CAMEROON'S MINISTER OF WOMEN'S AFFAIRS RESPONDS TO EXPERTS' QUESTIONS IN WOMEN'S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE

Press Release
WOM/1231

CAMEROON'S MINISTER OF WOMEN'S AFFAIRS RESPONDS TO EXPERTS' QUESTIONS IN WOMEN'S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE

The political will of Cameroon to improve the situation of women was clear and ratification of the Convention had given the Government its most important tool to fight gender discrimination, 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, Julienne Ngo Som, Cameroon’s Minister of Women’s Affairs, said that the majority of Cameroon’s citizens now understood that women had civil as well as human rights. In that regard, they understood that violence and discrimination against women must be eliminated as soon as possible.

When the Committee First took up the initial periodic report of Cameroon on 20 June, experts expressed concern over a wide range of issues. While it was generally felt that Cameroon had made strides in implementing the tenets of the Convention, certain issues had to be addressed, including the persistence of stereotypes and violence against women. Improving the situation of the rural women was also identified as a priority for Cameroon.

Ms. Ngo Som told the Committee that measures had been taken to eliminate violence against women, including in-depth studies to better define the nature of such violence at every level. Non-governmental organizations had also worked with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to assist victims of violence. Other professional associations provided legal and medical support to battered women.

She added that Cameroon continued in its efforts to battle stereotypes. Obstacles to women’s advancement had existed for centuries and negative attitudes would be hard to eliminate. The political will was present, however, and currently the country’s constitutional framework was under assessment.

She went on to say that the work of rural women was highly regarded. Non- governmental organizations had shown particular interest in their progress and support and provided “gifts” to rural women, such as farm equipment and enhanced food production techniques.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 27 June, to hear replies to comments and queries posed by experts on Moldova’s initial period report.

Women’s Anti-Discrimination Committee - 2 - Press Release WOM/1231 483rd Meeting (AM) 26 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 periodic report of Cameroon. That report, first taken up by the Committee on 20 June, was on Cameroon’s compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. (See Press Releases WOM/1224 and WOM/1225.)

Replies by Cameroon

JULIENNE NGO SOM, Ministry of Women’s Affairs, first responded to questions posed by experts on her country’s measures to speed up the change in negative stereotypical attitudes towards women, particularly polygamy, forced marriage and genital mutilation. Experts had wondered if a timetable had been established to eradicate those negative attitudes and if gender polices had been taken into account in the national plan of action.

Cameroon’s National Plan of Action, she said, had been based on provisions in the Beijing Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women, as well as regional platforms and the realities of women in Cameroon. The National Plan highlighted, among other things, better institutional coordination and follow-up procedures for the advancement of women, improved understanding of women’s situation through extensive research, improvement of women’s living conditions, such as the elimination of poverty, and creation of awareness-raising programmes.

Other important aspects of the National Plan were the promotion of increased vigilance and institutions, legislative measures to combat violence against women and the involvement of non-governmental organizations to help create advocacy programmes, she said. With all that, it was important to note that obstacles to women’s advancement had existed for centuries and negative attitudes would be hard to eliminate. The political will was present, however, and currently the country’s constitutional framework was under assessment.

She went on to say that during the follow-up assessment of the Beijing Conference, Cameroon had made many strides in implementing the Platforms’ 12 critical areas of concern, despite the country’s continuing economic crisis. Cameroon had indeed created an environment that was favourable to the development of women. The majority of citizens now knew that women had civil, as well as human rights. In that regard, they understood that violence and discrimination against women must be eliminated as soon as possible.

She also said that the Ministry of Women’s Affairs would strive to improve the living conditions of women and would ensure the inclusion of gender specific language in all the Government’s policies.

Turning next to civil legislation, she said that the advancement of women’s development strategies had been ensured through ratification. Once the Convention had been ratified, it had become the most important tool in fighting gender discrimination. A main objective of the Commission on Civil Legislative Reform was to prepare uniform laws that would promote ethnic diversity among all sectors of the population, as well as positive customs within all regions.

Since February, she said, the Commission had been asked to define provisions relative to the family, in order to create a national family code. Sociological surveys would be undertaken, in conjunction with other African countries in the region. It appeared that the Commission would complete the study of the family code by January.

She assured the Committee's experts that discriminatory provisions in existing legislation would continue to be combated. Non-governmental organizations and other institutions would help speed up the process of amending discriminatory laws, as well as proposing new gender sensitive provisions and policies.

