Press Conference by Permanent Mission of France on Progress

in Revoking Laws That Discriminate against Women

 

Calling for the speedy establishment of a United Nations-backed mechanism to monitor and investigate laws discriminating on the basis of gender, the head of the global civil society organization Equality Now said at Headquarters today that ensuring equality before the law would go a long way towards ending the legal discrimination that still condemned so many women worldwide to poverty and continuous abuse.

“The extent of violence and discrimination against women and girls condoned by Governments is staggering and unacceptable,” said Taina Bien-Aimé, Executive Director of Equality Now, at a press conference where she highlighted the eye-opening findings of the report Words and Deeds -- Holding Governments Accountable in the Beijing +15 Review Process.

The press conference, sponsored by the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations, was held in connection with the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, which opened its annual two-week meeting on Monday.  Joining Ms. Bien-Aimé were Cécile Sportis, Special Adviser on Gender Issues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, and Esther Murugi Mathenge, Minister for Gender of Kenya.  Also present was Sapana Pradhan-Malla, a Board Member of Equality Now Asia.

Describing the report’s findings as a representative sampling of explicitly discriminatory laws from countries around the world, Ms. Bien-Aimé said Equality Now was launching the survey in response to a huge gap in implementing the landmark 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women 15 years ago.  At the time, 189 Governments had agreed that laws discriminating against women undermined equality, and pledged to “revoke any remaining laws that discriminate on the basis of sex”.  Governments had reaffirmed that commitment at Women 2000 -– the Special Session of the General Assembly to review implementation of the Beijing outcomes -- pledging to revoke such laws “as soon as possible, preferably by 2005”, Ms. Bien-Aimé recalled.

“That date is now well behind us, and discriminatory laws remain in force in too many countries,” she said, noting that the report highlighted such legislation in 36 countries across all geographic regions, including those that discriminated against women with respect to personal status (suffrage, citizenship, evidence, travel); economic status (inheritance, property, employment); marital status (marriage, divorce, polygamy, wife-obedience); and addressing violence against women (rape, domestic violence, honour killings).

With all that in mind, Equality Now was marking the fifteenth anniversary of Beijing by expressing its profound concern over the blatant failure of Governments to honour the commitments they had made, she said.  Repealing laws that discriminated against women would not cost anything, so it was only a question of political will, she added, calling on the United Nations urgently to establish within its Human Rights Council, a special mechanism –- a special rapporteur, an independent expert or a working group –- on gender equality before the law, hopefully by its next session in September.  “Women and girls can no longer wait for basic and fundamental equality under the law and in practice,” she stressed.

Ms. Bien-Aimé said Equality Now’s “Beijing +15 Campaign” applauded those countries that had undertaken positive legal reforms, including the repeal or amendment of more than half the 52 laws highlighted in the group’s previous reports marking the fifth and tenth anniversaries of Beijing.  However, too many discriminatory laws remained on the books and disturbingly, more were being enacted, for example, Afghanistan’s 2009 Shia Personal Status Law, which declared men the heads of households and curtailed women’s freedom of movement, among other restrictions.  Law was the most formal expression of public policy, she pointed out, declaring:  “A Government that allows discriminatory laws to remain in effect endorses and actively perpetuates gender-based inequality, which in turn leads to violence against women.”  When women were unequal under they law they had no formal recourse when faced with discrimination or violence.

Spotlighting other examples detailed in the report, she said that in Singapore, the law allowed a man to rape his wife if she was 13 years of age or older; in Iraq, a law required a woman to get the approval of her husband or male guardian to obtain a passport; similarly, in Israel, a woman could only divorce her husband if he provided a “get”; and in Saudi Arabia, women were still prohibited from driving.

For her part, Ms. Sportis said that within the framework of its presidency of the European Union in 2008, France had been keen to jump-start debate around the creation of a mechanism dealing with women’s equality under the law.  During the Human Rights Council’s eleventh session in June 2009, a high-level workshop in which France had participated alongside 14 other States, had proposed a resolution to that end.

Subsequently, the Council had unanimously adopted a text expressing its concern over the large number of gender-discriminatory laws on the books today, she said.  It expressed regret that Government obligations under the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action had not been respected.  The resolution also recognized that the inequality of women before the law prohibited them from benefiting from equal opportunities, in fields as varied as access to health, education, participation in public and political life, inheritance and property rights.  Such inequality exposed them to further discrimination and violence, she said.

France considered that gender equality was, above all, respect for human rights, Ms. Sportis continued, emphasizing the vital importance of creating a mechanism to investigate, analyse and provide recommendations on extending protection and equality for all women under the law.  It was critical that the Human Rights Council take the matter up, particularly given its responsibility to promote and protect human rights for all.

Looking ahead, she said that two things were necessary in the months leading up to the Council’s 2010 session:  a serious study on the operation of such a mechanism; and to convince a majority of Member States that it must be created, not just for the benefit of women and girls, but for society as a whole.

Picking up that thread, Ms. Mathenge, said Beijing had clearly called on Member States to actively revoke or amend laws that discriminated on the basis of sex.  Moreover, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women -- informally known as the “CEDAW Convention” after the body of experts that monitors its implementation -- had made a similar call.  The role of law in addressing women’s rights could not be overestimated, and indeed, gender-responsive laws ensured that areas where women had historically faced injustice would be addressed, including in politics and decision-making, land and property ownership, and access to employment opportunities.  “The establishment in the Human Rights Council of a special mechanism on ensuring equality before the law is a must,” she declared.

As for Kenya, she said the Government recognized the importance of monitoring the progress being made in removing all laws that discriminated against women, and believed that the establishment of such a mechanism would be most welcome.  Among other things, it would facilitate Governments’ fulfilment of their obligations under various regional, national and global agreements on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, she said, adding that it would ultimately ensure the promotion and protection of the human rights of all women and girls.

As a party to the CEDAW Convention, Kenya had been reporting on its implementation and was on time in submitting its reports to the Committee, she said.  The Kenyan courts invoked the Convention when adjudicating cases concerning property, inheritance and forced marriage, among other matters.  Kenya had also placed gender officers in senior positions within all ministries.  The Government had enacted relevant laws and policies, such as the Children’s Act, which prohibited female genital mutilation and early marriage, and the Sexual Offences Act had already led to several perpetrators being convicted and sentenced to life in prison, “which is really a plus for Kenya”.

Kenya had also enacted a Public Office Ethics Act prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace, and many more women were aware of their rights at work, she said, noting that they spoke out about labour issues that concerned them.  In its effort create gender-sensitive laws, the Government had also realized the existence of gaps in laws already on the books, and had taken steps to address inconsistencies through a series of amendments.  That would lead to “landmark changes” including harmonizing archaic and confusing marriage laws, and updating matrimonial property rights, since Kenya still used British statutes from 1892.

She concluded by saying the Government had realized that women and girls would have to be made aware of their rights, and that the best way to do that was to build up grassroots and community-level organizations.  “They must be made aware of their rights otherwise it will all be a waste of time.”

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For information media • not an official record