WOMEN"S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE TAKES UP INITIAL REPORT OF REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

Press Release
WOM/1226

WOMEN’S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE TAKES UP INITIAL REPORT OF REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

Highlighted by a parliamentary decree ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Republic of Moldova had experienced many important political, social and cultural changes affecting the equal rights of women, the representative of that country told experts this morning during the introduction of its initial periodic report on compliance with the Convention.

Speaking to the Conventions monitoring body -- the 23-member Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women -- Anghelina Apostol, Deputy Minister of Labour, Social Protection and Family, said that Moldova’s move towards a democratic society had confirmed its willingness to join the international process begun at the Fourth World Conference on Women, and to assume its obligations to guarantee women’s rights by implementing the provisions of the Platform for Action, as well as the Convention. In that regard, the Government had now initiated the procedure to accede to the Convention’s Optional Protocol.

While legislation now in force recognized equality between men and women, she said, there was no adequate legislation in place that would ensure the adoption of follow-up mechanisms to monitor changes and improvements to the status of women. New family and labour codes designed with a view to specifically address that shortcoming were currently under consideration.

She went on to say that women’s roles depended, to a large extent, on a country’s economic situation. Her country, therefore, was undertaking serious efforts to improve its unstable economic environment. Economic rights were, in fact, guaranteed by various policies. The demands of a modern labour market also demanded new skills. In order to encourage job creation, the Government had enacted a decree to encourage businesses to institute training programmes with an emphasis on the most vulnerable groups, including women.

Commenting on the report, an expert said that progress was evident. The recognition that Moldova’s legislation was not adequate reflected the country’s political will to adhere to the provisions of the Convention. Another expert said that she could see that there was strong political commitment on the part of society and Government to improve the status of women in Moldova. Women made up 54 per cent of the labour force and enjoyed an extraordinary level of education.

Women’s Anti-Discrimination Committee - 1a - Press Release WOM/1226 478th Meeting (AM) 21 June 2000

However, 75 per cent of women said that they experienced discrimination, she said. Moldova’s constitution did not sanction discriminatory practices; in fact, there was no legal definition of discrimination. Strong national mechanisms were needed to monitor programmes.

The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its consideration of Moldova’s initial periodic report.

Women’s Anti-Discrimination Committee - 3 - Press Release WOM/1226 478th Meeting (AM) 21 June 2000

Committee Work Programme

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women met this morning to consider the initial periodic report of the Republic of Moldova on compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The report (document CEDAW/C/MDA/1) contains an in-depth description of activities for the advancement of women and of the situation of women in the Republic of Moldova during the period 1994-1998.

Assuming its obligations under the Convention, the Republic of Moldova is in the process of modifying its women's statute at the national level. According to the report, this fact was reflected in the creation of a new structure tasked with promoting and coordinating women-centred social policy. In 1994, the President of the Republic gave the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family new tasks for the development of the social protection system of the family, including: improving the situation of women; further collaboration with the public on the need to observe women's rights; and introducing a new way of thinking concerning women's roles in society.

The report briefly highlights some of the problems facing the Republic in the post-Soviet period. Population decline, due to a general decrease in births as well as emigration, has created an "extremely difficult situation". Infant mortality in the Republic is four times higher than that of other countries. Two factors contributed to an increase in female mortality rates: suicide; and complications during pregnancy. There has also been an increase in deaths from venereal disease.

According to the report, the Republic's transition to a market economy has been characterized by a serious crisis that has affected all spheres of the national economy. Industrial and agricultural production in the Republic has decreased, and capital investment and retail sales have declined.

Despite the economic decline and ensuing period of "depressive stability", the report notes that 56 to 60 per cent of the State budget was allocated to the social sector. Generally speaking, favourable conditions have recently been created for the gradual improvement of the national economy. In fact, 1997 had been envisaged as a turning point, and those expectations had been realized. That year saw the Republic's largest-ever financial allocations for various measures of social protection. During the same period, however, the difficult economic and financial situation has had a negative effect on the living standards of the population, particularly women.

