Committee on Elimination of                                

 Discrimination against Women                              

899^th & 900^th Meetings (AM & PM)

TIMOR-LESTE, IN FIRST REPORT ON COMPLIANCE WITH WOMEN’S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION

CONVENTION, PLEDGES TO INCLUDE ALL CITIZENS EQUALLY IN BUILDING FUTURE

Experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today recognized the recent legislative and policy efforts of Timor-Leste to improve the lot of women in the Southeast Asian island nation’s traditional patriarchal society, but expressed concern over continuing discriminatory practices in schools, the workplace and family life.

Presenting Timor-Leste’s initial periodic report on compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, Idelta Maria Rodrigues, Secretary of State for Promotion and Equality, said a male-dominated culture and years of conflict had hindered women’s livelihood and well-being.  But since gaining independence in 2002, the Government, with the support of the United Nations and development partners, had worked hard to promote women’s rights and empowerment.

Following ratification of the women’s Convention and its Optional Protocol in 2003, Timor-Leste’s Government had created a Penal Code with a gender perspective and provisions that criminalized domestic violence.  It had also set up gender focal points in Government Ministries, launched gender awareness campaigns in the national media, and signed a pact with civil society and religious organizations to develop gender-sensitive budgeting and a health policy, as well as partnerships for resource and knowledge sharing on gender equality. 

Article 17 of the Constitution guaranteed full equality between the sexes in all spheres of life, she said.  Moreover, slated for approval this year by the Council of Ministers was a draft law establishing equal land and property rights for men and women, as well as a bill to prevent domestic violence, protect victims and guarantee their legal rights through strong regulation and support centres.

While lauding those efforts, Committee experts expressed concern over low school enrolment and graduation rates among girls, particularly pregnant teens, as well as sexual harassment and intimidation by male teachers.  Girls, they said, needed a comfortable environment to learn and must be free from societal pressure to quit their studies if they got pregnant.  They asked why divorced women were expected to return to their parents’ home. 

Some experts were worried that women on average earned just one eighth of men’s pay and were often denied maternity leave or not allowed to return to work after taking leave, even though the law guaranteed those rights.  They encouraged Timor-Leste to ratify the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) conventions on equal pay, treatment and opportunity in the workplace.  Others felt that not enough was being done to protect girls and women from violence, prostitution and trafficking, as well as from forced labour.

Assuring the Committee that it was trying its hardest to fulfil its obligations and provide the necessary information, the delegation said that while Timor-Leste was a young country, it intended to include all its citizens equally in building its future.  To the series of questions about children and education, the delegation said it took time to change the age-old mentality condoning corporal punishment.  Work was under way meanwhile by the Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality and the Education Ministry to end sexual harassment and violence against girls, particularly in remote areas, which had led many parents to remove their daughters from school.

The delegation confirmed that child labour was banned, and in June, the Government had ratified International Labour Organization Convention No. 182 on eliminating the worst forms.  Also, it had prepared a memorandum of understanding with the National University on information sharing and assistance to students interested in gender studies.  The Government had also launched intensive training programmes on gender issues for professors.   

To additional concerns about practices in the workplace, Ms. Rodrigues said women public servants had the right to take maternity leave and resume their positions without penalty, but the situation was uneven in other employment fields and had to be improved through awareness-raising and other measures.  The Government was working to educate women on how they could file complaints of sexual harassment that occurred on the job. 

Regarding domestic violence, the draft law on that would definitely pass soon in the Council of Ministers, and possibly by year’s end in the Parliament.  The national police had been trained to assist victims in the rural areas, and shelters had been set up in Dili, the capital, and in three other districts.  A study on trafficking and immigration of prostitutes would soon be conducted. 

 The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m., on Friday, 31 July, to consider the combined initial to sixth periodic report of Liberia.

Background

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women met today to consider the initial periodic report of Timor-Leste (document CEDAW/C/TLS/1).

