PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR SPECIAL ASSEMBLY SESSION ACTS ON TWO DRAFT DECISIONS; CONTINUES GENERAL DISCUSSION

Press Release
WOM/1186

PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR SPECIAL ASSEMBLY SESSION ACTS ON TWO DRAFT DECISIONS; CONTINUES GENERAL DISCUSSION

The General Assembly would decide to broaden the participation of non-governmental organizations in its special session on women in June, and urge relevant United Nations bodies to assist the participation of those which lacked resources, in particular from developing countries and countries with economies in transition, according to one of two draft decisions approved this afternoon by the Commission on the Status of women acting as the Preparatory Committee for the special session.

Earlier today, the Committee began its third and final preparatory session for the high-level review on the way ahead for women worldwide. Before concluding its general discussion this afternoon, the Committee approved another draft decision concerning arrangements for the accreditation of non-governmental organizations. It would meet until 17 March to complete preparations for the Assembly session.

During the discussion, speakers drew attention to achievements as well as obstacles to national implementation of the agreements of the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women. Many also expressed their aspirations for the special session. The representative of the Republic of Korea said the session would provide an excellent opportunity to produce concrete and action-oriented initiatives aimed at accelerating implementation. In particular, the serious challenge to women and girls posed by the shift in armed conflicts from a global to regional and even local scale should be addressed at the high-level review.

The representative of Kenya said that gains made by women in accessing adequate health services and education were not only being reversed in many countries, but were actually being "pushed back". Numerous challenges remained to implementation of the Beijing outcome, among them the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Her country had recently declared AIDS a "national disaster" and had stepped up efforts to fight it. The gender aspect of the infection, however, still needed to be critically examined, with a view to guaranteeing women and youth appropriate information and opportunities for protection.

The Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Aida Gonzales of Mexico, said the Women's Committee had much to offer the Preparatory Committee, as well as the special session. She urged the Commission on

Women's Commission Preparatory Committee - 1a - Press Release WOM/1186 2nd Meeting (PM) 3 March 2000

the Status of Women and the Preparatory Committee to acknowledge the connection between the Platform and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and to recognize the strength of the Convention's monitoring process, as well as the support it could provide the Commission in supervising the Platform's implementation.

In other business, it was announced today that Monica Martinez (Ecuador) had been designated Rapporteur of the Preparatory Committee.

Statements were also made by the representatives of Indonesia, Viet Nam, Solomon Islands (on behalf of Fiji, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu), Iran, Ecuador, Ghana, Pakistan, Sudan and Zimbabwe. A representative of the World Food Programme also spoke.

Statements were also made by representatives of the following groups: the Commonwealth Secretariat (intergovernmental organization); the Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality of the Administrative Committee on Coordination; and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (non-governmental organization).

The Preparatory Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Monday, 6 March, to hold a panel discussion and dialogue on "Outlook on gender equality, development and peace beyond the year 2000".

Committee Work Programme

The Preparatory Committee for the special session of the General Assembly in June entitled: "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty- First Century" met this afternoon to conclude its one-day general discussion and to consider two draft decisions on arrangements for the accreditation of non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and their participation in the special session of the General Assembly (documents E/CN.6/2000/PC/L.3 and L.4*).

Draft Decisions

According to the draft decision on arrangements for the participation of non- governmental organizations (document E/CN.6/2000/PC/L.3), the Assembly would decide that representatives from NGOs accredited to the special session may make statements in its Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole.

It would have the Assembly also decide that, given the availability of time, a limited number of NGOs in good standing in their consultative status with the Economic and Social Council may also make statements in the debate in the plenary of the special session. NGOs would be requested to select spokespersons among themselves and provide the list to the Assembly President through the Secretariat.

The Assembly would further decide to request its President to present the list of selected NGOs to Member States in a timely manner for approval and to ensure that such selections were made on an equal and transparent basis, taking into account the geographical representation and diversity of NGOs. It would decide that such arrangements would in no way create a precedent for other special sessions of the Assembly.

The draft decision on the accreditation of NGOs (document E/CN.6/2000/PC/L.4*) would have the Assembly decide to reconsider the question of accreditation of NGOs to the special session, and decide that those interested NGOs that are neither in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, nor accredited to the Fourth World Conference on Women and its preparatory process, may participate in the special session.

The Assembly would urge, in recognition of the importance of equitable geographical participation of NGOs in the special session, relevant United Nations bodies to assist those NGOs which do not have resources, in particular NGOs from developing countries and countries with economies in transition, in participating in the special session.

