WOMEN'S COMMISSION URGES GOVERNMENTS TO TAKE MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN WOMEN'S ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE TO BETTER PROTECT THEM FROM HIV INFECTION

12 March 1999

Press Release
WOM/1116

WOMEN'S COMMISSION URGES GOVERNMENTS TO TAKE MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN WOMEN'S ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE TO BETTER PROTECT THEM FROM HIV INFECTION

19990312 Text on Rights of Palestinian Women Approved by Vote of 33-1-4

The Commission on the Status of Women this morning urged governments to take all necessary measures to strengthen women's economic independence and to protect and promote their human rights and fundamental freedoms in order to allow them to better protect themselves from HIV infection. It took that action by one of five draft texts approved this morning.

The Commission stressed that every effort should be made by governments and organizations to place combating HIV/AIDS as a priority on the development agenda. It called upon the international community to intensify its support of national efforts against HIV/AIDS, particularly in favour of women and young girls, in the worst-hit regions of Africa and where the epidemic is severely setting back national development gains.

The Commission also approved without a vote draft texts on: the release of women and children taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned, in armed conflicts; the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women, 2002-2005; and on enabling the Commission to continue to carry out its mandate. It also approved by recorded vote a draft resolution on Palestinian women.

The Commission postponed action until this afternoon on texts dealing with the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan and on women and mental health.

By a vote of 33 in favour to 1 against (United States), with 4 abstentions, (Bolivia, Côte d'Ivoire, Norway and Uganda), the Commission approved a resolution on Palestinian women, to be submitted to the Economic and Social Council for adoption. (See Annex for details of the vote.) Statements in explanation of vote were made by the representatives of Cuba, Israel, Philippines, United States, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Norway, Russian Federation, and Yemen.

By that terms of that text, the Council would stress its support for the Middle East peace process and the need for speedy and full implementation of the agreements already reached between the parties. It would also demand that Israel comply fully with the provisions and principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments in order to protect the rights of the Palestinian women and their families.

By the draft resolution on the release of women and girls taken hostage, the Commission condemned violent acts in contravention of international humanitarian law against civilian women and children in areas of armed conflict, and called for an effective response to such acts, including the immediate release of such women and children taken hostage in armed conflicts. It also strongly urged all parties to armed conflicts to respect fully the norms of international humanitarian law and to take all necessary measures for the protection of these women and children and for their immediate release.

By its other draft texts, the Commission agreed to have the Economic and Social Council invite the Secretary-General to formulate the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women, 2002-2005 in two phases; it also had the Council decide that the Commission should hold its annual 10-day sessions in accordance with its resolution 1987/21 of 26 May 1987.

The Commission will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its deliberations.

Action

The Commission first took up the draft resolution on release of women and children taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned, in armed conflicts (document E.CN.6/1999/L.5).

That draft would have the Commission condemn violent acts in contravention of international humanitarian law against civilian women and children in areas of armed conflict, and call for an effective response to such acts, including the immediate release of such women and children taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned, in armed conflicts.

Also by the text, the Commission would strongly urge all parties to armed conflicts to respect fully the norms of international humanitarian law in armed conflict and to take all necessary measures for the protection of those women and children and for their immediate release. It would also urge all parties to conflicts to provide unimpeded access to specialized humanitarian assistance for those women and children.

The Secretary-General and all relevant international organizations would be requested to use their capabilities and efforts to facilitate the release of those women and children and to prepare, taking into account the

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information provided by States and relevant international organizations, a report on the implementation of the text, for submission to the Commission's forty-fourth session.

The draft resolution is sponsored by Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Ecuador, Georgia, Guatemala, Guyana, Iran, Italy, Côte d'Ivoire, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.

The draft resolution was approved without a vote.

Next, the Commission took up the draft text on women, the girl child and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) (document E/CN.6/1999/L.6). That text would have the Commission urge governments to take all necessary measures to strengthen women's economic independence and to protect and promote their human rights and fundamental freedoms in order to allow them to better protect themselves from HIV infection.

Also by the text, the Commission would emphasize that the advancement and empowerment of women is critical to increasing the ability of women and young girls to protect themselves from HIV infection. It would stress that every effort should be made by governments, relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, intergovernmental agencies and non-governmental organizations to place combating HIV/AIDS as a priority on the development agenda and to implement effective prevention strategies and programmes, especially for the most vulnerable populations, including women and young girls.

The Commission would call upon the international community to intensify its support of national efforts against HIV/AIDS, particularly in favour of women and young girls, in the worst-hit regions of Africa and where the epidemic is severely setting back national development gains.

