WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION TELLS THIRD COMMITTEE DEBATE ON ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION COULD BE ELIMINATED IN THREE GENERATIONS

19 October 1998

Press Release
GA/SHC/3477

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION TELLS THIRD COMMITTEE DEBATE ON ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION COULD BE ELIMINATED IN THREE GENERATIONS

19981019 Symbolic Meaning of Rite of Passage Must be Maintained, While Eliminating Damaging or Lethal Results, San Marino Says

Traditional and customary practices affecting women's health fundamentally challenged provisions of the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the representative of Nigeria this morning told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural).

During the Committee's continuing discussion of the advancement of women, the Nigerian representative said the Government and people of her nation had taken impressive steps to advance the rights of women. The Government was working to promote the equality of women; workshops were being carried out to help change the negative beliefs, attitudes and practices still used to discriminate against women in Nigeria. Nonetheless, she said there were limits to full compliance with the Convention.

The representative of San Marino said the criminalization of female genital mutilation would simply push the practice underground, with damaging and often lethal results. Despite the opposition to such practices, 130 million girls and women were still affected, she said. It was essential to go beyond prohibition and instead work to find alternative practices which preserved the symbolic meaning of that rite of passage, while eliminating the harmful and surgical aspect.

The representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) condemned the medicalization of female genital mutilation in any setting, including in hospitals and other health establishments. A well-coordinated international approach could lead to a reduction of such practices in 10 years and their elimination in three generations.

The representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said women and children were bearing the brunt of violence being carried out in the occupied areas of the country, including what she described as

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institutionalized rape. Noting the deafening silence of the international community to the scandalous violations of human rights, he asked if the women in his country were any different from those in New York, Paris or Tokyo. How could one talk of equality between the genders, if women were not equal among themselves? he asked.

Other Statements were made by the representatives of Fiji, Venezuela, Liechtenstein, Australia, Sudan, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Israel, Zimbabwe, Saint Lucia (on behalf of the Caribbean Community), Jordan, Belarus, Costa Rica and Lithuania.

The Committee will meet again this afternoon at 3 p.m., when it is expected to conclude its consideration of advancement of women and the implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995).

Committee Work Programme

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) met this morning to continue consideration of advancement of women and the implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995). (For details of the documents before the Committee, see Press Release GA/SHC/3473 of 14 October.)

SAKIUSA RABUKA (Fiji) said the Beijing Platform for Action, adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women, represented an acknowledgement by the international community that the advancement of women's causes required global efforts to achieve gender equality. However, the uneven spread of the benefits of globalization had led to increased unemployment, a decline in real incomes and an increase in poverty, particularly among women.

Women's rights were not abstract aspirations, he said. A primary obligation of his Government was to operationalize women's rights to freedom from poverty, illness and violence of all forms. Fiji had launched a plan of action aimed at mainstreaming policies to enhance sharing of decision-making at all Government and semi-Government levels so as to achieve gender parity; promote safe domestic and workplace environments; and to develop micro- enterprises and other forms of financial assistance to help the economic activities of disadvantaged women. Since 1995, the Fiji Law Reform Commission had been working on reviewing legislation disadvantageous to women.

However, he said, Fiji lacked the financial and human resources to put in place all the programmes that it would like to. Structural adjustment directives from multilateral financial institutions required reductions in public spending or zero growth in public services. He called on the international community to extend a helping hand if it was genuinely interested in helping small island developing States enhance the interests of women.

NORMAN MONAGAS-LESSEUR (Venezuela) said that despite achievements for million of women, justice and equality was a distant and unknown territory. Poverty, illiteracy, disease and unemployment had reached unacceptable proportions in a century of great technological achievements. The cause of women was a cause for men, he said.

With no further delay, concrete responses were needed in economic, political and social structures to eliminate gender inequality, he said. Venezuelans were all equal before the law. In the area of violence against women, the national council had recently prepared a bill, which was then adopted. In communities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were assisting women and girl children subjected to violence and abuse. His Government was working to effectively implement laws to support the advancement of women.

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However, the support of all actors was needed to make a real change towards a world of equality.

CLAUDIA FRITSCHE (Liechtenstein) said the history of the advancement of women in Liechtenstein had been lengthy and slow. Her country's membership in international organizations had played a crucial role in bringing about changes in the domestic situation, in policy-making and awareness-building. As a direct outcome of the Beijing Conference, Liechtenstein had acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1997. The Convention was an important tool for the advancement of women, but it was seriously hampered by the largest number of reservations, some of which seemed to be impermissible under international treaty law.