It would further decide that these NGOs should submit their application for accreditation to a committee composed of the Bureau of the Preparatory Committee and the Secretariat by 5 April, and the application should contain such information as the purpose of the organization, confirmation of its activities at the national, regional or international levels, and a list of members of the governing body of the organization and their countries of nationality.

In a related provision, the Assembly would decide that the Bureau of the Preparatory Committee should submit, by 10 April, to its members a list of the applicant NGOs for their approval. Members of the Preparatory Committee would have until 10 May to decide on a no-objection basis regarding accreditation of those NGOs.

It would also decide that those NGOs whose applications for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council had been rejected or whose consultative status with the Council had been withdrawn or suspended would not be accredited to the special session.

The Secretary-General would be requested to widely disseminate to the community of NGOs all available information on accreditation procedures, as well as information on supportive measures for participation in the special session. Such arrangements would in no way create a precedent for other special sessions of the Assembly.

Statements

ABDULLAH CHOLIL (Indonesia) said that his country was in the process of implementing its own National Action Plan for Human Rights. It was envisaged that the plan would imbue society and institutions with the culture of human rights, which would, in turn, strengthen the democratic principles of the national Government. A central aspect of that effort would be to secure and strengthen the human rights of women and to mainstream gender equality in the policy-making programmes and the implementation process.

He went on to say that the forthcoming June review and appraisal should give attention to the impact of globalization on women and their economic and social vulnerability. If women were to enjoy their human right to equality at national levels, the Commission should ensure that those efforts were not blindsided by the vagaries of the international economy. In that regard, it was an essential need for international development agencies to work closely with governments in addressing the causes of structural poverty, gender injustice and gender-based violence with a view to providing women with a means to overcome those handicaps.

SUH DAE-WON (Republic of Korea)said that as a result of women's insistence on making gender mainstreaming a real policy priority, great strides had been made towards realizing gender equality since the Beijing Conference. Yet, new challenges had been presented at the beginning of the new century. The special session would provide an excellent opportunity to produce concrete and action-oriented initiatives to accelerate implementation of the Beijing agreements.

He said the shift in armed conflict from global to regional, national and even local levels had seriously challenged implementation of the Action Platform. At the conflict sites, as well as in camps and other humanitarian facilities, women and girls had been at particular risk of gender-based persecution. Indeed, they were being exposed to the horrors of armed conflict more than ever. That issue should be highlighted at the high-level plenary review and initiatives should be formulated in that respect. The chairperson's proposal to involve more women in conflict resolution, peacemaking and peace-building was welcome. Indeed, women should be involved in decision-making at all levels, in particular by serving as special envoys and special representatives in those processes.

The Beijing review was taking place at a time when global integration had been producing profound changes in societies, he said. As the Secretary-General had stated, the benefits and risks of globalization had not been evenly distributed. Growth and prosperity for some had been offset by vulnerability and marginalization for others -- all too often, women. Moreover, women had often been left behind by new information and communication technologies, another aspect of globalization. As global integration crystallized, women would be further marginalized without the knowledge and skills to take advantage of those new technologies. Consequently, the special session should take specific actions to integrate women into the global society by facilitating their access to the new technologies.

He said that since the Beijing Conference, HIV/AIDS had emerged as the single-most devastating epidemic of modern history. It had been widely recognized that young women and adolescents were especially vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Particular attention should be paid to the gender dimensions of the infection, and practical measures should be developed to deal with its devastating consequences. The special session should do more than merely produce documents that reflected the status quo. It should aim for a succinct, action-oriented and holistic plan leading to a new vision for gender equality, development and peace in all corners of the globe.

TRAN MAI HUONG, Permanent Secretary of the National Committee for the Advancement of Women in Viet Nam, said that while she gladly acknowledged past achievements, many of the objectives of the Beijing Platform for Action had yet to be fulfilled. For Asian-Pacific countries, globalization, financial and economic crises, political instability and numerous social ills had all had negative impacts on the lives of women and children. The persistence of "backwards" customs and discriminatory statements and discriminatory behaviours towards women still existed. Viet Nam's main concerns, therefore, were to obtain a quick economic recovery and continue efforts for sustainable development, create more jobs, and generate income and power for women.

She then stressed the necessity of maintaining peace and political stability, which were considered prerequisites for the equality and development of women. She suggested that further actions and effective measures be taken to ensure those vital conditions be based on realities and should correspond to actual abilities and conditions. "If we can manage to do that", she said "we can make a realistic contribution to the success of Beijing +5".

