THIRD COMMITTEE HEARS REPORTS OF TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN AND CHILDREN, EFFECTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Press Release
GA/SHC/3523

THIRD COMMITTEE HEARS REPORTS OF TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN AND CHILDREN, EFFECTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Trafficking in women and children was a multiform phenomenon that involved migration, social issues, crime, corruption, health, gender and human rights, the representative of the Ukraine told the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) this morning. The Committee met to continue considering issues related to the advancement of women and implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995).

The Global Programme against Trafficking in Human Beings, prepared by the Centre for International Crime Prevention and by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, would help governments deal better with the issue of trafficking, she continued. That issue was not just a violation of human rights but also had social and economic costs.

The representative of Thailand said that trafficking in women and children was of special concern in his country. Coordinated measures and programmes were needed because trafficking across borders could not be controlled without the cooperation of other States.

Discrimination and violence against women and girls were embedded in cultures, traditional and customary practices around the world “so much that many women themselves consider it a normal part of life”, the representative of Ghana said. Violence, or even the threat of it, impaired women’s health as well as decision making in all aspects of their lives.

Women were particularly vulnerable to the world’s shift towards a market economy because production, social services and welfare support services had been disrupted, the representative of Mongolia said. The benefits and opportunities opened up by privatization had not equally been shared by women.

The representative of the World Bank said gender mainstreaming was now common practice in lending sectors such as health, education and rural development. It was also making an important difference in non- traditional sectors such as infrastructure and finance. To strengthen the Bank’s impact on poverty reduction, gender was being made an integral part of a comprehensive development framework.

Third Committee 1a Press Release GA/SHC/3523 9th Meeting (PM) 12 October 1999

The representatives of the Sudan, Colombia, Yemen and China also made statements.

The representative of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also made a statement.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow October 13, to continue considering issues related to the advancement of women and 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 afternoon to continue considering issues related to the advancement of women and implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in 1995. (For background information, see Press Release GA/SHC/3521 of 11 October.)

Statements

APIRATH VIENRAVI (Thailand) said women were making themselves felt in the political arena in his country. Even so, they were underrepresented. Gender differences must not be allowed to impede the ability of men and women to interact together in any sector of the social arena. On 10 December, Human Rights Day, his country would sign the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Trafficking in women and children was of special concern in Thailand, he continued. Coordinated measures and programmes had been taken to keep those women from prostitution and numerous laws had been enacted to control trafficking. A committee had been established and arrangements made with Cambodia to restrict cross-border trafficking. Such arrangements would be made with others in the region; however, trafficking across borders could not be controlled without the cooperation of other States. Skills training was also important to control the trafficking. The cross-cutting theme of protection and skills development was an important focus. Women had made much progress, but more was needed to ensure that gender did not make a difference as to the person we are and will become.

ABDEL RAOUF AMIR (Sudan) said the goals and aspirations for women set out in Beijing could be achieved by addressing problems in a comprehensive manner. The problems took on different aspects in various cultures. In Sudan, for women to enjoy their rights meant that all had to enjoy their rights. The principle of justice presided. Women in Sudan enjoyed a lofty status. Because of education, equal pay was guaranteed. Equal electoral rights were provided. Equality was a right for the Sudanese woman, it was guaranteed by the constitution.

Women’s development units had been established in the Sudan, she continued. The national plan had been established on the basis of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to advance women’s rights were becoming more numerous and more active. They were combating illiteracy and advancing child care. Despite that, many problems remained, including the absence of infrastructure in wartorn areas and lack of external assistance. The American bombardment of a Sudanese pharmaceutical firm had caused enormous problems for the country. That had been unjustified force against civilian targets, a gross violation of human rights. For the five year review of the Beijing Platform for Action; donors should look to honour their Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitments and to alleviate debt burdens. Sudan would actively participate in preparations for the General Assembly’s special session.

ALFONSO VALDIVIESO (Colombia) said the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women had identified some deficiencies in his country’s report. It was essential to recognize what the realities in each country were. He urged those countries who had not presented their reports to the Committee to do so.

The situation of rural women worldwide was a matter of considerable concern, he emphasized. Their situation was closely related with the on-going integration of world markets. There was a tendency to discriminate against women's access to resources and services. In spite of their important role in agricultural production, rural women continued to suffer poverty, he continued. The structural adjustments necessary for the liberalization and privatization processes had had a direct impact on those women. They lacked information, programmes to purchase land as well as access to credit. Even though his country had implemented public policies addressed to rural women, they had not established a cross-sectoral approach.

NAGIBA AL-NADARI (Yemen) said her country’s legislation had been very beneficial for women. Her Government’s five-year economic plan included a national strategy to improve the role of women in society. That strategy included increasing of the number of girls in the educational system, the reduction of differences between girls and boys in schools, and programmes to offset the withdrawal of girls from school. Furthermore, literacy rates for women had increased.

Women's freedom to choose employment as well as professional and training rights had been improved in her country, she continued. Among other national objectives related to women were the eradication of poverty, the means to create cooperatives, and programmes to promote gender equality within the family. There was also a programme called women and development. It was intended to provide equal participation while respecting Islamic laws.