The Timor-Leste delegation was headed by Idelta Maria Rodrigues, Secretary of State for Promotion and Equality, and also included:  Nelson Santos, Permanent Representative of Timor-Leste to the United Nations; Armando da Costa, National Director for Gender and Development Policies, Secretariat of State for the Promotion of Equality (SEPI); Afonso Soares, National Director for Policy and Planning, Ministry of Education and Culture; Octavio Almeida, National Director for Policy and Planning, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries; Celito Cardoso, Policy Officer, National Directorate of Human Resources, Ministry of Justice; Isabel Gomes , Head, Maternal and Child Health Department, Ministry of Health; Sebastiana Barros, Assistant Policy Officer, Multilateral Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Sidonio Trindade Freitas, interpreter.    

Introduction of Report

Presenting the report, Ms. RODRIGUES said Timor-Leste’s social and cultural environment was based on a patriarchal system that had negatively impacted women’s lives.  Years of conflict had affected the livelihood and well-being of the country’s women.  Since the referendum that decided independence 10 years ago, Timor-Leste had undertaken many efforts, with the support of the United Nations and its development partners, to promote women’s rights and eliminate violence and discrimination against women.  It had created a legal framework that fostered stability and socio-economic development based on the principle of equality, including gender equality and respect for human rights and freedoms.  The Constitution’s article 17 guaranteed full equality between women and men in all spheres of life.  The country had ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol, without reservation, on 16 April 2003.

The current Government set up the Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality (SEPI) in 2008, the main Government body responsible for creating, coordinating and assessing gender equality promotion policies as defined by the Council of Ministers, she said.  Its 2010-2015 Strategic Plan provided a clear direction for all stakeholders to build the Secretary of State’s institutional capacity, advocate for gender-responsive policies and legislation, and gender mainstreaming in Government institutions and State agencies, and raise the level of gender awareness.  The office had recruited more civil servants, and collaborated with civil society organizations, the national Parliament, the Women’s Caucus and the committee responsible for gender equality. 

The Penal Code, approved in March, had a gender perspective, she said.  Under one of its articles, domestic violence was criminalized and sanctioned, whether or not the victim had filed a formal complaint.  It ensured that criminal proceedings were conducted by the State justice system, regardless of the existence of common traditional justice procedures at the community level.  Timor‑Leste’s culture was heavily influence by the Catholic Church and therefore abortion rules were very restrictive.  The Council of Ministers decided to legalize abortion when the life or health of the mother or foetus was at risk.  But the national Parliament rejected it and introduced several restrictive measures to pregnancy termination.  The Secretary of State for Promotion of Equality was determined to raise public awareness about women’s rights so that abortion could be legalized in the near future.  Meantime, the Ministry of Health had implemented family planning initiatives. 

In March 2008, the Council of Ministers approved a resolution establishing and reinforcing a network of gender focal points in Ministries and administrations, she said.  The Secretary of State’s office was in the process of revising the gender mainstreaming policy, and it had signed a memorandum of understanding with national media to work to erase gender stereotypes and negative cultural attitudes.  Several training programmes and campaigns to fight violence against women were implemented nationwide, such as the “16 Day Campaign to Fight Violence Against Women”, which would take place from 25 November to 10 December.  Police officers were trained in gender-based violence.  Such campaigns had increased society’s condemnation of the violence.  The Government also had several security, health and social protection procedures to ensure that the needs of domestic violence victims were met.

To celebrate International Women’s Day in 2008, the Government, Parliament, civil society and religious organizations had signed the joint Dili Declaration, she said.  In doing so, they had committed to developing gender-sensitive budgeting, eliminating violence against women and girls, adopting a domestic violence law and implementation plan, and developing a mechanism to promote equal access to property and land rights, as well as to higher education.  Further, they committed to promoting a gender-sensitive health policy to prevent HIV/AIDS and to promoting family planning, ensuring the incorporation of an integrated gender approach into the second National Development Plan, creating a dynamic partnership for sharing resources and knowledge on gender equality, and investing in women through a decentralized policy. 

A year later, the Government took stock of progress in implementing the Dili Declaration, she said.  It noted improvements in education, particularly in erasing illiteracy among women in several districts, and in sexual and reproductive health aimed at lowering the teen pregnancy rate and girls’ school dropout rate.  The creation of health facilities was expected to enable the country to achieve its target of reducing the maternal mortality ratio from 660 per 100,000 births in 2006 to 480 per 100,000 births in 2010.  The Ministry of Health was bringing maternal health services to communities.  Thanks to public consultations with various stakeholders, the draft Civil Code, which would likely be approved by the Council of Ministers this year, would include provisions for equal rights to land and property for men and women.

