WOMEN"S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE CONTINUES CONSIDERATION OF LITHUANIA"S REPORT

Press Release
WOM/1228

WOMEN’S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE CONTINUES CONSIDERATION OF LITHUANIA’S REPORT

The Government of Lithuania hoped to provide more details about what measures were currently being undertaken to improve the situation of women in that country in compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention’s monitoring body was told this morning.

Replying to questions posed last week by the experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Gediminas Serksnys, Lithuania’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said that his delegation would also elaborate on what was being done to tackle gender equality in light of the many difficulties arising from social and structural changes in Lithuania.

When the Committee first took up the initial and second periodic reports of Lithuania (see Press Releases WOM/1220 and 1221 of 16 June), experts expressed concern over a wide range of issues. While it was generally felt that Lithuania had made certain strides in implementing the tenets of the Convention, some problem areas remained. Particular concern was expressed about the situation of elderly women, since statistics in the report had shown a sharp increase in the number of Lithuanian women over the age of 80. The experts had also raised the issue of women’s participation in political life. They wanted to know how many women had been elected to government offices.

Today, responding to the question on the elderly, Jolanta Sliuziene, of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, said that Lithuania had participated in the 1999 International Year of Older Persons. The Government also approved a programme to find solutions to the specific economic, social, health and psychological problems facing the elderly.

On the issue of women in political life, Roma Dovydeniene, a member of Lithuania’s Parliament, said that in 1996 female candidates accounted for some 20.7 per cent of all nominees for Parliament, and about 31 per cent of candidates in local elections this year. Some 17.6 per cent of all elected members of local councils were women. Since the official campaign for the parliamentary elections in October had not yet begun, she said that it would be difficult to predict how many women would be enrolled in electoral lists of different political parties.

The Committee will meet again at 10:30 a.m. Friday, 23 June, to take up the fourth and fifth periodic reports of Romania.

WOM1228

Women’s Anti-Discrimination Committee - 2 - Press Release WOM/1228 480th Meeting (AM) 22 June 2000

Committee Work Programme

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women met this morning to hear replies to questions posed by its experts on the initial and second periodic reports of Lithuania. Those reports, first taken up by the Committee on 16 June, were on Lithuania’s compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Replies by Lithuania

GEDIMINAS SERKSNYS (Lithuania), responding to questions posed by experts on Lithuania’s legal system, said that article 138 of the Lithuanian Constitution stipulated that all international agreements that are ratified by the Parliament constituted an integral part of Lithuania’s legal system. The Convention, therefore, after its ratification by the Lithuanian Parliament, acquired the power of law. The Convention was published in Lithuania’s official gazette, which is the publication in which all laws, international agreements, regulations and decrees of the Government were published.

He said that the Convention was promoted by the Government in several ways, including a Web site containing the Lithuanian text of the Convention. That Web site was popular among law students and practitioners in the private and public sectors. The mass media also played a role in promoting human rights instruments. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided representatives of the mass media with information about signing, ratifying and acceding to international instruments. Regarding ratification of the Optional Protocol, that would be done in the near future, as all necessary internal procedures for the signature of the Protocol had been completed.

On the question of the impact of privatization on women, he said that Lithuania’s transition to a market economy had caused the social sector difficulty. The process of privatization had changed the employment structure. “Hidden unemployment” had appeared. It was believed that some 200,000 to 400,000 people worked in the “gray market economy”. Some women had lost their jobs. In response to that situation, in 1996 the Government approved the Programme for Advancement of Women in Lithuania, which included programmes for the protection of women’s human rights, health, education, political life and the problem of violence.

AUSRINE BURNEIKIENE, Equal Opportunities Ombudsman, responded to the questions on the role of the Ombudsman. She said that the Ombudsman, in cooperation with other officials, investigated complaints relating to discrimination and sexual harassment, conducted investigations and submitted recommendations to the Government for the revision of legal acts and priorities in the policy of equal rights. The Ombudsman also supervised the mass media to see that it did not place discriminatory advertisements. Sexual harassment was defined as offensive conduct -- verbal or physical –- directed against a person at work, business and in other subordinate relations. She admitted that the public had not been well informed about the establishment of the Office. The Ombudsman, therefore, assigned high priority to increasing public awareness of the functions of the Office.

JOLANTA SLIUZIENE, Senior Officer of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, answering questions on Lithuania’s implementation of article 3 of the Convention, said that there were specialists at almost all levels of national decision-making bodies. In the Parliament, there was a Women’s Parliamentary Group and the Commission for Child and Family Issues. At the government level, there was a State Counsellor and Inter-ministerial Commission. The State Counsellor worked with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and monitored the Inter- ministerial Commission, which consisted of members of all 14 ministries. The Women’s Parliamentary Group met to discuss draft laws and codes that dealt with women, family and child issues. The Group tried to find a common position that would give priority to women’s interests.

