HEADQUARTERS PRESS BRIEFING BY COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN

HEADQUARTERS PRESS BRIEFING BY COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION

OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women briefed the press at Headquarters this morning on its review of reports submitted by seven States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.  During the first two weeks of its twenty-seventh session (3 to 21 June), the Committee reviewed reports by the Governments of Belgium, Denmark, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Tunisia, Ukraine and Zambia on their implementation of the Convention.

Taking part in the briefing were Carolyn Hannan, Director, Division for the Advancement of Women, Department of Economic and Social Affairs; Charlotte Abaka, Committee Chairperson; and Feride Acar, one of its Vice-Chairs.  Summing up the status of the Convention, Ms. Abaka said 169 countries had ratified it and 21 countries were still to ratify, including the United States.  The Solomon Islands had been the most recent to ratify in May.  Also, 40 countries had ratified the Optional Protocol concerning personal communications to the Committee and rights of inquiry about States parties.  

Of the reports reviewed, Ms. Abaka said progress in implementing the Convention was encouraging.  However, results were not always dramatic and follow-up was often requested.  For example, Belgium had reported on a code developed for ethics in the telecommunications industry.  The Committee had requested the Government to go further and conduct a study of how the code would impact on the growing problem of trafficking in women and children.  Similarly, Denmark’s report had been a cause for concern with regard to immigrants in the country.  A seven-year waiting period for spouses to receive resident permits could force some women to tolerate domestic abuse.  Likewise, the age limit for family reunification with spouses had been raised to 24 years when the legal marriage age for Danish citizens remained 18.

Ms. Abaka said the practice of combining periodic reports had helped the review process.  Saint Kitts and Nevis was submitting its report for the first time ever, but that one document contained its first, second, third and fourth reports.  The review process was more manageable for all involved, and the Committee had been able to clear up some backlog.

The Committee Vice-Chair, Ms. Acar, said the reports presented a mixed picture of women’s equality in even the most progressive-seeming situations.  For example, governments were asked to report on the levels at which women were represented in decision-making positions in the country.  In Denmark, women represented 40 per cent of those holding top positions in parliament and at the cabinet level.  That was close to the ideal.  It compared with a 30 per-cent representation at that level in Belgium and 11.5 per cent in Tunisia.  However, women represented only five per cent of those in decision-making positions when it came to Denmark’s private sector.

The solution was to implement policies to accelerate the rise of women into decision-making positions, she said.  Such policies were needed in all areas to eliminate discrimination and bring about true equality.  Often it was necessary to institute temporary measures to achieve the necessary changes.

Why was the situation so entrenched? she asked.  Discriminatory forces worked in covert ways, she answered.  There was indirect discrimination and there were discriminatory behaviours that were not obviously observable.  Some were in the form of gender stereotypes and others were discriminatory traditions.  Politics was not a woman-friendly arena in many countries.  The only way to bring about a change was to institute special measures, and that could only come about as the number of women increased in decision-making positions.

Overall, she said, to eradicate discrimination it was often necessary to look behind policies to see how women would be affected.  Denmark’s marital reunification law, for example, seemed to apply equally to men and women.  Yet on a closer look, men were most likely to emigrate first and women would be the ones discriminated against.

Asked to elaborate on the 169 signatories to the Convention, the Chairwoman said the Latin American and Caribbean region had achieved full ratification.  Africa would achieve it with ratification by four more countries (Sudan, Somalia, São Tome and Principe and Swaziland).  On ratification of the Optional Protocol, she said each region was represented in the 40 countries that had ratified it.

While it was disappointing that the United States was not yet a State party, she said the discussion of the Convention in Congress last Friday had been encouraging.  Ratification advocates had been particularly assertive in voicing their opinions.

Asked for their views on how long it would take for women to achieve equality with men, Ms. Abaka said the picture was very encouraging.  Judging by the reports, it was obvious that laws were being amended or instituted to change discriminatory practices all over the world.  The effect was palpable, even if the pace was slower than desired.  A woman could complain of domestic violence to a policeman in Africa today and there was a chance she would receive a hearing.  A few years ago, her complaint would have been dismissed as a private matter.

Ms. Acar agreed, and said it was useful to compare the present with the past for a measure of how much had been achieved.  Fifty years ago, it was unimaginable that a woman would be an ambassador or that half a country’s parliament would be made up of women.  Now it was a reality that women will be on an equal footing with men.  Progress would be increasingly rapid since building on a solid basis was easier than establishing the foundation.

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