IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR SOCIO-ECONOMIC POSITION WOULD RESULT IN IMPROVED HEALTH STATUS FOR WOMEN, COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN TOLD

1 March 1999

Press Release
WOM/1101

IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR SOCIO-ECONOMIC POSITION WOULD RESULT IN IMPROVED HEALTH STATUS FOR WOMEN, COMMISSION ON STATUS OF WOMEN TOLD

19990301 Commission Continues Discussion Of Follow-up to Fourth World Conference on Women

Improvement in the socio-economic position of women would result in a direct improvement in their health status, Sarah L. Flood, Minister for Health, Human Services, Family Affairs and Gender Relations for Saint Lucia, told the Commission on the Status of Women this afternoon as it continued its discussion of the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women.

Reproductive health, especially, was a basic human right, she added, speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Reproductive health services should be accessible to all the women of the Caribbean regardless of their socio-economic status. Caribbean women, including adolescents, should have the right to information, access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable contraceptive methods of their choice.

Hedy Fry, Secretary of State of Canada, said that new forms of employment, such as non-standard work arrangements and self-employment, had opened the door for women in the paid workforce. However, they often consisted of low-wage jobs with few or no benefits. Women were still significantly underrepresented in high-growth technological and scientific fields. New demographic, social, economic and political realities would require new responses by governments. The Beijing Platform for Action had been an important catalyst for advancing gender equality, but much more remained to be done.

Mainstreaming gender issues and the achievement of equality between men and women could not be achieved without their full participation in public life and recognition of their role in human, economic and social development, said the representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The participation of women at the highest levels of decision-making was crucial, a responsibility which was shared by men. The UNDP had established a

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men's group which was exploring those issues to take gender mainstreaming and gender equality forward.

A number of speakers this afternoon also addressed the problem of HIV/AIDS in relation to women's health. The representative of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS was one of the major concerns of the African continent. It adversely impacted the social and cultural fabrics, as well as the economic productivity of the people. In the developing world, adult mortality from HIV/AIDS was projected to reach 40 per cent by the year 2000. In order to achieve economic empowerment, women must give highest priority to HIV/AIDS as both a developmental and health issue.

Statements were also made by the representatives of: Senegal, the Dominican Republic, Kazakhstan, Paraguay, Chile, Indonesia, Israel, Cuba, Mali and Turkey. The Observer from Switzerland also spoke.

Representatives of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) made statements, as did a representative of the Council of Europe.

Representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also spoke.

The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 2 March, to resume its discussion of follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women.

Commission Work Programme

The Commission on the Status of Women met this afternoon to resume its consideration of the "follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women: emerging issues, trends and new approaches to issues affecting the situation of women or equality between women and men". (For background information on that topic and the Commission's forty-third session see Press Release WOM/1098 of 26 February.)

Statements

AMINATA MBENGUE NDIAYE, Minister of Family, Social Affairs and National Solidarity of Senegal said the major conferences of the 1990s were an opportunity for African countries and the international community to reaffirm, among other things, the principles of sustainable development, gender equality and the advancement of women. With regard to Beijing's 12 areas of concern, Senegal had developed a second plan of action. The plan was medium-term, from 1997 to 2001. It followed a decentralized approach and covered five areas which were priorities that had been translated into programmes with high visibility. The areas addressed were: school enrolment for girls; improving women's health; enhancing the role of women in society; strengthening the participation of women in society and strengthening the mechanisms for providing finance to women. At the mid-term stage of the plan, significant progress had been made.

She said the plan of action also recalled the basic role of women in education and the need to increase their access to that process. Such efforts brought the country closer to the goals of universal education. A 67 per cent enrolment rate had been achieved by 1998. Great emphasis had also been put on training in gender perspectives including training of leaders of associations and women's groups. Women's health also had to be stressed. A large number of health centres, kindergartens and family planning centres had been established. There were, however, still major concerns over maternity deaths. In addition, a number of laws to prosecute those who committed violence against women had been put in place. Senegal was trying to align its national legislation with the Convention against the discrimination of women.