AIDA GONZALEZ (Mexico), Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, said that December 1999 had marked the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the elaboration of which had been mandated by the first United Nations World Conference on Women (Mexico, 1975). The Convention had gone into effect in September 1981, becoming the fastest human rights instrument to become effective. The Beijing Platform for Action urged universal ratification of the Convention and withdrawal or limitation of reservations.

The Platform had a broad human rights foundation, the core of which was the Women's Convention, she said. The Commission was mandated by the Assembly to supervise the implementation of the Platform, and the Platform invited States parties to the Convention, when submitting their reports on treaty implementation, to include measures taken to implement the Platform. Also, the Platform asked the treaty- monitoring Committee to bear in mind its objectives when evaluating country reports. The Women's Committee had much to offer the Preparatory Committee, and the special session. With that in mind, in March 1999, it had submitted a report to the preparatory body on progress in implementing the Platform, containing recommendations for accelerating the implementation of the Platform, including special temporary measures to promote de facto equality between women and men.

She urged the Commission and the Preparatory Committee to acknowledge the connection between the Platform and the Convention, to recognize the strength of the Convention's monitoring process, and the support it could provide to the Commission in supervising the implementation of the Platform for Action. At its twenty-second session, which had ended in February, the Committee had adopted a statement on the legal framework for the implementation of the Platform for Action. The statement reiterated that the Convention was the only international instrument providing the legal framework for the Platform. Committed to supporting the intergovernmental process for the follow-up and evaluation of the Fourth World Conference, the Committee hoped the Commission would establish a follow-up formula permitting periodic and systematic analyses of implementation of the Platform.

JEREMIAH MANELE (Solomon Islands) spoke on behalf of the following Pacific Island countries: Fiji, Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu. He said that those countries looked forward to working together to ensure that their collective "best practices" would make a significant difference in women's lives in the new millennium.

He went on to acknowledge his delegation's commitment to the principles and general framework for the achievement of equality, development and peace contained in the Platform. He noted with "deep concern" that lack of attention that had been given to the "hard issues" which were at the core of the livelihood and existence of small island States. Those issues were intellectual property rights; transboundary movements of hazardous waste; militarization and decolonization. He asked the Committee to urge Member States to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, sign and ratify the Biodiversity Convention and Implement the comprehensive plans contained in the Barbados Programme of Action.

Turning next to the challenges faced by small island nations in their attempts to implement the Beijing Platform, he said that increasing commitments from governments, international organizations and NGOs were now helping provide a counterpoint to negative impacts. In that regard, he specifically acknowledged the significant contribution of NGOs and strongly urged the Committee to support the call to open the accreditation to those NGOs that had not been accredited to the General Assembly special session.

Ms. SPENCER, of the Commonwealth Secretariat, representing an association of 54 Commonwealth member countries, said that the Commonwealth was committed to its endorsement of the Platform and the current review process. It would also contribute to the elaboration of the global agenda for gender equality, development and peace into the twenty-first century.

She went on to say that within the 12 critical areas of concern identified in the Platform, the Commonwealth Plan of Action Update (2000-2005) had prioritized four major areas of action on the basis of fundamental values and principles. Those areas were gender mainstreaming; integrating gender into national budgets and macroeconomic policies; promoting women's rights as human rights; and increasing gender equality in political participation and public policy.

She said the Commonwealth had also addressed persisting gender inequalities such as poverty alleviation and violence against women, as well as critical emerging gender issues such as globalization and trade and HIV/AIDS. The plan also concentrated the Commonwealth's efforts and resources for greater effectiveness and impact through more innovative and cost-effective approaches.

She said that the plan represented the commitments of 54 Commonwealth Heads of Government and women's affairs Ministers to continue Commonwealth and global efforts for achieving gender equality. She sought the approval of the Preparatory Committee to present the Commonwealth Plan of Action at the General Assembly special session.

MS. EKAAS, of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on behalf of the Administrative Committee on Coordination Inter-Agency Committee and Gender Equality, said that Agency members strongly believed that in the twenty-first century, women must become equal partners with men in shaping the future. The human rights instruments and commitments that had been undertaken at recent world conferences, particularly the Fourth World Conference on Women, had provided the global framework for achieving gender equality and empowerment of women and girls and for ensuring the contribution of women to the development process.

She went on to say that the review process at the global, regional and national levels for the special session had provided excellent opportunities for taking stock of the realities of the achievements, goals and obstacles in the achievement of gender equality. The need for greater commitment at the highest levels and accelerated action at all levels of governance, including those for strengthening partnerships with civil society, was now clear. She pledged continued commitment to the goals and strategic objectives of the Platform.

