CSW 1992

The Commission on the Status of Women 36th Session took place in Vienna, 11-20 March 1992

Download the document TXT file (197 KB) ZIP file (48 KB)

Contents

I. Matters Calling for Action by the Economic and Social Council or brought to its attention

A. Draft resolutions
I. Improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat
II. Women and children under apartheid
III. Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women
IV. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
V. Violence against women in all its forms
VI. Communications on the status of women
VII. Advancement of women and human rights

B. Draft decisions
I. Report of the Commission on the Status of Women on its thirty-sixth session and provisional agenda and documentation for the thirty-seventh session of the Commission
II. Request for additional conference facilities during the thirty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women

C. Resolutions of the Commission brought to the attention of the Council
36/1. Advancement of women and the family
36/2. Inclusion of the question of women in the agendas of forthcoming international meetings
36/3. Women in decision-making bodies
36/4. Integration of elderly women into development
36/5. Women and development
36/6. Women and the environment
36/7. Advancement of women and acts of terrorism against women
36/8. Preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace

II. Programming and Coordination Matters Related to the United Nations and the United Nations System

III. Monitoring the Implementation of the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women

IV. Priority Themes
A. Equality: Elimination of de jure and de facto discrimination against women
B. Development
1. Integration of women in the process of development
2. Women and the environment
C. Peace: Equal participation in all efforts to promote international cooperation, peace and disarmament

V. Preparations fo the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace

VI. Provisional Agenda for the 37th Session of the Commission

VII. Adoption of the Report of the Commission on its 36th Session

Chapter I. Matters Calling for Action by the Economic and Social Council or brought to its attention                                                                      [ Up ]

A. Draft resolutions

1. The Commission on the Status of Women recommends to the Economic and Social Council the adoption of the following draft resolutions:

DRAFT RESOLUTION I                                                                   [ Up ]

Improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat*

* For the discussion, see chap. II.

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling Articles 8 and 101 of the Charter of the United/Nations, and recalling also the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,/1/ in particular paragraphs 79, 306, 315, 356 and 358, in which importance is attached to the appointment of women in the Secretariat at senior decision-making and managerial levels,

Recalling also the relevant resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and other bodies that have been adopted since Assembly resolution 2715 (XXV) of 15 December 1970, in which the question of the employment of women in the Professional category was first addressed,

Noting with concern that the goal of a 30 per cent participation rate of women in posts subject to geographical distribution by the end of 1990 had not been achieved by the end of 1991,

Bearing in mind the goal of achieving by 1995 an overall participation rate of women of 35 per cent of all posts subject to geographical distribution, set by the General Assembly in resolutions 45/125 of 14/December/1990 and 45/239 C of 21/December 1990, and a participation rate of women in posts at the D-1 level and above, set by the Assembly in resolution 45/239 C, at 25 per cent of the total within the overall participation rate of women of 35 per cent in posts subject to geographical distribution,

Also bearing in mind that a visible commitment of the Secretary-General is essential to the achievement of the targets set by the General Assembly of an overall participation rate of women of 35 per cent, and, at the D-1 level and above, of 25 per cent by 1995,

Welcoming the progress report of the Secretary-General concerning the comprehensive study of the barriers to the advancement of women and elements of the action programme for the advancement of women in the Secretariat for the period 1991-1995,/2/

1. Strongly urges the Secretary-General to increase the number of women in posts subject to geographical distribution, particularly in senior policy-level and decision-making posts, in order to achieve an overall participation rate of 35/per/cent by 1995, and a goal of 25/per/cent of the total within the overall participation rate of 35 per cent in posts at the D-1 level and above, taking into consideration the need to increase the representation of women from countries with a low or no representation of women, especially from the developing countries;

2. Urges the Secretary-General to appoint women to senior policy-level and decision-making posts in his next appointments, and to achieve the targets set for the Secretariat by 1995;

3. Urges the Secretary-General to ensure that achievement of these goals will not be impeded by the temporary suspension of regular recruitment imposed in the context of the current restructuring;

4. Calls upon all Member States to contribute fully to increasing the participation rate of women in the Professional category and above throughout the United Nations system by, inter alia, nominating more women candidates, especially for senior policy-level and decision-making posts: encouraging women to apply for vacant posts and by creating national rosters of women candidates to be shared with the Secretariat and the executive bodies of the specialized agencies and related organizations, taking into consideration the need to increase the representation of women from countries with a low or no representation of women, especially from the developing countries;

5. Recommends that all organizations of the United Nations system accord priority to increasing the numbers of women in Professional and senior policy-level and decision-making posts to achieve the same targets set for the Secretariat by 1995;

6. Welcomes the decision of the Secretary-General to regularize the post of Focal Point in the Office of the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, as well as the establishment of an additional General Service post to assist her;

7. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the findings of the comprehensive study of the barriers to the advancement of women and a full action programme for the advancement of women in the Secretariat for the period 1991-1995 are submitted to the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session;

8. Further requests the Secretary-General to ensure that his annual report on the status of women in the Secretariat includes strategies and modalities for implementing the action programme and the relevant mandates adopted by the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, and to submit the report to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-seventh session and to the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session, as well as to those bodies that have administrative, budgetary and personnel responsibilities for the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat.

DRAFT RESOLUTION II                                                                   [ Up ]

Women and children under apartheid*

* For the discussion, see chap. III.

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling its resolution 1991/20 of 30 May 1991,

Reaffirming the provisions of the Declaration on Apartheid and its Destructive Consequences in Southern Africa, contained in the annex to General Assembly resolution/S-16/1 of 14/December/1989,

Recalling General Assembly resolution/46/79 of 13/December/1991,

Alarmed by the grave socio-economic deprivation to which the majority of the people, especially the women and children, are subjected as a direct consequence of apartheid,

Deeply concerned about the alleged State complicity in politically motivated violence that has to date claimed thousands of lives and has left hundreds of thousands homeless, the majority of whom are women and children,

Noting the positive changes initiated by the South African authorities aimed at dismantling apartheid, which were the result of the relentless struggle waged by the people of South Africa as well as the pressure exerted by the international community,

Noting with satisfaction the signing of the National Peace Accord in September/1991 and the convening of the Convention for a Democratic South Africa in December/1991, and expressing the hope that this will constitute a major contribution towards the final ending of violence in South/Africa,

Welcoming the holding of the Convention for a Democratic South/Africa as an attempt to resolve the problems of South Africa by peaceful means as envisaged in the Declaration on Apartheid,

Recognizing that the equality of women and men cannot be achieved without the success of the struggle towards a united, non-racist, non-sexist and democratic South Africa,

Aware of the attention given by the United/Nations and particularly its Centre against Apartheid and the Division for the Advancement of Women to the issue of assisting South African women to participate fully in the process of establishing a non-racist democracy in their country,

1. Commends those women both inside and outside South Africa who have resisted oppression and have remained steadfast in their opposition to apartheid;

2. Demands the immediate unconditional release of all political prisoners and detainees, among whom are women and children, in accordance with the undertaking of the South African authorities;

3. Urges those involved in the Convention for a Democratic South/Africa to place high on their agenda issues concerning women such as freedom, justice and equality, development and the environment;

4. Also urges the South African authorities to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution/34/180, annex, of 18/December/1979, at the earliest possible opportunity;

5. Appeals to all countries and United/Nations bodies, in conformity with General Assembly resolution/46/79 and in consultation with liberation movements, to increase their support for educational, health, vocational training and employment opportunities for women and children under apartheid;

6. Requests the Centre against Apartheid to widen and strengthen its cooperation with the Division for the Advancement of Women, with a view to creating specific programmes of assistance to South African women to participate fully in the process of transition of their country towards a non-racist democracy;

7. Appeals to the international community to give its full and concerted support to the vulnerable and critical process now under way in South Africa through a phased application of appropriate pressures on the South African authorities as warranted by developments, and to provide assistance to the opponents of apartheid and the disadvantaged sectors of society in order to ensure the rapid and peaceful attainment of the objectives of the Declaration on Apartheid and its Destructive Consequences in Southern Africa;

8. Decides to remain seized of the issue of women and children living under apartheid;

9. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the present resolution to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-seventh session.

DRAFT RESOLUTION III                                                                   [ Up ]

Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women*

* For the discussion, see chap. III.

The Economic and Social Council,

Having considered the reports of the Secretary-General/3/ and the notes by the Secretary-General/4/ concerning the situation of Palestinian women living inside and outside the occupied Palestinian territory,

Recalling the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,/5/ in particular paragraph 260 thereof,

Recalling also its resolutions 1988/25 of 26 May 1988, 1989/34 of 24/May/1989, 1990/11 of 24/May 1990 and 1991/19 of 30/May 1991,

Deeply alarmed by the deteriorating condition of Palestinian women and children in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, as a result of the continued Israeli violation of Palestinian human rights and oppressive measures, including collective punishments, curfews, demolition of houses, closure of schools and universities, deportation, confiscation of land and settlement activities, which are illegal, and controversies over the relevant provisions of the Geneva Convention relevant to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,/6/

1. Reaffirms that the basic improvement of the living conditions of the Palestinian women, their advancement, full equality and self-reliance, can only be achieved by an end to the Israeli occupation and the attainment of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people;

2. Demands that Israel, the occupying power, accept the de jure applicability of the Geneva Convention relevant to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and to respect the Convention provisions;

3. Also demands an end to the Israeli violation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, including an immediate halt to the Israeli settlement activities that have harmful effects on Palestinian women and their families;

4. Calls upon governmental, non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations, including organizations of the United Nations system, to assist Palestinian women in the occupied Palestinian territory in developing small-scale industry and creating vocational training and legal consultation centres;

5. Requests the Commission on the Status of Women to monitor the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, in particular paragraph 260 concerning assistance to Palestinian women;

6. Requests the Secretary-General to continue his efforts in monitoring the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the mission of experts to Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic to investigate the condition of Palestinian women and children/7/ in order to improve the condition of Palestinian women and children;

7. Also requests the Secretary-General to review the situation of Palestinian women and children in the occupied Palestinian territory and in the refugee camps, and to submit a report to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-seventh session, using all available sources.

DRAFT RESOLUTION IV                                                                   [ Up ]

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women*

* For the discussion, see chap. III.

The Economic and Social Council,

Welcoming the fact that there are now 112 States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,/8/

Noting the importance of the monitoring function of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, as demonstrated most recently in its general recommendation 19 on violence against women, adopted at its eleventh session,/9/

Recalling its resolution 1991/25 of 30 May 1991 and other relevant resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council relating to support for the Committee,

Concerned that the duration of the annual session of the Committee, which is considerably less than that of other treaty bodies, has prevented the timely consideration by the Committee of many of the reports submitted to it by States parties,

Noting with concern that the Convention is the human rights instrument with the most reservations, and welcoming the decision by a number of States parties to withdraw their reservations to the Convention,

1. Supports the request of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women for additional meeting time and also supports the proposal that the twelfth session of the Committee should be of three weeks' duration;

2. Recommends that three weeks be allocated for each subsequent session until the Committee removes its backlog in considering reports;

3. Strongly supports general recommendation 19 on violence against women adopted by the Committee at its eleventh session, and calls on States parties to prepare their reports in accordance with this and other general recommendations of the Committee;

4. Welcomes other general recommendations adopted by the Committee at its previous sessions;

5. Urges the Secretary-General to continue to widely publicize the decisions and recommendations of the Committee.

DRAFT RESOLUTION V                                                                   [ Up ]

Violence against women in all its forms*

* For the discussion, see chap. III.

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling its resolution 1991/18 of 30 May 1991, in which it requested that an expert group meeting be held to address the issue of violence against women and to discuss the possibilities of preparing an international instrument on this subject and the elements to be contained therein,

Bearing in mind that the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women/10/ identify violence against women as a major obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace,

Noting that, in general recommendation 19, adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at its eleventh session,/11/ the Committee recognized that gender-based violence was a form of discrimination that seriously inhibited the ability of women to enjoy rights and freedoms on a basis of equality with men,

Noting also the response of the Committee to the report of the Secretary-General on violence against women in all its forms,/12/ the annex to which contained the recommendations and a summary of the discussion of the Expert Group Meeting on Violence against Women, held at Vienna from 11 to 15/November/1991,

1. Calls on Governments to recognize that the elimination of violence against women is essential to the achievement of equality for women and is a requirement for the full respect of human rights;

2. Urges Member States to adopt, strengthen and enforce legislation prohibiting violence against women and to take all appropriate administrative, social and educational measures to protect women from all forms of physical and mental violence, in accordance with its resolution/1991/18;

3. Calls on States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women/13/ to take the steps necessary to implement general recommendation/19, adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at its eleventh session;

4. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on violence against women in all its forms;

5. Decides to convene an inter-sessional working group of the Commission on the Status of Women, open to all Member States and observer States, to further develop a draft declaration on violence against women, taking into account the draft declaration contained in the annex to the report of the Secretary-General and to report to the Commission, at its thirty-seventh session, with a view to recommending a draft declaration to the General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council;

6. Requests Governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, other relevant bodies and academics to continue to undertake research into the causes of violence against women;

7. Urges Governments to address violence against women at the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, to be held in 1995, as one of the major obstacles to women's advancement.

DRAFT RESOLUTION VI                                                                   [ Up ]

Communications on the status of women*

* For the discussion, see chap. III.

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling its resolutions 76 (V) of 5 August 1947 and 304 I (XI) of 14/and 17/July 1950, which form the basis for the mandate of the Commission on the Status of Women to receive at each of its regular sessions a list of confidential and non-confidential communications relating to the status of women,

Taking into consideration its resolution 1983/27 of 26/May/1983, in which it reaffirmed the mandate of the Commission to consider confidential and non-confidential communications on the status of women and authorized the Commission to appoint a working group to consider communications, with a view to bringing to the attention of the Commission those communications, including the replies of Governments, which appear to reveal a consistent pattern of reliably attested injustice and discriminatory practices against women,

Reaffirming that discrimination against women is incompatible with human dignity and that women and men should participate on the basis of equality, irrespective of race or creed, in the social, economic and political processes of their countries,

Recalling its resolution 1990/8 of 24/May/1990, by which it requested the Secretary-General to examine, in consultation with Governments, the existing mechanisms for communications on the status of women, in order to ensure that such communications receive effective and appropriately coordinated consideration in view of the role of communications in the work of the Commission, and to report thereon to the Commission at its thirty-fifth session,

Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on examining existing mechanisms for communications on the status of women,/14/ and the various views expressed by Governments,

Noting the conclusion of the Working Group on Communications, in its report to the Commission at its thirty-fifth session/15/ that, while the communications procedure provided a valuable source of information on the effects of discrimination on the lives of women, it should be improved to make it more efficient and useful, and that clear criteria for receiving communications should be given,

1. Reaffirms that the Commission on the Status of Women is empowered to make recommendations to the Economic and Social Council on what action should be taken on emerging trends and patterns of discrimination against women revealed by such communications;

2. Requests the Secretary-General to publicize widely among international and national organizations, in particular women's groups, the existence and scope of the communication mechanisms of the Commission;

3. Further requests the Secretary-General to support the activities of the Commission with regard to its consideration of communications and to ensure proper coordination of the activities of the Commission in this area and those of the other bodies of the Council, by taking the following action:

(a) Ensuring that the Division for the Advancement of Women of the United/Nations/Office at Vienna and the Centre for Human Rights coordinate closely so that all communications received are sent as soon as possible to the appropriate United/Nations body and to each concerned Member State, and that the respective offices are informed of the disposition of the communications;

(b) Encouraging the specialized agencies of the United/Nations to provide to the Commission, through the Division for the Advancement of Women, communications or other information in their possession that is relevant to discrimination against women;

(c) Making available to authors of communications any recommendations by the Commission to the Council on situations brought to the attention of the Commission by the Working Group on Communications;

4. Reaffirms that the consideration by the Commission of the communications shall remain confidential until such time as the Commission may decide to make recommendations to the Council;

5. Requests the Commission, in order to avoid duplication of work, to determine whether a trend or pattern of discrimination against women revealed by communications should be brought to the attention of another United/Nations body or specialized agency that might be better able to take appropriate action;

6. Further requests the Commission to consider, as appropriate, ways of making the existing procedure for receiving and considering communications, including the standard of admissibility, more transparent and efficient, taking into account the report of the Secretary-General on examining mechanisms for communications on the status of women,/14/ which was submitted to the Commission at its thirty-fifth session;

7. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that any costs resulting from the activities set out in the present resolution are kept to a minimum and that the activities are carried out within existing resources.