SARAH L. FLOOD, Minister for Health, Human Services, Family Affairs and Gender Relations of Saint Lucia spoke on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member States of Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.

She said improvement in the socio-economic status of women would result in a direct improvement in their health status. The empowerment of women through education was also critical both at the community and institutional level. Reproductive health was a basic human right. "It is a state of

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complete mental, physical and social wellbeing in all matters related to the reproductive system, its functions and processes", she said. Reproductive health services should be accessible and affordable to all the women of the Caribbean regardless of socio-economic status. Caribbean women, including adolescents, should have the right to information and access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable contraceptive methods of their choice.

In many instances, the inability of many women, including adolescents, to make that choice of contraceptive, resulted in unwanted and frequent pregnancies, she said. It was well documented that frequent pregnancies affected the health of women, and, with adolescents, the health of the newborn. Complications of childbirth and unsafe abortion were among the main causes of death for women under the age of 20. Faced with unintended pregnancies, many women turned to abortion, whether it was legal or safe. Most of those abortions were unsafe and resulted in life-long disabilities, infertility and death.

Adolescent pregnancies, although on the decline, were still unacceptably high in the CARICOM region, she said. Another health issue affecting women was sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. Women were particularly vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases due to their economic status. Controlling the spread of HIV to neonates (0-28 day-old babies) was desirable, but was out of the reach of most Caribbean countries due to financial constraints. The health of women must not be seen in the narrow context of the reproductive cycle. Beyond that stage of life, there were many health issues that affected women, for which adequate attention had not been given. The absence of adequate and reliable information for women placed them at a serious disadvantage to make the right decisions and to recognize conditions that might impact on them and their families.

CRISTINA AGUIAR (Dominican Republic) said her country had placed considerable importance on the advancement of women. There were new challenges emerging in achieving gender equality. New laws had given Dominican women the right to speak and that constituted a major advance in a male-dominated society. Her country had also undertaken various measures to ensure land ownership by women, especially in rural areas. Further, her country had set up a gender equality commission to seek equality and sensitization.

In the area of adolescence, she said, a law had been adopted on family violence to protect women and children in the home. Her delegation, however, was concerned about the status of the director of International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), which was located in the Dominican Republic. It feared that personnel changes at INSTRAW would leave it without leadership. She would further expound on that matter at a later stage.

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AKMARAL ARYSTANBEKOVA (Kazakhstan) said that questions of women's status must be examined, taking into account the whole set of problems faced by women. At the current stage, it was important to enhance efforts at the national level towards a comprehensive evaluation of what had been achieved, and to show up shortcomings remaining in the process of implementing the decisions of the Fourth World Conference on Women. Civilized societies could be measured by their attitude towards women. Improving the status of women was one of the goals of a new national programme of political and economic reform in her country.

Under the plan, specific measures were planned to address the needs of women, she said. They included: expansion of the economic and political opportunities available for women; increasing the representation of women in all organs of Government; creation of a bank to provide women with microcredit; and intensifying the struggle against domestic violence against women. As one of the first steps, women had been appointed to two out of the 15 ministerial posts in the new Government and, for the first time, a women had been appointed President of the National Academy of Science.

HAYDEE CARMAGNOLA DE AQUINO (Paraguay) said a tri-partite commission had been set up to address women's issues in her country. In 1997, Paraguay had adopted a national plan for the advancement of women. It instituted affirmative action measures aimed at promoting the status of women and, now, women held the ministerial-level positions in Government and in other leadership positions. These positions were being held by women for the first time in her country's history. A bill had been presented aimed at eliminating domestic violence against women. There was also a project to develop initiative centres for women which would aid their advancement in a number of areas. Within the United Nations, her country supported efforts to introduce a gender perspective in the work of the Secretariat and various United Nations organs.

