FIRST SESSION OF UNESCWA COMMITTEE ON WOMEN KICKS OFF

(Reissued as received.)

BEIRUT, 4 December (United Nations Information Service) -- More than 250 women ministers and chairpersons and members of national committees and councils, as well as experts in women's issues representing governmental and non-governmental organizations, from Bahrain, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, the Sudan, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Yemen, Tunisia, Oman, Morocco and Lebanon were convened today by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) to participate in the first session of its Committee on Woman held at the United Nations House, Riad Solh Square, Beirut.  Iran was represented by Zahra Shoja'i, Adviser to the Head of State and Chairperson of the Centre for Women.

The meeting, which was opened by Lebanese First Lady Andrée Lahoud, is intended to review and assess the achievements made in the status of Arab women 10 years after the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995.

Speaking at the opening session were:  Wariara Mbugua, Senior Social Affairs Officer, representing Angela King, Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, Mervat Tallawy, Executive Secretary of ESCWA, as well as Ms. Lahoud.

In her message addressed to the session, Ms. King said that the creation of the ESCWA Committee on Women came at a particularly appropriate time, adding that the coming year would be critical in laying the foundation for the 2005 review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the Outcome Document of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, Beijing + 5.

Ms. King also underlined that the Arab region had the lowest rate of women's participation in the work force and the lowest rate of representation in parliaments -- only 5.7 per cent of seats compared to worldwide average of 15.2 percent.

“Arab women continue to be affected by the spread of poverty perpetuated by increased economic difficulties, political instability and deteriorating social conditions.  Armed conflict and occupation have impeded women's empowerment and advancement.  Three Arab countries, including Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have not yet signed or ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)”, she said.

Ms. King said that the ESCWA Committee on Women was strategically poised to play a leading role in promoting women's rights in the Arab region and in establishing partnerships with the United Nations entities and the non-governmental community at all levels, adding that the Committee could make the ratification of the CEDAW Convention by all countries of the region and its full implementation a priority advocacy and education task.

In her statement, Ms. Tallawy underlined the positive aspects of the status of women in the region.  She said that during the last decade Arab women increased their contribution to the economic sector, especially in the field of services and in forming new qualitative federations and associations for working women.  Ms. Tallawy also noted that Morocco gave more than 30 seats to women in the Parliament, Jordan gave them six seats, Algeria, 24 seats, and Tunisia, 21 seats, adding that Syria increased women's representation in the Parliament to 30 seats and Sudan to 35.

Speaking of the representation at the ministerial level, Ms. Tallawy said that there were six women ministers in Tunisia, five in Algeria, three in Jordan, two in Egypt, Palestine and Syria and one in Yemen, Sudan, Morocco and Qatar.

Ms. Tallawy, who underlined that Saudi Arabia, Syria and Bahrain ratified the CEDAW Convention, pointed out the remaining negative aspects of the status of Arab women.  “Arab women are still suffering from the negative mentality, attitudes, and trends, which harm their status, role and image in society due to traditions, and from the great gap between legislations and their application in the field of women's rights”, she said.

In her statement, Ms. Lahoud hoped that the first session of the ESCWA Committee on Women would be beginnings of a pan-Arab work in the advancement of women.  She said that the session was characterized by two main factors.  The first was the high level of representation, and the second was the subjects to be discussed by the participants.

Following the opening, the delegate of Jordan was elected as chairperson of the session, the delegates of Iraq and Qatar as Deputy Chairpersons and the delegate of Palestine as Rapporteur.

The morning session consisted of a general discussion undertaken by a number of delegates.  In her statement, Palestinian Minister for Women's Affairs Zaheera Kamal said that her previous participation in the meetings of ESCWA helped her experience and theoretical knowledge and allowed her to get acquainted with practical experiences in Arab countries so that she could apply them on the Palestinian ground.  Ms. Kamal also pointed to the difficult situation of the Palestinian women who were responsible to provide support for their families despite their suffering from the Israeli oppression.

Siham Dello, Minister for Social Affairs in Syria, who reviewed the most prominent achievements in the advancement of Syrian women at all levels, considered that such a qualitative move was due to the support of Syrian President Bashar El-Assad.

Rajaa Khoza'i, Member of the Transitory Council in Iraq, said that Iraqi women suffered from the former 35-year oppressing regime; however, time came for women to take their role even under occupation.

In her intervention, Houria Mashhour Ahmad, Deputy Chairperson of the National Committee on Women in Yemen, called upon policy and decision makers in Arab countries to realize that changing the conditions of women was a development need, which would lead to the advancement of Arab societies.

Concluding the general discussion, ESCWA Executive Secretary Mervat Tallawy said that the interventions were of primary importance and hoped that ESCWA would be the reliable source of disseminating new information on the status of women in the Arab region in order to give a real image of Arab women and contribute to their advancement.  Ms. Tallawy also requested delegations to submit the filled questionnaires addressed by ESCWA to their respective governments on the advancement of women in their countries before April 2004.

The first session of ESCWA Committee on Women, which will conclude on Friday, 5 December 2003, discussed in the afternoon meetings the Preliminary Regional Report on the Achievements, Challenges and Proposals on the Advancement of Women, as well as the development of, and indicator for, the status of the Arab women.  The session's recommendations will be submitted to the twenty-third ministerial session of ESCWA expected to be held in 2005.

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