The Constitution of the Republic provides that all citizens are equal before the law, irrespective of gender. The report notes that regulations that stipulate the equality of all citizens before the law are included in other normative acts, as well (articles 1-3). Women's rights are considered part of the regulations on human rights, as well.

The report highlights some of the temporary measures the Republic has taken to accelerate equality between men and women (article 4). Mothers enjoy special attention from the State and are guaranteed maternity leave, medical assistance, favourable conditions for work and other facilities. Women and men have equal rights in all fields, and offering equal possibilities in the economic, social, political and cultural fields ensures the achievement of those rights. The labour legislation denies companies the right to refuse to hire women or decrease their salaries due to pregnancy.

From the point of view of legislation in force, the report says that the status of women in the Republic does not represent an obstacle for their promotion within the new democratic institutions (article 7), created after the declaration of independence. Women's rights have been specified in numerous legislative acts, including the right to vote and the right to participate in administration. In the framework of representation at the international level (article 8), 66 women from the Ministry of External Affairs have been trained.

In the field of education (article 10), the report notes that some positive tendencies have been observed. During the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of women receiving higher education. The Government also took a series of measures in the field of health care to improve medical assistance to women and children (article 12). A national programme for improving medical assistance for 1997-2000 was adopted which stipulates the implementation of new technologies to assist pregnant women, and to, among other things, reduce maternal mortality. Medical care is free in the Republic. As a result of these and other measures, positive results have been achieved, most notably a 2 per cent reduction in the infant mortality rate in 1997.

According to the report, strides had also been made in many other areas, including challenging stereotypical attitudes (article 5), women in rural areas (article 14), and equality before the law (article 15). It was important to note, however, that during the reporting period the difficulties of transition had forced the Republic to confront and resolve a series of problems in the social development process. The period had been marked with contradictions between aspirations and possibilities. Under these conditions, the problems faced by women are being resolved, while still focusing attention on the need for new concepts to identify their role in society.

The creation of such a concept on increasing the role of women in society was included in a decision of the Government in 1998, the report concludes. Regrettably, the legislation in force does not ensure the protection and observation of women's rights in all cases. For that reason, the Republic needs the assistance of international organizations. In this context, adherence to the Convention is a first step towards adjusting the national legal framework to conform to international standards.

Introduction of Report

ANGHELINA APOSTOL, Deputy Minister of Labour, Social Protection and Family, said that in recent years her country had experienced important changes in its move towards a democratic society. Those economic, social and cultural changes had many positive effects, particularly in the area of assuring equal rights for women. Legislation now in force recognized equality between men and women and, most importantly, the Convention had been ratified by parliamentary decree. That confirmed her country’s willingness to join the international process begun at Beijing, and to assume its obligations to guarantee women’s rights by implementing the provisions of the Platform for Action, as well as the Convention.

Unfortunately, at the present time there was no adequate legislation in place to ensure the adoption of mechanisms to follow up and monitor changes and improvements in the status of women, she said. New family and labour codes designed with a view to specifically address that shortcoming were currently under consideration.

She went on to say, however, that although Beijing had assumed the creation of national plans of action to ensure women’s rights, the unstable political and economic situation in her country had hindered adoption of the tenets of the Platform. To move the process forward, an institutional coordinating mechanism must be developed to monitor the advancement of women’s rights at all levels, including access to health care, equal employment and economic development. In that regard, her country had received help from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, as well as other United Nations agencies and various non-governmental organizations. In 1999, the President had created a consultative commission to deal with the specific needs of women and families, which would keep his office informed about the problems of women in society and draft strategic and organizational provisions to State policies on the advancement of women.

Although there had been certain successes, full equality had not yet been achieved at all levels, she continued. Unfortunately, the holistic approach to gender equality was severely affected by the difficulties of building a modern economy. Programmes to increase production and promote economic reforms had been implemented only partially. There were some signs of hope, however, as consumer prices indices were on the rise, as were monthly average worker salaries, which had risen 22.1 per cent in 2000.