DRAFT RESOLUTION VII                                                                  [ Up ]

Advancement of women and human rights*

* For the discussion, see chap. IV.

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling General Assembly resolution/45/155 of 18 December 1990, in which it was decided to convene a World Conference on Human Rights in 1993 and to establish a Preparatory Committee for it,

Noting that the General Assembly, in resolution/46/116 of 17/December/1991, requested concerned United/Nations bodies and specialized agencies, among others, to submit recommendations on the World Conference to the Preparatory Committee for the Conference,

Also noting General Assembly resolution 46/98 of 16/December/1991, in particular paragraph/8 thereof,

Bearing in mind its resolution 1990/15 of 24/May/1990, in which it approved the recommendations and conclusions arising from the first review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women annexed to that resolution, and in particular those related to the maintenance of de/facto discrimination, which prevents women from achieving effective equality,

Taking into account the fact that the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women/16/ have identified violence against women as one of the major obstacles to the achievement of the objectives of the United/Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace,

Welcoming general recommendation/19, adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at its eleventh session,/17/ and the recommendations of the Expert Group Meeting on Violence against Women, held at Vienna from 11 to 15 November/1991,/18/

Affirming that various forms of violence against women are violations of human rights,

1. Calls upon the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference on Human Rights, when preparing the agenda and studies for the World Conference, to take into account the existence of de/facto as well as de/jure discrimination, which continue to impede women's full enjoyment of their economic, social and cultural rights, as well as their civil and political rights;

2. Further calls upon the Preparatory Committee, in preparing for the examination by the World Conference of the main obstacles to the implementation of international human rights instruments, to pay adequate attention to the global problem of violence against women;

3. Invites the Centre for Human Rights and Member States, in preparing for the World Conference, to make use of gender disaggregated data, which identify situations of inequality between women and men;

4. Requests the Secretary-General, in accordance with General Assembly resolution/46/98, to guarantee the participation of the secretariats of the Commission on the Status of Women and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in the preparatory process for the World Conference as well as in the Conference itself;

5. Requests the Division for the Advancement of Women, as the secretariat of the Commission, to report to the Commission, at its thirty-seventh session, on the state of the preparatory process for the World Conference and the related activities of the Division, in accordance with General Assembly resolution/46/98;

6. Requests the Commission to establish, during its thirty-seventh session, an open-ended working group to consider its contribution to the World Conference;

7. Urges Member States to consider, when preparing for the World Conference at the national level, to integrate fully into the scope of the Conference issues related to women's rights, and to respect the principle of equal participation of women and men in their delegations.

B. Draft decisions                                                                                 [ Up ]

2. The Commission on the Status of Women recommends to the Economic and Social Council the adoption of the following draft decisions:

DRAFT DECISION I                                                                           [ Up ]

Report of the Commission on the Status of Women on its thirty-sixth session and provisional agenda and documentation for the thirty-seventh session of the Commission*

* for the discussion, see chap. VI.

The Economic and Social Council takes note of the report of the Commission on the Status of Women on its thirty-sixth session and approves the provisional agenda for the thirty-seventh session of the Commission, set out below, and the relevant documentation:

PROVISIONAL AGENDA AND DOCUMENTATION FOR THE THIRTY-SEVENTH SESSION OF THE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

1. Election of officers.

(Legislative authority: rule 15 of the rules of procedure of the functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council)

2. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters.

(Legislative authority: Economic and Social Council resolution 1894/(LVII); rules/5 and 7 of the rules of procedure of the functional commissions of the Council)

3. Programming and coordination matters related to the United Nations and the United Nations system.

(Legislative authority: Programme planning regulation/4.12; General Assembly resolution/46/100; Economic and Social Council resolutions 1988/60, 1989/30, 1989/105)

Documentation

Report of the Secretary-General containing updated information on the status of women in the Secretariat

Report of the Secretary-General on the preparation of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2000

Note by the Secretariat on programme proposals for the biennium 1994-1995

For information

Report of the Secretary-General on the status of women in the Secretariat/(A/47/...)

4. Monitoring the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women

(Legislative authority: General Assembly resolutions/40/108, 41/111, 42/62, 43/101, 44/77, 45/124, 45/129; Economic and Social Council resolutions/1988/22, 1990/5, 1990/15; Commission on the Status of Women resolution/34/1)

Documentation

Report of the Secretary-General on the preliminary version of the update of the World Survey on the Role of Women in Development

Report of the Secretary-General on statistical indicators relating to the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women

Report of the Secretary-General on the situation of and assistance to Palestinian women

Report of the Secretary-General on women and children under apartheid

Report of the Secretary-General on violence against women

Report of the Secretary-General on women and the United Nations Decade against Drug Abuse

Report of the Secretariat on activities related to preparations for the World Conference on Human Rights

Note by the Secretary-General transmitting a list of confidential and non-confidential communications concerning the status of women

For information

Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women/(A/47/...)

Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on its eleventh session (A/47/38)

Report of the Secretary-General on the status of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women/(A/47/...)

5. Priority themes:

(Legislative authority: Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15)

(a) Equality: Increased awareness by women of their rights, including legal literacy

(b) Development: Women in extreme poverty: integration of women's concerns in national development planning

(c) Peace: Women and the peace process

Documentation

Report of the Secretary-General on increased awareness by women of their rights, including legal literacy

Report of the Secretary-General on women in extreme poverty: integration of women's concerns in national development planning

Report of the Secretary-General on women and the peace process

6. Preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace

(Legislative authority: General Assembly resolutions/45/129, 46/98; Economic and Social Council resolutions 1987/20, 1990/9, 1990/12, 1990/15; Commission on the Status of Women resolution/35/4)

Documentation

Report of the Secretary-General on preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace

Report of the Secretary-General on a first draft that will serve as a working document for the elaboration of the Platform for Action

Report of the Secretary-General on the outline and contents of the second report on the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies

Report of the Secretary-General on the planning and implementation of the information campaign

7. Provisional agenda for the thirty-eighth session of the Commission

8. Adoption of the report of the Commission on its thirty-seventh session

DRAFT DECISION II                                                                           [ Up ]

Request for additional conference facilities during the thirty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women*

* For the discussion, see chap. VI.

The Economic and Social Council decides to approve the convening of four additional meetings, with interpretation services, to be held simultaneously with the plenary meetings of the Commission on the Status of Women during its thirty-seventh session, for the purpose of considering, in informal meetings, the preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace.

C. Resolutions of the Commission brought to the attention of the Council                                                                                                                 [ Up ]

3. The following resolutions adopted by the Commission are brought to the attention of the Council:

Resolution 36/1. Advancement of women and the family**                  [ Up ]

** For the discussion, see chap. III.

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Recalling its resolution 34/7 of 8 March 1990, in which the Commission decided to give further consideration to the question of the International Year of the Family at subsequent sessions,

Recommends to the Commission on Social Development that the following elements be taken into account at its thirty-third session when preparing for the 1994 International Year of the Family:

(a) That families are changing systems of relationships between individuals, and that society and policies must therefore be responsive and receptive to their needs;

(b) That individual rights of women and men should be respected equally and they should have equal opportunities to assert those rights;

(c) That, as regards equality of women and men, the concept of equality must be understood as expressed in the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women/19/ and in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,/20/ and must be taken into account in all policies and programmes for the International Year of the Family;

(d) That it is vital for women to participate in decision-making at all levels and spheres, in particular with regard to the formulation of family policies;

(e) That violence in families violates human rights, especially those of women and children;

(f) That the need to develop communication skills and positive attitudes towards truly equal partnership should be emphasized;

(g) That the raising and upbringing of new generations in families are not only the responsibilities of women, but also of men, who should play their role as equal responsible partners;

(h) That, bearing in mind the needs of workers with family responsibilities, Governments and other appropriate bodies should introduce appropriate measures to assist the reconciliation between family and working responsibilities, whether paid or unpaid;

(i) That family policies should take into account the findings of gender-sensitive research, based on information gathered from all family members;

(j) That the planning of activities and programmes for the International/Year of the Family should be elaborated and implemented at international, regional and national levels in close cooperation with the existing mechanisms for the advancement of women and interested women's non-governmental organizations.

Resolution 36/2. Inclusion of the question of women in the agendas of forthcoming international meetings*                                                      [ Up ]

* For the discussion, see chap. III.

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Considering that, in accordance with General Assembly resolution/45/129 of 14 December 1990, the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, which will examine the main obstacles that account for the persistence of inequality and discrimination affecting women, is to be held in 1995,

Recognizing that the manifestations of inequality and discrimination are present in the main themes that are of fundamental interest to the United/Nations,

Recalling the need for system-wide institutional coordination on issues relating to women, as indicated in paragraphs 338 to 344 of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women;/21/

Further recalling that, prior to the Fourth World Conference on Women, the United/Nations will be holding important conferences and other meetings on issues that are unquestionably linked with and important for the living conditions and situation of women,

Taking into account General Assembly resolution 46/98 of 16/December/1991, in which the Commission was requested, when considering the priority theme relating to development during its thirty-sixth and subsequent sessions, to ensure its early contribution to the work of forthcoming international conferences,

1. Recommends to Member States that they include the question of women in the agendas of the World Conference on Human Rights and the International Conference on Population and Development, to be held in 1993 and 1994 respectively;

2. Also recommends that the same procedure be followed for the national, regional and international preparatory meetings for the above-mentioned Conferences.

Resolution 36/3. Women in decision-making bodies*                           [ Up ]

* For the discussion, see chap. IV.

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Recalling the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,/22/ in particular paragraphs 86 to 92 thereof,

Recalling also the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,/23/ in particular articles 7 and 8,

Noting the recommendations contained in the reports of the Secretary-General on various aspects of the participation of women in public life, submitted to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-third, thirty-fourth and thirty-sixth sessions, as well as the recommendations and conclusions arising from the first review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies, contained in the annex to Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15 of 24 May 1990,

Gravely concerned that women continue to be generally underrepresented in key areas of national, regional and international decision-making,

Convinced that no true democracy can be achieved without the full participation and contribution of women, including their contribution to decision-making, in all spheres of life,

1. Urges Governments to increase their efforts to appoint women to all executive decision-making bodies in political, economic and cultural life, as well as to advisory boards and councils, so as to incrementally achieve full gender equality;

2. Also urges political parties, trade unions and non-governmental organizations to encourage women to use their rights, to promote women, to put forward women as candidates to all elective posts and actively to support their election to such posts;

3. Requests the Secretary-General to update and disseminate, on a regular basis, information on the composition of the high-level decision-making bodies at the national, regional and international levels, disaggregated by sex;

4. Encourages institutes of the United Nations system, especially the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, to undertake research on the participation of women in decision-making in public life, highlighting the continuing obstacles to such participation, the positive effects of the increased participation of women and the mechanisms for achieving such increased participation of women.

Resolution 36/4. Integration of elderly women into development*       [ Up ]

* For the discussion, see chap. IV.

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Recalling paragraph 286 of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,/24/ concerning elderly women, and the pertinent recommendations of the International Plan of Action on Ageing,/25/ and also recalling the terms of Economic and Social Council resolution 1989/38 of 24/May/1989, according to which women constitute a majority of the elderly population, and that in the twenty-first century the number of elderly women will increase more rapidly in the developing countries,

Aware of the fact that the obstacles to their advancement encountered by young women and the decisions concerning their instruction, education, family life, health, and employment will have important consequences in their future lives,

Emphasizing the consequent need to adopt an approach for the advancement of women that takes into account all stages of life, so as to identify measures that respond to women's needs,

Equally aware of the fact that elderly women, in all regions of the world, represent an important human resource, and that their contribution to society and development in the economic, cultural, political and social fields often remains unseen or unrecognized,

Calling attention to the urgent need to develop and improve the publication of statistics by sex and by age, and to identify and evaluate the different forms of activities of elderly women which are not normally recognized as having an economic value, in particular in the informal sector,

1. Invites the competent organs of the United/Nations to adopt an approach that, in all their strategies and programmes for the advancement of women, takes into account all stages of life; this approach must envisage the advancement of young women, while bearing in mind the subsequent consequences of decisions taken on their account;

2. Calls upon the Secretary-General to compile within existing resources a comprehensive annotated bibliography on the status of elderly women so that research already being conducted world wide can be incorporated in future assessments;

3. Welcomes the efforts of the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat to establish, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations, model profiles of the present situation of elderly women that will permit all countries, whatever their level of development, to make the necessary projections;

4. Encourages Member States to utilize these model profiles to compile and analyse information on the situation of present and future generations of elderly women, and invites contributing organizations to provide to Member States, in collaboration with them, financial and technical assistance for this purpose;

5. Notes with appreciation the work of the Statistical Office and the Population Division of the Secretariat and of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, and encourages them to develop a statistical methodology to enable the quantification and evaluation of the contribution of women, which does not generally appear at the present time, in the national accounts of States;

6. Invites international development agencies and organizations, including the United/Nations Development Fund for Women and the United Nations Development Programme, to take account of the potential of elderly women as a human resource for development and to include elderly women in their development strategies and programmes, and encourages Governments to ensure the inclusion of women, regardless of age, in development projects covered by national and multilateral financial institutions;

7. Requests the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to pay particular attention to discrimination on grounds of age when evaluating national reports on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; 26/

8. Invites the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference on Human Rights, to be held in 1993, to include in the agenda of that Conference discrimination on grounds of age and sex;

9. Invites the Preparatory Committee for the International Conference on Population and Development, to be held in 1994, to include in the agenda of that Conference the situation of elderly women and their integration in development;

10. Encourages Governments, non-governmental organizations and other bodies to involve women, including elderly women, in their development activities;

11. Invites the Secretary-General to report to the Commission at its thirty-eighth session on the following matters:

(a) The establishment, on a country-by-country basis, of profiles concerning the present and future situation of women at all stages of their lives;

(b) An evaluation of analytical methods permitting the establishment of strategies and programmes for the integration of women in development;

(c) The inclusion of gender criteria in numerical targets concerning ageing being prepared by the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat, and to report on the implementation of these programmes and targets to the International Conference on Population and Development, in 1994, and to the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace in 1995.

Resolution 36/5. Women and development*                                          [ Up ]

* For the discussion, see chap./IV.