The Ministry of Economy and Development had introduced temporary special measures for women to access micro-credit, she said.  The draft Law against Domestic Violence -– which aimed to create and strengthen mechanisms to prevent domestic violence, protect victims and protect their legal rights -- was being discussed with the Council of Ministers.  There was strong commitment to have it adopted this year.  The draft law proposed, among other things, strengthening and expanding the network of support centres, and it defined the responsibility of various governmental bodies in collaboration with civil society organizations that provided services. 

Experts’ Comments and Questions

DUBRAVKA ŠIMONOVIĆ, expert from Croatia, congratulated the delegation on the ratification of the Optional Protocol and the wide participation of officials in the development of the report.  She said, however, that the report lacked the contributions of the Parliament, which were considered important. 

She wondered how the Convention could be strengthened within the legal system, asking how provisions of the Convention fared when they came up against laws that contradicted it.  She suggested that the Convention should be used as a tool to change discriminatory laws that were still on the books, even if the provisions of the Convention already had the status of national law.

CORNELIS FLINTERMAN, expert from the Netherlands, asked why the status of equality before the law, in the Constitution, was limited to citizens.  In addition, the provision of equality in the Constitution was connected to opportunity and not to results, as the Convention required.  He asked if there were plans to assure such equality.

VICTORIA POPESCU, expert from Romania, was pleased to note that the country had ratified seven human rights instruments in its short history of independence and had altered its criminal codes recently to criminalize domestic violence.  She asked how women who had experienced violations of rights could pursue justice.  Noting that ignorance of human rights, logistical difficulties, complicated procedures and customary law could make it difficult to uphold those rights, she asked how those difficulties were being dealt with.

VIOLETA NEUBAUER, expert from Slovenia, asked for clarification of the structure of the gender-equality units in Timor-Leste, and if a high-level, inter-departmental, inter-ministerial structure was envisaged.

Ms. POPESCU, expert from Romania, asked what measures were being taken to reach women in rural communities, and if there were gender advisors who spread information about the rights of women to remote areas.  She also asked for the priorities of the strategic plan for gender equality, for the period 2010-2015.

Country Response

The delegation said that the Constitution guaranteed equality, and to get that message out to the rural areas, members of the gender-equality machinery went regularly to those areas, along with representatives of United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations and other partners.  Gender focal points from ministries and local government were also involved.  Non-governmental organizations were well-coordinated with Government efforts and received regular briefings.  In addition, the Secretary of State for Promotion and Equality networked within all areas of Government.

Under the current strategic plan, she said, many projects were in operation, with a nearly $600,000 budget that would increase to over $1 million, with more than 40 staff.  The selection of gender focal points in the ministries and the localities with the right qualifications was not easy, so a public procedure for a two-year appointment was conceived.  There was a monthly meeting of ministry focal points and, every three months, meetings with focal points of districts and parliamentarians.  Members of Parliament had also received training on the Convention.  The Secretary of State met with donors every three months as well.

Regarding rural women, there were regular meetings with development partners and service providers, who received funding to assist all women to gain access to the judicial system.  There was a focus on preventing violence against women at the village level.  All documents related to gender equality were translated into Portuguese, Tetum and Indonesian, so that all women could understand them.  There also were weekly programmes through the mass media and other awareness projects that explained how women could participate equally in development.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

In a follow-up question, Mr. FLINTERMAN, expert from the Netherlands, noting that there was no definition of discrimination on the basis of sex, asked how provisions on sex were interpreted.  He asked also if there was a time-bound plan to improve women’s access to the judicial system.

SILVIA PIMENTEL, expert from Brazil, congratulated the country on the equality clauses in the Constitution and the new Penal Code, but asked if gender mainstreaming was incorporated into the latter to the point where the patriarchal constructs were abolished.  She requested an outline of the civil code in that light as well.

