ECOSOC ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON SITUATION OF PALESTINIAN WOMEN;

TAKES UP REPORTS ON SOCIAL, HUMAN RIGHTS QUESTIONS

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 24 July (UN Information Service) -- The Economic and Social Council adopted this morning, by a roll-call vote, a resolution demanding that Israel comply fully with the provisions and principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, among other international agreements, in order to protect the rights of Palestinian women and their families.

By a vote of 39 in favour and one opposed, with one abstention, the Council called upon Israel to facilitate the return of all refugees and displaced Palestinian women and children to their homes and properties; and urged Member States, financial organizations of the United Nations system, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other relevant institutions to intensify their efforts to provide financial and technical assistance to Palestinian women.

The Council also began consideration this morning of the work of subsidiary bodies focusing on social and human rights questions, hearing introductions of reports on recent meetings of the International Narcotics Control Board, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the Board of Trustees of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

In addition, the Council adopted by consensus a calendar of United Nations meetings for 2002 and completed discussion of its agenda item on “coordination, programme and other questions”.  Under that agenda item, it heard a statement from Haiti calling for increased backing for a long-term programme of support to that country despite an ongoing political crisis.

Several countries participated in the debate on social and human rights matters.  Among them were the Dominican Republic, which said that more had to be done to advance the rights and well-being of women in developing countries; and Honduras, which said the United Nations should focus its development actions by including programmes involving women's participation.

Also speaking at the morning meeting were representatives of the United States, Bahrain, Suriname, Pakistan, Czech Republic, Iraq, Australia, the United

Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

The Council will reconvene at 3 p.m. to continue its consideration of social and human rights matters.

Social and Human Rights Questions

Under this agenda item the Council has before it several documents.

There is a report of the Secretary-General (E/2001/76) concerning revitalization and strengthening of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women which concludes that without a substantial influx of voluntary contributions during 2001, the efforts and resources expended by the Institute may not be sustainable.

There is a report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.6/2001/4) on the proposed systemwide medium-term plan for the advancement of women 2002-2005, which describes efforts to mainstream a gender perspective throughout the activities of the United Nations system, and identifies critical areas of concern, including women and poverty; the education and training of women; and women and health.

There is a report of the Commission on the Status of Women (E/2001/27) which contains, among other things, draft resolutions on the situation of Palestinian women, discrimination against women and girls in Afghanistan, and proposals for a multi-year programme of work for the Commission.

And there is a report of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (E/2001/28), which provides several draft resolutions and draft decisions for adoption by the Council and also addresses, among other things, efforts to build partnerships to address the world drug problem and to reduce the illicit demand for drugs.

Action on Resolution and Notes

The Council adopted by consensus a note by the Secretariat (E/2001/L.9) on the provisional calendar of conferences and meetings for 2002 and 2003 in the economic, social and related fields, which provides information on meetings of related bodies and conferences and meetings of governing bodies of specialized agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The Council also adopted by consensus a note by the Secretariat (E/2001/L.9/Add.1), an addendum to the provisional calendar of conferences and meetings for 2002 and 2003 in the economic, social and related fields which contains changes, additions and deletions to the provisional calendar.    

In a resolution on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women, adopted by a roll-call vote of 39 in favour and one opposed, with one abstention, the Council demanded that Israel comply fully with the provisions and principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, among other international agreements, in order to protect the rights of Palestinian women and their families; called upon Israel to facilitate the return of all refugees and displaced Palestinian women and children to their homes and properties; and urged Member States, financial organizations of the United Nations system, NGOs and other relevant institutions to intensify their efforts to provide financial and technical assistance to Palestinian women.

Statements

WILLIAM BUNCH, Chief of Central Planning and Coordination of the Conference Services Division in Geneva, introducing the provisional calendar of conferences (E/2001/L.9 and Add.1), said the Secretariat was aware of the very crowded nature of the 2002 calendar, and every effort had been made to avoid overlaps, particularly between meetings of bodies that covered similar topics.  It was a very, very crowded year, and completely avoiding such difficulties had been nearly impossible.

ANGELA KING, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, introduced several reports, saying the Commission on the Status of Women focused on practical aspects of two issues -- women and HIV/AIDS, and all types of gender discrimination.  The conclusions and draft recommendations included were not only applicable to Member States, but to the entire United Nations system.  Also before the Council was a medium-term plan for the advancement of women for 2002 to 2005.  This mainstreamed the gender perspective throughout the activities of all United Nations entities.  Another report, by the Secretary-General, sought to strengthen and revitalize the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women.  The Council had requested that fundraising activities be undertaken.  That, coupled with the $800,000 that was approved by the General Assembly, gave the Institute breathing space and room to operate.