High unemployment and poverty had reduced opportunity and entrepreneurial sprit and had given rise to massive immigration, particularly of women, to other parts of the world, she continued. This, in turn, had dramatically increased incidents of trafficking. To combat that scourge, the Government had created a permanent working group made up of representatives from the various ministries to carry out an information-sharing and awareness-raising campaign. The Government had also enlisted the help of international law enforcement agencies, such as INTERPOL, to monitor the placement of foreign workers.

The Government had also begun organizing and conducting special surprise raids to identify pimps and prostitutes, she added. Two new articles had also been added to the criminal code on forced prostitution and pandering. A bill was currently being drafted on the horrible situation, as well. In all that, the Government had taken into consideration the reality that social policies designed to combat human trafficking networks needed to be coordinated nationally and internationally.

Turning to the political arena, she said that although in law women and men could participate equally in political life, real equality was far from being achieved. While women actively participated in politics at many levels, they were often not promoted to decision-making positions and, thus, did not have much influence in shaping the policies or laws of the parties themselves. Sadly, a law passed in 1999 to ensure equality had not been underpinned by other policies to ensure its enforcement. At the local level, however, policies were in place to elect and promote women’s issues and equality. Some progress had also been made to promote women to senior positions within the Government.

Concerning access to education, she said that during the 1998-1999 school year, higher education enrolment had been 55 per cent women; 52 per cent at the high school level. It was also important to note that the Ministry of Education and Science had adopted a programme to introduce curricula to fight stereotypes at all educational levels. Experimental courses such as “The Law and Us” and “Gender Education” had been introduced this year.

She went on to say that women’s roles depended, to a large extent, on a country’s economic situation. Therefore, her country was undertaking serious efforts to improve its unstable economic environment. Economic rights were, in fact, guaranteed by various policies. No discrimination was allowed in hiring practices or the setting of wages. The demands of a modern labour market demanded new skills. In order to encourage job creation, the Government had enacted a decree to encourage businesses institute training programmes, with emphasis on the most vulnerable groups, including women.

Far-reaching changes in the labour field during the transition to a market economy had revealed new job requirements that women could often not fulfil, she continued. That had led to a continuous decline in the number of new hires and increased unemployment. To combat that, recruitment and counselling services were in place and a more equitable distribution of unemployment benefits was under review. In that regard, since 1998 the National Labour Service had revised stipulations placed on those who could receive unemployment benefits to include women who left work to have children.

It was regrettable, she said, that the number of women in entrepreneurial activities was so low, as that was a real way to ensure economic independence and move towards true equality. Suffering continued because some policies actually seemed to reinforce existing traditional divisions of labour. Social rights granted to women and mothers had also had a negative effect on their position in the labour market. Introducing women’s policies that addressed women’s special needs into general law could reverse those adverse effects. There was now, however, a slight increase of women in management positions.

Turning to medical care, she said that Moldova’s transition to market economy had tended to undermine the machinery in place to address maternal health care and diet and nutrition, among others. Unfortunately, the problem was becoming more serious. At the present time, some type of disease affected 400 of every 1,000 live births. The Government was taking strong measures in the field of mother-and-child health. Prenatal and family planning centres had been set up. Sadly, those measures and programmes did not yet extend to rural areas, where medical care was a particular problem. Important programmes were being aimed at doctors and nurses, however, to offset that negative trend.

Poor health was often the result of mental and physical trauma caused by violence, she said. Penal codes were being enacted to address that, particularly in the area of family violence. That form of violence was on the rise, most likely aggravated by socio-economic problems, such as alcohol abuse and poor education. To make matters worse, at present, authorities could not interfere in a case of family violence unless it resulted in “very severe” injury. Otherwise, those cases were merely considered “domestic disputes”. Another factor hindering progress in that area was the fact that the criminal court procedure was very intricate and confusing. Parliament was now reviewing those policies in an attempt to provide some relief.

On the situation of rural women, she said that agrarian policy of 2000-2010 would ensure greater access to education and health care, as well as administration of property rights. It was important to note, however, that since rural women often had less income or were poorly educated, it would be incumbent on the Government to ensure that they could exercise those rights.