She supported the adoption of an Optional Protocol to the Convention, which would give the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women the competence to consider individual communications from or on behalf of women. The working group on that issue had made considerable progress, and the finalization of its work would be an appropriate contribution to the twentieth anniversary of the Convention.

A critical area of importance to her country was the issue of violence against women, she said. As one element of the activities to combat that multifaceted phenomenon, the Government had extended an invitation to the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, who had visited Liechtenstein earlier this year.

PENELOPE ANNE WENSLEY (Australia) said since signing the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, her Government had put in place a robust framework of antidiscrimination legislation. Those included positive legislative measures, such as the 1984 Sex Discrimination Act, and strategies and programmes, including the affirmative action agency to assist women. Specialized machinery had also been set up at national, state and territory levels to provide advice on issues relating to the status of women and to monitor and evaluate the outcomes of government policies and programmes. Her Government had criminalized all forms of physical and sexual violence against women. It had also carried out a campaign to eliminate domestic violence. While Australia appreciated the diversity of cultural and religious traditions, it could not overlook, nor justify, practices that constituted violence against women on the grounds of tradition or culture.

Her Government recognized that a major factor in women's enjoyment of fundamental rights was their ability to participate fully in the political and economic life of the society, she said. During this year's constitutional convention to consider the issue of Australia becoming a republic, half of the 36 non-parliamentary appointed delegates were women. Her Government had also appointed the first women president of Australia's Human Rights and Equal

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Opportunity Commission. Further, the new Sex Discrimination Commissioner was a woman. In the past 10 years, the number of women in the Australian labour force had grown by 30 per cent. Women now made up 43 per cent of the 8.3 million people employed in Australia.

Regarding the status of women in the United Nations Secretariat, however, there was a considerable distance to go to achieve gender equality in the United Nations by the year 2000. While there had been some improvement regarding the representation of women at the D-1 level and above, representation overall remained unacceptably low. Her Government therefore welcomed the new strategies being adopted to achieve the 50/50 goal by the year 2000, in particular the plan for heads of departments and offices to develop gender action plans with specific targets to achieve the goal of gender balance in their departments. She also supported holding managers accountable for implementing those plans.

ILHAM IBRAHIM MOMAMED AHMED (Sudan) said Sudanese women played an active role in public life, and enjoyed a special status in her country. Sudan had been able to achieve many of the international standards with regard to the advancement of women. The policy of her Government stressed the participation of women in public life and equality in all spheres. The Sudanese Constitution of 1998 stated that all Sudanese were equal in rights and duties and that discrimination was prohibited on the grounds of race, sex or religion. Since independence in 1956, discrimination had been against the law. Sudanese women worked at the level of government ministers, in both the current and in previous Governments. Nine per cent of the membership of parliament in Sudan were women, who were also represented in the judgeship of the highest court.

Since 1973, the Constitution of Sudan had confirmed equality in employment opportunities, she said. The public service law had confirmed equality at the work place; equal pay; free competition on the basis of competence, qualification and experience; and equal rights to training for men and women. Special provisions were being made for women in rural areas, where 80 per cent of women worked in the agricultural sector. The Government was also making great efforts to end the three-decade-long war in the south of the country, and to alleviate the hardships of women and others living in camps as a result of the war.

SUPRABHA GHIMIRE (Nepal) said that collective efforts to galvanize women's power -- across nations, classes and cultures -- were indispensable for the rapid economic growth and overall sustainable development of a country. In many countries, there was still a vast gap between women's rights existing in law and policy, and reality. It was incumbent, therefore, to work together to end that discrepancy and to treat men and women as full-fledged human persons in practice.

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All forms of violence against women were of the deepest concern to Nepal, she said. Violence stalked women from the home to the street to the workplace. Like many developing countries, Nepal had a low rate of literacy and women formed a larger segment of the total illiterate population. Her Government had established a separate Ministry of Women and Social Welfare to support the causes and issues relating to women. Basic measures had been adopted to enhance the involvement of women in all development endeavours by promoting general and technical education programmes and the compulsory appointment of female teachers in primary and secondary schools. A host of women-targeted activities, such as safe motherhood, extension of immunization, family planning services and education were underway.