ELENI STAMIRIS, Director of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), introducing the report of the Institute's Board of Trustees (E/2001/88) -- a report unavailable at the time of presentation -- said there had been a much-appreciated revitalization of the institution, and for those working for gender equality around the world, benefits could already be seen in such activities as the Gender Awareness Information and Networking System (GAINS).  INSTRAW had assumed a new role within the United Nations system aimed at achieving gender equality for all.  It sought to provide international perspectives on gender issues to create a living community centred on cutting-edge gender schemes.  It was investigating the impact of globalization on gender issues, among other undertakings.

HAMID GHODSE, President of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), introducing the Board's report for 2000 (E/INCB/2000/1), said the Board traditionally made a report directly to the Council and its President was available to answer questions.  Over the years, relations between the Board and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs had grown closer and at this point they had a habit of close communication and dialogue.  Among major concerns of the Board were the overuse for illicit means or the inappropriate prescription and use of drugs available for medical purposes, coupled with an undersupply in many parts of the world of the same drugs, which were needed, for example, for the legitimate management of pain.  It would be a challenge to rectify problems of overuse, misuse, oversupply and diversion of medical substances into illicit channels and the resulting dearth of such drugs for legitimate medical purposes in other regions of the world.

SHAUKAT UMER, Chairman of the Tenth Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, said one of the innovations of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice was to conduct a thematic discussion with the support of a panel of international experts on one of the critical issues on its agenda.  This year it was "Progress made in global action against corruption", covered under two themes -- "government initiatives to combat corruption, and asset recovery”.  The theme for next year was reform of the criminal justice system. 

The outcome of the discussion on corruption, particularly the question of illegally transferred funds and the repatriation of such funds to the country of origin, would contribute to the work of the intergovernmental open-ended expert group for preparing draft terms of reference for the negotiation of an international legal instrument against corruption.

PAVEL VACEK, Chairman of the Forty-fourth Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, introducing the report of the Commission (E/2001/28), said the Commission had addressed a series of notable issues and had taken a new approach in several areas, including through holding five intersessional meetings and an extended bureau session prior to the Commission session.  All told, the Commission's work had become more effective.  Communication and cooperation with the International Narcotics Control Board also had been enhanced.  As the Commission depended heavily on voluntary contributions, questions of funding were an important matter for the group.

JEAN MAXIME (Haiti) said the United Nations programme on long-term support for Haiti was very important for the country.  The point was to overcome certain structural handicaps involving development and to help the nation with its long struggle to establish firmly its democracy, but after two years, everyone was largely still at the beginning stage, and that was disappointing.  Poverty was being felt throughout the country, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic was ravaging the population.  Asking why the programme was taking so long to get started was not a cynical exercise but an important question.

Unfortunately Haiti's political crisis continued.  Elections had been held and cited as allowing expression of the public will, although there had been some irregularities and a dispute over eight Senate seats.  Negotiations had been held to resolve differences so that stability and the cause of democracy could be served; a participatory approach had been undertaken with the support of the population and based on the conviction of the head of State that the political crisis in the country could only be resolved through dialogue and conciliation.  International public assistance was decreasing in Haiti, meanwhile, and the Economic and Social Council was called upon to attempt to reverse that trend.  It was not fair to withhold support and assistance to a country that was so severely stricken because of a political crisis that did not involve the vast majority of the population.

JOHN DAVISON (United States) said various bodies of the Economic and Social Council often investigated the same work, and the in-depth queries helped the entire system of the Council.  For example, the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on the Status of Women both studied violence against women, and the dual work complemented each other.  But their work should be scheduled farther apart.  All of this scheduling was for naught if the calendar was not adhered to strictly.

M. RASHID AL-SOWAIDI (Bahrain) said he appreciated the efforts of the United Nations to help the Least Developed Countries to try and keep up with the pace of emerging technologies.  Bahrain stressed the importance of coordination in order to avoid overlap of activities within the United Nations system.  The United Nations system should adopt an integrated approach, and should act in such a way that its bodies could act in synergy.  There also had to be a strengthening of the knowledge base that would plug the gaps caused by globalization.  This would ensure that the benefits of globalization were more widespread, and would limit its negative impact. 

IMA L. TOBING-KLEIN (Suriname) said Haiti deserved the full support of the United Nations and its Member States; and Suriname expressed its solidarity with the people of Haiti.