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Recalling Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15 of 24/May/1990 and Commission resolutions 34/3 of 8 March 1990 and 35/7 of 8/March/1991,

Reaffirming the principles contained in the Declaration on the Right to Development, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 41/128, annex, of 4/December/1986,

Convinced that the effective mobilization of women is an essential element to achieving the objectives of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women/27/ and the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United/Nations Development Decade,/28/

Aware that the slow progress in the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies as related to development necessitates urgent action to be taken by all the parties concerned,

Aware also of the need to recognize the importance of gender in all areas of social, economic and political life in order to bridge the gap between the roles of men and women in development and to train planners, policy makers, decision makers and relevant staff in gender analysis,

Reaffirming that the full integration of women in development, both as agents and beneficiaries, should concern all sectors of society,

Convinced that improving the distribution between both sexes of the tasks related to productive and reproductive functions is an essential strategy for development and has to be reflected in the implementation of concrete economic and social policies,

Further convinced that international cooperation for development has a fundamental role in the creation of proper conditions that allow women to achieve full integration in development,

Deeply concerned about the worsening situation of women in developing countries, particularly in the least developed countries,

Expressing special concern about women living in extreme poverty, in rural as well as in urban areas,

Expressing deep concern that, despite the fact that poor rural women contribute to all aspects of the well-being of rural families and account for more than half of the food production of developing countries, they are often the most vulnerable and disadvantaged group in society,

Aware of the need for women, as agents and beneficiaries of development, to be empowered to define their own means of development, as well as of the need to guarantee them access to services, such as education, health, maternity and child care and credit, among others, in order to fully integrate women into the development process,

Keeping in mind the fact that the impact of structural adjustment policies, adverse terms of trade and the growing foreign debt on developing countries, particularly the least developed countries, has had a negative effect on efforts for the full integration of women in development,

1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General entitled "Development: integration of women in the process of development",/29/ which contains the conclusions and recommendations of the Seminar on the Integration of Women in Development;

2. Urges Governments to foster women's full participation in the elaboration, planning, execution and evaluation of development policies and projects so that they can be agents and beneficiaries of development;

3. Also urges Governments to adopt policies to promote economic development that will ensure the full and explicit integration of women's needs and concerns;

4. Further urges Governments to include gender perspectives in the major guidelines for economic and social policies and to increase their capacities and capabilities in gender-responsive and gender-sensitive planning of development programmes;

5. Urges Governments to foster the access of women to income-generating activities as a means of stimulating economic independence, a basic requirement for women's self-sufficiency;

6. Urges Governments to identify their own quantitative and qualitative national targets in such fields as education and training, employment, income generation, health and women in public life with regard to the full integration of women in development and to commit adequate resources to women and development programmes;

7. Recommends that Governments create or strengthen national machinery for the advancement of women, placing it at the highest level, and ensure its greater involvement in the political, economic and social planning processes;

8. Also recommends that Governments, international donors and non-governmental organizations develop gender-oriented research in all development areas, particularly by the involvement of national research institutes, and promote specific measures in the field of training in gender analysis programmes for development decision makers and the relevant staff involved in the policy and programme areas, in addition to implementation processes;

9. Calls upon Governments, international financial and other relevant institutions and non-governmental organizations to promote measures to stimulate the economies of developing countries and the full integration of women in the development process and to provide financial services on the basis of equal opportunity for women and men, while avoiding adverse effects on their well-being, particularly that of vulnerable groups;

10. Calls upon donor Governments and international financial institutions to provide adequate and timely support for the efforts of the developing countries, particularly the least developed countries, in reducing the negative effects of the external debt burden, structural adjustment policies and adverse terms of trade, with a view to integrating women in mainstream development;

11. Appeals to Governments, donor countries, international organizations and appropriate financial institutions to make greater efforts to support the establishment of cooperative rural banks and other development-related institutions to assist women, particularly those engaged in small- and medium-scale productive activities;

12. Requests Member States to make provision for specific training programmes for women in rural and urban areas aimed at developing their technical and management skills and to give financial support, fellowships or both for training women, particularly those from developing countries, in science, technology, agriculture and management;

13. Calls upon Governments, donor countries and relevant international organizations to take further coordinated measures to facilitate the access of women, particularly rural and urban poor women, to basic education and health and child-care facilities;

14. Requests the Secretary-General, in reporting on the implementation of the present resolution in his biennial monitoring report on the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, to include policy and programme recommendations on the basis of gender analysis;

15. Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure that the issues of women and development and of the integration of women in development programmes are an integral part of the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade.

Resolution 36/6. Women and the environment*                                   [ Up ]

* For the discussion, see chap. IV.

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Recalling the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,/30/ in particular paragraphs 224 to 227, which emphasize the impact upon women of environmental degradation and the importance of the awareness of women and women's organizations of environmental issues and of the enhancement of women's capacity to participate at all levels in the management of their environment,

Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15 of 24/May/1990, in which the Council adopted the recommendations and conclusions arising from the first review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women contained in the annex to that resolution,

Bearing in mind the preparations for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, to be held at Rio de Janeiro in June/1992, on the basis of General Assembly resolution 44/228 of 22 December 1989,

Taking into account all relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, in particular resolution 46/167 of 19/December 1991 on women, environment, population and sustainable development,

Taking note of the conclusions and recommendations of the Global Assembly of Women and the Environment: Partners in Life, held at Miami, Florida, from 4/to/8/November 1991,

Expressing its concern about the global environmental crisis and its conviction that women have an important role to play in the protection of the environment and natural resources and in the promotion of sustainable development,

Gravely concerned that major causes of the continuing deterioration of the global environment are the unsustainable pattern of production and consumption, particularly in developed countries, and increasing poverty in many developing countries,

Aware that traditional and advanced technologies are needed to implement programmes and projects aimed at the promotion of environmentally sound development,

Stressing the importance of the international transfer of appropriate technologies to the promotion of sound environment and sustainable development,

Recognizing that the cooperation and assistance of as well as the work performed by the non-governmental organizations are efficient mechanisms in the struggle for protecting and preserving the environment and for promoting the full participation of women in the management of the environment,

1. Urges Governments to adopt laws, policies and programmes to promote women's participation in the preservation of the environment in their countries, in the interest of present and future populations and of humankind;

2. Also urges national, State and local governments, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations and the private sector, to promote a higher level of involvement of women in the planning, implementation and evaluation of policies, programmes and action aiming at environmental protection, the conservation of natural resources and economic development;

3. Urges Governments to promote within their programmes of environmental management, specific activities aimed at the education, and professional and leadership training of women in environmental issues;

4. Requests Governments and multilateral financial institutions to provide new and additional financial resources for the promotion of women's participation in sustainable development in the developing countries in general and in the least developed countries in particular, channelled by means of democratic and appropriate institutional mechanisms responsive to the priorities of women in the target communities;

5. Calls for the active participation of women in the management of funds allocated to the protection of the environment and to sustainable development;

6. Calls upon Governments, non-governmental organizations and other social groups, women's organizations in particular, to promote the necessary changes in production policies and consumption habits, mainly in developed countries, and also to promote the development of effective international cooperation in the areas of research, development and the application of environmentally sound technologies;

7. Reminds Governments, governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as transnational corporations, of the necessity of facilitating the access of women in developing countries to environmentally sound appropriate technologies;

8. Invites the Governments of donor countries, international organizations and relevant non-governmental organizations to ensure that greater attention is given to women's contributions to environmental protection and management in their cooperation with and assistance to developing countries, with a view to preserving the environment and promoting sustainable development in those countries;

9. Urges Governments to put greater emphasis on linkages between environmental management and underlying problems, such as poverty, population growth and distribution, unsanitary living conditions and lack of water, and on action to deal with such problems;

10. Requests national Governments and all governmental and non-governmental organizations to ensure the equitable participation of women in their delegations to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development;

11. Requests the Preparatory Committee for the United/Nations Conference on Environment and Development, at its fourth session, to give full and substantive consideration to the recommendations of the Commission concerning women and the environment, in accordance with General/Assembly resolution 46/167;

12. Requests the Secretary-General to monitor the progress made in the area of women and the environment and to submit a report on the review and appraisal of that subject to the Commission at its thirty-eighth session, to serve as a working document in the preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, in 1995.

Resolution 36/7. Advancement of women and acts of terrorism against women*                                                                                                    [ Up ]

* For the discussion, see chap. IV.

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Taking into account the fact that the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women have identified violence against women as one of the major obstacles to the achievement of the objectives of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace,/31/

Recalling Commission on Human Rights resolution 1992/82 of 5/March/1992, concerning the promotion and furtherance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,/32/

Profoundly concerned about the persistent acts of violence perpetrated in various countries by armed groups and by drug traffickers who terrorize the population and threaten in particular the safety and lives of women and children,

Reaffirming that such acts prevent the full exercise of civil and political rights, such as participation in free elections, the right to peaceful assembly, freedom of association and trade union rights, as well as the exercise of economic, social and cultural rights, thus undermining the welfare of the people and seriously harming the economic infrastructure and production,

1. Strongly condemns the acts of violence perpetrated by armed groups and by drug traffickers who terrorize and threaten the safety and lives of the population, especially women, and, in particular, women who have been democratically elected to public office, or who are leaders of community organizations or welfare associations, or who have been appointed by the Government to positions of responsibility;

2. Expresses its profound concern about the adverse effect on the enjoyment of human rights caused by armed groups and by drug traffickers who terrorize the population and threaten the safety and lives of women;

3. Requests governmental and non-governmental organizations to pay particular attention to these violations of human rights;

4. Decides to consider this question under the priority theme "Peace" at its thirty-seventh session.

Resolution 36/8. Preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace*                                     [ Up ]

* For the discussion, see chap./V.

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Recalling the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of/Women,/33/ endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution/40/108 of 13/December/1985,

Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolution 1987/20 of 26/May/1987, in which the Council decided that the Commission on the Status of Women should be designated as the preparatory body for world conferences on women,

Recalling further Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15 of 24/May/1990 on the recommendations and conclusions arising from the first review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the year 2000,

Recalling also its resolution 35/4 of 8/March/1991 on preparations for the world conference on women in 1995 and its decision 35/101 of 8/March/1991 on the title of the Conference,

A

Organization of the Conference

Noting with appreciation the offers made by the Governments of Austria and China to act as host for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, and the forum for non-governmental organizations,

Taking into consideration General Assembly resolution 46/98 of 16/December 1991, in which the Assembly requested the Commission to decide on the venue of the Fourth World Conference on Women not later than at its thirty-sixth session, in accordance with Commission decision 35/102 of 8/March/1991, bearing in mind that preference should be given to the region that had not yet hosted a world conference on women,

Considering the duration of previous world conferences on women, as well as similar United Nations conferences,

Bearing in mind that the Conference in 1995 coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations,

Affirming the importance to the success of the Conference of the maximum participation of Governments at the highest possible level, of intergovernmental organizations, organizations of the United Nations system and interested non-governmental organizations, as well as other regional organizations acting through their representatives to the Commission,

Recalling that the General Assembly, in its resolution 46/98, requested the Secretary-General to appoint not later than 1992 the Secretary-General of the Conference,

Recalling its resolution 35/4, in which the Commission decided to prepare a programme of action for consideration by the Conference,

1. Decides

(a) To accept the offer of the Government of China to act as host for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 40/243 of 18/December/1985;

(b) That the Conference should be of a duration of ten working days;

(c) That the Conference should be held at Beijing from 4 to 15/September/1995;

2. Also decides to recommend that participation in the Conference should be open to:

(a) All States Members of the United/Nations or of any of the specialized agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency;

(b) Representatives of organizations that have received a standing invitation from the General Assembly to participate in the sessions and the work of all international conferences convened under its auspices in the capacity of observers to participate in the Conference in that capacity, in accordance with Assembly resolutions 3237 (XXIX) of 22/November/1974 and 43/177 of 15/December/1988;

(c) Representatives of the national liberation movements recognized in its region by the Organization of African Unity to participate in the Conference in the capacity of observers, in accordance with General/Assembly resolution 3280 (XXIX) of 10/December/1974;

(d) The executive heads of the specialized agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as interested organizations of the United Nations system;

(e) Other interested intergovernmental organizations, to be represented by observers at the Conference;

(f) Interested non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, to be represented by observers at the Conference;

(g) Individuals who, in recognition of their personal contributions to the advancement of women, are invited by the Secretary-General;

(h) Members of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women;

3. Requests the Economic and Social Council to request the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations to consider on a priority basis, in advance of the Conference, the granting of consultative status to more non-governmental organizations concerned with the advancement of women, with particular attention being given to applications from non-governmental organizations from developing countries, and also requests that the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations be provided with additional resources to deal with the additional workload;

4. Recommends that the arrangements for consultation with non-governmental organizations, as approved by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1296/(XLIV) of 23/May/1968, be reviewed to make consultative status more accessible to non-governmental organizations, particularly those from developing countries;

5. Recommends that the Secretary-General appoint a woman as Secretary-General of the Conference, not later than 1992, who should have international stature in relation to the advancement of women and experience in the United Nations system, and who would assume primary responsibility for the preparation of the Conference;

6. Also recommends that, in appointing the necessary staff for the Conference, the Secretary-General include persons from the developing and the least developed countries, taking into consideration equitable geographical distribution;

7. Decides that the agenda for the Conference shall include:

(a) The second review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the year 2000;

(b) The Platform for Action;

(c) The main conclusions and recommendations of regional preparatory conferences;                                                                                                [ Up ]

(d) Institutional arrangements for the implementation of the Platform for Action;

8. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the Commission, at its thirty-seventh session, continuing a first draft, which will serve as a working document for the elaboration of the Platform for Action, taking as a basis all guidelines contained in Commission resolution 35/4, the impact of the changes that have taken place in the international community on the status of women, the importance of integrating gender perspectives in policy-making in all areas and at all levels, the need to give priority to the situation of rural women, in particular in developing countries, and differences in priorities among regions, based on a full input from the organizations of the United Nations system, as well as other regional organizations acting through their representatives to the Commission;

9. Also requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission at its thirty-seventh session a report containing (a) information on data that would be used/in the formulation of the second report on the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies and (b) an outline of the second report, in/which special emphasis should be given to the recommendations and conclusions arising from the first review and appraisal of the implementation of the Strategies, contained in the annex to Council resolution/1990/15, in particular those referring to the condition of women in developing countries;

10. Further requests the Secretary-General to prepare draft rules of procedure for consideration by the Commission at its thirty-eighth session;

B

Preparatory process

Emphasizing the importance of national preparatory activities in focusing national attention on the issue of the status and advancement of women, and of national machinery to assess the situation and mobilize national non-governmental organizations and individuals, with a view to improving national performance in the advancement of women,

Considering the importance of activities for the advancement of women that have taken place at the regional level since International Women's Year and recognizing the necessity of providing for an exchange of national experiences and the elaboration of regional priorities and perspectives for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, and to the year 2000,

Recalling Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/9 of 24/May/1990 on the second report on the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,

Recognizing the importance of non-governmental organizations in the preparations for the Conference at the national, regional and global levels, especially the forum for non-governmental organizations, which will take place prior to and partially simultaneously with the Conference,

Acknowledging the important role of women entrepreneurship, notably in small and medium-sized enterprises, in mobilizing resources and in promoting economic growth and socio-economic development,

Convinced that promotion of the Conference requires the creative and effective use of public information,

1. Recommends that Governments establish a national committee or designate a national focal point to initiate and promote preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, by organizing and coordinating national activities, including assembling information and gender-disaggregated statistics for the elaboration of national reports on the situation of women, and increasing public awareness about the Conference, and requests that reports on such activities be made available to the Secretary-General;

2. Urges organizations of the United Nations system, at the national level, to cooperate with national efforts to prepare for the Conference and to coordinate their activities through the United Nations Resident Coordinator;

3. Requests the Secretary-General to inform Governments about the recommendation regarding national committees or focal points;

4. Recommends that the national reports cited in paragraph 1 above cover the period from 1985 to the present;

5. Urges the organizations of the United Nations system to provide support, on request, to the preparation of national reports;

6. Recommends that regional conferences already scheduled include in their agendas preparations for the World Conference and suggests that, in those regions that have not yet scheduled them, regional conferences to prepare for the World Conference be organized under the auspices of the corresponding regional commission;

7. Requests the regional conferences to identify regional trends, priorities, obstacles and innovative suggestions for future action and that the results of those regional conferences be provided to the Commission not later than at its thirty-ninth session;

8. Recommends that regional conferences include in their agendas the issue of women in public life, emphasizing their role in politics and decision-making;

9. Requests the Secretary-General to include information on women in public life in the preparations of the priority theme on peace: women in international decision-making, for the Commission at its thirty-ninth session;

10. Recommends that a public information strategy for the Conference be designed, using information mechanisms that reach the greatest number of people and based on the Conference themes, in particular those related to development;

11. Also recommends that regional conferences include in their agendas the issue of entrepreneurship and the advancement of women, emphasizing the need to facilitate an overall entrepreneurial activity through appropriate economic policies, training, access to credit, information and other support systems;

12. Requests the Secretary-General to plan and implement an information campaign and to issue a new bulletin entitled Conference 95 twice a year to disseminate information on preparatory activities for the Conference at all levels in all official languages;

13. Also requests the Secretary-General to provide Governments with a concise set of guidelines for public information campaigns at the national level and with periodic information packages that can be made available to national mass media and non-governmental organizations;

14. Further requests the Secretary-General to report to the Commission at its thirty-seventh session on the planning and implementation of the complete information campaign, including its priorities and resource needs;

15. Requests the Secretary-General to include the Conference as part of the celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations;

C

Forum for non-governmental organizations

Recalling successful forums for non-governmental organizations held in Mexico, Copenhagen and Nairobi,

Acknowledging the offer made by the host Government to all non-governmental organizations and individuals wishing to attend the forum in Beijing,

1. Emphasizes the importance of close proximity between the forum and the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, as well as some concurrence in time;

2. Invites the committee of non-governmental organizations arranging the forum and national and regional activities to provide information, including media arrangements, to the Commission through a report of the Secretary-General on preparations for the Conference;

3. Emphasizes the importance of unrestricted participation by the media in covering the forum;                                                                                                   [ Up ]

D

Resources for the Conference and its preparations

Recalling General Assembly resolution 46/98 of 16/December/1991, in which concern was expressed that the resources for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, were not sufficient, and Assembly resolution 46/185 of 20/December/1991, in which the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to ensure that adequate resources were provided for the preparation of the Conference during the biennium 1992-1993,

Desiring to ensure the maximum representation by Governments, especially of the least developed countries, in the regional preparatory process and in the Conference,

1. Requests the Economic and Social Council to reconsider the budget envisaged for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, on the basis of a report of the Secretary-General outlining resource requirements for regional and interregional preparatory activities, public information activities and for the Conference itself;

2. Urges Governments, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and individuals to contribute extrabudgetary resources to the trust fund established by the Secretary-General for the preparations of the Conference, especially for the participation of representatives of the least developed countries in regional meetings and in the Conference;

3. Urges Governments, international organizations and multilateral financial institutions to provide assistance to the least developed countries for their preparatory activities at the national level;

E

Documentation

1. Decides that the documentation for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, will include:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General on the second review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women;

(b) Draft final document (Platform for Action);

(c) Update of the World Survey on the Role of Women in Development;

(d) Update of The World's Women: Trends and Statistics;

(e) Updated compendium on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;

(f) Report of the Secretary-General on the outcome of regional preparatory meetings for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace;

(g) Relevant sections of final documents emanating from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the World Conference on Human Rights and the International Conference on Population and Development.