ZAMIRA B. ESHMAMBETOVA (Kyrgyzstan) said although there were two years before the review of the Fourth Conference on Women, it was already apparent that a gender approach had coordinated international efforts. However, a central role in all operational activities was the national plan. Her Government plan had taken account of Kyrgyzstan's special characteristics. A special machinery had been set up to establish women's centres in the regions. The NGOs were taking part in international efforts to provide legal, medical and psychological care to women.

According to statistics, 50 per cent of the population were women, while 58 per cent of the unemployed were women. Women farmers often did not have enough stock, equipment or mineral fertilizers. Micro-credit facilities were helpful for women and effective in engaging them in socio-political life. Kyrgyzstan had undertaken a power project in cooperation with the World Bank, and a capacity-building project with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). A United Nations Development Fund for Women project on violence against women was also underway. With efforts such as those, women in Kyrgyzstan could live better and more happily.

NEOMI LEERAN (Israel) said Israeli women had made significant progress in the areas outlined by the Beijing Conference. A long legal process in the Knesset had resulted in the passage of the law for the advancement of the status of women. The law aimed to advance the equality of the sexes in Israel; to provide coordination among bodies that dealt with the status of women; and to promote education, legislation and law enforcement. It would also promote activity in the prevention of violence against women. The first step taken under the law was the establishment of the authority for the status of women in March.

So far, the authority had initiated programmes for gender equality and the prevention of domestic violence. Within the Israeli Defense Forces, all new recruits would be given lectures regarding the prevention of domestic violence against women, and workshops would be held in all government offices on the prevention of violence. Another of the authority's goals was to raise awareness of women regarding the importance of medical tests, especially for

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the early detection of breast cancer. A law against sexual harassment in the workplace had also come into effect. The authority also planned to address the subject of equal salaries for women and to work to ensure the appointment of women to higher positions.

ZENON MUKONGO NGAY (Democratic Republic of the Congo) said his country had seen scandalous violations of human rights. Today, it was the peaceful sections of the population, especially women and children, which were bearing the brunt of the violence. Heinous crimes were being carried out in the occupied areas of the country. The institutionalized practice of rape in the war was hampering the fight against HIV/AIDS in the occupied areas. Outlaws had exposed on the altar of a church the mutilated body of a pregnant woman they had brutally raped and murdered. Nuns had been raped and murdered. The Vatican had condemned the barbarous acts of genocide.

In the face of the deafening silence of the international community, it was a Ugandan journalist that had spoken out against the violence that was being carried out in the country, he said. No one was pleading the cause of the women and others who suffered from the violence in his country. Was it complicity or indifference? he asked. The people who implemented war plans were acting against women. Yet, were women in the occupied areas of his country any different from those in New York, Paris or Tokyo? If they were not, how could one talk about gender equality, when women were not equal among themselves?

All the international efforts, with respect to the rights of women, met with the full support of his Government, which had set up an action plan for the advancement of women, he said. However, its actions had been interrupted by the violence in his country. The efforts of his Government had been well underway: African women were fully engaged in the process of recovering all of their rights.

MACHIVENYIKA TOBIAS MAPURANGA (Zimbabwe) said gender issues could no longer be placed on the back burner. Social, economic and political issues must have women's concerns at the core, and their solutions must be gender sensitive to ensure the equality of women as partners and to guarantee them their rightful role as decision makers. Zimbabwe had made progress in the three priority areas: economic empowerment of women; education and training; and political participation of women. The Ministry of National Affairs, Employment Creation and Cooperatives, with the assistance of UNDP, had embarked on a project to encourage women to stand as candidates in elections. The Government had facilitated the establishment of a women's bank together with other women's organizations. In addition, a bank project worked to provide banking services and access to credit to marginalized rural and urban people, particularly women.

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His Government was strengthening the national machineries by establishing gender focal points, he said. Those gender focal points had been formalized and were charged with ensuring a gender perspective in all programmes, policies and projects in their respective ministries. His Government was also aware of the need for a national policy on gender, and a gender department had been created. The Convention to Eliminate Discrimination against Women had been translated into two major vernacular languages of Zimbabwe; it was being simplified into life stories to make them more accessible. To further the rights of women, a booklet had been produced to review all legal rights materials in Zimbabwe. It had identified gaps and areas of overlap and proposed effective methods of disseminating information to the targeted population. Zimbabwe had also been involved with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to formulate a subregional plan of action for the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. Regional efforts were, however, hampered by a lack of resources.