Further by the text, the Commission would urge governments to take steps to: create an environment that promotes compassion and support for those infected with HIV; provide the legal framework that will protect the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS; enable those who are vulnerable to have access to appropriate voluntary counselling services; and encourage efforts to reduce discrimination and stigmatization. Governments, with the assistance of relevant United Nations bodies and others, would also be urged to create an environment and conditions that will take care of and support children orphaned by AIDS.

Governments would be further urged to adopt a long-term, timely, coherent and integrated AIDS prevention policy and to support women's groups

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and community organizations in changing harmful traditions and practices affecting the health of women and girls and to take steps to eliminate all forms of violence against women.

The Commission, also by the draft, would encourage accelerated research on vaccine development and intensified additional research on promotion of the female condom, microbicides and other options that offer women more control for the protection of their reproductive and sexual health. It would also request governments to ensure that condoms and care for sexually transmitted diseases are available in places accessible and affordable to women while ensuring their privacy.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and its co-sponsors would be urged to intensify their efforts in assisting governments to determine the best policies and programmes to prevent women and young girls from becoming infected with HIV/AIDS. The Joint Programme and its co-sponsors, bilateral and multilateral donors, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations would be requested to give urgent and priority attention to the situation of women and girls in Africa.

Further by the text, the Commission would invite the relevant entities of the United Nations system, including agencies, funds and programmes, to mainstream gender policies and programmes integrating HIV/AIDS activities. The Secretary-General would be invited to report to the forty-fourth session of the Commission on the implementation of the text.

The draft resolution, which was sponsored by Norway, Thailand and Zambia, was approved, as orally amended, without a vote.

The Commission then took up the draft resolution on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan (document E/CN.6/1999/L.7).

That text would have the Commission condemn the grave violations of the human rights of women and girls, including all forms of discrimination and violence against them, in all areas of Afghanistan, particularly those under Taliban control. It would also condemn the Taliban's denial of women's access to health care and the systematic violation of the human rights of women, including the denial of access to education and employment, freedom of movement, and from intimidation, harassment and violence. The Taliban and other Afghan parties would be urged to recognize, protect, promote and act in accordance with all human rights and fundamental freedoms, regardless of gender, ethnicity or religion, in accordance with international human rights instruments, and to respect international humanitarian law.

Further, the Commission would urge all Afghan parties, in particular the Taliban, to end all human rights violations against women and girls and to take urgent measures to ensure: the repeal of all legislative and other

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measures that discriminate against women; the effective participation of women in civil, cultural, economic, political and social life; respect for the equal right of women to work and their reintegration in employment; the equal right of women and girls to education without discrimination, the reopening of schools and the admission of women and girls to all levels of education; respect for the right of women to security of person and that those responsible for physical attacks on women are brought to justice; respect for freedom of movement for women; and respect for women's and girls' equal access to health care.

The Commission would also urge States to continue to give special attention to the promotion and protection of human rights of women in Afghanistan and to mainstream a gender perspective into all aspects of their policies and actions related to Afghanistan. It would ask the Secretary-General to ensure that all United Nations activities in Afghanistan are carried out according to the principle of non-discrimination against women and girls and that a gender perspective and special attention to the human rights of women and girls are fully incorporated into the work of the civil affairs unit established within the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan.

The Commission would stress the importance of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan giving special attention to the human rights of women and girls and fully incorporating a gender perspective in his work. It would appeal to States and the international community to implement the recommendations of the inter-agency gender mission to Afghanistan under the leadership of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women. It would urge all Afghan factions, in particular the Taliban, to ensure the safety and protection of all United Nations and humanitarian workers in Afghanistan and to allow them, regardless of gender, to carry out their work unhindered.

The resolution is sponsored by Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.

The representative of Cuba said it welcomed the draft which was very relevant to the work of the Commission. However, his delegation was not consulted in the preparation of the text. Cuba had submitted amendments to preambular paragraph 6 and operative paragraph 8 and wanted action on the text

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postponed until informal consultations with the co-sponsors had taken place. Action could not be taken until the text was properly drafted.

Action on that draft resolution was postponed until this afternoon.

The Commission then took up the draft resolution on women and mental health, with emphasis on special groups (document E/CN.6/1999/L.8).

By that draft, the Commission would call for the urgent implementation of the health objectives of the Beijing Platform for Action and other relevant international agreements. It would request governments to include specific measures in their national policies and plans of action for women, that address the mental health needs of women and girls. It would also call upon governments to take all possible steps to eliminate discrimination against women and girls in mental health care where it exists and to provide access to appropriate treatment that is responsive to women's mental health needs at all ages.