Mr. ROMERO, of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), said that Parliament was made up of men and women who had been elected to represent their constituents at the national level. It had the crucial role of addressing the challenges and issues facing society and instituting social change, especially with regard to the advancement of women. It also had responsibility for shaping and amending the legal framework that determined rights of women in all areas. For those reasons, the IPU was not only making every effort to secure parliamentary awareness of the Beijing objectives, it was also urging that the proposed outcome document of the special session include adequate participation by parliaments and their members.

He went on to briefly highlight the action the IPU had taken since Beijing, particularly a survey of parliaments and political parties. That survey had demonstrated with few exceptions that there was much work to be done to achieve gender parity, and the numbers concerning women and governments had hardly changed in the past five years. The survey did indicate, however, that significant progress had been made, usually in connection with action under national plans. Some of the areas of achievement through parliamentary involvement were in action against domestic violence, professional equality and children's rights.

ELINA SANA, Senior Programme Advisor for Socio-Economic Development and gender of the World Food Programme (WFP), speaking on behalf of Catherine Bertini, Executive Director of the Programme, said her organization's strength was its ability to respond rapidly to changing situations. In Beijing, the WFP had committed itself to assisting women in situations of armed conflict. That had presented a special emerging challenge. In complex emergency situations, where the Programme provided assistance, human disasters with gender differentiated impacts were created.

Conflicts tended to lead to a dramatic increase in the number of women acting as heads of households, she continued. Men were often directly involved in the conflicts and thus not able to care for their families. That was a concern for the WFP. At the policy level, the Programme was conscious of the need to implement the Inter-Agency Standing Committee policy statement on gender in humanitarian assistance that had been adopted in May last year. That statement required specific strategies to ensure that gender issues were brought into the mainstream of emergency activities.

She said the WFP built on the participation of women beneficiaries and women's organizations whenever possible. It involved women as decision makers in its food communities and ensured that women beneficiaries were aware of their rights and entitlements. In the midst of disasters, some positive opportunities existed for gender role changes which could be sustained in the post-conflict phase. She hoped that the special session of the General Assembly would pay special attention to the importance of women's empowerment and decision-making for sustainable food security. She also urged that a gender perspective be incorporated whenever humanitarian assistance, disaster mitigation and recovery strategies were being developed.

PAIMANEH HASTAE, Director for International Social Affairs and Women of Iran, said that the special session would be an occasion to translate strategies into actions to help realize the goals set forth in the Platform for the empowerment of women worldwide. Sharing best practices and a better understanding of the obstacles encountered would facilitate a pragmatic and sweeping approach to the preparatory process and eventually lead to forward-looking and feasible measures on women's issues. It was only in that context, and with the help of broad-based analysis, that the international community could now design a new paradigm for creating a better world for women.

She encouraged the Committee and the special session to base their consideration of the review of the Platform on the following issues: globalization and liberalization; the need to develop a more balanced outlook to both development policies and gender mainstreaming; policies and programmes to build family friendly societies; and violence against women. She stressed that governments could not create enabling environments for the promotion of women's status at the national level without the existence of partnership among Member States of the United Nations.

LOLA VILLAQUIRAN DE ESPINOSA (Ecuador) said that five years after the adoption of the Beijing agreements, her country had achieved important progress with respect to the rights of women and an institutionalization of related policies. The normative construction of a social State in the law with a legal framework had guaranteed women's fundamental rights. Of special importance had been the recent signing by Ecuador of the Optional Protocol to the women's Convention and the undertaking of its rapid ratification.

She said her Government had consolidated the State institutional system, and had formulated and implemented policies and programmes to deal with such issues as violence against women and equal employment opportunity. Women's movements had been strengthened country-wide and women enjoyed increasingly broadened participation in the country's decision-making processes. An important part of that period had been the recognition of the gender equality issue, and the contributions of State agencies and women's movements in that regard.

At the same time, she said her Government had faced many challenges aimed at attaining advances on the ground comparable to the goals of the legal and institutional frameworks. The obstacles facing attainment of gender justice should be analysed in both the national and international contexts. The feminization of poverty had been linked to certain negative effects of economic globalization, free trade, debt burden and structural adjustment programmes. The increased external debt of developing countries had been unsustainable and represented one of the main obstacles to the advancement of women and men alike.

In order to achieve progress on the advancement of the person, she said that the socio-economic reality of a country must be seen as indivisible from its legal and institutional frameworks. She appealed for collective, international action to promote positive and sustainable measures to guarantee the rights of women and girls in countries of crisis. Civil society must also support governments in their efforts to accelerate implementation of the Beijing Platform.