SONIA LEONCE-CARRYL (Saint Lucia), speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said that despite many challenges, there was hope. Advocacy and awareness had taken root. Now, there was a need for similar progress in implementation. The CARICOM would continue to encourage governments to introduce effective strategies to implement outcomes of global conferences, in particular the Fourth World Conference on Women. On that front, she welcomed the progress made in the revision of reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. To date, 179 reports had been revised, including 80 initial reports. Moreover, 162 States had ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

National plans had not made the same level of progress, however, she said. As of 10 August, only 98 Member States and one observer State had submitted their national plans, or strategies and information on implementation to the Secretariat. That was a serious concern to CARICOM countries. Only a few States had established time-bound targets, and benchmarks or indicators for monitoring. Further, most action plans had not proposed budgets or indicated sources for financing the actions indicated. The CARICOM countries continued to grapple with the challenge of getting their Governments to take gender into account during their national planning processes. They were yet to report any significant progress in their efforts to curb the high incidence of violence against women, despite the increased awareness of the issue. Now, there was a need to focus on implementing and reporting, but that would require resources.

SAJA S. MAJALI (Jordan) said Jordan was encouraged by the progress made with regard to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which were being used to guide policies on women in her country. As part of the Jordanian effort to promote equality of rights for women, existing laws were being updated to further their advancement. Equality of women was already

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enshrined in the constitution of the country. The Government of Jordan believed that women should be empowered in areas of decision-making, and should participate fully in all levels of social, economic and political life. Numerous workshops, seminars, and training programmes had been held to make women more aware of their rights and to promote their participation at all levels of public life.

Jordan considered that mainstreaming of women's issues essential and encouraged the Secretary-General's efforts to achieve the target of 50/50 gender representation in the United Nations Secretariat, she said. She stressed that such representation should also be geographically fair. In education, new topics dealing with the promotion of gender equality had been introduced into the school curricula in Jordan. Improvements had also been seen in women health programmes, and in the employment of women in the country. Women accounted for 59 per cent of those in the teaching profession. However, there was still much to be done to achieve equality between men and women in Jordan. In the ranks of society where poverty was more acute, women still needed support and protection.

MONETTE VAN LITH, representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), said her organization had long addressed the issue of harmful traditional practices, particularly that of female genital mutilation. The WHO was committed to the elimination of all such forms of harmful practices and the right of bodily integrity of persons. The WHO condemned the medicalization of female genital mutilation in any setting, including at hospitals and other health establishments. In the area of a high prevalence of such practices, the WHO had developed training materials, among other efforts, to prevent and eliminate female genital mutilation, as well as for the care and treatment of victims of such practices.

To deal with harmful practices and female genital mutilation, it was essential to educate the public, she said. That called for active involvement of NGOs, local governments, communities, women's groups and political leaders. The WHO had released a plan in 1997 to eliminate female genital mutilation in Africa. There were regional plans that had set short, medium and long-term goals. The WHO was providing technical support to develop national plans of action to eliminate female genital mutilation. To further emphasize its support to countries, the WHO had launched a joint statement with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in April 1997, which expressed a common purpose of the three organizations in supporting the efforts of governments and communities to promote and protect the health of children and women. A well-coordinated approach, including education supported by enough resources, could lead to a reduction of such practices in 10 years and their elimination in three generations.

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IGAR GUBAREVICH (Belarus) said that in no society was the equality of women truly complete. In many societies -- even the most progressive in women's issues -- the discrimination against women was so deeply ingrained that women often did not even realize that they were not being treated equally. The most difficult phase in the promotion of equality for women was the practical implementation of plans. An integrated approach to the improvement of the status of women in Belarus had been adopted by the Government in 1996, and other strategies, outlining a clear state policy in the matter of gender equality, had followed. In the structure of civil society, Belarus was taking legal and practical measures to promote the advancement of women.

While the primary responsibility lay with the implementation of national policies, he called for the assistance of the international community and cooperation under the auspices of the United Nations. That was particularly important for the benefits of countries with transitional economies, in the current climate of global financial problems. An important role in the implementation of high-level political decisions was the work of United Nations operational units. The UNDP resident representative in Belarus had been very helpful. Belarus also highly appreciated the two UNIFEM missions in the country, and supported the UNIFEM project being prepared in Central and Eastern Europe and in the Commonwealth of Independent States. He also supported the decision to hold a special session of the General Assembly in the year 2000 to review and appraise the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.