Finally, she said, existing legislation did not expressly prohibit discrimination or sanction it. That was recognized as a serious gap in the laws of the country and pointed to the necessity of inserting gender specific language into all policies. The Government was indeed aware of the need to adopt legislation that would promote women and put an end to prejudice. While that would be a difficult task, national human rights legislation was now under consideration and many proposals had already been adopted. In that regard, it was also important to note that the Government had now initiated the procedure to accede to the Convention’s Optional Protocol.

Questions and Comments by Experts

Commenting on the report, an expert said that it was evident that progress was on the way. The recognition that the Republic of Moldova’s legislation was not adequate reflected the country’s political will to adhere to the provisions of the Convention. It was most important to adjust the juridical framework and to change the attitudes of society. When women were in low levels of decision- making, change did not happen quickly. Some change in the constitution had to take place. Discrimination must be clearly described in the constitution. An equal opportunity law would demonstrate a clear strategy in Moldova’s policy towards women.

Another expert said that she could see that there was strong political commitment on the part of society and Government to improve the status of women in Moldova. Women made up 54 per cent of the labour force and enjoyed an extraordinary level of education. However, 75 per cent of women said that they experienced discrimination. Protection from discrimination was not guaranteed by Moldova’s constitution and there was no legal definition of discrimination. Also, it was not clear as to whether there was an implementation mechanism. Strong national mechanisms were needed to monitor programmes. Such mechanisms would limit the impact of political instability on implementation of the Convention. Moreover, the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family lacked the necessary focus even in its new structure. Because the Ministry’s mandate was broad, it lacked focus. Gender mainstreaming must be included in government activities.

Another major problem, the expert said, was the problem of poverty. Some 80 per cent of the people lived below the poverty line in Moldova. It was important for Moldova to handle the problem of poverty with greater urgency. Were there targeted poverty programmes?

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Another expert said that she was disturbed to see that so many highly educated and accomplished women were so extraordinarily burdened. Moldovan women carried the burden of a double load of home and work. Their basic human rights were violated, and they were often victims of human trafficking. That unfair situation merited greater attention by all the parties concerned, including the international community, government and civil society agents.

A comprehensive approach was needed to change the dire circumstances of Moldovan women, she continued. Women must be seen as active agents and rightful claimants of their human rights. That change was necessary to start a process that would yield results. Discrimination was both direct and indirect. A change in mentality was the key. Only with such a change could Moldova address the root causes of the problem, rather than just the symptoms. Economic bad times could not be allowed to take a disproportionate toll on women.

The expert also wanted to know to what extent non-governmental organizations had been functioning vis-à-vis the State. To what extent had they been active and effective in their actions? What was the extent of cooperation between non- governmental organizations and the Government? To what extent and how did non- governmental organizations participate in the preparation of the report?

Also offering general comments, an expert said although circumstances in Moldova were difficult, the report was submitted late. She recommended that the second and third periodic reports be combined. In the next report, government experts would have to delve deeper into some of the articles of the Convention. The structure of the report was not always clear. She was particularly concerned about the high unemployment rate for women. On the national plan of action, she did not understand what the plan was about. What were the detailed projects and time frames of that plan? She was also concerned about the health situation of Moldovan women, particularly older women.

On article 2 of the Convention, an expert said that the laws seemed to retain patriarchal features and viewed women as welfare objects only. A holistic, integrated strategy for legal reform was needed. It was not clear how legal reform was being undertaken. How were they implementing the provisions of the Convention? The process of legal reform had to bring about a change in attitudes on the part of the Moldovan people. Did they have a process of consultation with civil society? Was there a campaign to raise public awareness? Was there open debate in seminars, workshops, and in the media?

Another expert commented on the provisions of Moldova’s constitution that restricted the wife’s role in property issues. There was an enormous double burden on women. Did that burden reinforce sexual stereotypes? Women were not visible in politics and high management positions. Was that because of their participation in the family? What was being done to include men in the caregiving role?

Turning to article 4 of the Convention, an expert said that temporary measures, such as quota systems, were necessary to ensure that women were integrated into all sectors of society. With the problem of low representation of women in Parliament and managerial positions, were there policies to accelerate the participation of women? There were still those institutions that preferred to hire women who did not have children.

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