WOMEN'S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE COMPLETES STUDY OF PANAMA REPORT
Press Release
WOM/1062
WOMEN'S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE COMPLETES STUDY OF PANAMA REPORT
19980630 Since the level of education of Panamanian women was impressive, it was troubling that their employment rate was so low, members of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women said this afternoon as they concluded consideration of Panama's combined second and third periodic reports.Several experts called for more practical action to eliminate discrimination in employment. They noted unequal pay for men and women, illegal pregnancy tests for women in relation to employment, and part-time laws which worked to the detriment of women. Maternity and pregnancy protections were lacking for working women, which violated their rights and made equal opportunities with men difficult.
Income-generating and other socio-economic programmes should be emphasized, several speakers said. The ability to earn a living affected all areas of life. An expert noted that it was often easier to obtain funding for health and education programmes than for socio-economic programmes, but that the latter should be focused on, nonetheless.
Paradoxes seemed to surround Panama's legislation, one expert noted. It seemed that Panama differentiated between human rights that could be brought to court and those that could not, she noted. While the Committee had been told that the Convention had become incorporated into Panamanian law, only some rights were justiciable. Panama should formulate an anti-discrimination law modelled on the Convention, she stressed.
The 23 experts that comprise the Committee made these comments today after hearing the Panamanian delegation's response to questions posed during a pre-sessional working group. During her presentation, Panama's Minister of Youth, Women, Children and Family, Leonor Calderon, described initiatives to address conditions faced by rural women and those in prisons.
Also this afternoon, Silvia Rose Cartwright, of New Zealand, introduced an exchange of views on the optional protocol on reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women. Ahoua Ouedraogo, of Burkina Faso, reported on the work of the pre-sessional Working Group, and comments were made about the Committee's working methods.
The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 1 July, to begin considering the combined second and third reports of the United Republic of Tanzania.
Committee Work Programme
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women met this afternoon to continue its consideration of Panama's combined second and third periodic reports.
(For background on the report, see Press Release WOM/1061 of 30 June.)
Presentation of Country Report Continued
LEONOR CALDERON, Panama's Minister of Youth, Women, Children and Family, said many rural women still did not have access to social security. Forums were the primary mechanism for strengthening the network between rural women. Throughout the agricultural sector, officials were being trained to be responsible for instituting rural programmes, including an equal opportunity programme, which included a pilot programme for land ownership. Finally, mechanisms were being developed to extend financing, such as loans to women.
In response to other questions, she said the main provision of the family code that was directly related to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was that it established the rights and responsibilities of spouses. The code provided for the option of equal responsibility and equal rights for spouses in the family, especially in terms of property. The rights were equal and indivisible. The domestic work of each spouse was recognized as an equal contribution. Female students who became pregnant were legally allowed to continue education.
Responding to a series of questions related to equality of women in prisons, she said there was inadequate data overall. However, changes in infrastructure changes had been made. Because of inadequate conditions, children no longer lived with imprisoned mothers. Family visits were allowed. However, 60 per cent of the women in Panama's prison were foreigners imprisoned for crimes such as drugs. There was a programme to reintegrate prisoners after release, and educational facilities for prisons were planned. Such improvements were part of a broad programme undertaken with civil society to promote equality for women.
Comments by Committee Members
An expert commended the country's integrated vision to achieve equality. She said there was need for making women's equality an integral part of Panama's policy-making and politics, funded through taxes and national resources. Currently, Panama was making an effort to implement projects for women's equality, but these were largely funded through other organizations. To become sustainable, such projects should be funded internally. There was need to ask for budget lines and institutional strengthening so that these issues became an integrated policy regime, supported by well-staffed and well- financed institutions. Governments often focused on projects, but there was need for universal policies to address issues for all women.
The report differentiated between human rights that were justiciable and those that were not, she said. While the Committee had been told that the Convention had become incorporated into Panamanian law, only some rights could be brought to court. It seemed that there were paradoxes surrounding the country's legislation; Panama should formulate an extensive anti-discrimination law modelled on the Convention.
Women must be made more aware of their legal rights, whether grounded in the Convention or in national legislature, she said. The country should address
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the lack of sex-based statistics, which could be of use in designing and implementing programmes. The quota in political parties appeared to have a loophole, she noted. If not enough women were on the ballot, men could fill in. Instead of taking that approach, Panama should find ways to ensure that political parties implemented quotas, through sanctions, for example.
Regarding women's employment, she said there was cause for great concern. Major efforts were needed to address unequal pay, illegal pregnancy tests for women in relation to employment, and part-time laws which worked to the detriment of women. Political symbolism was necessary. Panama wanted to be an international service society; it could not continue discriminating against women. More attention was also needed on the situation of domestic workers and all aspects of the lives of indigenous women. The Committee's concluding comments should be widely disseminated as an awareness-raising technique.
Another asked for more information on the Institute for Women. How successful had it been in raising the consciousness of women? Also, how easy was it for a prostitute to bring charges in the case of assault? What influence did the media have on sexual stereotypes of women? What about Panama's plans for equalizing women's wages with that of men?
An expert noted that in the present report, abortion was not recognized for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, whereas it had been stated in Panama's initial report that abortion was allowed in such cases. Was the present pregnancy policy a regression? the expert asked. The policy was of concern and should be reviewed by the legislature. The policy could be objected to on the basis of the Convention against Torture since it was cruel and unusual punishment to make a woman bear a child that was forced upon her.
Still another expert emphasized that congratulations were due to Panama for its openness in involving civil society in its work. The information on indigenous rights and property was of concern. The situation of indigenous women was troubling, since many were very poor and undereducated. Was the reference to allocating more property to indigenous peoples an allusion to some form of a reservation? Furthermore, women in Panama were not able to
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bring charges against spouses. Did the family law contradict penal law, or did it give some special dispensation enabling families of a battered woman to bring charges?