NGOZI UKAEJE (Nigeria) said the issue of traditional and customary practices affecting the health of women was of particular importance to her country. The issue posed a fundamental challenge to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action, the Government and people of Nigeria had taken impressive steps to advance the rights of women. Government ministries and departments were working closely with NGOs to promote the equality of women. The institutional mechanisms had made their mark over the years through the effective delivery of much-needed assistance to both urban and rural women. Workshops were being carried out to help change the negative beliefs, attitudes and practices that were still being used to discriminate against women in Nigeria.

Nigeria had ratified the Convention in 1985 without reservations, she said. However, there were limitations to its full compliance with all the principles of the Convention. She noted the comments of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, particularly regarding the lack of adequate data in its reporting processes. The Ministry of Women's Affairs and Social Development of Nigeria would address the statistical requirements in its next report. The empowerment of women was critical to the construction of a prosperous society. The empowerment of the Nigerian woman meant giving

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her not only the opportunity but also the responsibility that went with it. There was strong political commitment to the advancement of women in Nigeria, which was a nation determined to maintain the momentum because it was right.

DEYANIRA RAMIREZ (Costa Rica) said she hoped the Secretariat's goal of achieving the 50/50 within the Organization would take into account geographical representation. Otherwise, it would result in another layer of discrimination. Her Government hailed the fourth conference, but hoped all countries would implement concrete action on the same. The rights of women had to be defended not only by the State, but also by civil society.

Measures had been adopted by Costa Rica, including a law against domestic violence. Efforts were made to aid women in poverty and a ministry on the status of women had been created. Costa Rica had reformed its legal code. At least 40 per cent of seats at the district, canton and provincial level should be reserved for women. A plan was needed to formulate favourable policies for households. There was a need to sweep away the historical backlog of those demands. The work to promote gender equality was still in progress. It was the road to real social equality; to real equality among human beings.

RASA OSTRAUSKAITE (Lithuania) said the first initiatives of many countries had been the translation of the Beijing Platform into local languages. Such efforts were no longer sufficient. Ten critical areas of concern had been elaborated in her country, and guidelines had been established to promote action. The Government had proposed a draft law on equal opportunities which was under consideration in the Parliament. As an associate member of the European Union, her country was also preoccupied with implementing the priorities in the partnership document with the European Union, and was making efforts to comply with its directives stipulating equal opportunities in employment.

National mechanisms to that end operated in her country at the parliamentary and ministerial levels, she said. She commended the efforts of the Lithuanian women's groups and NGOs, saying they had been very successful in their efforts, including the establishment of crisis centres and counselling services for the victims of domestic violence. In collaboration with NGOs, local authorities had also established shelters for abused women. Since women in Lithuania outlived men by an average of ten years, ageing was an issue directly related to women. Lithuania had made several provisions to address the issues of age and women.

MARINA FAETANINI (San Marino), said women's representation in San Marino, at both ministerial and subministerial levels, was more than twice the average of the global average. In the last two decades, several women had filled the most prestigious position of Captain Regent of the Republic. Her Government was aware that society could not move forward by pushing aside half

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of its population. Her Government was particularly concerned that violence against women and girls remained the most widespread violation of universal human rights. In quoting the 1995 Human Development Report, she said: "In no society are women secure or treated as equal to men. Personal insecurity shadows them from cradle to grave ... from childhood through adulthood, they are abused because of their gender".

Violence against women and girls stemmed from a widespread culture of violence, sometimes deeply entangled in traditions. Today, despite the strong opposition to female genital mutilation, 130 million girls and women were still affected. Crimininalization alone would not solve the problem. In some cases, making it illegal pushed the practice underground, with countless highly damaging, if not lethal, results. Even when the practice was banned, a woman who chose not to do it might be banned from her community. To refuse could mean to choose the life of an outcast. Thus, there was a need to go beyond the prohibition.

Means of honouring the rite of passage must be found while eliminating the harmful and surgical aspect. In that regard, one significant initiative explored had been named "circumcision through words". It showed a way to keep the cultural and social symbol alive while eliminating, forever, any devastation to a woman's physical and psychological being.

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