The Commission would urge governments to develop and implement public awareness campaigns on mental health and education, and public health policies that are gender-sensitive and focus on women and girls most in need of psychological support. It would request governments to provide or enhance mental health education and both pre-service and in-service training to primary health care workers, social service professionals, teachers and other educators, and community workers. Governments would be called upon to develop and implement legislation and comprehensive social and economic policies that address the mental health needs of women and girls. Pharmaceutical companies would be requested to donate medicines for the treatment of mental disorders, or to make them more affordable in areas where psychological/psychiatric problems are prevalent.

Also by the text, the Commission would call upon the United Nations, particularly its agencies and bodies concerned with health and research, to develop and disseminate a training manual designed to provide primary health care workers, social service professionals, and other community workers with the appropriate skills for assisting women and girls who are experiencing problems and mental disorders as a result of trauma, all forms of discrimination, exploitation, abuse and oppression. The Secretary-General would be urged to find ways within the United Nations and in coordination with regional commissions and other relevant agencies to organize regional expert groups with a view to developing gender and age-disaggregated and gender-sensitive psychosocial and mental health situation analyses and indicators as bases for determining progress in women's and girls emotional well-being and mental health, for submission to the Commission at its forty-seventh session.

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The text would also have the Commission invite concerned non- governmental organizations, funding sources and the private sector, in coordination with national authorities concerned, to support and develop a programme that will bring a wide range of expertise and proven interventions, including healthful indigenous practices in dealing with psychological crises, to train local community workers, teachers and primary health care staff, and to provide appropriate interventions for stress related disorders to girls and women in crisis.

The Commission would decide to include in the framework of the review process for the special session of the General Assembly to appraise and assess progress achieved in implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, the emerging issue of mental health of girls and women, so that further initiatives and action can be undertaken.

The text is sponsored by Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Botswana, Ecuador, Indonesia, Ghana, Georgia, Guatemala, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, Ukraine, Venezuela, Thailand and Zambia.

KATE STARR NEWELL, Secretary of the Commission, said that she had been informed by the Controller's Office that in light of new revisions by the primary sponsors of the resolution, the Secretariat would require time to study the programme budget and conference services implications.

The representative of the Philippines said there were some delegations who wanted to make changes to the draft resolution. She invited them to approach her delegation today before 3 p.m., so that further amendments to the text could be discussed.

Action on the draft resolution was postponed until this afternoon.

The Commission then took up the draft resolution on Palestinian women (document E/CN.6/1999/L.9), which it would recommend to the Economic and Social Council for adoption.

Under its provisions, the Council would stress its support for the Middle East peace process and the need for speedy and full implementation of the agreements already reached between the parties. It would demand that Israel, the occupying Power, comply fully with the provisions and principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the regulations annexed to The Hague Convention of 1907 and the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949, in order to protect the rights of the Palestinian women and their families. It would call upon Israel to facilitate the return of all refugees and displaced Palestinian women and children to their homes and properties in the occupied Palestinian territory, in compliance with relevant United Nations resolutions.

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Also by the text, Member States, financial organizations of the United Nation system, non-governmental organizations and other relevant institutions would be urged to intensify their efforts to provide financial and technical assistance to Palestinian women for the creation of projects responding to their needs, especially during the transitional period. It would also request the Commission to continue to monitor and take action with regard to the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, in particular paragraph 260 concerning Palestinian women and children, and the Beijing Platform for Action.

The draft text is sponsored by Bolivia, Côte d'Ivoire, Guyana (on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China), Norway and Uganda.

PATRICIA FLOR (Germany), the Commission Chairperson, said a recorded vote had been requested on the draft resolution.

Speaking before the vote, the representative of Israel said today's proposed resolution was entirely one-sided and politicized to the point that it damaged the credibility of the Commission as an instrument for promoting women's rights. Most notably, the draft unjustly singled out his country and sought to drag the Commission into the trenches of an irrelevant political attack. Moreover, the text was an attack that had already been launched in other forums, with no effort made to adapt or tailor the contents in any way. Preambular paragraph 5 in its entirety, was lifted from preambular paragraph 12 of a separate General Assembly resolution (A/RES/ES-190-6). Operative paragraph 2 was also lifted entirely from operative paragraph 5 of the same Assembly resolution.

By politically coopting the Commission, he went on to say, the present resolution abandoned the stance of the Beijing Platform for Action which had wisely refrained from mentioning regional conflicts and had instead focused on the gender-related issues with which the Commission was meant to be concerned. Moreover, the political position that the resolution forced on the Commission was one-sided and misleading. That, unfortunately called for setting the record straight.