Chapter II. Programming and Coordination Matters Related to the United Nations and the United Nations System                                                 [ Up ]

4. The Commission considered item 3 of its agenda at its 1st, 4th and 6th/meetings, on 11, 13 and 16/March/1991. It had before it the following documents:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General on the preparation of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period/1996-2001 (E/1992/6);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General on improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat (E/CN.6/1992/11);

(c) Note by the Secretary-General on proposed revisions to the medium-term plan for the period/1992-1997 (E/CN.6/1992/12).

In addition the Commission had before it for information the report of the/Secretary-General on the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat (A/46/377).

5. In introducing the item, the Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women stated that, as the period of the medium-term plan had just begun, the Secretariat had proposed only minor technical revisions to the plan (see E/CN.6/1992/12). She explained that the organizations of the United Nations system coordinated their work substantively through a system-wide medium-term plan for women and development, which had been agreed upon by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution/1987/86 and covered the period 1990-1995. The outline for the next plan, covering the period 1996-2001, was before the Commission.

6. The Coordinator, Focal Point for Women, Office of Human Resources Management, informed the Commission of the progress made towards improving the status of women in the Secretariat, including findings by an external consultant relating to barriers to the advancement of women and elements of an action programme to improve their status. She noted that her post had been regularized and her office reinforced by the addition of a staff member at the General Service level.

Improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat

7. Several representatives expressed their concern that, although the statistical update contained in the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.6/1992/11) showed that the number of women in the Secretariat had increased, the target set for 1990 had not been achieved by the end of 1991 and women were not being recruited at a sufficient rate to meet the United Nations target of 35 per cent of women in/Professional posts by 1995, as called for by the General Assembly in its resolutions/45/125 and 45/239/C. Several representatives welcomed the study of the barriers to the advancement of women in the United Nations, the findings of which would be made available to the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session, and the programme of

action for the advancement of women in the Secretariat for the period 1991-1995. They noted the underrepresentation of women, particularly from certain regions. One representative, on behalf of a group of countries, noted that her region was not mentioned in the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.6/1992/11). There existed a level - in practice the/P-4 level - above which Professional women found it difficult to advance within the Secretariat.

Representatives expressed their wish to examine the study and the detailed programme activities, including monitoring procedures and a timetable for their completion.

8. Several representatives suggested that Member States promote and nominate women for high-level posts. To identify qualified female candidates, the creation of a national roster for women candidates was suggested. One representative stressed that child-care facilities, parental leave and flexible working hours were prerequisites for establishing equal opportunities for women. For the successful implementation of the new action plan for 1991-1995, a visible commitment by the Secretary-General was needed.

9. Several representatives expressed their concern that there was a need for the post of the head of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs to be filled and expressed the hope that the post would be filled by a woman.

10. Several representatives expressed concern that the first phase of the reorganization of the Secretariat being undertaken by the Secretary-General had not increased the number of women at higher decision-making levels. They noted that the restructuring of the Secretariat should also aim at improving the representation and the status of women in the Secretariat. One representative expressed the hope that the current recruitment freeze would not be a barrier for women from non-represented and underrepresented countries. Representatives expressed the hope that more women would be appointed to senior positions in the Secretariat in the next stage of restructuring.

11. One representative, speaking on behalf of a group of countries, suggested changes to the outline of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2001, proposed by the Secretary-General (E/1992/6). Issues of national machinery should be placed under programme/1 (Elimination of legal and attitudinal forms of discrimination); subprogramme/1.2 should be entitled "Strengthening the role and status of women in the family and society"; and the issue of equal pay should be dealt with under programme/2 (Productive resources, income and employment).

ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION

Improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat

12. At the 4th meeting, on 13/March, the representative of Finland, on behalf of Australia,/34/ Austria, the Bahamas, Belgium,/34/ Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark,/34/ Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, Greece,/34/ the Netherlands, New/Zealand,/34/ Nigeria, Poland, Portugal,/34/ Spain, Sweden,/34/ the United States of America and Venezuela, subsequently joined by Norway,/34/ introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.4) entitled "Improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat".

13. At the 6th meeting, on 16/March, the Commission had before it a revised draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.4/Rev.1), entitled "Improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat", submitted by the original sponsors joined by Algeria/34/ and Morocco, and which included the following changes:

(a) The fourth and fifth preambular paragraphs, which had read:

"Bearing in mind the goal of achieving by the end of 1995 and overall participation rate of women of 35/per/cent of all posts subject to geographical distribution, set in General Assembly resolutions 45/125 of 14/December/1990 and 45/239/C of 21/December/1990, and a 25/per/cent participation rate of women in posts at the D-1 level and above, set in resolution 45/239/C,

"Also bearing in mind that the visible commitment of the Secretary-General is essential to the achievement of the targets set by the General Assembly on the overall participation of women of 35/per/cent by the end of 1995, as well as the target of 25/per/cent at the D-1 level and above".

were revised to read:

"Bearing in mind the goal of achieving by 1995 an overall participation rate of women of 35/per/cent of all posts subject to geographical distribution, set by the General Assembly in resolutions 45/125 of 14/December/1990 and 45/239/C of 21/December/1990, and a participation rate of women in posts at the D-1 level and above, set by the Assembly in resolution 45/239/C, at 25/per/cent of the total within the overall participation rate of women of 35/per/cent in posts subject to geographical distribution;

"Also bearing in mind that a visible commitment of the Secretary-General is essential to the achievement of the targets set by the General Assembly of overall participation rate of women of 35/per/cent, and, at the D-1 level and above, of 25/per/cent by 1995";

(b) Operative paragraph/2, which had read:

"2. Calls upon the Secretary-General to appoint women to senior policy-level and decision-making posts in his next appointment";

was revised to read:

"2. Urges the Secretary-General to appoint women to senior policy-level and decision-making posts in his next appointments, and to achieve the targets set for the Secretariat by 1995";

(c) In operative paragraph/3, the words "Calls upon" were replaced by the word "Urges";

(d) In operative paragraph/4, the words "taking into consideration the need to increase the representation of women from countries with a low or no representation of women, especially from the developing countries" were added at the end of the paragraph;

(e) In operative paragraph/7, the words "the findings of" were inserted between the words "ensure that" and "the comprehensive study".

14. At the same meeting, Indonesia and Ireland/34/ joined in sponsoring the revised draft resolution.

15. Also at the same meeting, the Commission adopted the revised draft resolution (see chap./I, sect./A, draft resolution/I).

Chapter III. Monitoring the Implementation of the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women               [ Up ]

16. The Commission considered item 4 of its agenda jointly with agenda item/6 (Preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace)/35/ at its 1st to 6th, 8th and 12th to 14th meetings, from 11 to 13, 16, 17, 19 and 20/March/1992. It had before it the following documents:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General on the system-wide monitoring of progress made in the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women (E/CN.6/1992/2);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General on violence against women in all its forms (E/CN.6/1992/4);

(c) Report of the Secretary-General on physical violence against detained women that is specific to their sex (E/CN.6/1992/5);

(d) Note by the Secretary-General on the situation of Palestinian women and children (E/CN.6/1992/6);

(e) Draft resolution entitled "Communications concerning the status of women" (E/CN.6/1992/L.2);

(f) Note by the Secretariat on communications concerning the status of women (E/CN.6/1992/CRP.3).

17. In addition, the following documents were available to the Commission for its information:

(a) Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on its tenth session (A/46/38);

(b) Report of the Human Rights Committee (A/46/40);

(c) Report of the Secretary-General on progress made in the preparations for the International Year of the Family (A/46/362 and Corr.1);

(d) Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the year 2000 (A/46/439);

(e) Report of the Secretary-General on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (A/46/462);

(f) Report of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on its fifth session (E/1991/23 and Corr.1);

(g) Note by the Secretary-General on the results of the eleventh session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (E/CN.6/1992/CRP.2).

18. The Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women introduced the item. She stressed in particular the need to review the preparation of the reports of the Secretary-General on the system-wide monitoring of progress made in the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women (E/CN.6/1992/2) and on physical violence against detained women that is specific to their sex (E/CN.6/1992/5).

19. A few representatives expressed interest in the wide variety of information contained in the report of the Secretary-General on the system-wide monitoring of progress made in the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women (E/CN.6/1992/2) but suggested that it would be more useful if the report were more focused and forward-looking. Several representatives expressed their support for effective coordination between organizations of the United Nations system in the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies.

Violence against women in all its forms

20. Many representatives expressed concern about violence against women. Some spoke of its consequences, while others described measures undertaken to combat the problem. It was mentioned that violence against women was among the major obstacles for the advancement of women and for equality, and that the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, should be asked to include the issue of violence in setting specific goals to be achieved by the year 2000. Some representatives said that it would be dangerous to separate violence from the overall context of other equally important factors that undermined the status of women in society.

21. Most of the representatives considered violence against women within the context of human rights violations. Several representatives noted that the recommendation of the Expert Group Meeting on Violence against Women for the appointment of a special thematic rapporteur (see E/CN.6/1992/4, annex) was interesting, and would require close collaboration between the Commission and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Whereas one representative took the view that a rapporteur could report to both the Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission on Human Rights, thus stressing that violence against women also violated human rights, others said that the prerequisite for such a mandate was consensus support.

22. Many representatives referred to and supported the draft declaration on violence against women proposed by the Expert Group Meeting (see E/CN.6/1992/4, appendix). Many were of the view that the declaration required further elaboration and revision. Some expressed the view that the definition of violence required further work in order to eliminate inconsistencies and ambiguities. Some representatives considered that a working group should be formed to continue the work on a draft declaration, taking into account the text proposed by the Expert Group Meeting.

Physical violence against detained women specific to their sex

23. A number of representatives drew attention to the importance of the issue of physical violence against detained women. Some stated that the necessary measures had been taken in their countries to prevent such occurrences. One representative noted that, in her country, not all visitors, as mentioned in the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.6/1992/5, para./5.3), but only male visitors who visited female prisoners, had to be accompanied by an officer throughout the visit.

Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women

24. Many representatives and observers referred to the prevailing difficult situation of Palestinian women in the occupied territories. A few representatives expressed concern that the occupying power had not accepted the visit of a consultant to study the actual conditions of Palestinian women, thus impeding the preparation of the report requested by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1991/19. One representative stated that the occupying power should be called upon to review its position and join the current international efforts to improve the situation of Palestinian women and to bring peace to the region. Another representative considered that the issue should be addressed in accordance with the United Nations practice of addressing violations of human rights, which included, for example, the appointment of a special rapporteur, the establishment of a group of experts or hearings. One observer stressed the need for more information on the situation.

Women and children under apartheid

25. Several representatives mentioned the positive changes in dismantling the apartheid regime in South Africa, but drew the attention of the Commission to the continuation of double discrimination affecting women. They appealed to the international community to continue to stand against apartheid until a united, democratic South Africa was achieved and to encourage the Government of South Africa to take measures to ensure that women were included in the development process of their country.

International Year of the Family

26. Several representatives expressed concern about the International Year of the Family and urged the Commission to put forward the concept of equality of men and women in the family as a basic concept, since the family was undergoing evolutionary changes and should be considered in its variety of forms and present day realities. The International Year of the Family should focus on the relationship between men and women both within the family unit and within the concept of partnership. In addition, the concept of the socialization process in childhood with regard to gender-based biases could be taken into consideration. One representative, on behalf of a group of countries, stressed the need for responsible fatherhood, while focusing on equality and measures to conciliate family and working life for the benefit of women and men.

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

27. Many representatives stated that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women contained a set of principles to safeguard the rights of women and were of direct relevance to the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies. A few representatives and observers considered that reservations to the substantial provisions of the Convention demonstrated a lack of responsibility on the part of Governments and suggested that the Commission might consider the idea of seeking an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the compatibility of reservations with the object and purpose of the Convention. Many representatives said that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women had made a positive contribution to the policy of the advancement of women and supported/its request for extended or additional meeting time and for increased resources to deal with the backlog of reports awaiting consideration. A few non-governmental organizations stressed the need for raising awareness of the Convention at the grass-roots level and suggested a stronger role for the Commission regarding the Convention.

World Conference on Human Rights

28. As part of mainstreaming women's concerns, many representatives urged the Commission to make its contribution to the agenda of the World Conference on Human Rights, to be held in 1993 and supported the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the preparations for the World Conference on Human Rights. One representative stated that the issue of violence against women should be included in the World Conference on Human Rights. Another stated that the World Conference on Human Rights was relevant to the preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women. Still another stated that an assessment of key issues from a gender perspective would be an important step towards the integration of women's rights into the human rights work of the United Nations. One representative supported the request of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women that the issue of reservations to human rights conventions be raised at the World Conference on Human Rights.

Communications concerning the status of women

29. On 11 and 12 March 1992, a list of confidential communications on the status of women (S./W. Communications list No./26 and Add.1) was distributed in a sealed envelope to the representatives of each State member of the Commission.

30. At its 6th/meeting, on 16/March, the Commission appointed a Working Group on Communications concerning the Status of Women. The Working Group held three closed meetings.                                                                                [ Up ]

31. The Working Group submitted its report to the Commission at a closed meeting.

32. Many representatives considered the communications procedure a useful mechanism for identifying discrimination against women and for monitoring the observance of the rights of women and stated that it should be reviewed with a view to strengthening it and making it more transparent, rather than creating

a new procedure. They also considered that, through an enhanced communications procedure, the Commission could develop appropriate measures to prevent and remedy discrimination. Other representatives suggested more publicity for this mechanism, the possibility of arranging for the meetings of the Working Group on Communications before the Commission's sessions and closer cooperation with States, greater coordination between the bodies of the United Nations system and more clearly defined criteria for the selection of communications.

33. On 18 March, the representative of Chile, on behalf of the members of the Working Group on Communications concerning the Status of Women, introduced the report of the Working Group in a closed meeting of the Commission. At the same meeting, the Commission decided to adopt the report of the Working Group, as orally amended, and to include it in its entirety in the report of the Commission.

34. The report of the Working Group read as follows:

"The Working Group on Communications concerning the Status of Women was guided in its deliberations by the mandate given in Economic and Social Council resolution 1983/27 of 26/May 1983.

"The Group had before it all communications received by the Division for the Advancement of Women, United Nations Office at Vienna, as well as those that had been extracted from the confidential list of communications concerning human rights received by the Division from the Centre for Human Rights, United Nations Office at Geneva.