Malaria was a serious threat against the health of mankind, and Suriname had to take urgent measures to combat this terrible disease, which needed attention from the entire international community.  It was true that HIV/AIDS deserved attention, too, but not at the expense of programmes and commitment to combating malaria.  Suriname was grateful for support provided for battling both diseases.

YADIRA HENRIQUEZ DE SANCHEZ BARET (Dominican Republic) said it was only fair to acknowledge that in the last few decades, important steps had been taken on the international level concerning the status of women.  National women's mechanisms had been established, legal reforms had been adopted, and efforts had been undertaken to ensure the gender approach was considered in cross-cutting policies.  At the same time, while carrying out a critical assessment, it was obvious that there was still a large gap between what was promised and what was effectively done.  Given that progress had been made further in efforts concerning the social aspects rather than the economic aspects, poverty among women still remained prevalent in developing countries like the Dominican Republic.  If expectations that had been set were not met, there was a risk of ruining credibility, and losing the opportunity for equitable human development.

Last week, she said, the Dominican Republic ratified the Optional Protocol on the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.  The country was aware of the importance of this public and political action, and it encouraged other nations to follow suit.  Also important were efforts at the international level.  The International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) had been making efforts to fulfil its mandate.  It had established a Gender Awareness Networking and Information System.  The Dominican Republic had helped by donating 11 computers.  Continued support was important.  Gender equity in the future would cease to be a mere illusion.  There was a growing international consensus that gender equality was not just a goal of every woman, but of every person.  It would not only benefit women -- it benefited everybody because it would help achieve peace and stability across the world.

SAAD A. O. HUSSAIN  (Iraq) said all people had an inalienable right to development.  However, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as the right to development, had not received the same support as civil and political rights.  The reason for this was a lack of political will on the part of some States to meet the needs of countries suffering from poverty and underdevelopment.

Iraq felt that some aspects of globalization and the international trading system were genuine impediments to the achievement of the right to development.  Iraq supported the work of the Independent Expert and the Working Group on the right to development.  Iraq also called attention to the devastating effects of international sanctions on the economic and human rights situations in several countries, a prime case being Iraq.  The sanctions against Iraq had had a devastating impact on all areas of human life, and had meant a slowdown in development.  In order to make these sanctions even more severe, the United States and the United Kingdom had augmented them by adding "intelligence sanctions" which had destroyed the very foundation of the Iraqi economy.  Iraq appealed to the Economic and Social Council to put an end to the economic blockade against the country.

Mr. AL-SOWAIDI (Bahrain) said women needed to be given all the rights accorded to them under international law.  The promotion of the advancement of women would involve the protection of women against racial and other discrimination.  Conditions had to be created that would enable women to participate actively in society.  Bahrain had made the advancement of women a priority in all areas -- it was proud of the high percentage of women who were active in the country.  Bahrain provided free health services to women, and there was fully paid maternity leave for 40 days.  The Government believed that women had an important role to play in civil society.  Women could serve as ambassadors abroad, and had authority in decision-making in various ministries of the State.  Women could also give their views in consultative meetings in law and legislative matters.  Women also had the right to vote, which was confirmed when the national charter was accepted.  Women had a new place in Bahrain's society.

He said the Israeli occupation and the aggressions by Israel had a negative impact on Palestinian women.  They were victims of massacres and lived under a crippling economic blockade.  It was wondered how Palestinian women could realize their rights under these conditions.

OLMEDA RIVERA RAMIREZ (Honduras) said medium- and long-term plans related to women's rights had been established by Honduras, which aimed to give greater participation to women in the economic, social and political life of the nation, as well as to enhance their participation in organized labour.  The intent was to create an environment of equity and freedom.  Various laws had been promulgated to protect women's rights; gender equity was being strengthened in such areas as education and employment; greater access was being provided for women to property and land tenure; programmes for social assistance had been set up; and efforts were being doubled to make sure that the administration of justice was broadly applied.

There had been a significant increase in the employment of women in Honduras, particularly in industry, export firms, and small- and medium-sized enterprises, where they often worked as entrepreneurs.  Women had been increasingly participating in elections, and politicians now were thoroughly sensitized to women's voting potential.  The United Nations system should focus its development actions by including programmes involving women's participation; and the struggling financial situation of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), based in the Dominican Republic, needed to be effectively addressed by the Council.