YUAN XIAOYING (China) said the new openness and reform in her country had brought profound changes for the broad masses of its women. They were increasingly aware of being equal and independent. They had a strong sense of participation. Due to the industrial structural adjustment, women workers in particular had lost posts. The government had undertaken re-employment projects on the basis of policies targeted at women.

She said the special session of the General Assembly coming up in June should be devoted to an in-depth review of the work done in the 12 critical areas listed in the Beijing Platform for Action. It should not be a renegotiation of questions going over the same areas. There should be a comprehensive review and appraisal of implementation. Then there should be an analytical, objective conclusion about what had been achieved and the remaining obstacles. Common, acute problems should be identified, ones that faced women universally. Measures to address those problems should then be worked out accordingly.

OKSANA BOYKO (Ukraine) said more action-oriented efforts were needed to ensure that the human rights of women the world over became an integral and indivisible part of universal human rights. Ukraine protected the rights of women in that way. An effective national mechanism for solving gender problems was available. The objective was to promote women’s economic rights, increase the number of women in leadership positions within the government, emphasize reproductive health programmes and eradicate violence against women.

That latter priority had been recognized as a critical area of concern in the Ukraine, she said. It was a painful issue to have the country’s women and girls being trafficked for sexual exploitation and prostitution. In Ukraine, it was a crime punishable by law. A regional programme to deal with the phenomenon had been set up. It was a multifold problem, however, and needed to be addressed accordingly. Trafficking in women and children was a migration issue, a social issue, a crime and corruption issue and a health issue, in addition to being a gender and human rights issue she said. A Global Programme against Trafficking in Human Beings had been prepared by the Centre for International Crime Prevention and by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute.

OCHIR ENKHTSETSEG (Mongolia) said her Government and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) had signed a Memorandum of Understanding to Economically and Politically Empower Women into the twenty-first century. The Memorandum of Understanding was aimed at enhancing the effective implementation of the National Programme for the Advancement of Women, she explained.

In spite of such measures, the impact of the world’s shift towards a market economy had posed new challenges to achieve equality, she said. Women were particularly vulnerable because production, social services and welfare support services had been disrupted. The benefits and opportunities that had opened up by the privatization process had not been shared equally by women. There was a growing tendency for women to be the first to be laid off both from State and private institutions.

A national training seminar on “sex-disaggregated data and the use of statistics and indicators in policy design” had been organized last May in her country. It was intended to improve gender statistics in the areas of major concern in the National Programme for the Advancement of Women.

BEATRICE ROSA BROBBEY (Ghana) said discrimination and violence against women and girls persisted. They were factors embedded in cultures, and in traditional and customary practices around the world “so much that many women themselves consider it a normal part of life”, she added. Violence, or even the threat of it, impaired women’s health as well as decision-making in all aspects of their lives.

Unfortunately, many States still considered the practice of genital mutilation as an initiation rite which allowed the girl child to integrate into the community, she said. “Only intensive education and wide dissemination of information about the negative impact of this and other customary practices can effectively guarantee their total elimination”, she emphasized. Efforts to obtain judicial decisions should be the last recourse in that context. She hoped that the Draft Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women would help curb the violence and discrimination women faced in their everyday lives.

ARMAS RAHOLA, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said the Federation was currently focusing on the identification of good practices to demonstrate how the efficiency of its disaster programmes could be increased by considering gender issues. There were more than 50 focal points on gender issues at its national and regional societies as well as country delegations. The role of focal points was to raise awareness on the importance of gender issues in the national society’s daily work and to assist with developing skills in applying gender analysis to programming.

Last July, the Federation’s first case study was published with a view to sharing the experience of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, which had adopted a strategy of recruiting female volunteers in its disaster management programmes, he said. “The set quota of including at least eight women in disaster response teams of 25 volunteers was necessary for reaching women beneficiaries, thus providing more effective disaster preparedness and response”, he added.

CECILIA VALDIVIESO, Principal Economist, Gender and Development, Poverty Reduction and Economic Network, The World Bank, recalled the impetus given by the Beijing Conference to the mainstreaming of gender into poverty reduction. Mainstreaming of gender had been found important to lending sectors such as health, education and rural development, where actions to address gender disparities were now common practice. It had, however, also made an important difference in non- traditional sectors such as infrastructure and finance. To strengthen the Bank’s impact on poverty reduction, gender was being made an integral part of the Comprehensive Development Framework.

The Comprehensive Development Framework took into account the economic, structural, social and institutional aspects of development, she said. The participation of women in strategic consultations had already been found to strengthen the agenda, build national ownership and overcome gender disparities. New ways would be found to integrate gender into work with partners and clients in developing structures and mechanisms based on specific realities, constraints and development priorities. Gender was also being integrated into country assistance strategies.

She said that next year, the World Development Report on Poverty and Development would integrate gender throughout its central analysis of empowerment, security and opportunity for the poor. The Bank was also proposing to devote the World Development Report 2004 to an in-depth analysis of gender for the international development agenda.

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