"The Working Group noted among the communications received cases of violence against women, exercised especially by the army, security and occupation forces, and discrimination with regard to equality in women's working life.

"Having considered the small number of communications contained in the confidential list, namely five, the Working Group took the view that the number was not sufficient to enable it to identify trends that revealed a consistent pattern of reliably attested injustice and discriminatory practices against women. However, when account was taken of the reports of the Working Group on Communications at previous sessions, a recurrence of violence against women and discrimination with regard to equality in women's working life was observed. It was also noted that only some Governments provided replies.

"The Working Group drew the Commission's attention to the current communications procedure and proposed that the Commission consider ways of improving the mechanism. It also proposed increased publicity for the existing communications mechanism within the Commission on the Status of Women. Furthermore, the Working Group drew the Commission's attention to the importance of concerned Governments providing replies to the communications they received."

ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION

Women and children under apartheid

35. At the 6th meeting, on 16 March, the observer for Algeria,/36/ on behalf of the African States that are members of the Commission, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.5) entitled "Women and children under apartheid".

36. At the 13th meeting, on 20 March, it was announced that the draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.5) had been submitted by Nigeria, on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of/77.

37. At the same meeting, the representative of Nigeria, on behalf of the sponsors, orally revised the draft resolution, as follows:

(a) In the ninth preambular paragraph and in operative paragraph/6, the word "non-racial" was replaced by the word "non-racist";

(b) In operative paragraph 5, the words "under apartheid" were added at the end of the paragraph.

38. At the same meeting, the Deputy Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women made a statement on the programme budget implications of the draft resolution.

39. Also at the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as orally revised, by a roll-call vote of 26 to 1, with 14 abstentions (see chap./I, sect./A, draft resolution/II). The voting was as follows:

In favour: Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, China, Cyprus, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Sudan, Thailand, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Venezuela, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Against: United States of America.

Abstaining: Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Co^te d'Ivoire, Czechoslovakia, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Spain.

40. Before the draft resolution was adopted, statements were made by the representative of the United States of America and the observer for Portugal (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the European Economic Community); after it was adopted the representative of Austria made a statement.

Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women

41. At the 6th meeting, on 16 March, the representative of the Sudan, on behalf of Algeria,/36/ Bangladesh, Cuba,/36/ Cyprus, Egypt, India, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Lebanon,/36/ Madagascar, Malaysia, Morocco, the Philippines, the Sudan, Tunisia,/36/ the United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen,/36/ Zambia and Zimbabwe, subsequently joined by Uganda, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.6) entitled "The situation of and assistance to Palestinian women".

42. At the 13th meeting, on 20 March, it was announced that the draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.6) had been submitted by Nigeria, on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77.

43. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, by a roll-call vote of 29 to 1 with 11 abstentions (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution III). The voting was as follows:

In favour: Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, China, Cyprus, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Spain, Sudan, Thailand, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Against: United States of America.

Abstaining: Bulgaria, Canada, Co^te d'Ivoire, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Russian Federation, Rwanda.

44. Before the draft resolution was adopted, statements were made by the representative of the United States of America and the observer for Israel; after it was adopted, statements were made by the representatives of the Netherlands, Japan, Italy and France.

45. The representative of Brazil, speaking on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean States that are members of the Commission, expressed their support for the process of negotiations on peace in the Middle East and emphasized that they would have liked an explicit reference to that effect included in the resolution.

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

46. At the 8th meeting, on 17 March, the representative of Italy, on behalf of Australia,/36/ Austria, Denmark,/36/ Egypt, Finland, Ghana, Italy, the Philippines, Portugal,/36/ Thailand and Venezuela, subsequently joined by Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Germany,/36/ Greece,/36/ Mexico, New Zealand,/36/, Norway,/36/ Spain, Sweden/36/ and Tunisia,/36/ introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.7) entitled "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women", which she orally revised by changing the number "111", in the first preambular paragraph, to "112" and by replacing, in operative paragraph 4, the words "Also strongly supports" by the word "Welcomes".

47. At the 13th meeting, on 20 March, the Secretary of the Commission informed the Commission that, as a result of informal consultations, the words "until the Committee removes its backlog in considering reports" were to be added at the end of operative paragraph 2.                                                                     [ Up ]

48. At the same meeting, the observer for Yemen proposed an amendment to the last preambular paragraph, namely, that the words "some of which were made by Islamic countries" be inserted between the words "reservations" and "and welcoming".

49. Following statements by the representative of Italy and the Chairperson, the observer for Yemen withdrew his amendment.

50. At the same meeting, the Deputy Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women stated that an extension of the twelfth session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women from 10 days to three weeks would involve conference-servicing requirements in the amount of $77,200, at full cost, the actual costs of which would be set against the provision already made under section 32 of the programme budget for the biennium 1992-1993, in accordance with the existing methodology for budgeting for conference-servicing requirements in relation to the inclusion of additional meetings in the calendar of meetings and conferences. It would also require additional travel requirements for experts, consisting of daily subsistence allowance in the amount of $40,000 for 1993. Additional requirements arising from the draft resolution to the extent that they affected future periods would be dealt with in the context of the respective proposed programme budgets.

51. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution IV).

52. After the draft resolution was adopted, the representative of the United States of America made a statement.

Violence against women in all its forms

53. At the 8th meeting, on 17 March, the representative of Canada, on behalf of Australia,/36/ Canada, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Hungary,/36/ Lebanon,/36/ Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway,/36/ the Philippines, Portugal,/36/ the Republic of Korea, 36/ Spain, Sweden,/36/ Switzerland,/36/ Thailand, Turkey,/36/ the United Republic of Tanzania, Venezuela and Zambia, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.8) entitled "Violence against women in all its forms".

54. At the 13th meeting, on 20 March, the Commission had before it a revised draft resolution, which was submitted by the original sponsors joined by Argentina,/36/ Austria, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Co^te/d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Denmark,/36/ Ecuador, France, Greece,/36/ Jamaica, Peru, Poland, the United States of America and Zimbabwe, and which included the following changes:

(a) In operative paragraph 2, the words "to adopt, strengthen and enforce legislation prohibiting violence against women and" were inserted between the words "Urges Member States" and "to take all";

(b) In operative paragraph 4, the word "Welcomes" was replaced by the words "Takes note of";

(c) In operative paragraph 5, the words "in New York" between the words "to convene" and "an inter-sessional working group" and the words "at its forty-eighth session" after the words "to the General Assembly" were deleted;

(d) Operative paragraph 6, which had read:

"6. Requests the Secretary-General to present a report to the thirty-seventh session of the Commission on the implications and options of appointing, if necessary, a special thematic rapporteur on violence against women, including outlining possible terms of reference";

was replaced by the following text:

"6. Requests Governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, other relevant bodies and academics to continue to undertake research into the causes of violence against women";

(e) Operative paragraph 7, which had read:

"7. Urges Governments to address violence against women at the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace (1995) as one of the key obstacles to women's advancement, including the consideration of medium- and longer-term measures to eradicate all forms of violence against women";

was revised to read:

"7. Urges Governments to address violence against women at the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, to be held in 1995, as one of the major obstacles to women's advancement".

55. At the same meeting, the Deputy Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women stated that the convening of a five-day inter-sessional working group of the Commission before the end of 1992 (operative para./5 of the draft resolution) would involve conference-servicing requirements in the amount of $146,400, at full cost, the actual costs of which would be set against the provision already made under section 32 of the programme budget for the biennium 1992-1993, in accordance with the existing methodology for budgeting for conference-servicing requirements in relation to the inclusion of additional meetings in the calendar of meetings and conferences. It would also require costs estimated at $140,000 to cover the travel of participants in the working group if they are nominated and confirmed in accordance with established procedure. It would also require travel of one staff member from New York to service the meeting, at a cost of $5,000.

56. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the revised draft resolution (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution V).

Communications on the status of women

57. The Commission had before it a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.2) entitled "Communications concerning the status of women", which the Commission, in its decision 35/103 of 8 March 1991, had decided to defer for consideration at its thirty-sixth session.

58. At the 8th meeting, on 17 March, the representative of the United States of America, on behalf of Australia,/36/ Austria, Belgium,/36/ Bulgaria, Canada, Co^te d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark,/36/ Finland, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand,/36/ Norway,/36/ Poland, the Russian Federation, Sweden,/36/ Switzerland,/36/ Thailand, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,/36/ the United States of America and Zaire, subsequently joined by Germany, 36/ and Rwanda, introduced a revised draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.2/Rev.1) entitled "Communications on the status of women", which read as follows:

"The Economic and Social Council,

"Recalling its resolutions 76/(V) of 5 August 1947 and 304/I (XI) of 14 and 17/July 1950, which form the basis for the mandate of the Commission on the Status of Women to receive at each of its regular sessions a list of confidential and non-confidential communications relating to the status of women,

"Taking into consideration its resolution 1983/27 of 26/May/1983, in which it reaffirmed the mandate of the Commission to consider confidential and non-confidential communications on the status of women and authorized the Commission to appoint a working group on communications to consider and prepare a report to the Commission on such communications,

"Recalling its resolution 1986/29 of 23 May 1986, in which it invited Member States to report to the Secretary-General on legislative and other measures they have taken to prevent physical violence against detained women that is specific to their sex, and requested the Commission to continue to consider communications relating to the status of women and to make recommendations to the Economic and Social Council, if necessary,                                                                    [ Up ]

"Reaffirming that discrimination against women is incompatible with human dignity and that women and men should participate on the basis of equality, irrespective of race or creed, in the social, economic and political processes of their countries,

"Recognizing that the mandate of the Commission to consider communications is crucial to its central role in monitoring and formulating recommendations to implement the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, and promotes its ability to

fulfil other aspects of its mandate regarding the elimination of discrimination against women,

"Recalling its resolution 1990/8 of 24/May/1990, by which it requested the Secretary-General to examine, in consultation with Governments, the existing mechanisms for communications on the status of women, in order to ensure that such communications receive effective and appropriately coordinated consideration in view of the role of communications in the work of the Commission, and to report thereon to the Commission at its thirty-fifth session,

"Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on examining existing mechanisms for communications on the status of women, which contains a number of valuable suggestions for improving the efficiency and usefulness of those mechanisms,

"Noting the conclusion of the Working Group on Communications in its report to the thirty-fifth session of the Commission that while the communications procedure provided a valuable source of information on the effects of discrimination on the lives of women, it should be improved to make it more efficient and useful, and that clear criteria for receiving communications should be given,

"Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on violence against women in all its forms (E/CN.6/1992/4), which states that through an enhanced communication procedure, the Commission could be better advised on the many manifestations of violence against women and develop appropriate measures to encourage Governments to accelerate their work to prevent and remedy violence,

"1. Reaffirms that the Commission on the Status of Women is empowered to make recommendations to the Economic and Social Council on what action should be taken on emerging trends and patterns of discrimination against women revealed by such communications;

"2. Requests the Secretary-General to publicize widely among international and national organizations, in particular, women's groups, the existence and scope of the communication mechanisms of the Commission;

"3. Further requests the Secretary-General to support the activities of the Commission with regard to its consideration of communications and to ensure proper coordination of the activities of the Commission in this area and those of the bodies of the Council, by taking the following action:

"(a) To ensure that the Division for the Advancement of Women of the United/Nations/Office at Vienna and the Centre for Human Rights coordinate closely so that all communications received are sent as soon as possible to the appropriate United/Nations body and to each concerned Member State, and that the respective offices are informed of the disposition of the communications;

"(b) To encourage the specialized agencies of the United/Nations to provide to the Commission, through the Division for the Advancement of Women, communications or other information in their possession that is relevant to discrimination against women;

"(c) To make available to authors of communications any recommendations by the Commission to the Council on situations brought to the attention of the Commission by the Working Group on Communications;

"4. Reaffirms that the consideration by the Commission of the communications shall remain confidential until such time as the Commission may decide to make recommendations to the Council;

"5. Requests that the Commission, in order to avoid duplication of work, determine whether a trend or pattern of discrimination against women revealed by communications should be brought to the attention of another United/Nations body or specialized agency that might be better able to take appropriate action;

"6. Further requests the Commission to establish an open-ended working group during its thirty-seventh session to recommend:

"(a) Ways of making the existing procedure for receiving and considering communications, including the standard of admissibility, more transparent and efficient, taking into account the report of the Secretary-General to the thirty-fifth session of the Commission;

"(b) Ways of requesting additional information on a trend or pattern of discrimination against women when it is needed to enable the Commission to recommend appropriate action to the Council so that the Commission at its thirty-seventh session may make appropriate recommendations on these points to the Council;

"7. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that any costs resulting from the activities set out in the present resolution are kept to a minimum and that the activities are carried out within existing resources."

59. At the 13th meeting, on 20 March, the representative of China, on behalf of China, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe, introduced and orally revised amendments (E/CN.6/1992/L.19) to the revised draft resolution contained in document E/CN.6/1992/L.2/Rev.1. The amendments called for:

(a) The replacement, in the second preambular paragraph, of the words "on communications to consider and prepare a report to the Commission on such communications" by the words "to consider communications, with a view to bringing to the attention of the Commission those communications, including the replies of Governments, which appear to reveal a consistent pattern of reliably attested injustice and discriminatory practices against women";

(b) The deletion of the third and fifth preambular paragraphs;

(c) The replacement of the seventh preambular paragraph by the following text:

"Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on examining existing mechanisms for communications on the status of women and the various views expressed by Governments";

(d) The deletion of the ninth preambular paragraph;

(e) The deletion of operative paragraphs 3 (c) and 6.

60. At the 14th meeting, on 20 March, the Secretary of the Commission read out the following changes to the revised draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.2/Rev.1), agreed upon during informal consultations:

(a) In the second preambular paragraph, the words "on communications to consider and prepare a report to the Commission on such communications" were replaced by the words "to consider communications, with a view to bringing to the attention of the Commission those communications, including the replies of Governments, which appear to reveal a consistent pattern of reliably attested injustice and discriminatory practices against women";

(b) The third and fifth preambular paragraphs were deleted;

(c) The seventh preambular paragraph was replaced by the following text:

"Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on examining existing mechanisms for communications on the status of women and the various views expressed by Governments";                                                                        [ Up ]

(d) The ninth preambular paragraph was deleted;

(e) Operative paragraph 6 was reworded to read as follows:

"6. Further requests the Commission to consider, as appropriate, ways of making the existing procedure for receiving and considering communications, including the standard of admissibility, more transparent and efficient, taking into account the report of the Secretary-General on examining existing mechanisms for communications on the status of women, which was submitted to the Commission at its thirty-fifth session."

61. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the revised draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.2/Rev.1), as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution VI).

62. In the light of the adoption of draft resolution E/CN.6/1992/L.2/Rev.1, the amendments contained in document E/CN.6/1992/L.19 were withdrawn by the sponsors.

63. After the draft resolution was adopted, statements were made by the representatives of the United States of America and China.

Advancement of women and the family

64. At the 8th meeting, on 17 March, the observer for Belgium,/36/ on behalf of Australia,/36/ Austria, Belarus,/36/ Belgium,/36/ Bulgaria, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark,/36/ Ghana, Greece,/36/ Italy, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal,/36/ Spain, Switzerland,/36/ the Russian Federation, Thailand, Venezuela, Zaire and Zambia, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.9) entitled "The advancement of women and the family".

65. At the 12th meeting, on 19 March, the Commission had before it a revised draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.9/Rev.1), which was submitted by the original sponsors joined by Argentina,/36/ Japan, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. The changes in the revised draft resolution were as follows:

(a) Subparagraph 2 (a), which had read:

"(a) That the family is a changing system of relationships between individuals, and that society and policies must therefore remain open and adaptable to different forms of the family";

was revised to read:

"(a) That families are changing systems of relationships between individuals, and that society and policies must therefore be responsive and receptive to their needs";

(b) Subparagraph 2 (b), which had read:

"(b) That individual rights of women, men and children should be respected equally and that, in cases of conflict, they should have equal opportunities to assert those rights";

was revised to read:

"(b) That individual rights of women and men should be respected equally and they should have equal opportunities to assert those rights";

(c) Subparagraph 2 (f), which had read:

"(f) That partnerships between individuals should be based on flexible and appropriate forms";

was deleted and subparagraphs/(g) to (k) were relettered (f) to (j).

66. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the revised draft resolution (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 36/1).

Inclusion of the question of women in the agendas of forthcoming international meetings

67. At the 8th meeting, on 17 March, the representative of Brazil, on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean States that are members of the Commission, subsequently joined by Egypt, Indonesia, Italy, Morocco, the Philippines and Rwanda, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.10) entitled "Women on the agenda of forthcoming international meetings".

68. At the 12th meeting, on 19 March, the Commission adopted the draft resolution (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 36/2).

Chapter IV. Priority Themes                                                                 [ Up ]

69. The Commission considered item 5 of its agenda at its 5th to 10th, 12th and 14th/meetings, on 13 and 16 to 20/March/1992. It had before it the following documents:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General on the elimination of de jure and de/facto discrimination against women (E/CN.6/1992/7);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General on the integration of women in the process of development (E/CN.6/1992/8);

(c) Report of the Secretary-General on women and the environment (E/CN.6/1992/9);

(d) Report of the Secretary-General on equal participation in all efforts to promote international cooperation, peace and disarmament (E/CN.6/1992/10).

70. The Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women introduced the item. Under the priority theme of development, she emphasized that there was a need for new approaches to improve the participation of women and their integration into the development process.

A. Equality: Elimination of de jure and de facto discrimination against women                                                                                                      [ Up ]

71. Many representatives stated that in spite of considerable achievements in the elimination of de jure discrimination in many countries, discrimination continued to exist in practice in all countries. Discriminatory practices prevented women from realizing their potential and affected society as a whole. Many representatives emphasized the recent achievements in legal equality, including the abolition of discriminatory provisions in existing laws, the introduction of corresponding amendments and new anti-discriminatory laws relating to different spheres of life. Several representatives emphasized that adherence to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was a signal to countries to review their legislation according to international standards.

72. Many representatives emphasized that there existed widespread disregard for laws that protected women's rights. Many representatives and observers emphasized that the laws needed to be consistently enforced throughout the legal and judicial systems. An important step in the enforcement of legal rights of women was to increase the knowledge and awareness of those rights among women themselves, as well as among men. Several representatives stressed the necessity of organizing nationwide campaigns on legal literacy, including establishing legal services for women.

73. Several representatives noted that the obstacles to achieving real equality were rooted in existing stereotypes concerning the role of women in

society and in the persistence of traditional norms. In that respect, many representatives emphasized that active measures should be taken to eliminate traditional stereotyping from textbooks and educational curricula. Special attention should be given to the mass media, which had a critical role in changing people's attitudes. To achieve real equality a different understanding of parental responsibilities and the equitable sharing of work in the household was as necessary as child-care facilities. Many representatives emphasized the importance of diversification of women's choices in education, training and employment.

74. Many representatives stressed that the concept of equality as expressed in legislation mainly prohibited present discrimination, but ignored the effects of past discrimination. Many representatives noted that special temporary measures could be undertaken to counterbalance the effects of past discrimination in order to reduce or eliminate discrimination and to facilitate the enforcement of existing anti-discriminatory legislation.

75. Several representatives noted that in order to help the progressive development of policy-making in regard to positive action, systematic data collection and exchange of information on the effectiveness of various programmes and policies was needed. It was suggested that the Economic Commission for Europe might take new initiatives.

76. Many representatives described their experiences in implementing positive action programmes. Several representatives stressed that each step in the implementation process should be matched by careful information campaigns, especially at the community level. It might be necessary to give greater emphasis to developing educational strategies to ensure that positive action was properly understood and implemented. Several representatives noted that obstacles to achieving de facto equality might, however, not be the same in all countries. A regional approach should be considered.

77. Several representatives reaffirmed the basic role of national and international machinery in stimulating the implementation of positive action in the framework of their equality programmes and policies. Positive action programmes should complement, but not substitute, action aimed at removing the underlying causes of discrimination.

78. Many representatives stressed that the gap between de jure and de facto equality existed, particularly in the area of decision-making, and especially at the highest levels. The introduction of quotas or targets was considered an efficient way to close the gap. Several representatives mentioned that the introduction of quotas was considered a form of political manipulation and a non-democratic practice. Instead, the issue could be highlighted through public debates, increased public awareness and information campaigns.

B. Development                                                                                      [ Up ]

1. Integration of women in the process of development

79. Many representatives recalled the crucial importance of the contributions of women of all ages in all aspects of development. Women's contribution, especially in food and agriculture, the allocation of women's earnings to the basic needs of their families, and participation in production and government service, was acknowledged. It was stated that it would not be possible to solve global problems without improving the role of women in development and giving due recognition to their contribution.

80. Many representatives stressed the need to take into account the existing interrelations between women and development and other issues, since women's problems could not be solved in isolation of those fundamental issues. Several representatives emphasized the importance of specific interrelations, not only at the macro level such as poverty, population issues, human rights and democratization, but also at the micro level such as the productive and nurturing roles of women, or the question of violence. Many representatives recognized the magnitude of the task and the complexity of integrating women in development. Concern was expressed about the decade already lost, the slowness of implementing the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies and the rapidly increasing numbers of women in poverty. In that connection, many representatives stressed the efforts that would be required to ensure that peace and human rights were attained to enable women to participate fully in development. Improving the education of women and ensuring their participation at all levels and in all areas of decision-making were often considered essential conditions for women to fulfil their potential in development.

81. Many representatives identified a number of continuing major obstacles to the effective contribution of women to development. In addition to the problems of the lack of peace and of structural adjustment, the burden of debt, the continuous deterioration of commodity prices, and protectionist measures that had resulted in diminishing the availability of national and international resources for the advancement of women, the current fundamental changes in a number of societies had to be added. The feminization of poverty was an issue of growing concern. In rural areas, it was due to the lack of access to land and credit, and in urban areas to sex segregation in the labour market or to uncontrolled migration. Those questions were aggravated by health problems and insufficient education, including the effects of the AIDS epidemic.

82. Many representatives considered it important to strengthen both governmental and non-governmental institutions concerned with the advancement of women. The strengthening should be carried out at all levels by training, particularly in entrepreneurship for women. Cooperation between institutions should be enhanced to ensure greater effectiveness in their action.

83. Many representatives stressed the increasing need to develop policies and programmes to rethink the concept of women in development, particularly in relation to the empowerment of women. That could be assisted by improving the collection of gender-sensitive and disaggregated statistics and training in gender analysis. Several representatives stressed the usefulness of incorporating into such efforts a life-course approach for the advancement of women.

2. Women and the environment                                                             [ Up ]

84. Many representatives emphasized the strong linkage between the status of women and their central role in environmental management and development, and considered that women's contribution to environmental protection and conservation had not been given sufficient recognition nor accorded the value it deserved. Some representatives recognized that sound environmental management and conservation was the basis for sustainable development for present and future generations. Several representatives noted that, in rural areas, women were the primary managers of natural resources and had developed extensive traditional knowledge and skills through daily interaction with the environment.

85. Many representatives stated that international cooperation was essential, and concerted and determined efforts on the part of Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations were necessary to meet the challenge of environmentally sustainable development. Many representatives considered it essential that women's needs, concerns and contributions were fundamentally incorporated into the planning for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and in all its documentation, in particular, Agenda 21. Some representatives urged Governments to ensure that women were included in the delegations being sent to that Conference. Other representatives stressed that future research should be gender-sensitive, and that gender-impact analysis was important.

86. Many representatives stressed that activities subsequent to the Environment Conference should be coordinated with the monitoring mechanisms of the Forward-looking Strategies, the preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women and the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The Commission should ensure that women's concerns were taken into account in all multilateral bodies, and that the relevant parts of its report should be sent by the Commission to the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 46/167.

87. Many representatives observed that women were underrepresented at all levels of decision-making and lacked the power to affect policies, at either the micro or the macro level. One representative stated that women's perspective, needs and priorities should be reflected in the planning and implementation of policies for the environment and development and that women should participate in debates on the environment.

88. Several representatives considered that development and the alleviation of poverty should be high priorities for the international community. Poverty continued to restrict women's capacities to take control of their lives and make a positive contribution to ecologically sustainable development, particularly in the developing countries, where environmental degradation had been mainly a function of poverty and lack of information.

89. While one representative considered that donor aid agencies could reinforce action for sustainable development and for the development of women by linking aid to the level of the participation of women and to improvement in their status, another representative was concerned about imposing more

conditions on development assistance. Another representative said that attention should also be given to the level of the participation of women during the designing and planning of projects and programmes aimed at protecting and improving the environment.

90. Several representatives stressed the importance of and access to formal and informal education, vocational training and retraining at all ages, environmentally sound working conditions, health-care education and hygiene. A few representatives stated that programmes for environmental protection and women in development should be suited to local circumstances. Some representatives reported on the existing programmes for afforestation and waste land development and on the efforts made to deal with desertification, erosion and pollution, and on research into alternative energy sources to reduce the use of fuelwood in rural areas. Others informed the Commission of legal reforms and the establishment of committees to monitor pollution-producing industries.

91. Some representatives said that women should have access to finances, credit and equal employment opportunities, equal rights to ownership, access to and control over land and other natural resources and access to information and to environmentally sound technology. One representative said that the benefits derived by women from programmes directed at conservation, such as new skills, income generation, confidence-building and improvement in the standard of living and status, should be documented, shared and disseminated to the Environment Conference. One observer stressed that the utilization of women's knowledge in animal husbandry, the use of medicinal plants and the use of land was essential.

92. One representative commented that the growing world population had contributed to the loss of natural resources. Another observer emphasized the importance of the role of women and their right to make decisions in population planning. As activists and leaders, women were involved in campaigns to promote environmental awareness and protection and that should be extended to all countries. A few representatives commented on the imbalance in consumption of global resources and the practice of dumping toxic wastes in developing countries. Some observers encouraged research in and fairer distribution and transfer of alternative cleaner technologies, and access by women to those technologies was considered important. One observer reported on the ecological, genetic, psychological and biological effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that still affected women and families in the area; others referred to the effects on the environment of forced migrations and the conditions during armed conflicts, such as water and energy shortages and destruction of arable land.

C. Peace: Equal participation in all efforts to promote international cooperation, peace and disarmament                                                 [ Up ]

93. Many representatives referred to women's underrepresentation in decision-making bodies, including those of the United Nations system, and in international negotiations, and stressed that rapid change was needed to redress the situation.

94. A few representatives emphasized the relationship between women's low participation in public life and decision-making at the national level and the absence of women from the peace process at the international level. One representative stated that women could make a difference in the peace process by creating a more collaborative, less confrontational atmosphere, according to the findings of a study on women and arms control in her country.

95. A few representatives agreed that when women's participation reached what was referred to as a critical mass they could change the substance and style of politics. One representative stated that more research was needed to find a sound basis for enlarging the access of women to decision-making and to analyse the question of the difference an increased participation of women would make to the outcome of politics. A few representatives noted that, owing to the unavailability of data, the report was based mainly on the experience of women from developed countries, and more information on women in developing countries would be helpful in the future. One representative stressed in that connection the importance of women's active participation in elections as both candidates and voters, political education for women, enjoyment of civil rights and responsibilities, and training contestants for participation in political parties. Another representative noted important correlations between the participation of women in decision-making and education, transparency of the political system, democracy, and clear criteria for selecting candidates and officials.

96. Many representatives referred to new dimensions and major changes in international relations. They were characterized on the one hand by disintegration of political systems, formation of new States, emerging problems related to external debt, threats to the environment, unemployment, unusual numbers of refugees, AIDS, prostitution of minors, drug trafficking, terrorism, armed conflicts, and poverty, and on the other hand by democratic changes in some parts of the world, optimism accompanying the end of the cold war and peace efforts in the Middle East, and attempts to establish a just new international order, based on law, peace, stability and social progress. Women should be fully involved in ongoing processes, reforms and democratization.

97. Many representatives stressed the need for women's equal participation in all peace efforts, including national and international decision-making, enabling women's contribution to conflict resolution, security, applicability of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, policy formulation and creation of democratic systems. Attention should be given to measures aimed at accelerated participation of women in resolving global problems, such as sustainable development, environment, population, science and technology, and poverty alleviation, in order to make a decisive contribution to world peace and decision-making by the year 2000. One representative noted the 30 per cent involvement of female United Nations staff in the peace process in Namibia, and expressed the hope that women would continue to play important roles in future United Nations peace-keeping missions. One representative referred to the World Conference on Human Rights, to be held in 1993, as a good opportunity for raising that issue at the international level. Some representatives mentioned the new commitments to women's equality that had been introduced at the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

98. Attention was drawn by many representatives to the situation of women and children in the areas affected by armed conflicts, foreign occupation, civil unrest, violations of human rights, oppression and drought. One representative expressed concern about the fact that women local leaders, administrators and social workers were victims of direct acts of violence related to drug trafficking. Many representatives stated that women's rights could not be realized under foreign domination as it hindered women's advancement. One representative referred to the situation of Palestinian women and children, and women and children in South Africa and southern Lebanon. One representative addressed the shortage of food and medicine in Iraq, owing to economic sanctions, and its consequences for women and children. One representative requested the Secretary-General to send a group of experts to southern Lebanon and to report on the situation of women and children to the Commission at its thirty-seventh session. Some representatives referred to the new roles that women were assuming under emergency situations: assisting their families, contributing to the national economy, and participating in political life, including decision-making bodies and negotiations at a high level.

99. Many representatives noted women's important role in economic and social restructuring as times of transformation and economic crisis require the utilization of all human resources. Although democratic evolution should, by definition, allow the full participation of women, the experience in Eastern Europe had shown that women's participation in peace, disarmament and international cooperation remained very low. It was stated that some women were tired by daily hardship and stress, and were therefore reluctant to participate in politics, decision-making bodies, trade unions or cultural associations. However, many representatives noted the various women's activities emerging under new circumstances, such as new lobbies, pressure groups and citizens' movements, acting towards transparency of the administration, direct democracy, free choice of school system, reform of institutions, empowerment of women, encouragement of female political candidates and elaboration of new laws. Some representatives referred to income-generating projects that were helping to develop managerial skills and sensitize policy makers to gender equality, and to train for decision-making and for education on peace and equality within families. Some obstacles to the participation of women in decision-making, such as the lack of education, multiple roles, archaic attitudes, traditions, and limited access to health and income, were mentioned in that connection.

100. Many representatives stressed that peace should be given special attention as one of the priority themes of the forthcoming World Conference on Women. One representative suggested that studies should be undertaken to evaluate the impact of women on peace-making by the year 2000.

ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION

Advancement of women and human rights

101. At the 10th meeting, on 18 March, the representative of Spain, on behalf of Australia,/37/ Belgium,/37/ Czechoslovakia, Denmark,/37/ Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, 37/ Ghana, Greece, 37/ Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, 37/ the Philippines, Portugal, 37/ the Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden 37/ and Switzerland, 37/ subsequently joined by Austria, Canada, Ireland, 37/ Morocco, Peru, Poland, Thailand and Venezuela, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.14) entitled "Advancement of women and human rights".

102. At the 13th meeting, on 20 March, the Secretary of the Commission informed the Commission that, as a result of informal consultations, it had been agreed to replace the word "particular" in operative paragraph 2 by the word "adequate".

103. At the same meeting, the Deputy Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women stated that the conference-servicing costs at full cost for four meetings of an open-ended in-session working group would amount to $99,500, the actual costs of which would be set against the provision already made under section 32 of the programme budget for the biennium 1992-1993, in accordance with the existing methodology for budgeting for conference-servicing requirements in relation to the inclusion of additional meetings in the calendar of meetings and conferences.                                                                          [ Up ]

104. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution VII).

Women in decision-making bodies

105. At the 10th meeting, on 18 March, the representative of Italy, on behalf of Austria, Denmark,/37/ Egypt, France, Germany,/37/ Ghana, Greece,/37/ Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, the Philippines, Portugal,/37/ Spain, Switzerland,/37/ Venezuela and Zambia, subsequently joined by the Bahamas, Belarus,/37/ Chile, Co^te d'Ivoire, Czechoslovakia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Japan, Lebanon,/37/ Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey,/37/ the United Republic of Tanzania, the United States of America, Yemen/37/ and Zaire, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.15) entitled "Women in decision-making bodies".

