PRESS BRIEFING BY CHAIR OF WOMEN’S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE

The Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women had urged several countries during this year’s session to eliminate discriminatory stereotypes, customs and practices, tackle violence against women, and increase women’s education, as well as participation in public life, the Chairperson of that body told correspondents at a Headquarters briefing today.

Rounding up the Committee’s three-week session, which concludes tomorrow, Rosario Manalo of the Philippines said it had assessed the compliance of eight States -- Benin, Burkina Faso, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Gambia, Guyana, Ireland, Israel, and Lebanon -- to the United Nations Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination against Women.  The Gambia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Lebanon were reporting to the Committee for the first time.

She said the Committee had expressed particular concern over discriminatory stereotypical attitudes, as well as persistent customs, practices and traditions that had kept women in inferior positions to men.  Such attitudes could hinder women’s equal access to health, education, employment, and participation in decision-making, and were also reflected in the types or levels of education that women could achieve.

“Much could be done to overcome such attitudes and practices through awareness-raising, sensitization of public officials and society at large, and improvement of the education system to foster understanding of gender equality in line with the letter and spirit of the Convention”, she said.

Another troubling area, she said, was the prevalence of all forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, sexual harassment in the workplace, trafficking in women and girls and harmful traditional practices.  The Committee had also highlighted gaps in women’s and girls’ education, noting their higher illiteracy and dropout rates in several countries, compared to men, their decreasing share in primary and tertiary education, and their lower attendance in technical and vocational sectors.

As for women in public life, she acknowledged that several States had taken measures to increase women’s representation in politics and decision-making, but said that women were still underrepresented in parliaments, governments and local councils, as well as in the judiciary and private sector.  Women from rural areas or minority groups often faced additional obstacles to participation in public life at decision-making levels.

Adding that poverty had also continued to affect women disproportionately, she said the Committee had underscored challenges to achieving the Millennium Development Goals due to insufficient progress in implementing the Convention.  Moreover, national machinery to promote gender equality in several countries lacked the necessary human and financial resources to effectively implement the Convention.

The Committee had also expressed concern over certain countries’ reservations to the Convention -- notably, Israel, Ireland, Lebanon, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, she said.  Reservations generally concerned articles 2 (general obligations under the Convention), 7 (participation in public life), 9 (nationality), 11 (work), and 16 (marriage and family relations).  Such reservations were incompatible with the Convention, and the Committee had urged States to set a timetable for their eventual withdrawal.

To a query on Israel, Ms. Manalo said the Committee regretted the country had decided that the Convention did not apply in the OccupiedTerritories, and had refused to speak about them.  Data from non-governmental organizations had suggested discriminatory practices there, but the discussion had reached a stalemate.  The Committee took the position, as did all treaty bodies, including the International Court of Justice, that obligations under international conventions applied to all persons under the State’s jurisdiction or effective control.

As for Israeli women, the Committee had acknowledged improvements in various areas, although it had noted that women still lagged behind men in decision-making and political life, and that the country needed a strong national programme to address violence against women.

Asked about women in Lebanon, Ms. Manalo said the Committee had focused on violence against women, including domestic violence, rape and honour crimes.  The Lebanese criminal court allowed mitigation for perpetrators of honour crimes, which condoned the killing of women, according to the Convention, and the Committee had recommended that such legislation be abolished.

To a question about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, she said the country had taken the Convention seriously, ratifying it in 2001, and submitting a report the next year.  However, the Committee had heard from non-governmental organizations that the Government did not completely grasp some of the Convention’s concepts, including gender stereotyping and patriarchy, and had attempted to explain such discrimination.

It had also noted that rural women in the country were seeking jobs and food to survive, which contradicted the Convention’s provisions of women’s right to food and their very existence.  In response, the country had acknowledged it had food shortages, but said it was doing all it could to distribute supplies and ensure that all survived.

To a question on Committee follow-up, Ms. Manalo said the Committee made recommendations to States parties, and asked them how they intended to carry them out, whether they would involve non-governmental organizations and their legislatures, and how they would inform the populace.  The Committee also held discussion with United Nations agencies in the country, including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), on how they could assist countries in complying with the Convention.

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