On the relationship between Cameroon’s Consultative Commission and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, she said that the two important bodies had been created simultaneously and had worked in close consultation. After only three meetings, however, the Commission no longer held meetings. It was expected that the Commission would shortly become active again.

As for the Committee’s concerns about resource allocation for support of Government programmes on women’s equality, she went on to say that 2 billion francs were allocated annually for the Ministry’s work. That figure represented an increase of 30 per cent and did not include foreign investment. It was important to note that 75 per cent of the State budget was devoted to salaries and administration, while 33 per cent was allocated for women’s services. That was a situation that must be changed in order to improve the situation of Cameroon’s women.

She was aware that a socio-professional imbalance existed that did not favour the promotion or advancement of women, and that too would be addressed shortly. The Ministry’s personnel consisted mainly of social assistants and inspectors of social affairs. It was expected that emphasis would soon shift to highlight women with executive skills, as well as those with technical, scientific or psychological training.

In order to eliminate some of the negative impacts of social adjustment policies, she said that studies had induced the Government to readjust work hours and establish a continuous work day. Legislative reforms regarding freedom of association had allowed women to once again form regional cooperatives. It was important to note that certain financial structures had been established to support those and other initiatives.

Turning to the situation of rural women, she said that unemployment benefits were only available for women employed in the public sector. The work of rural women was highly regarded, however, and non-governmental organizations such as the Circle of Friends of Cameroon had shown particular interest in their progress and support. At present, that and other organizations provided “gifts” to rural women of farm equipment and enhanced food production techniques. There were also other support organizations, or “tontines” distributed throughout certain regions that financed income-generating activities and invested in the production of goods and services.

In response to the question of violence against women and whether it represented a socio-cultural obstacle to the implementation of the Convention, she said that measures had been taken to eliminate violence against women, including in-depth studies to better define the nature of such violence at every level and to better target the actions to improve the situation. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs would annex to women’s advancement centres special services for women victims of violence. Non-governmental organizations had also worked with the Ministry to assist victims of violence. Other professional associations provided specific support, including legal and medical support to battered women. Cameroon continued the battle against stereotypes. It also worked towards improving the legal status of women and the advancement and protection of the girl child.

Responding to the question of polygamy and whether girls at the age 15 had the right to make decisions about marriage, she said that a 1981 decree had legalized polygamy in Cameroon. It continued to be an option. Nevertheless, the Government would take legislative measures to combat precious and forced marriages and polygamy. Eighteen was considered the coming of age for girls and boys. Cameroon recognized that early marriage could have harmful effects. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs would have to deal with that matter.

She said, in response to a question on Cameroon’s family planning policy, a general political declaration was being revised by a commission comprised of deputies of the national assembly, officials from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and public interests. In addition, family planning centres existed throughout the country, and were one of primary elements of Cameroon’s health care programme. Non-governmental organizations were also active in the area of family planning.

She then turned to questions on education. Government measures had ensured the participation of all girl children in primary and secondary education. On the role of young girls in the scientific field and in the media, under the direction of the Ministry of Education a working commission had been created to improve school manuals. One of the functions of that commission would be to eliminate stereotypes.

Providing figures on the participation of girls in school, she said that in 1990-1991, the percentage of girls was some 86 per cent. In 1995-1996, the number decreased to about 67 per cent. In 1997, the percentage had increased to about 72 per cent. In 1998-1999 girls represented some 73 per cent of enrollment. The decrease after 1991 could be explained by the economic crisis, in particular the decrease in salaries and exchange rates. However, the Government attached great importance to education and had increased budgetary allocations for that purpose. Orientation programmes encouraged girls to pursue scientific studies.

On the issue of prostitution and whether there were sanctions for the clients as well as prostitutes, she said that the Ministry of Women’s Affairs was developing specific measures to fight prostitution. Despite provisions of the criminal code, Cameroon had not been able to eradicate prostitution. It was recognized, however, that legislation alone was not enough to rid Cameroon of the phenomenon. Better education was needed, as was the need to fight poverty and to include all segments of society, including young women, in the campaign to eradicate prostitution.

As for the clients of prostitution, she said that they were considered accomplices and could be sanctioned on the same basis as prostitutes. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs would like to propose new measures. It was difficult to prove the existence of clandestine prostitution houses. The Criminal Code called for the closure of those houses, as well as for sanctions against all involved parties.