In response to a question about legislative initiatives, she said that a draft law code would be submitted to the Parliament by 50,000 citizens with the right to vote. Before a law was enacted, it was first discussed in draft form by the relevant committee. Representatives of NGOs had the right to participate at committee meetings and offer proposals. Information on draft laws was available on the Parliament’s official Web site.

She said that the Lithuanian’s Women’s Party was established in 1995. The founders of the Party sought greater participation by women in political life. Although it had gained in popularity, it did not succeeded in achieving the required 5 per cent of the vote during the last parliamentary elections. With a view to gaining popularity, the Party changed its name to New Democracy/Women’s Party in 1998. The Party currently consisted of seven men and 43 women and remained the only party with a majority of women members. Women’s groups were also created in Lithuania’s five largest political parties.

Responding to a question on Lithuania’s Programme for Advancement of Women, she said that the programme was developed following the structure of the critical areas in the Beijing Platform for Action. Two national action plans were developed and approved by the Government to implement the Programme.

She then answered a question about the situation of the elderly. She said that last year Lithuania had participated in the International Year of Older Persons. The Government approved a programme to find solutions to the specific economic, social, health and psychological problems facing the elderly. There were, however, no separate statistics about violence against elderly women. On the issue of social pensions, the pension reform of 1994-1995 had decided that the State should provide support to mothers of large families out of the State’s resources and should provide pension guarantees irrespective of work records. Social services were provided for individuals in numerous categories, including children and orphans, the homeless, unemployed, disabled, one-parent families, as well as for alcoholism and drug addiction.

ROMA DOVYDENIENE, Member of Parliament, answering questions posed on the participation of women in academia and education, said that only one university, Vilnius University, had introduced special temporary measures to ensure women’s participation in the realm of scientific research. Women were, however, provided with longer-paid academic leave and, among other measures, were given priority in publication of their work. Although women were still under-represented in academia -– women made up only 11 per cent of all professors -- there was a slight increase in the number of women who received doctoral degrees. It was hoped that other universities, which enjoyed academic autonomy, would follow that example. Some universities had introduced new courses on women’s studies into their curricula. As a result, three women had already received degrees in that area.

Turing to the political arena, she said that the laws of Lithuania had not established quotas for women on election lists in the administration system. At present, only one political party had introduced quotas to ensure that no more than two thirds of the persons on an election list would be of one sex. The Government also tried to encourage participation in the decision-making process. One of the main goals of the Programme for the Advancement of Women was to empower women to participate in politics and administration.

TOMAS BLIZNIKAS (Lithuania), responding to queries on stereotypes (article 5), said that Lithuania participated in the medium-term European Community Programme on equal opportunities for men and women 1996-2000. Within that programme, Lithuania took part in the project “Women’s political education for equal opportunities” that would continue until July 2001. The aim of the project was to encourage women to participate in policy decision-making through training programmes designed specifically for women. The main strategy of gender- policy programmes was forming partnerships between men and women in decision- making.

Mass media was a very important tool in forming gender stereotypes, he said. The Law on Equal Opportunities also stipulated the duty of the Government and administrative institutions to implement programmes aimed at changing public attitudes about stereotypes. The Lithuanian Journalists and Publishers Ethics Code was also passed in 1996.

Addressing the experts’ concerns about violence against women (article 6), he said that article 118 of Lithuania’s Criminal Code established the definition and punishment of rape. Intercourse was considered rape if done "against the will" of the victim. It was important to note that a recent amendment to the Criminal Code had sanctioned threats made against rape victims by perpetrators.

He went on to say that article 239 of the Code established criminal liability for procuring prostitution. That article also provided more severe punishment for procuring under-aged persons or forcing prostitution through blackmail, deception or coercion. Although the criminal laws did not establish punishment for prostitution, the Code states that prostitution “contained an indicia of administrative violation”.

In the near future, the Government would launch a National Programme on Control and Prevention of Prostitution and Trafficking in Human Beings, he said. The Programme would be implemented by a number of ministries, governmental institutions and NGOs.

Ms. DOVYDENIENE, Member of Parliament, responded to questions on article 7 of the Convention (overcoming discrimination in public and political life). She said that since 1995 the Government had allocated some financial resources to support the activities of NGOs. The financial resources were provided under the budget of the Ministry of Culture. Unfortunately, the resources allocated to that Ministry had decreased. However, other ministries were also provided with financial resources to support NGOs. Exact information about which women’s NGOs received financial support was not available. The Government understood the importance of their work and activities.