HEDY FRY, Secretary of State of Canada, said that Canada was committed to the promotion of women's human rights and, in that regard, it hoped for the adoption of an effective optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Canada's progress in the area of women's rights was due to the impact of polices and programmes supported by its national machinery to promote gender equality. Cross cutting strategies like gender-based analysis, which addressed the systemic foundations of women's inequality, ensured that its progress was steady.

Economic prosperity was rooted in the home and in the community, she said. Therefore, building links between social and economic agendas was essential. New forms of employment, such as non-standard work arrangements and self-employment, had opened the door for women in the paid workforce. However, they often consisted of low-wage jobs with few or no benefits, and

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women were still significantly underrepresented in high-growth technological and scientific fields.

The dawn of a new century brought promise and change, she said. New demographic, social, economic and political realities would require new responses by governments. It was critical that the world build on the momentum gained since the 1995 Beijing Summit. The Platform for Action had been an important catalyst for advancing gender equality, but much more remained to be done.

JUAN LARRAIN (Chile) said it was of great significance that this year was the International Year of Older Persons and many members of that population were women. As a result, Chile had made great efforts to address the situation of older adults. Since the 1960s, in the area of women's health, his country had also made great efforts, particularly in the area of maternal deaths. In addition, changing attitudes had taken place in the relationships between mother and children, and there was now an emphasis on including the father's active participation in the whole process.

He said that the fourth international conference on women had been a turning point in women's health. Chile had undertaken to implement the Beijing goals. In the area of health, his country was addressing AIDS and teenage pregnancies. The last endeavour had resulted in a programme on adolescent pregnancies where one of the principal aims was to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Inter-sectoral work had been carried out in the health sector and on health policies. There had also been an active training programme for health teams to work with adolescents and in paediatric healthcare. The national service for women was also a public institution with technical capacity -- that was part of the process of decentralization. He reaffirmed Chile's commitment to the optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

AIDA GONZALEZ-MARTINEZ of Mexico, Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, said it was heartening that, as of today, 163 countries had ratified or acceded to the Convention. There was still, however, a long way to go to achieve the goals of the Beijing Platform. She urged States parties which had not ratified or acceded to the Convention to do so as soon as possible.

She said healthcare was a basic right and, in that respect, compliance with Article 12 of the Convention was fundamental. Since its first session, the Committee had strived for effective implementation of the Convention. It was trying to ensure that all United Nations information Centres be made aware of the reports that were being considered at each session of the Committee. The fiftieth anniversary of the Convention in 1999 would provide a further opportunity to publicize it. The Committee was also looking forward to the

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special session of the General Assembly since the Convention would be bound up with the Beijing Platform for Action.

While noting significant advances in the area of legislative reforms for gender equality, she said, the measures had not always done away with stereotypical attitudes. Moreover, new problems had arisen, such as negative consequences of globalization. The Committee wished to emphasize the importance of adopting an optional protocol to the Convention that would make it possible for individual petitions to be presented on cases of systematic discrimination against women.

SUTJIPTOHARDJO DONOKUSUMO (Indonesia), on the issue of a rights-based approach to women's advancement and empowerment, said the full and effective enjoyment of human rights could not be truly achieved without an environment of sustainable economic growth and development. If a rights-based approach was to be successful, it must also seriously address the feminization of poverty and the disproportionate burden that was borne by women throughout the world. At the national level, Indonesia was in complete support of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

He said that, currently, national activities were focused on the problems of violence against women, and on the critical area of women's health, including the maternal mortality rate. In January of this year, Indonesia had held a national conference on violence against women, sponsored jointly by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Ministry for the Role of Women. Although his country had grappled with an economic crisis for more than a year, it remained no less determined to move forward and achieve the goals of the United Nations conferences. It would continue to press for full equality, and would not tolerate violations of human or women's rights.