In other follow-up questions, Ms. POPESCU, expert from Romania, asked again for a description of the most important challenges in the last strategic plan and the new plan’s priorities.  VIOLET TSISIGA AWORI, expert from Kenya, asked if a curriculum on gender issues was part of law-enforcement training, and Ms. ŠIMONOVIĆ, expert from Croatia, asked for more clarification on the integration of the Convention into the national legal system.

Country Response

The delegation said that in 2006, training in gender issues had started for all officials of the criminal justice system.  The civil code enforced equality in marriage between men and women, and in other areas, with a marriage age of 18 for both.  Trainers went out to the communities, and all citizens had a right to legal assistance, including public defenders.  There were language challenges, which were being overcome through the translation into Tetum of all laws.

Concerning traditional practices, there had been an evolution over time, and all criminal cases were now referred to the courts, while civil cases were still frequently resolved by the communities, but with full consideration of the relevant laws.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

Ms. NEUBAUER, expert from Slovenia, said temporary special measures had not really been used to ensure gender equality in all areas covered by the Convention.  Many measures focused more on creating equal opportunity rather than erasing past discrimination.  Did the Government intend to have a legal framework to introduce such measures and a definition for legal compliance of them?

YOKO HAYASHI, expert from Japan, asked about the role of women in political parties and whether the number of women candidates had increased.  Had they met quotas for women in political parties?  Were there specific programmes to facilitate women’s access to justice and to provide gender-sensitive training for the judiciary? 

Country Response

Ms. RODRIGUES said the Government was in the process of fully informing staff about the new Penal Code, as that was necessary for proper implementation.  Traditionally, families gave preference to higher education for sons over daughters.  To achieve gender parity in higher education, the Ministry of Education had set a target of having half of all scholarships issued to girls.   The Government was working with development partners to increase women candidates in the local elections in October.

Continuing, she said, the Ministry of Justice was in the process of including a gender perspective in its Strategic Plan.  Women were not traditionally involved in big business.  Women in rural areas seeking to start their own small agricultural businesses often lacked funding to do so.  Rural women were entitled to the same Government subsidies as men.  The Government was now focused on gender-sensitive training, which was necessary prior to pursuing gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting. 

Experts’ Comments and Questions

Committee Chairperson, NAELA MOHAMED GABR, expert from Egypt, said it was important to face and tackle negative gender stereotypes and practices.  While the Government had adopted some steps, including media campaigns, they were not enough to erase gender stereotypes.  She encouraged the delegation to employ traditional community leaders in that regard.  The minimum age for traditional marriages was 15.  That must be changed, as should the practice on forcing young girls into marriage.

Country Response

Ms. RODRIGUES said the Government had implemented a training module with community leaders on gender-based violence.  It had also worked with the National Institution to train all public servants on how to provide gender-sensitive training to community leaders.  The 2010 Action Plan focused on implementing Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security.  Lawmakers had begun to draft the domestic violence law, and they had sought input from community leaders.

Another delegate said secondary school textbooks had been revised in the last few months to include a gender-sensitive focus.  The Ministry of Education was working with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), other United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations to look at health, civic rights and education from a gender perspective.  The Ministry of Education was developing a national secondary school curriculum that included sexual and reproductive health education.  Literacy programmes targeting women were available in all districts, among them, the “Yes I Can” programme, which offered a flexible schedule for working women.

ZOHRA RASEKH, expert from Afghanistan, asked when the new laws against gender-based violence would come into force, commenting that it was important that they were formulated correctly.  She also asked what kind of databases were being made available on the subject, and if the Government had plans to provide more support to victims of domestic violence.

On prostitution and trafficking, she asked what preventive and interventional measures were being instituted, such as counselling for women who had been sexually abused.  Saying that it appeared that men who frequented prostitutes were not prosecuted, she asked what measures were directed at them.

SAISUREE CHUTIKUL, expert from Thailand, asked if there were proactive, comprehensive plans to eliminate stereotypical attitudes, such as through radio and television, and if anyone was monitoring the media for that purpose.  In addition, she asked for more information about anti-trafficking measures, including what ministry headed up such efforts and who was responsible for support services for victims.  She wondered whether specific studies could be done on prostitution and trafficking.