An expert commended the fact that women were involved in the formulation of the national plan of action for women. She noted that frequently such plans failed because women's viewpoints were not incorporated into the design. Panama's multisectoral approach to achieving women's equality meant that different spheres of women's rights could be addressed; however, such an approach could sometimes lead to overlapping.
It was easier to obtain funding for health and education programmes than for socio-economic programmes, she noted. However, income-generating and other socio-economic programmes should be emphasized, because women's ability to earn a living affected all areas of their lives. Also, women must be made aware of their rights through broad dissemination of the Convention.
Another expert stressed the importance of civil society in achieving compliance with the Convention and implementing policies for women. She asked how many women were protected by maternity provisions, and how many fell outside such protections due to being employed through time-bound contracts. In her other comments, she stressed the importance of training and rehabilitation programmes for both women and men in prisons, and said that there should be a focus on the sexual abuse of minors.
Another expert referred to the mechanisms introduced in 1992 for participation of women in civil society. The political will of the Government could not be doubted; that assured the participation of both men and women. Problems remained, however, such as inequality of pay. The draft family law before Parliament was in the right direction, but women needed more protection in employment. Also, there was a national policy on violence. More information regarding violence should be provided, particularly as it related to the situation of indigenous women and to the inequality in jobs.
One expert said that establishing the Ministry for Women was very positive for implementing the mechanisms for women's equality. Important in that process were non-governmental organizations and the legislative progress. Now, a de facto implementation was needed, of both the family law and the equal opportunity law. And other important changes were still needed; many laws still had discriminatory provisions. There should be a priority on implementing programmes to improve the economic and social situation of women in poverty. Thus, an integral programme was required, one involving indigenous and rural women.
Panamanian women's participation at the decision-making level had been increased more in autonomous bodies than in governmental or institutional ones, another expert pointed out. It was generally believed that if laws were
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to be enforced, it should be the other way around. The participation of women in the Panamanian Government was very low. How effective were the measures taken by the Government to improve women's participation at the decision- making level? Did the Government have any plans for other measures, such as instituting quotas?
An expert asked about the Women's Institute at the Panama University. How had such a high graduation rate for women been reached? Also, stereotypes of female roles had been found in textbooks. What was the Government's time- frame for revising textbooks? How would technical training be encouraged for women, or non-traditional training for both men and women? The mandatory quota for a 30 per cent participation of women in decision-making bodies was very welcome, as was the closer cooperation between the media and the Government.
Considerable progress had been made since Panama ratified the Convention, another expert said. However, much remained to be done. The Convention was now part of domestic legislation. More should be done about article 11, women in the workplace. Perhaps legislation should be fine-tuned and implemented. Data on employment and unemployment rates for men and women were needed. There was concern about lack of protection for women, such as for pregnant women or those who needed access to social services for their children. Also, men should be more involved in advancing women's equality, as in caring for children. Businesses should share the cost of that.
Ms. CALDERON, responding to the Committee's comments, explained that the Convention had been ratified in 1981, and then become part of national legislation. In practice, however, there was great need for it to be implemented. Civil organizations were highly involved in implementing and promoting equal opportunities; those efforts would be assisted by women's awareness of the Convention.
In terms of abolishing stereotypes, she said that the Government had a close relationship with the media, but the relationship was difficult. Progress must be made in that area. It was difficult to reach agreements on eliminating stereotypes. Textbooks were revised every five years with that aim.
She said that Panama had long experience in the demarcation of territory for indigenous people. There were six ethnic groups, and four territories. These had autonomy in several areas, including elections, in line with the preferences expressed by the indigenous people themselves. The Government was currently negotiating demarcation of territory with indigenous groups, who were not forced to remain on such areas. When territory was demarcated, the Government did not interfere in indigenous groups' choices.
She promised to redouble efforts to ensure that the rights of women workers were fully respected. There were more women in decision-making
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positions, but not at the highest levels, she noted. With the adoption of the equal opportunity law, Panama would be better able to address this situation.
She shared the view that the fight against poverty must be a keystone in the progress of women. Unequal income distribution and economic distortion was, to some degree, a result of the appeal of Panama City, due largely to the Panama Canal. There was great inequity between rural indigenous areas and urban areas.
Located as a transit point between countries, Panama was also exposed to increased risk of the sexual exploitation of children, she said. That risk was further heightened by the increase of tourism.
In concluding remarks, Chairwoman SALMA KAHN (Bangladesh) noted that Panama's combined second and third report was submitted some 14 years after ratification of the Convention. The questions had been handled with a straight-forward approach and an admirable frankness. There was a large percentage of ethnic, mixed culture and indigenous people in the population. Indigenous women, in particular, had not received due attention in the report, and the inclusion of their views would have been helpful.
The educational level for women in the country was impressive, she said, as was the fact that the drop-out rate for girls was lower than for boys. Those were very positive elements, that made it more troubling that despite such better performance by women, they had a low percentage of high-level jobs. The terms of the temporary measure aiming at 30 per cent participation of women in political jobs was troubling because of the provision that the position should be turned over to a man if its requirements were not met by a woman applicant. Also, discriminatory provisions of existing legislation should be re-examined.
Furthermore, she said, domestic and other forms of violence were a problem for women in every country. Economic growth, tourism and other factors made women more vulnerable right now. It would be helpful for the Committee to have a copy of Panama's report on violence.
Finally, the Chairwoman said, Panamanian women were in a good position relative to other Latin American countries. But the lack of data was worrisome, especially on infant and maternal mortality. In a country where 40 per cent of the population lived in the rural area and where development was being considered, those two factors required very basic data.
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