Turning to the issue of women in political life, she said that neither the Constitution nor the electoral laws contained provisions to allow the husband to prohibit his wife from taking part in politics. At the same time, however, husbands could prohibit their wives from participating in paid employment. Women were active in the political sphere. The electoral code did not contain discriminatory provisions.

On sociological approaches that blocked the participation of women in public life, she said that there were a number of associations working in that area. Those associations worked towards ensuring that women took a more active role in political life and elections, both as voters and as candidates. They also helped women assume leaderships positions. While there were no quota systems, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs envisaged a number of actions to enhance the capacity of women in political life, including programmes to familiarize them with different political roles and improve financial support for women in political life.

She said that in Cameroon society, women did occupy positions of responsibility. In some territories, women occupied posts in the army and police. Measures to increase the participation of women in various facets of public life were based on steps taken by a number of organizations at the national and regional levels. Although the labour code guaranteed the right of everyone to work, there was still some degree of de facto discrimination.

On health care issues, she said that the Government had adopted a sectoral policy to ensure the entire population’s access to health care. With the help of the European Union and a Belgian organization, a national centre for the distribution of pharmaceuticals had been created, as well as provincial health centres.

More remained to be done to ensure access of women to primary health care, she added. Statistical data with a breakdown by gender would provide a better understanding of women’s access to health care. The Ministry was cooperating with several United Nations agencies in such areas as nutrition and sanitation. The Government had also created a committee to fight HIV/AIDS. It had adopted a national programme aimed at protecting the most vulnerable groups, including prostitutes, adolescents and those in the armed forces. The Government was trying to familiarize both religious leaders and traditional authorities with the HIV/AIDS issue. Cameroon had legalized the use of contraceptives. There was no information on the issue of abortion. That would be a task for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

Responding to questions on safe drinking water, she said that both international and national organizations worked in that area. A number of non- governmental organizations supported the Government in assuring safe drinking water. Currently, a wide-scale campaign was being undertaken in rural areas.

She said that the political will of Cameroon to improve the situation of women was quite clear, although greater resources were needed.

Remarks by Experts

Following the replies by Cameroon’s delegation, several experts expressed the Committee’s desire to reiterate the positive aspects of the responses and hoped that efforts would continue to be strengthened in areas where weaknesses had been identified. Cameroon’s creation of a National Plan of Action was particularly applauded as a positive step for the advancement of women in that country. It was also felt that the Government had created a number of focal

points at the ministerial level and had rightly encouraged the participation of non-governmental organizations in policy-making decisions. It was generally felt that Cameroon was “on the right track”.

Still, the experts expressed some concerns about social stereotypes, such as polygamy and genital mutilation and their concerns were not completely dispelled by Cameroon’s responses. They stressed the need for strengthened efforts in that area. It was generally hoped that the new national family code would address that important concern.

The experts welcomed Cameroon’s particular determination to address the special situation of rural women and encouraged continued vigilance in that area. Experts also welcomed Cameroon’s efforts to provide better access to education for women and encouraged the acceleration of all programmes that focused on that important area of concern. In that regard, an increase in budgetary allocations was recommended. Several experts said that, while it was important to ensure that girls continued to enrol in school, it was equally important that they remain there -- at least through the basic education curricula. Cameroon was encouraged to create programmes that offset the high drop-out rate among young girls.

Finally, an expert commented on aspects of the Committee’s reporting process. While writing and presenting reports was very important, dialogue with the experts was crucial in order to ensure that the Committee’s recommendations were disseminated, particularly in situations where a country’s government was decentralized. In that way the entire population of a country might become aware of certain important things that might have been unknown to them in the past. Money was important. Awareness-creation and advocacy were equally or perhaps even more important.

In closing remarks, the Committee Chairperson, AIDA GONZALEZ MARTINEZ (Mexico) echoed the experts' concerns and suggestions. She said that Cameroon’s political will was evident and was encouraged by the participation and cooperation of non-governmental organizations and other civil society actors in that country’s policy efforts. That would provide more integrated information and awareness, which would not only strengthen implementation of the Convention, but also provide support for the strengthening of policies for the advancement of women.

She went on to say that capacity-building of institutions within Cameroon was important and must be continuous and those mechanisms must have the requisite political support. Finally, she said that she hoped that the outcome of the Committee’s review would be disseminated to all the sectors of the Government, as well as civil society and non-governmental organizations. She hoped that all would be fully informed and take note of the recommendations that had been made.

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