First, he continued, Israel did not suspend the Wye River Agreement. On the contrary, in the first phase of the Agreement, after the Palestinians fulfilled certain obligations, Israel did its part, redeploying from 491.4 square kilometres of West Bank territory. Now it was once again, the Palestinians' turn to fulfil certain key obligations of the second phase, including a long overdue work plan against terrorism, before Israel was obligated to even begin its own implementation. The Oslo accords had also forbidden the use of outside forums to get involved in the peace process.

He said today's initiative served no purpose but to hamper the cooperation that could lead to real peace and co-existence on the ground.

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That was why Israel urged the Commission and its members to vote against the resolution.

The representative of Cuba wanted to know why the text was going to a vote since it was a consensus resolution.

The CHAIRPERSON said a recorded vote had been requested by the United States.

The draft text was approved by a vote of 33 in favour to 1 against (United States), with 4 abstentions (Bolivia, Côte d'Ivoire, Norway, Uganda). (For details of the vote, see Annex.)

Speaking after the vote, the representative of the United States said her country's support for the rights of women certainly extended to the occupied territories. Unfortunately, parts of the text -- including some provisions which did not even directly relate to the issue of the status of women -- were unacceptable because they addressed the status of issues that the Israelis and Palestinians themselves had agreed would be the subject of direct negotiations in the Middle East peace process. The language of the text was one-sided and would not advance the status or well-being of Palestinian women, the intended beneficiaries of the resolution.

The representative of Lebanon said he wished to affirm his country's strong support for the struggle of Palestinian women in the face of Israeli occupation. Palestinian rights and the rights of Palestinian women would not be fully implemented unless Israeli occupation came to an end. He also wished to reject the claims made by Israel in its statement on the current resolution.

The representative of Syria said his delegation repeated its full support of the Palestinian people and the struggle of Palestinian women to exercise all their rights. Adoption of the resolution was proof of the international community's support of Palestinian women. His delegation would have liked the draft resolution to mention the peace process in its entirety as well as relevant resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly.

The representative of Iran said her delegation voted in favour of the draft, however, that affirmative vote should not be construed as a recognition of Israel by her country.

Representative of Norway said her county was concerned about the situation of the Palestinian people and Palestinian women. That concern was the basis for the continued support Norway has given to the Palestinian people. Her country also paid special attention to involve Palestinian women in the development process. It continued to be concerned with the lack of

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progress, but difficulties in the peace process should be solved by the parties themselves. The Commission was not the right forum for dealing with issues in the peace process.

The representative of the Russian Federation said the status of Palestinian women went along with the advancement of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, and the observance by parties of earlier reached agreements and implementation of all assumed obligations.

The representative of Yemen said her delegation supported the rights of Palestinian women to self-determination and it supported their struggle.

Next, the Commission took up a text submitted by the Chairperson of the Commission on the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women, 2002-2005 (document E/CN.6/1999/L.10) for adoption by the Economic and Social Council.

The draft resolution would have the Economic and Social Council invite the Secretary-General, in his capacity as Chairman of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC), to formulate the plan for 2002-2005 in two phases -- a first phase consisting of an assessment of activities undertaken by the United Nations system and of obstacles encountered and lessons learned from the present plan and the system-wide process of its implementation; and the second phase consisting of a new plan that reflects the growing emphasis on action and delivery.

The Council would also decide that the assessment should be submitted to the Council through the Commission on the Status of Women in the year 2000 and that the new plan for 2002-2005 should be submitted to the Council through the Commission in 2001.

The draft was approved without a vote.

The Commission then took up a draft decision, also submitted by the Commission Chairperson for action by the Council, on enabling the Commission on the Status of Women to continue to carry out its mandate (document E/CN.6/1999/L.11). By that draft, the Economic and Social Council would decide that the Commission should hold its annual 10-day sessions in accordance with its resolution 1987/21 of 26 May 1987.

The Commission Secretary said there were no additional budgetary implications to the text.

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The representative of Cuba asked that, since the Commission was meeting for three weeks this year, was it understood that there would also be a three- week session next year?

The Chairperson, Ms. FLOR (Germany), said the meeting for three weeks next year was already scheduled.

The draft was approved without a vote.

(annex follows)

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Women's Commission Press Release WOM/1116 14th Meeting (AM) 12 March 1999

ANNEX

Vote on Palestinian Women

The draft resolution on Palestinian Women (document E/CN/6/1999/L.9) was approved by a recorded vote of 34 in favour to 1 against with 4 abstentions, as follows:

In favour: Belgium, Chile, China, Cuba, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Senegal, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom.

Against: United States.

Abstain: Bolivia, Côte d'Ivoire, Norway, Uganda.

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