Country Response

The delegation said that the domestic violence law would definitely pass soon in the Council of Ministers, and dialogue had already begun on passing it in the Parliament by the end of the year.  Its passage by then was not certain, but the delegation pledged to work hard to make it happen.  Facts on domestic violence were compiled at the end of each year, but various service providers supplied different statistics.  A coordinator had been installed to deal with that problem. 

Turning to victims of gender-based violence, the delegates said that national police had been trained to assist victims in the rural areas.  The victims could be transported to areas where they could be assisted by non-governmental organizations.  Safe houses were being established in the regions.  Language differences still presented a problem for women seeking justice in cases of domestic violence.

A study on trafficking and immigration of prostitutes would soon be conducted, the delegation said, because it was true that there was a lack of knowledge on the subject.  Attention was already being paid to women who crossed into and out of districts that bordered Indonesia.  After the inter-ministerial working group on prostitution was abolished, work was done directly with internally displaced persons, for whom the International Organization for Migration (IOM) was responsible.

When it came to gender-based violence, delegates said cases were often difficult to pursue through the criminal justice system because of the lack of evidence and the lack of service providers at the village level.  Awareness of the problem was created through the media, through the observance of special days and by the creation of an organization of men who campaigned against gender violence.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

Ms. PIMENTEL, expert from Brazil, and Ms. ŠIMONOVIĆ, expert from Croatia, asked follow-up questions on measures to combat violence against women. 

FERDOUS ARA BEGUM, expert from Bangladesh, saying that it was a violation of teenage girls’ rights to make them carry pregnancies to term that were caused by violence, asked what measures were being instituted to protect such girls.  Ms. RASEKH, expert from Afghanistan, and Ms. CHUTIKUL, expert from Thailand, asked additional follow-up questions on trafficking and violence against women.

Country Response

Children’s rights laws were currently being processed in the Council of Ministers, the delegation said.  It was not possible to provide more details on the new criminal and civil codes, because they were newly drawn up.  In relationship to the criminalization of abortion, there were differences within the Government.  There were amendments in the Parliament that dealt with the issue. 

Regarding shelters provided for victims of domestic violence, there were four in Dili, the capital, and three others in three districts.  They were all provided by non-governmental organizations and church groups.  Once the domestic violence law was approved, however, each of the competent ministries would have a specified role in assisting victims.  Concerning veterans, there was no discrimination between men and women under the law in terms of distribution of benefits.  In addition, there was equal distribution of all subsidy funds throughout the country.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

SOLEDAD MURILLO DE LA VEGA, expert from Spain, noted that women political candidates feared reprisals and physical violence.  How many crimes had been processed to date of such attacks?  How could women gain the kind of education and work-related experience necessary to hold political posts if the school dropout rate among them and pressure for them to leave school and the workforce was high? 

MERIEM BELMIHOUB-ZERDANI, expert from Algeria, implored the delegation to do more to increase the number of women in political parties and life. 

Country Response

Ms. RODRIGUES said there was no gender discrimination in women’s access to education, including higher education.   There was no real evidence of people intimidating family members or friends to not vote for women candidates.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

Mr. FLINTERMAN, expert from the Netherlands, asked if a child born in Timor‑Leste of a Timorese mother and a foreign father automatically acquired his or her mother’s nationality.

Country Response 

A delegate said such children born in Timor-Leste were granted dual citizenship, as well as the option to choose the citizenship of either parent.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

BARBARA EVELYN BAILEY, expert from Jamaica, expressed concern over low school enrolment and graduation rates among girls and the fact that sexual harassment and intimidation in schools by male teachers was a real problem for girls.  What could the Government do to set policy to end that practice and create a comfortable environment for girls?  What was the Government doing to erase gender stereotypes in schools, particularly since girls’ enrolment lagged behind that of boys, owing to early marriages and teen pregnancy?  What was being done to give pregnant girls access to education and to end societal pressure for them to leave school and care for their children?  Was there a plan to broaden the school curriculum to truly introduce comprehensive sex education?

