Affairs of the Department of Labour and Home Affairs of Botswana, said for the empowerment of women her country had selected the following areas of concern: women and poverty; women in power and decision-making; education and training of women; women and

Women's Commission - 15 - Press Release WOM/1031 2nd Meeting (PM) 2 March 1998

health; the girl child; and violence against women. The national machinery had also addressed other issues such as sustainable use of the environment by women. In implementing the national plan, efforts were reinforced in a number of areas, such as: a growing partnership between Government and civil society, grass-roots and district-based awareness-raising campaigns, accession to the Women's Anti-Discrimination Convention, a comprehensive review of laws affecting the status of women, and resource mobilization. Botswana had received more than $2 million as additional support for the national gender programme through the UNDP.

Also of importance in implementing the national plan was the elevation of the national machinery to a fully fledged government department, she said. To date, visible progress had been made, particularly by women's non- governmental organizations and groups in each of the six critical areas of concern that constituted Botswana's agenda for the empowerment of women. The biggest challenge was how to consolidate the singular efforts and transform them into a wholesome national programme.

NARCISA ESCALER, Deputy Director of the International Organization on Migration (IOM), said the organization had identified combating trafficking in women as one of its priority action areas. It was committed to addressing violence against women through prevention and assistance to victims. At the same time, it sought to provide a forum for discussion among governments on the problem to foster and coordinate measures to combat trafficking. Her organization had carried out studies on trafficking in women for sexual exploitation in Western and Central Europe, the Caribbean and Asia. The two most recent studies dealt with trafficking in Filipino women to Japan and in Cambodian women and children stranded in Thailand.

She also said the organization had begun to develop projects for the return and reintegration of migrant women exposed to abuse enabling them to return home in dignity and safety. In Asia, a small pilot project -- a first -- had helped some 100 beneficiaries to return from Thailand to their countries, where they were provided with one-year reintegration component that included skills training, counselling and income-generating activities.

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