MINA WESTMAN (Israel) said that her country's 49 years of independence had been marked by diverse activities in the field of the status of women, including legislation and extensive effort on the part of women's organizations. In 1998, Israel's 50th anniversary, several highly significant laws had been legislated: the Law of the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women, the Law for the prevention of sexual harassment in work places, and the Law for equal rights for women.

She said that the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women would address, among other things, the subject of equal salaries for women. It would also encourage business women and career women, as well as the appointment of women to higher positions. The Authority had pushed forward with its agenda of gender equality. Its aim was to reach all Israeli citizens, particularly men, and teach them the meaning of equality. After 150 years of feminism and with the approach of the end of the millennium, it was now the time to break out of the circle of womanhood, and enter the wider circle of gender equality.

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PATRICIA SCHULZ (Switzerland) said that, since 1995, her Government had cooperated with civil society in the development of policies related to the status of women. Key among those polices was the creation of equality bureaus set up around the country. While those bureaus had few financial resources, they cooperated with local groups to provide a number of services. A network of male and female experts had been set up to manage resources and allocate them for financing of particular projects. In 1997, a national campaign had been started on halting violence against women, and another campaign dealt with skill training. There were also many local initiatives that had been taken in cooperation with local equality bureaus. All those equality bureaus lacked resources;, however, they made up for that through close cooperation with each other and with civil society.

MAGALYS AROCHA DOMINGUEZ (Cuba) said the goals of the Beijing Platform for Action still retained their validity today. Addressing the growing deterioration of women's conditions all over the world called for political resolve, and allocation of material and financial resources. Cuba attached great importance to the appraisal of Beijing. Two years after the adoption of its own national action plan, her country was also preparing to hold a meeting to appraise the effectiveness of its measures.

She said Cuban women had benefitted from her country's revolution and today were fully integrated into Cuba's society. Cuban women made up over 40 per cent of the work force. Cuba, as Vice Chairman of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), had been actively participating in the upcoming regional conferences, and it endorsed the slogan, "Beijing, something more than words". Beijing was a process that turned words into reality, she added.

Mrs. Dembele (Mali) said her country's plan of action dealt with six priority areas which had been identified based on the large gaps between men and women. Those priorities included health, education, the rights of women and participation in society. In the area of education, prizes were now given out to girls who distinguished themselves. There were more literacy campaigns targeted at females. School enrolment by girls had increased substantially since 1993. Thirty-one per cent of women now had pre-natal consultations and 30 per cent had post natal. Over 40 per cent had also attended sessions on child health. She said participation by women in public life had also increased. Eighteen women had been elected to the National Assembly at the 1998 election. There was now a campaign to teach people about women's rights. Mali was also trying to revise the marriage, inheritance and guardianship code. Savings banks and credit unions had been established and loans had been given to over 20,000 women. However, Mali's health situation was precarious. Many women still suffered violence that imperiled their health. There was a need for an institutional mechanism to prevent that.

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SENAY ESER (Turkey) said the women's movement in Turkey had contributed to the democratization of the society by making women more visible. Since the mid-1980s, women's organizations had been actively working on women's rights both in the public and private realm. Currently, popular campaigns focused, mainly, on two issues: eliminating discriminative articles in the Civil Code, and increasing women's representation in central and local governments. The former was a long-lasting struggle, which had been one of the most important concerns of women's movement, while the latter had become more and more important because of general and local elections to be held in April.

She said that withdrawing the reservations that had been placed on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by the Turkish Government had been a common concern of both national machinery and the women's movement. Recently, a temporary follow-up commission had been formed by the Parliament in order to accelerate the full implementation of the Convention. Removal of the reservations was actually one of the commitments that the Turkish Government had declared during the Beijing Conference. In addition, a number of initiatives had been launched in Turkey to eliminate discriminatory articles in Turkish Codes. A relatively comprehensive reform package had already been prepared by a panel of experts regarding the Civil Code.