Ms. PIMENTEL, expert from Brazil, said it was understandable that the country’s transition from a patriarchal society to a modern one was slow.  Adult literacy was 43 per cent and youth literacy was 70 per cent.  What concrete measures was the Government taking to integrate families into schools and to encourage men to have a more active role in their children’s lives and education?

Country Response

A delegate said teachers still had the age-old mentality that corporal punishment was part of education.  The Government had made a commitment to work with all stakeholders to change that.  Sexual harassment and violence against girls was a problem, particularly in remote schools, prompting many parents to pull their daughters from the classroom.  The Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality and the Education Ministry were working to change that, but inadequate resources limited their ability to implement programmes.  The Government had prepared a memorandum of understanding with the National University on information sharing and assistance to students interested in gender studies.  The Secretary of State would work with the statistics department to ensure the collection of gender-disaggregated data.  

Another delegate said the Constitution gave all children the right to equal access to education.  The Education Ministry had a school feeding programme and subsidies for students from poor families.  There was a fast-track initiative, supported by the World Bank, to give children in rural areas access to education.  According to 2007-2008 data, enrolment in primary schools was 53 per cent among boys and 47 per cent among girls.  There was no gender disparity in secondary school enrolment.  There were three-month intensive training programmes on gender issues for professors, as well as efforts to prevent pregnant girls from dropping out of school.  There was a pilot literacy programme in two districts that would be replicated elsewhere.

Experts’ Comments and Questions 

NIKLAS BRUUN, expert from Finland, said although the country had maternity leave as well as equal pay for equal work policies, in practice women were often denied maternity leave and were not allowed to return to work after taking leave.  What was being done to ensure compliance with maternity leave regulations?  He was concerned about child labour and the scant data on its prevalence, and the fact that Timor-Leste had not ratified International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 182 on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.  Was the Government working with ILO and did it intend to ratify Conventions No. 100 and No. 111?

PRAMILA PATTEN, expert from Mauritius, expressed concern over the fact that women earned just one eighth of men’s pay and she strongly encouraged the Government to ratify ILO Convention No. 100.  Since the minimum wage board had so far not determined a minimum wage, what new body would establish one?  What was the status of draft laws on worker and occupational safety?  Did the new Labour Code include provisions on sexual harassment, and what sanctions were envisaged?

Country Response

Ms. RODRIGUES said that under the Public Functions Law, all pregnant women were entitled to three months paid maternity leave and had the right to return to work after the leave period.  The Government, in 2010, was planning to set up distribution centres where rural women could sell their produce and wares.  In June, Timor-Leste had ratified ILO Convention No. 182.  It was working to educate women on how they could file complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

MAGALYS AROCHA DOMINGUEZ, expert from Cuba, seeing very high figures for maternal mortality and related ills, said there was a problem with stereotypes in relation to maternal health.  She asked how a culture of prevention and diagnosis, involving both women and men, was being created in the area of maternal health and family planning, including the spacing of children.  She also asked what was being done in the areas of breast and cervical cancer, and mental health.  Concerning abortion, she suggested that there be a closer alliance with the Parliament to make more flexible the allowable conditions for legal abortion, and asked what the results of a related study were.

ZOU XIAOQIAO, expert from China, quoting conflicting information on maternity leave, sought clarification.  She also asked what was being done to improve maternal health, given that the fertility rate in the country was the highest in the world, and that the number of clinics and use of contraceptives was low and access to services was particularly limited for rural women.  She asked for more information on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services.

Country Response

The delegation said that women public servants had the right to take maternity leave and resume their positions without penalty, but the situation was uneven in other work situations and should be improved through awareness-raising and other measures. 

Regarding family planning, the delegation said that it was true there was a problem, but there had been awareness-raising for women, men and entire communities on the issue.  The Ministry of Health had a plan to reduce maternal mortality by increasing access to quality health services, particularly in the rural areas, and to support community participation in health programmes.  Training of midwives and nurses, to reduce maternal mortality, had also been conducted.  In addition, a school for nurses and midwives had been established.  And, 640 health workers were currently being trained in Cuba.