CHARLOTTE C. ABAKA (Ghana) said that agreements reached at various sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women concerning implementation of the Beijing outcome should be taken into account at the special Assembly session. The special session should also recognize the complementarity of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Platform for Action, adopted at Beijing. Effective implementation of both documents would enhance the equality between women and men. All States that had entered reservations to the core articles of the Women's Convention should review their reservations with a view to withdrawing them.

She said she hoped that the Convention's Optional Protocol - which establishes a mechanism which would permit individuals to air gender-based complaints -- would have entered into force. She had also hoped that the special session would not renegotiate the Platform for Action, but would reaffirm the international community's commitment to its implementation, and find solutions to the problems arising from the emerging issues.

JALIL ABBAS, of the Ministry of Women, Development, Social Welfare, and Special Education of Pakistan, supported the emphasis placed by previous speakers on the institutional and organizational aspects of gender mainstreaming across the economic and social policies of national governments. During the review process of the implementation of the Platform, the pace should be set within the United Nations system, both at the Secretariat level and among the various agencies of the Organization.

He drew the attention to the Committee to four broad suggestions that related to policy perspectives and subsequent reform for institutional change and organizational work procedures by national governments. The first was that all major United Nations agencies and conferences should include gender concerns through mandatory institutional insertion, so that governments and agencies within the system were aware of perspectives and deliberations. Next, there was a crucial need for coordination between United Nations agencies and national governments.

He went on to suggest that the UNDP governance programmes, which had a vital impact in some countries, should be coordinated with the country programmes of other United Nations organs, especially those associated with the rights of women and children. Finally, he suggested that governments and NGOs should be aided in the development of professional skills and expertise whereby the desired transformation in policy analysis and financial planning of institutional procedures and work methods could be achieved.

Mrs. ABU ELGASIM (Sudan) said that political will had been the driving engine in obtaining the Sudan's objectives in the area of women's rights. However, there had been impediments to implementing some of the aims of the Platform, particularly in the form of continued conflict in her region. The causes of armed conflict and the damage it caused must be identified.

To counter some of the other impediments that stood in the way of women's development, she said that the international community must mobilize resources and institute a special budget for women. The international community must also find a way to cope with the adverse affects of globalization.

Finally, she drew the attention of United Nations agencies to the need to translate promises into reality as a means to promote the status of women around the world. The Committee's final outcome document must take into particular consideration the alleviation of suffering of the countries of the South.

F.R.B. OERI (Kenya) said that laws affecting the status of women in Kenya had been reviewed and gender-sensitive legislation was now being formulated. Key among them was the Domestic Violence Bill, currently being finalized. Others measures being undertaken in collaboration with NGOs concerned the elaboration of an equal opportunity bill and affirmative action legislation. Those had represented attempts by Kenya to implement the Beijing Platform and domesticate the women's Convention.

Numerous challenges had remained, she went on. HIV/AIDS posed a great challenge to the implementation of the Beijing outcome. Indeed, her country had recently declared AIDS a "national disaster", and activities to combat the pandemic had been stepped up. Gender aspects of the infection, however, still needed to be critically examined, with a view to guaranteeing women and youth appropriate information and opportunities for protection. Support should be given to women who were either infected or affected, since they were the primary care-givers.

She said her country shared the concern of many about the negative effects of globalization on developing countries. Structural adjustment programmes had negatively affected the rights and welfare of women and children. Social sectors, particularly health and education, had also been severely affected and, as a result, women lacked sufficient access to those vital services. Gains made by women in accessing adequate health services and education were not only being reversed in many countries, but were actually being "pushed back". Mechanisms must be established to monitor implementation of the Platform, and her country, in collaboration with its developing partners, was currently developing a framework for such monitoring.

MISHECK MUCHETWA (Zimbabwe) said that national implementation of the Beijing Platform had identified the following priorities: women and health; education and the girl child; power sharing and decision-making; violence against women; employment; and women's economic empowerment. Implementing the Beijing outcome could be accelerated by targeting more resources to the communities.

Women's full exercise of their human rights had remained a problem in Zimbabwe, due to deeply rooted cultural beliefs and considerations. Financial constraints had further impeded implementation of the Beijing agreements. For its part, the Preparatory Committee could make the special session a great success.

Action on Drafts

Acting without a vote, the Commission approved the draft decision on arrangements regarding the participation of non-governmental organizations at the special session (document E/CN.6/2000/PC/L.3).

It next approved, also without a vote, the draft decision on arrangements regarding the accreditation of non-governmental organizations (document E/CN.6/2000/PC/L.4*).

* *** *