106. At the 12th meeting, on 19 March, the Secretary of the Commission read out the following revisions to the draft resolution agreed upon during informal consultations:

(a) In the fourth preambular paragraph, the words "absent from" were replaced by the words "underrepresented in";

(b) In operative paragraph 1, the word "gender" was inserted between the words "full" and "equality" and the words "for women" at the end of the paragraph were deleted;

(c) In operative paragraph 2, the word "provide" was replaced by the words "put forward";

(d) In operative paragraph 3, the word "highest" was replaced by the word "high-level".

107. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 36/3).

Integration of elderly women into development

108. At the 10th meeting, on 18 March, the representative of France, on behalf of Austria, Co^te d'Ivoire, France, Ghana, Greece,/37/ Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal,/37/ Rwanda, Spain, Tunisia/37/ and Zaire, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.16) (reissued) entitled "Integration of elderly women into development".

109. At the 13th meeting, on 20 March, the Commission had before it a revised draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.16/Rev.1) sponsored by the Bahamas, Co^te d'Ivoire, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, France, Ghana, Greece,/37/ Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal,/37/ Rwanda, Spain, Tunisia,/37/ the United States of America and Zaire, subsequently joined by Australia,/37/ the United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen/37/ which included the following change:

Operative paragraph 2, which had read:

"Also invites the Secretary-General to undertake a study of the condition of elderly women, to be incorporated in future appraisals of the implementation of the International Plan of Action on Ageing and the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies",

was revised to read:

"Calls upon the Secretary-General to compile within existing resources a comprehensive annotated bibliography on the status of elderly women so that research already being conducted world wide can be incorporated in future assessments".

110. At the same meeting, the Deputy Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women stated that the implementation of operative paragraph 11 of the draft resolution would require nine work-months of consultancy, at a cost of $45,000, of which $15,000 could be absorbed within consultancy provisions already made under section 21C of the programme budget for the biennium 1992-1993.

111. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the revised draft resolution (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 36/4).

Women and development

112. At the 10th meeting, on 18 March, the representative of Nigeria, on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.11) entitled "Women and development".

113. At the 14th meeting, on 20 March, the representative of Nigeria, on behalf of the sponsors, made a statement.

114. At the same meeting, Australia, 37/ Italy, New Zealand, 37/ and Turkey,/37/ joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.

115. Also at the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, by a roll-call vote of 42 to 1 (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 36/5). The voting was as follows:

In favour: Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Co^te d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Italy, Japan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Spain, Sudan, Thailand, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Venezuela, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Against: United States of America.

Abstaining: None.

116. Before the draft resolution was adopted, the representative of the United States of America made a statement.

117. The Chairperson of the Commission made a statement.

Women and the environment

118. At the 10th meeting, on 18 March, the representative of Nigeria, on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.12) entitled "Women and the environment", which read as follows:

"The Commission on the Status of Women,

"Recalling the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, in particular paragraphs 224 to 227, which emphasize the impact upon women of environmental degradation and the importance of the awareness of women and women's organizations of environmental issues and of the enhancement of women's capacity to participate at all levels in the management of their environment,

"Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15, in which the Council adopted the recommendations and conclusions arising from the first review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,

"Bearing in mind the preparations for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, to be held at Rio de Janeiro from 1 to 12/June/1992, on the basis of General Assembly resolution 44/228,

"Taking into account all relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, in particular resolution 46/167 on women, environment, population and sustainable development,                                                                                               [ Up ]

"Taking note of the conclusions and recommendations of the Global Assembly of Women and the Environment: Partners in Life, held at Miami, Florida, from 4/to/8/November 1991,

"Expressing its concern about the global environmental crisis and its conviction that women have a very important role to play in the protection of the environment and of natural resources and in the promotion of sustainable development,

"Gravely concerned that the major cause of the continuing deterioration of the global environment is an unsustainable pattern of production and consumption, particularly in developed countries,

"Aware of the high level of resources and technology needed to implement programmes and projects aimed at the promotion of environmentally sound development,

"Stressing the importance of the international transfer of appropriate technologies to the promotion of sound environment and sustainable development,

"Recognizing that the cooperation and assistance of as well as the work performed by the non-governmental organizations are efficient mechanisms in the struggle for protecting and preserving the environment and for promoting the full participation of women in the management of the environment,

"1. Urges Governments to adopt laws, policies and programmes to promote the preservation of the environment in their countries, in the interest of present and future populations and of humankind;

"2. Also urges national, State and local governments, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations and the private sector, to promote a higher level of involvement of women in the planning, implementation and evaluation of policies, programmes and action aiming at environmental protection, the conservation of natural resources and economic development;

"3. Urges Governments to promote within their programmes of environmental management, specific activities aimed at the education and professional and leadership training of women in environmental issues;

"4. Calls for new and additional funds to finance the promotion of sustainable development in developing countries in general and in the least developed countries in particular, channelled by means of democratic and appropriate institutional mechanisms and serving the local and domestic environmental issues of those countries;

"5. Also calls for the active participation of women in the management of funds allocated to the protection of the environment and to economic development;

"6. Calls upon Governments, mainly in developed countries, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations, to promote change in production policies and consumption habits and to promote the development and transfer of less polluting technologies that make more efficient use of energy and non-renewable resources;

"7. Reminds Governments, governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as transnational corporations, of the necessity of facilitating the access of women in developing countries to environmentally friendly appropriate technologies;

"8. Invites the Governments of donor countries, international organizations and relevant non-governmental organizations to strengthen their cooperation with and assistance to developing countries, with a view to the preservation of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development in those countries;

"9. Urges Governments to put more emphasis on linkages between environmental management and underlying problems (poverty, population growth and distribution, unsanitary living conditions, and lack of water, among others) and on action to deal with such problems;

"10. Requests national Governments and all governmental and non-governmental organizations to ensure the equitable participation of women in their delegations to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development;

"11. Requests the Secretary-General to monitor the progress made in the area of women and the environment and to submit a review and appraisal on the subject to the Commission at its thirty-eighth session, to serve as a working document in the preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, in 1995."

119. At the 13th meeting, on 20 March, the Commission had before it a revised draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.12/Rev.1), which included the following changes:

(a) The seventh preambular paragraph was replaced by the following text:

"Gravely concerned that major causes of the continuing deterioration of the global environment are the unsustainable pattern of production and consumption, particularly in developed countries, and increasing poverty in many developing countries";

(b) The eighth preambular paragraph was replaced by the following text:

"Aware that traditional and advanced technologies are needed to implement programmes and projects aimed at the promotion of environmentally sound development";

(c) In operative paragraph 1, the words "women's participation in" were inserted between the words "to promote" and "the preservation";

(d) Operative paragraph 4 was replaced by the following text:

"4. Requests Governments and multilateral financial institutions to promote new and additional financial resources for the promotion of women's participation in sustainable development in the developing countries in general and in the least developed countries in particular, channelled by means of democratic and appropriate institutional mechanisms responsive to the priorities of women in the target communities";

(e) In operative paragraph 5, the word "economic" was replaced by the word "sustainable";

(f) Operative paragraph 6 was replaced by the following text:

"6. Calls upon Governments, non-governmental organizations and other social groups, women's organizations in particular, to promote the necessary changes in production policies and consumption habits, mainly in developed countries, and also to promote the development of effective international cooperation in the areas of research, development and the application of environmentally sound technologies";

(g) Operative paragraph 8 was replaced by the following text:

"8. Invites the Governments of donor countries, international organizations and relevant non-governmental organizations to ensure that greater attention is given to women's contributions to environmental protection and management in their cooperation with and assistance to developing countries, with a view to preserving the environment and promoting sustainable development in those countries";

(h) A new operative paragraph 11 was inserted, which read as follows:

"11. Requests the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, at its fourth session, to give full and substantive consideration to the recommendations of the Commission concerning women and the environment, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 46/167";

(i) Existing operative paragraph 11 was renumbered accordingly.

120. Also at the 13th meeting, the representative of Nigeria, on behalf of the sponsors, made the following oral revisions:

(a) In operative paragraph 4, the word "promote" was replaced by the word "provide";                                                                                                    [ Up ]

(b) In operative paragraph 7, the word "friendly" was replaced by the word "sound";

121. At the same meeting, the Deputy Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women stated that the Division had been informed that the United Nations Environment Programme might provide support and, on that assumption, the draft resolution would not have programme budget implications.

122. Also at the same meeting, the Commission adopted the revised draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 36/6).

123. After the draft resolution was adopted, the representative of the United States of America made a statement.

Advancement of women and acts of terrorism against women

124. At the 10th meeting, on 18 March, the representative of Peru, on behalf of Argentina,/37/ the Bahamas, Bolivia,/37/ Chile, Ecuador, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Uruguay/37/ and Venezuela, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.17).

125. At the 12th meeting, on 19 March, the Commission had before it a revised draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.17/Rev.1) entitled "Terrorism and the status of women", which was submitted by the original sponsors joined by Colombia, India, Lebanon, 37/ Pakistan and Spain, and which included the following changes:

(a) A new first preambular paragraph was inserted, which read:

"Taking into account the fact that the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women have identified violence against women as one of the major obstacles to the achievement of the objectives of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace";

(b) Operative paragraph 2, which had read:

"Expresses its profound concern at the persistent violation of human rights by armed groups and by drug traffickers who terrorize the population and threaten the safety and lives of women";

was revised to read:

"Expresses its profound concern about the adverse effect on the enjoyment of human rights caused by armed groups and by drug traffickers who terrorize the population and threaten the safety and lives of women".

126. At the same meeting, the Secretary of the Commission read out the following changes to the revised draft resolution, agreed upon during informal consultations:

(a) The title of the revised draft resolution was changed to read "Advancement of women and acts of terrorism against women";

(b) Operative paragraph 4, which had read:

"Agrees to examine this issue as part of item 4 of the agenda for the next meeting of the Commission";

was revised to read:

"Decides to consider this question under the priority theme "Peace" at its thirty-seventh session.

127. Also at the same meeting, the Commission adopted the revised draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 36/7).

128. Before the draft resolution was adopted, the representative of France made a statement.

Chapter V. Preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace                                      [ Up ]

129. The Commission considered item 6 of its agenda jointly with agenda item/4 (monitoring the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women) 38/ at its 1st to 5th, 11th and 14th meetings, on 11/to/13, 18 and 20 March 1992. It had before it the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.6/1992/3).

130. The Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women introduced the item. She noted that the report of the Secretary-General had been prepared in collaboration with the organizations of the United Nations system as well as non-governmental organizations. The report contained a number of specific proposals and identified issues on which the Commission was expected to take action. She emphasized that the question of resources was of considerable importance for the Conference.

131. Most representatives reaffirmed the importance and unique role of the Conference. Others noted that 1995 was a good time for holding the Conference as it coincided with the fiftieth anniversary of the United/Nations, the twentieth anniversary of International Women's Year and the tenth anniversary of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies. Many representatives also stressed the impact of the ongoing changes at the international level. Preparations for the Conference were beginning at a time of new opportunities and challenges, as well as of new threats to the advancement of women. The Conference was an opportunity to demonstrate the relationship of the advancement of women to the political, economic and social issues relevant to the development of societies and communities.

132. Many representatives noted that the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies had been slowing down. That constituted a cost to society as a whole, as was noted by 28/specialized agencies and organizations of the United/Nations system in a joint statement to the Commission, as well as by a few representatives. It was hoped, therefore, that the World Conference itself, and the entire preparatory process leading up to 1995, would give a new impetus/to the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies, to/the renewal of political commitment and to the identification of gender-responsive development strategies, public policies and gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation systems. Many representatives emphasized that the process leading to the Conference, as well as the Conference itself, should be forward-looking and action-oriented. Several representatives stated that the entire process would enhance global awareness of the status of women, especially in developing countries, and would identify the major obstacles to women's advancement. They called for a broad information campaign on the Conference and its preparations.

133. The platform for action should comprise only a few issues and establish concrete, achievable and measurable goals to accelerate equality by the year/2000. Innovative statistical data should be used to illustrate the situation of women as compared to men. Several representatives, including some from the specialized agencies, agreed that the platform for action should deal with emerging world issues, including human development issues, and problems linked to the international economic order, terms of trade, debt and structural adjustment. Others stressed that the platform should address obstacles to the advancement of women. Under equality, a few representatives mentioned the unequal distribution of paid and unpaid work and the continuing stereotyping of roles by the media and society. A few representatives stressed the persistence or re-emergence of those attitudes that constituted an obstacle to the advancement of women. Violence against women and the low numbers of women in decision-making were mentioned under peace. Discrimination in the labour market, poverty and women's health, including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), were highlighted as major obstacles under development.

134. Several representatives stressed that a strong focus of the World Conference should be on the girl child and the different stages of women's lives. They also identified positive goals, such as the establishment of a caring society, and true partnership and sharing of responsibilities inside the family, calling for the involvement of men in preparing for the Conference. The economic empowerment of women in general, and of rural women in particular, was stressed. Several representatives called for the increased participation of women in peace-keeping.

135. Regarding preparations for the Conference, several representatives expressed support for the establishment of national committees to serve as catalysts for the preparations. Others considered that effective national machinery for the advancement of women was important, especially in gathering information on the local situation and bringing national priorities into regional and international activities; they expressed the hope that the Conference would be influential in strengthening such machinery. A few representatives suggested that national-level action plans be developed in the context of preparations for the Conference. Many representatives noted the important role of non-governmental organizations, and stated that local non-governmental organizations and grass-roots women's organizations also had a role to play and should be equipped to do so.

136. Many representatives reaffirmed the important role of the regional commissions and supported the idea of regional technical meetings. A few representatives stated that regional activities should consolidate national experience and identify common issues in the region. Some representatives indicated that a key issue in Africa was education, together with entrepreneurship, as proposed by the Secretary-General in his report.

137. At the international level, several representatives proposed ensuring that major international events leading up to 1995, such as the United/Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the World Conference on Human Rights, the International Conference on Population and Development and the International Year of the Family, would have a gender perspective and include the question of women on their agendas. Many representatives of agencies and organizations stressed the importance of inter-agency collaboration and of cooperation with non-governmental organizations. Some representatives supported holding the postponed Interregional Consultation on Women in Public Life in preparation for the Conference.

138. On the issue of venue, the representative of China renewed the invitation of his country to act as host for the Conference. The representative of Austria reported that informal consultations had been held in New York with regard to the venue of the Conference. He wished it to be noted that, should the Commission decide to hold the 1995 Conference in China, his country would be willing to act as host for a world conference in the year 2000. Another representative welcomed that proposal.                                                                                                    [ Up ]

139. Several representatives expressed the hope that the Secretary-General of the Conference would be appointed without delay; one representative, speaking on behalf of the State Members of the United Nations that are members of the European Economic Community, said that the Secretary-General should work full-time on preparations for the Conference. Some representatives stated that the duration proposed for the Conference was too short.

140. Many representatives expressed the need for greater participation of non-governmental organizations, individuals, professional associations, groups and the media in the Conference itself, as well as in the associated forum for non-governmental organizations. Several representatives suggested that participation in the Conference should be extended beyond non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. Many representatives stated that the forum was important for creating networks, cooperation and sharing of experience among non-governmental organizations and for the future success of initiatives taken by the Conference. They stressed the need for all facilities to be made available to it, and for close links to be established with the Conference itself, substantially and organizationally.

The representative of China said that his country was prepared to play host to non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council for participation in the Conference and in the forum. Non-governmental organizations without such status and individuals wishing to attend the forum were also welcome to attend.

141. Several representatives stressed the importance of extensive media build-up and coverage of the Conference. The possibility of using satellite transmission was mentioned as a means of bringing the Conference to the attention of the world.