On HIV/AIDS, the Government had already conducted awareness-raising campaigns, established units for confidential testing and counselling, and trained community personnel.  Programmes had been established in conjunction with the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide treatment for those who were already infected.  The Health Commissioner had established screening programmes for cervical cancer.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

Turning to development and economic opportunities, Ms. AWORI, expert from Kenya, noted limited credit opportunities for women.  She asked about the number of institutions that provided small loans and what percentage of such loans went to rural women.  She also asked what was being done to counter the negative impacts of cock fighting, which, she suggested, encouraged gambling and drinking among men.

Country Response

There were microcredit programmes at the district level, but not at the subdistrict level, the delegation said.  A programme called Women Self-Employment, or WISE, showed that women had access to more than 50 per cent of such microcredit schemes in each of the districts.  Both men and women had to obtain the signature of their spouses when applying for bank loans.  Microcredit projects helped women gain better access to credit.  Both men and women had access to hand tractors from the Ministry of Agriculture, with the assistance of the Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

Ms. ARA BEGUM, expert from Bangladesh, asked about the situation of widows and older women, and whether microcredit for them was available without a spouse’s signature.  She also asked what kind of programmes there were to support the rural economy, including provision of potable water, and what percentage of women benefited from such schemes.  She also asked if there were programmes to assist women who had suffered from rape during the country’s transitional period.

Ms. PATTEN, expert from Mauritius, asked what kind of training was being given to rural women on new agricultural techniques, technology and marketing facilities, and if there was reformation of land ownership rules that could benefit women.  She also asked if there were rural internally displaced women returning without the benefit of formal assistance and, if so, what was being done to help them.

Country Response

Houses for widows who were heads of households had been established, along with scholarship programmes for widows and fatherless children, the delegation said, adding that 25 vulnerable groups received such assistance.  The full number of such beneficiaries had been compiled in a report that now existed only in the Tetum language.  During the crisis of 2006, internally displaced mothers, pregnant women and victims of rape were gathered together for services.  Focal points had also been established within the internally displaced persons’ community.

Delegates said that 50 per cent of agricultural assistance had been given to women.  There were 400 individuals in villages helping to train rural women in agricultural techniques.  Husbands and wives shared property equally and worked the land equally.  There were other food security programmes, including those that provided tractors, which had been introduced, and one in which the Government bought agricultural products from farmers at a higher price to subsidize families.

Experts’ Comments and Questions

RUTH HALPERIN-KADDARI, expert from Israel, asked if, under existing and proposed civil codes, women had a right to represent themselves in the justice system, without their husbands present.  She also asked how property was divided after divorce; if it was equal, she wanted to know why women were expected to return home.  She also asked about the status of marital rape in the existing and proposed laws, and if there was a practice of forced marriage following rape.

DORCAS COKER-APPIAH, expert from Ghana, asked about the implications of bride prices and if there were plans in the civil code to ban it.  She also asked for clarification of grounds for divorce, and if divorce could be initiated by either party.

Country Response

The delegation said that the new civil code established 18 as the marriage age, and, in the case of divorce, property had to be divided in a fair manner, with the priority being the welfare of the children.  The bride price could have both positive and negative implications.  It was a long-standing traditional practice.  In some districts, the price was given from women to men. 

Experts’ Comments and Questions

In follow-up questions, Ms. PIMENTEL, expert from Brazil, stressed the importance of contraceptives and sexual education being available to everyone; Ms. MURILLO DE LA VEGA, expert from Spain, noted a section of the report that depicted women as afraid of standing up for election; Mr. BRUUN, expert from Finland, asked about child labour; and Ms. HALPERIN-KADDARI, expert from Israel, and Ms. AWORI, expert from Kenya, repeated their previous questions, which they said had not been answered.

Country Response

The delegation said that there were remnants of the tradition of forced marriage in the remote areas, but the Government and its partners, including religious organizations, were doing advocacy on gender equality to fight those practices.  It was true that much more hard work was required.  Cock fights were another traditional practice that could have negative impacts on women, which needed to be mitigated. 

In the labour codes and children’s laws, there was a ban on child labour, they said, adding that children, on their own initiative, had undertaken to help their parents in difficult economic times.

In closing, the delegation said it was trying its hardest to fulfil its obligations and provide the information required by the Committee.  Timor-Leste was a young country, but it intended to include all its citizens equally in building its future.

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