PATRICE ROBINAEU, Senior Adviser to the Executive Secretary and Focal Point for Women, Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), said that, for most of the ECE countries, the economic and social transformation was still accompanied by hardship for large groups in society. That was due to both the depth and the complexity of the systemic changes and to the adverse environment created by the financial crisis. Men and women were affected by those developments, but the latter bore the hardships even more because of women's position in the labour market and of their role in the family.

He said that those problems had been examined from a human rights perspective in a seminar organized in October 1998 in Warsaw by the non- governmental organization Working Group on Women in the ECE region. The seminar strongly emphasized that economic and social rights had to be promoted jointly, as they depended on each other for their realization. Hence, there was a call for a consistent set of polices and measures including: newly designed systems of child care, education and training for women, information on job opportunities and the prevention of discrimination against women in the work place.

EMI WATANABE, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Bureau for Development Policy, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said that mainstreaming gender issues and the achievement of equality between men and women could not be achieved without the empowerment of women, their full participation in public life and the recognition of their indispensable role in human, economic and social development. The participation of women at the

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highest levels of decision-making was crucial, for which responsibility lay equally in the contribution of men to the process of gender emancipation. The UNDP had established a men's group which was exploring those issues to take gender mainstreaming and gender equality forward.

The UNDP was guided by the conviction that gender equality and the advancement of women was not only a human right, but also central to the eradication of poverty, she said. Today, poverty was a reality for the majority of the world's women; it was the most serious challenge the world community faced at the end of the century. The UNDP was responding to that challenge through comprehensive policies and programmes at the grassroots, country, regional and global levels and in coordination with other partners in the international community. A fuller understanding of poverty required not just practical responses to immediate needs, but an analysis of, and a strategy to deal with economic and other inequalities which were the basis of poverty. Anti-poverty strategies thus needed to deal with issues of women's low status and lack of empowerment.

SOUAD ABDENNEBI, African Centre for Women, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said that at the international conference held on the occasion of the ECA's fortieth anniversary, the creation of the African Women's Committee for peace and Development had been announced. A Fund for Women and Development by non-governmental organizations and individuals participating in the Conference had also been established. The purpose of the Fund was to support the implementation of the outcome of conferences. The Conference provided the opportunity to introduce 53 country brochures on the status of women through desegregated data. The Conference further strengthened the African Centre for Women of the ECA, expanded the Centre's network and created new linkages for collaboration.

She said that one of the major concerns of the African continent with respect to women and health was the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS and its impact on the social and cultural fabrics, as well as on the economic productivity of the people. In the developing world, adult mortality from HIV/AIDS was projected to reach 40 per cent by the year 2000. More than half the adolescents in the developing world today would die before reaching the age of 60. Women, being the most powerless, were the hardest hit by AIDs. In order to achieve economic empowerment, women must give highest priority to HIV/AIDS as a developmental as well as a health issue. It was of dire importance that all actors mobilize themselves into action.

ANNE DAWSON-SHEPHERD, Senior Coordinator for Refugee Women, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said that in 1999 her organization sought to improve its approaches to addressing violence against refugee women, including domestic violence. "We must ensure the immediate safety of the victim", she stressed. However, effective solutions could only be achieved through addressing the underlying causes of the problem. "We

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must, therefore, deepen our understanding of the impact of conflict, flight and exile, on men and women, their respective male and female identities, and gender roles. Improved understanding of gender analysis and its application is critical to our work", she noted.

She said UNHCR must respond in a fast and effective manner to refugee emergencies. Lives must be saved and it was often felt that there was little time for analysis. "Transforming our thinking and approaches must therefore become an integral part of the organizational culture", she said, adding that analysis must become automatic. The final and most daunting challenge was that of diminishing resources. As long as the prevailing argument was that there were other more life-saving priorities and that gender equality could only be addressed once those had been dealt with, gender equality would remain marginal to core mandate activities.