142. Many representatives raised the issue of resources. Others recalled that the Conference had been expected to be held at the lowest possible cost, and expressed the hope that resources for the 1995 Conference would not be lower than those made available for other United Nations world conferences. Several representatives stated that United/Nations bodies involved in preparing the Conference, such as the regional commissions and the Conference secretariat, should be provided with financial and human resources commensurate with their responsibilities and expressed the hope that the Commission would take action on the issue of resources. A few representatives stressed the need for efficient and effective use of resources made available for the Conference. It was considered that extrabudgetary resources should be mobilized for the Conference. Additional resources had already been made available by certain Member States. Support was also expressed for the proposal made by the

Secretary-General in his report that voluntary contributions could help to finance the travel of representatives. The proposal to mobilize bilateral and multilateral assistance for preparations in developing countries, especially in the least developed countries, was also welcomed.

ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION

Preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace

143. At the 11th meeting, on 18 March, the Vice-Chairperson of the Commission, Mrs. Olga Pellicer (Mexico), introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1992/L.18) entitled "Preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace", submitted on the basis of informal consultations, which read as follows:

"The Commission on the Status of Women, as the preparatory body for the Fourth World Conference on Women,

"Recalling the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of/Women, endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution/40/108 of 13 December 1985,

"Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolution 1987/20 of 26/May/1987, in which the Council decided that the Commission on the Status of Women should be designated as the preparatory body for world conferences on women,

"Recalling further Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15 of 24/May/1990 on the recommendations and conclusions arising from the first review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the year 2000,

"Recalling also its resolution 35/4 of 8 March 1991 on preparations for the world conference on women in 1995 and its decision 35/101 of 8/March/1991 on the title of the Conference and of national committees,

"A

"Organization of the Conference

"Noting with appreciation the offers made by the Governments of Austria and China to act as host for the Fourth World Conference on Women:

Action for Equality, Development and Peace, and the forum for non-governmental organizations,

"Taking into consideration General Assembly resolution 46/98 of 16/December 1991, in which the Assembly requested the Commission to decide on the venue of the Fourth World Conference on Women not later than at its thirty-sixth session, in accordance with Commission decision 35/102 of 8 March 1991, bearing in mind that preference should be given to the region that had not yet hosted a world conference on women,

"Considering the duration of previous world conferences on women, as well as similar United Nations conferences,

"Bearing in mind that the Conference in 1995 coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations,

"Affirming the importance to the success of the Conference of the maximum participation of Governments at the highest possible level, of intergovernmental organizations, organizations of the United Nations system and interested non-governmental organizations, as well as other regional organizations acting through their representatives to the Commission,

"Recalling that the General Assembly, in its resolution 46/98, requested the Secretary-General to appoint not later than 1992 the Secretary-General of the Conference,

"Recalling its resolution 35/4, in which the Commission decided to prepare a programme of action for consideration by the Conference,

"1. Decides

"(a) To accept the offer of the Government of China to act as host for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Develoment and Peace, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 40/243 of 18 December 1985;

"(b) That the Conference should be of a duration of ten working days;

"(c) That the Conference should be held at Beijing from 5/to 16/September 1995;

"2. Also decides that participation in the Conference will be open to:

"(a) All States Members of the United/Nations or of a specialized agency of the United/Nations;

"(b) Representatives of all organizations that have received a standing invitation from the General Assembly to participate in the sessions and the work of all international conferences convened under its auspices in the capacity of observers to participate in the Conference in that capacity, in accordance with Assembly resolutions 3237 (XXIX) on 22/November/1974 and 43/177 of 15 December 1988;                                                                                                       [ Up ]

"(c) Representatives of the national liberation movements recognized in its region by the Organization of African Unity to participate in the Conference in the capacity of observers, in accordance with General/Assembly resolution 3280 (XXIX) of 10 December 1974;

"(d) The specialized agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as interested organizations of the United Nations system;

"(e) Other interested intergovernmental organizations, to be represented by observers at the Conference;

"(f) Interested non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, to be represented by observers at the Conference;

"(g) Individuals who, in recognition of their personal contributions to the advancement of women, are invited by the Secretary-General;

"(h) Members of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women;

"3. Requests the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations to consider, on a priority basis in advance of the Conference, giving consultative status to a more representative number of non-governmental organizations concerned with the advancement of women;

"4. Recommends to the Secretary-General to appoint the Secretary-General of the Conference, not later than 1992, taking into account the desirability that the individual appointed should be a woman, should have international stature in relation to the advancement of women, and experience in the United/Nations system;

"5. Decides that the agenda for the Conference shall include:

"(a) The second review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the year 2000;

"(b) The Platform for Action;

"(c) The main conclusions and recommendations of regional preparatory conferences;

"(d) Institutional arrangements for the implementation of the Platform for Action;

"6. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the Commission, at its thirty-seventh session, containing a first draft, which will serve as a working document for the elaboration of the Platform for Action, taking as a basis all guidelines contained in Commission resolution 35/4, the impact of the changes that have taken place in the international community on the status of women, the importance of integrating gender perspectives in policy-making in all areas and at all levels, the need to give priority to the situation of rural women, in particular in developing countries, and differences in priorities among regions, based on a full input from the organizations of the United Nations system, as well as other regional organizations acting through their representatives to the Commission;

"7. Also requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission at its thirty-seventh session a report containing (a) information on data that would be used/in the formulation of the second report on the

implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies and (b) an outline of the second report, in/which special emphasis should be given to the recommendations and conclusions arising from the first review and appraisal of the implementation of the Strategies, contained in the annex to Council resolution/1990/15, in particular those referring to the condition of women in developing countries;

"8. Further requests the Secretary-General to prepare draft rules of procedure for consideration by the Commission at its thirty-eighth session;

"B

"Preparatory process

"Emphasizing the importance of national preparatory activities in focusing national attention on the issue of the status and advancement of women, and of national machinery to assess the situation and mobilize national non-governmental organizations and individuals, with a view to improving national performance in the advancement of women,

"Considering the importance of activities for the advancement of women that have taken place at the regional level since International Women's Year and recognizing the necessity of providing for an exchange of national experiences and the elaboration of regional priorities and perspectives for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, and to the year 2000,

"Recalling Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/9 of 24/May/1990 on the second report on the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,

"Recognizing the importance of non-governmental organizations in the preparations for the Conference at the national, regional and global levels, especially the forum for non-governmental organizations, which will take place prior to and partially simultaneously with the Conference,

"Convinced that promotion of the Conference requires the creative and effective use of public information,

"1. Recommends that Governments establish a national committee or designate a national focal point to initiate and promote preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, by organizing and coordinating national activities, including assembling information and gender-disaggregated statistics for the elaboration of national reports on the situation of women, and increasing public awareness about the Conference, and requests that reports on such activities be made available to the Secretary-General;

"2. Urges organizations of the United Nations system, at the national level, to cooperate with national efforts to prepare for the Conference and to coordinate their activities through the United Nations Resident Coordinator;

"3. Requests the Secretary-General to inform Governments about the recommendation regarding national committees or focal points;

"4. Recommends that the national reports cited in paragraph 1 above cover the period from 1985 to the present;

"5. Urges the organizations of the United Nations system to provide support, on request, to the preparation of national reports;

"6. Recommends that regional conferences already scheduled include in their agendas preparations for the World Conference and suggests that, in those regions that have not yet scheduled them, regional conferences to prepare for the World Conference be organized under the auspices of the corresponding regional commission;

"7. Requests the regional conferences to identify regional trends, priorities, obstacles and innovative suggestions for future action and that the results of those regional conferences be provided to the Commission not later than at its thirty-ninth session;                                                                                                       [ Up ]

"8. Recommends that regional conferences include in their agendas the issue of women in public life, emphasizing their role in politics and decision-making;

"9. Requests the Secretary-General to include information on women in public life in the preparations of the/priority theme on peace: women in international decision-making, for the Commission at its the/thirty-ninth session;

"10. Recommends that a public information strategy for the Conference be designed, using information mechanisms that reach the greatest number of people and based on the Conference themes, in particular those related to development;

"11. Requests the Secretary-General to plan and implement an information campaign and to issue a new bulletin entitled Conference 95 twice a year to disseminate information on preparatory activities for the Conference at all levels in all official languages;

"12. Also requests the Secretary-General to provide Governments with a concise set of guidelines for public information campaigns at the national level and with periodic information packages that can be made available to national mass media and non-governmental organizations;

"13. Further requests the Secretary-General to report to the Commission at its thirty-seventh session on the planning and implementation of the complete information campaign, including its priorities and resource needs;

"14. Requests the Secretary-General to include the Conference as part of the celebrations for the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations;

"C

"Forum for non-governmental organizations

"Recalling successful forums for non-governmental organizations held in Mexico, Copenhagen and Nairobi,

"Acknowledging the offer made by the host Government to all non-governmental organizations and individuals wishing to attend the forum in Beijing,

"1. Emphasizes the importance of close proximity between the forum and the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, as well as some concurrence in time;

"2. Invites the committee of non-governmental organizations arranging the forum and national and regional activities to provide information, including media arrangements, to the Commission through a report of the Secretary-General on preparations for the Conference;

"D

"Resources for the Conference and its preparations

"Recalling General Assembly resolution 46/98 of 16 December 1991, in which concern was expressed that the resources for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, were not sufficient, and Assembly resolution 46/185 of 20 December 1991, in which the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to ensure that adequate resources were provided for the preparation of the Conference during the biennium 1992-1993,

"Desiring to ensure the maximum representation by Governments, especially of the least developed countries, in the regional preparatory process and in the Conference,

"1. Requests the Economic and Social Council to reconsider the budget envisaged for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, on the basis of a report of the Secretary-General outlining resource requirements for regional and interregional preparatory activities, public information activities and for the Conference itself;

"2. Urges Governments, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and individuals to contribute extrabudgetary resources to the trust fund established by the Secretary-General for the preparations of the Conference, especially for the participation of representatives of the least developed countries in regional meetings and in the Conference;

"E

"Documentation

"1. Decides that the documentation for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, will include:

"(a) Report of the Secretary-General on the second review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women;

"(b) Draft final document (Platform for Action);

"(c) Update of the World Survey on the Role of Women in Development;

"(d) Update of The World's Women: Trends and Statistics;

"(e) Updated compendium on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;

"(f) Report of the Secretary-General on the outcome of regional preparatory meetings for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace;

"(g) Relevant sections of final documents emanating from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the World Conference on Human Rights and the International Conference on Population and Development."

144. Also at the 11th meeting, the representative of Austria proposed that a new subparagraph be inserted in section A, operative paragraph 1, between subparagraphs (a) and (b), which would read as follows:

"To take note of the interest of Austria to host a world conference on women in the year 2000".

145. This amendment was subsequently withdrawn by Austria.

146. At the 14th meeting, on 20 March, the Chairperson read out changes to the draft resolution agreed upon during further informal consultations. The changes were as follows:

(a) In section A, subparagraph 1 (c), the dates 5 to 16 September 1995 were changed to 4 to 15 September 1995;

(b) The chapeau of operative paragraph 2 was revised to read as follows:

"Also decides to recommend that participation in the Conference should be open to";

(c) Subparagraph 2 (a) was revised to read as follows:

"(a) All States Members of the United Nations or of any of the specialized agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency";

(d) In subparagraph 2 (b), the word "all" was deleted;

(e) In subparagraph 2 (d), the words "The executive heads of" were added before the words "the specialized agencies";

(f) Operative paragraph 3 was replaced by the following two paragraphs:

"3. Requests the Economic and Social Council to request the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations to consider on a priority basis, in advance of the Conference, the granting of consultative status to more non-governmental organizations concerned with the advancement of women, with particular attention being given to applications from non-governmental organizations from developing countries, and also requests that the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations be provided with additional resources to deal with the additional workload";                                                                                                 [ Up ]

"4. Recommends that the arrangements for consultation with non-governmental organizations, as approved by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1296 (XLIV) of 23 May 1968, be reviewed to make consultative status more accessible to non-governmental organizations, particularly those from developing countries";

(g) Operative paragraph 4 (para. 5 of the final text) was revised to read as follows:

"Recommends that the Secretary-General appoint a woman as Secretary-General of the Conference, not later than 1992, who should have international stature in relation to the advancement of women and experience in the United Nations system, and who would assume primary responsibility for the preparation of the Conference";

(h) A new operative paragraph (para. 6 of the final text) was inserted after operative paragraph 4 (para. 5 of the final text), which read as follows:

"Also recommends that, in appointing the necessary staff for the Conference, the Secretary-General include persons from the developing and the least developed countries, taking into consideration equitable geographical distribution";

(i) Operative paragraphs 5 to 8 of section A were renumbered 7 to 10;

(j) In section B, a new penultimate preambular paragraph was inserted, which read as follows:

"Acknowledging the important role of women entrepreneurship, notably in small and medium-sized enterprises, in mobilizing resources and in promoting economic growth and socio-economic development";

(k) A new operative paragraph was inserted after operative paragraph 10, which read as follows:

"11. Also recommends that regional conferences include in their agendas the issue of entrepreneurship and the advancement of women, emphasizing the need to facilitate an overall entrepreneurial activity

through appropriate economic policies, training, access to credit, information and other support systems";

(l) Operative paragraphs 11 to 14 of section A were renumbered 12/to/15;

(m) In section C, a new operative paragraph was added, which read as follows:

"3. Emphasizes the importance of unrestricted participation by the media in covering the forum";

(n) In section D, a new operative paragraph was added, which read as follows:

"3. Urges Governments, international organizations and multilateral financial institutions to provide assistance to the least developed countries for their preparatory activities at the national level".

147. Also at the 14th meeting, the Deputy Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women stated that, after reviewing the draft resolution, it appeared that the modalities for the preparation and holding of the Conference differed substantially from those reported to the Economic and Social Council at its first regular session of 1990. The proposed new modalities would result in additional requirements for (a) travel of participants who are entitled to travel at the expense of the United Nations; (b) regional activities in the course of preparations for the Conference; (c) an information campaign to be conducted by the Department of Public Information; and (d) additional conference-servicing requirements. A preliminary review indicated that overall additional costs could reach $1 million. Most of the additional requirements would be related to the biennium 1994-1995. For 1993, the proposal to issue a new bulletin, entitled "Conference 1995", would require an additional provision of $30,000 for external printing and binding.

148. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 36/8).

149. After the draft resolution was adopted, the representative of the United States of America made a statement.

Chapter VI. Provisional Agenda for the 37th Session of the Commission                                                                                                                  [ Up ]

150. The Commission considered item 7 of its agenda at its 14th meeting, on 20/March 1992. It had before it the following documents:

(a) Note by the Secretary-General on the proposed work programme required to prepare for the in-depth consideration of the priority themes scheduled for the thirty-seventh session of the Commission (E/CN.6/1992/CRP.1);

(b) Note by the Secretariat containing the draft provisional agenda and documentation for the thirty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women (E/CN.6/1992/L.20).

151. The Deputy Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women made an introductory statement.

152. At the same meeting, the Commission approved the provisional agenda for the thirty-seventh session for submission to the Economic and Social Council and requested the secretariat of the Commission to complete it in the light of decisions taken by other organs (for the text of the draft decision, see chap./I, sect. B, draft decision I).

Request for additional conference facilities during the thirty-seventh session of the Commission

153. At the 14th meeting, on 20 March, on the proposal of the Chairperson, the Commission decided to recommend that the Economic and Social Council approve the convening of four additional meetings, with interpretation services, during the thirty-seventh session of the Commission; those meetings would be held simultaneously with the plenary meetings of the Commission for the purpose of considering in informal meetings the preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, in 1995 (see chap. I, sect. B, draft decision II).

154. At the same meeting, the Deputy Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women stated that the provision of additional meetings would involve additional conference-servicing costs at full cost estimated at $65,900, but the actual cost would be set against the provision already made under section 32 of the programme budget for the biennium 1992-1993, in accordance with existing methodology for budgeting for conference-servicing requirements in relation to the inclusion of additional meetings in the calendar of meetings and conferences.

155. After the draft decision was adopted, the representative of the United States of America made a statement.

Chapter VII. Adoption of the Report of the Commission on its 36th Session                                                                                                                    [ Up ]

156. At its 14th meeting, on 20 March 1992, the Commission adopted the report on its thirty-sixth session (E/CN.6/1992/L.3 and Add.1-4), as orally amended.

This document has been made available in electronic format by the United Nations.

[ Up ]