GUY O’BRIEN (Australia) said more than five years after the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action, and more than a year after the Beijing + 5 conference, the goal of gender equality continued to face numerous challenges and obstacles.  The Council had a vital role to play in the continuing struggle to achieve gender equality in its capacity as a coordinating body for the process of gender mainstreaming, as well as in the substance of its own deliberations.  Australia placed great importance on the Council's responsibility to enhance systemwide coordination on gender issues, and to mainstream a gender perspective throughout the United Nations system.  In practical terms, this meant ensuring that the promotion and mainstreaming of gender issues was not limited to the Commission on the Status of Women, but that it occurred in a coordinated and comprehensive way across the United Nations system.  In addition to this coordination role, the Economic and Social Council had an ongoing responsibility to integrate a gender perspective into all of its substantial deliberations.

Since June of last year, he continued, Australia had taken significant steps to begin to implement its Beijing + 5 commitments.  Through close consultation with key actors in the community, the Government had developed an implementation strategy called Australia's Beijing + 5 Action Plan.  The Action Plan aimed to tackle the most pressing problems in a manner appropriate to the diverse needs of different groups of women, including by working in partnership with Australia's indigenous women.  Australia encouraged other States to take a similarly practical approach to the implementation of its Beijing + 5 commitments, including through the development of cooperatives and collaborative approaches with all sectors of society, with other Member States and with relevant areas of the United Nations system.

GEORGES MALEMPRE, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said illiteracy was intertwined with poverty and social exclusion, while literacy was intertwined with empowerment, democracy and social development; it was a vehicle for the acquisition and creation of knowledge and an essential requisite for lifelong learning, citizenship and human development.  Yet literacy remained a global challenge -- nearly 1 billion adults were illiterate and over 100 million children had no access to school.

The proposed United Nations Decade for Literacy provided an opportunity to focus and strengthen efforts to end illiteracy; UNESCO, at the request of the General Assembly, had developed a document now before the Council as part of the process of preparing a draft plan of action and possible time frame for the proposed Decade.  The document called for a renewed vision of literacy, and a renewed commitment to it.  Rather than strictly defining specific actions to be taken by various actors, the document was designed to provide guidelines for those concerned at all levels.  One of the vital challenges for success was that Governments and civil societies had to assume literacy for all as their own goal, and shape literacy-for-all plans that responded to their own realities.

IMA L. TOBING-KLEIN (Suriname) said that in her country, there was close work with NGOs and women’s organizations to improve the situation of women and to promote real partnership and integration in national development.  Much had been

achieved since the first Women's Conference in 1975 in Mexico, yet much remained to be done.  Implementation had not been carried out by the international community.  All delegations should work harder to implement all the conclusions aimed at improving the situation of all people.  Special attention should be paid to the situation of older women.  Older women deserved the attention of the international community.  Next year, the Second Conference on Ageing would be held in Madrid.  There was a need to promote dialogue between older people and younger people, to create a unified society of all ages.  Older people were the ones who had developed the countries of the world, and were still developing the countries of the world. 

M. T. BELLAMY, of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), said some 40 per cent of the 156 million trade unionists represented by the ICFTU were women.  There was great will to advance women's rights, and much progress had been made, but a great deal also remained to be done.  The ILO standard on equal pay was now 50 years old, but although it had been broadly ratified, it was implemented on a limited basis.  Unequal and low pay to women hindered their well-being and weakened their power to participate in society.

Women often suffered from multiple discrimination -- the black female population of Brazil, for example, who faced inequalities in terms of pay, jobs they could obtain, job security, and opportunity for advancement.  Working at home was on the rise around the world, ranging from manual labour in the textile industry to the use of data-processing equipment.  Female home workers were among the most vulnerable employees -- largely invisible, often involved in high-risk work, lacking information about their rights and about labour standards, often without professional recognition and generally paid low wages.  At high levels, too, there was discrimination -- women only had 1 to 3 per cent of the highest posts at the largest enterprises in the world.

JOHN DAVISON (United States) said some of the language of the resolution on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women included matters that had been agreed for discussion during permanent status negotiations; it was not the Council's place to debate such matters; for that reason the United States had called for a roll-call vote on the measure and would vote against it.

Mr. SHESTAKOV (Russian Federation) said it did not vote for technical reasons, but it would have voted for the resolution, and would like that intention to be recorded.

Mr. ROSS (Canada) said his country deeply sympathized with the plight of Palestinian women, and supported the immediate end of all violence and the resumption of peace negotiations.  However, Canada had abstained in the vote on the resolution because it did not feel it focused sufficiently on the need to resolve the dispute through pursuit of a comprehensive peace settlement.

FOKOUZANDEH VADIATI (Iran) said its support for the resolution should not be construed as its recognition of Israel.

ANJA KONIG (Germany) said her country regretted its absence during the vote, but wished to be included among those supporting the resolution.

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