SOPHIE PIQUET, Directorate of Human Rights, Council of Europe, said that, since its creation 50 years ago, the Council's central mission had been the safeguard and promotion of pluralist democracy, the rule of law and fundamental human rights. Its actions in favour of equality between women and men was an integral part of that mission and formed one of its essential components. The elaboration of strategies, policies and, above all, legal instruments, contributed to the implementation of those principles within the Council's 40 member States. Its specific action in that regard was focused on: the protection of women's human rights and, in particular, their rights relating to health; and on the promotion of instruments to achieve equality.

MARGRET MCCAFFERY, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), said that the last session, held in May 1998, had included in the regular programme of work a new initiative for mainstreaming the gender perspective in all policies. The Commission had agreed that it should take an in-depth analysis of the progress made in the area of women's rights. The ECLAC had established a series of indicators to evaluate the regional programme of action on the status of women, in order to advance policy in that regard. Such efforts would be continued in subsequent meetings of ECLAC in preparation for the Special Session of the General Assembly in 2000.

AURORITA MENDOZA, Health Promotion and Gender Adviser, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), said that HIV/AIDS had become a tragic reality in women's lives. Forty-three per cent of HIV-positive adults were women, the vast majority in their reproductive age and living in countries in extreme poverty. With the epidemic continuing to affect the lives of millions of women all over the world, UNAIDS recognized the importance of responding to gender-based challenges that increased women's risk and vulnerability to HIV. To address that problem, governments should: place prevention, care and mitigation of the impact of HIV/AIDS at the highest political level; reduce discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS through advocacy or women's rights in

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the context of human rights; and support the promotion of prevention technologies.

BREDA PAVLIC, Director, Unit for the Promotion of the Status of Women and Gender Equality, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said living in peace, which was essential for prosperity and development was an increasingly threatened human aspiration. The quest for peace was therefore central to all current UNESCO action. Women were the principal stakeholders in that process, but were, with rare exceptions, excluded from matters concerning peace and security in their own societies and at the global level. The UNESCO's efforts were therefore geared to helping women in all regions of the world, and notably in Africa, articulate their role in peace-building, and to help them organize themselves to that effect by strengthening their capacities to communicate and network among themselves and with partners across borders.

She said that to defend their human rights, women and girls needed first to know those rights and how to defend them. Helping to popularize the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, especially among people working in the legal profession, was UNESCO's current aim. Women were still largely absent from the institutions meant to ensure democratic processes. The Inter-Parliamentary Union, UNESCO and the Division for Advancement of Women were jointly organizing a meeting on "Perspectives on Democracy; Do Women make a Difference?" That would be held at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris, France, from 1 to 3 December this year. While taking into account a broad range of issues, that meeting would particularly address the role of communication and the mass media in helping or impeding women's participation in democratic decision-making bodies.

SISSEL EKAAS, Director, Women and Population Division, Sustainable Development Department, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said women made up the majority of the world's agricultural producers, yet they constituted the majority of the poor and food-insecure. Their domestic and agricultural work remained largely invisible in national statistics and their voice was hardly heard in planning and decision-making affecting their livelihood and their productive role in farming, forestry and fisheries. The FAO was addressing the problems facing rural women through a comprehensive Plan of Action for Women in Development (1996-2001), which reflected international commitments as regarded rural women within Agenda 21, the Beijing Platform for Action and the World Food Summit Declaration and Plan of Action.

She said that on 8 March, the Women and Population Division of the FAO would be organizing a technical seminar on assessing and measuring gender differences in agriculture -- the challenge of engendering agricultural statistics. "In short, how do we make the invisible -- visible; how do we make women farmers count, too"? For the FAO, addressing that issue was

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fundamental to enhancing the status of rural women and achieving food security and sustainable development. She also drew the Commission's attention to the inherent health hazards for rural populations from the use of pesticides, from waterborne diseases in irrigated culture, from inappropriate agricultural tools, and from the impact of HIV/AIDS on the social cohesion of rural communities.

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