She said that the majority of women’s organizations had been formed between 1992 and 1996. In 1996, female candidates made up some 20.7 per cent of all nominees for Parliament. Women candidates composed some 31 per cent of candidates in local elections. Only about 17.6 per cent of all elected members of local councils were women. Parliamentary elections would be held in October. Since the official campaign had not yet started, it was difficult to predict how many women would be enrolled in the electoral lists of political parties.

Ms. SLIUZIENE, Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, responded to questions posed concerning the situation of women in the workplace (article 11). She said that there were four national trade unions in Lithuania, one of which was headed by a woman. All trade unions had, however, established special women’s centres whose main goal was to ensure proper working conditions for women in the labour market.

She went on to say that the Government had stressed efforts to increase salaries in the most feminized sectors of the labour market. Usually, there were more women working in education and medical and social care and their salaries were generally lower than those of industrial workers, who were usually men. Particular interest was being paid to efforts to increase the salaries of teachers during the last three years. Also, since 1998 the salary of social workers had increased 20 per cent. Turning to the issue of women entrepreneurs, she said that according to current statistics, 30 per cent of all heads of businesses women.

There had also been increased efforts to support unemployed women or help them find new jobs as quickly as possible. There was now a national employment fund, which helped individuals who were unable to find permanent jobs after vocational training.

AUDRA PLEPYTE, Counsellor and Deputy Permanent Representative, responded to questions on article 12 of the Convention on health care. She said that until recently the Government had emphasized women’s reproductive health. Although the rate of abortion had decreased, abortion still remained an acute problem in Lithuania. The Government, therefore, paid particular attention to the areas of family planning, pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal period. A family planning programme had been implemented in primary health-care facilities. Information on contraceptives and family planning was published and disseminated among school children. Since 1998, however, financial resources for the programme had significantly decreased.

She said that much had been done to raise the awareness of diseases specific to women, such as breast cancer. Priority was given to preventive medicine. All medications for the treatment of women’s cancer were fully covered and compensated for by the State. Measures to prevent AIDS among women had also been taken. A special facility to provide prostitutes with free medical assistance had also been established. Although the availability of high-quality medical assistance was less common in rural areas, there were 1,011 facilities that provided qualified primary health care, as well as pregnancy and childcare.

Speaking on the situation of rural women (article 14), Ms. DOVYDENIENE said that 23 per cent of rural women were employed in industry, 19.5 per cent in agriculture and 15 per cent in trade. It was also important to note that in 1999 the majority of unemployed persons were urban inhabitants; only 26 per cent of the total unemployed were rural. That low level of unemployment could be directly related to the increased support of agriculture provided by the Rural Support Fund.

She went on to say that an agreement between the Government and the Nordic Investment Bank to provide a line of credit for women in business had been signed earlier this year. The purpose of that credit line was to provide support to small- and medium-sized enterprises run by women. The maximum loan amount was $33,000.

Turing to the issue of poverty among rural women, she said that a 1997 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) study had assisted the Government in developing a national strategy to address the important issue. After reviewing the results of the study, a major part of the strategy was directed at women raising children. Some special measures were taken aimed at addressing those particular concerns, including an increase in the amount of social allowances, State-assisted education for some children, and better access to health care and medicines.

In closing remarks, the Committee Chairperson, AIDA GONZALEZ MARTINEZ (Mexico), welcomed Lithuania’s intention to ratify the Optional Protocol. That country’s intention to adopt the amendment to article 20 of the Convention was encouraging. That would allow the Committee to strengthen its procedures. She assured the Lithuanian delegation that the detailed information that had been provided today would be analysed carefully by the Committee’s experts.

She was also encouraged by the work Lithuania had done concerning elderly women, and particularly hoped that special programmes would be ongoing. Signs of encouragement were also shown in the area of working women and respect for their fundamental rights, including working conditions and equal work for equal pay. She felt certain, however, that the Committee would urge Lithuania to strengthen programmes to fight segregation by encouraging equal participation of men and women in the workplace.

She said that the information Lithuania had provided on the measures taken to deal with domestic violence was very important and urged constant vigilance to the ongoing problem of trafficking in women. She also said that the information provided on health had proved the appropriateness of addressing the total health concerns of women, particularly reproductive health. She was also encouraged by the strengthening of family-planning programmes. Sex and reproductive health meant education about sexuality, as well as education for men and women. Finally, she hoped that the rate of abortion in Lithuania could be reduced in the spirit of the Beijing Platform for Action, which had said that abortion should not be used as a family-planning tool.

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