CSW 1993

The Commission on the Status of Women 37th Session took place in Geneva, 28 June-30 July 1993

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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. Draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women
III. Communications on the status of women
IV. Women, environment and development
V. Women and children under apartheid
VI. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
VII. Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women

B. Draft decisions
I. Report of the Commission on the Status of Women on its thirty-seventh session and provisional agenda and documentation for the thirty-eighth session of the Commission
II. Inter-sessional working group of the Commission on the Status of Women on the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace

C. Resolutions of the Commission brought to the attention of the Council
37/1. Preliminary proposals for the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2001
37/2. Inter-agency coordination
37/3. Rape and abuse of women in the territory of the former Yugoslavia
37/4. World Conference on Human Rights
37/5. Women and legal literacy
37/6. Women and development
37/7. Preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace
37/8. Women in extreme poverty
37/9. Work programme on the advancement of women and the proposed restructuring of the economic and social activities of the United Nations

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

IV. Priority Themes
A. Equality: increasing 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

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

VI. Provisional Agenda for the 38th Session of the Commission

VII. Adoption of the Report of the Comission on its 37th 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. Improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat*                                                                                            [ Up ]

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling Articles 1 and 101 of the Charter of the United Nations,

Recalling also Article 8 of the Charter, which provides that the United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs,

Recalling further the relevant paragraphs of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, 1/ especially paragraphs 79, 306, 315, 356 and 358,

Recalling the relevant resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and other bodies that have continued to focus on this area since the adoption of 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 was not achieved,

Noting also with concern that the participation rate of women in posts at the D-1 level and above remains unreasonably low, although some welcome improvements have been made in the form of recent appointments by the Secretary-General,

Aware that a comprehensive policy aimed at preventing and combating sexual harassment should be an integral part of personnel policy,

Commending the Secretary-General for his administrative instruction containing procedures for dealing with cases of sexual harassment, 2/

Recalling 14 December 1990, 45/239 C of 21 December 1990, 46/100 of 16 December 1991 and 47/93 of 16 December 1992 of a 35 per cent overall participation rate of women in posts subject to geographical distribution by 1995,

Recalling also the goal set in General Assembly resolution 45/239 C of a 25 per cent participation rate of women in posts at the D-1 level and above by 1995,

Bearing in mind that a visible commitment by the Secretary-General, especially during the continuing restructuring phase, is essential to the achievement of the targets set by the General Assembly,

Welcoming the commitment of the Secretary-General, expressed in his statement to the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly on 6 November 1992 to bringing the gender balance in policy-level positions as close to 50:50 as possible, 3/ and his commitment, expressed in his message on the occasion of International Women's Day, to ensuring that the number of women in Professional posts in the Secretariat reflected the world population as a whole by the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations in 1995, 4/

Welcoming improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat contained in the report of the Secretary-General, 5/

Welcoming remove the obstacles to the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat, 6/

Welcoming 1993 and 1994 to improve the status of women in the Secretariat by 1995, 7/

1. Urges designed to remove the obstacles to the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat, 6/ and notes that his visible commitment is essential to the achievement of the targets set by the General Assembly;

2. Also urges the Secretary-General to further examine existing work practices within the United Nations system with a view to increasing flexibility so as to remove direct or indirect discrimination against staff members with family responsibilities, including further consideration of such issues as job-sharing, flexible working hours, child-care arrangements, career break schemes and access to training;

3. Further urges the Secretary-General, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, to accord greater priority to the recruitment and promotion of women in posts subject to geographical distribution, particularly in senior policy-level and decision-making posts, in order to achieve the goals set in resolutions 45/125, 45/239 C, 46/100 and 47/93 of an overall participation rate of 35 per cent by 1995 and 25 per cent in posts at the D-1 level and above by 1995;

4. Strongly urges the Secretary-General to make further use of the opportunity offered by the United Nations reorganization process to promote more women into senior-level positions;

5. Urges the Secretary-General, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, to increase the number of women employed in the Secretariat from developing countries, particularly those that are unrepresented or underrepresented, and from other countries that have a low representation of women;

6. Strongly encourages Member States to support the efforts of the United Nations and the specialized agencies to increase the percentage of women in Professional posts, especially at the D-1 level and above, by identifying and submitting more women candidates, encouraging women to apply for vacant posts and creating national rosters of women candidates;

7. Requests the Secretary-General, within existing resources, to ensure that adequate machinery, with the authority of enforcement and the responsibility of accountability, including a senior-level official devoted to the implementation of the action programme and the recommendations in the report on obstacles to the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat, is maintained and strengthened during the course of the programme for the period 1991-1995;

8. Also requests the Secretary-General to further develop comprehensive policy measures aimed at the prevention of sexual harassment in the Secretariat;

9. Further requests the Secretary-General to ensure that a progress report containing, inter alia, policy measures aimed at the prevention of sexual harassment in the Secretariat is submitted to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-eighth session and to the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session and to ensure that it is issued in accordance with the six-weeks' rule for the circulation of documentation.

* For the discussion, see chap. II.

DRAFT RESOLUTION II. Draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women*                                                                     [ Up ]

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling its previous resolutions on the elimination of violence against women, especially its resolutions 1991/18 of 30 May 1991 and 1992/18 of 30 July 1992 related to the elaboration of a United Nations declaration on the subject,

Bearing in mind that the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women 1/ identify violence as a major obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace,

Recognizing 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,

Convinced that a United Nations declaration on the elimination of violence against women would make a positive contribution to the achievement of full equality for women,

Recognizing that the effective implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 8/ would contribute to the elimination of violence against women and that the declaration would strengthen and complement that process,

1. Expresses its appreciation to the experts, Member States and United Nations organizations that contributed to the elaboration of the draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women by the Expert Group Meeting on Violence against Women held at Vienna from 11 to 15 November 1991, 9/ and the Working Group on Violence against Women, held at Vienna from 3l August to 4 September 1992; 10/

2. Urges declaration on the elimination of violence against women contained in the annex to the present resolution;

3. 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, sexual and psychological violence, whether occurring in public or private life, in accordance with the measures contained in the draft declaration;

4. Calls on States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to continue to prepare their reports in accordance with general recommendation 19 on violence against women, adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at its eleventh session; 11/

5. Invites non-governmental organizations, to take all possible steps to implement the declaration, once adopted, to disseminate information on it and to promote its understanding;

6. Requests the Secretary-General to provide all facilities and assistance necessary, within existing resources, for the dissemination of information on the declaration, once adopted;

7. Also requests the Secretary-General to report, in consultation with Member States, to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-ninth session, in 1995, and to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-second session, in 1996, on the implementation of the Declaration, once adopted;

8. Urges Governments to include an evaluation of the impact of the Declaration, once adopted, in their preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, to be held at Beijing from 4 to 15 September 1995.

* For the discussion, see chap. III.

Annex: Declaration on the elimination of violence against women

The General Assembly,

Recognizing the urgent need for the universal application to women of the rights and principles with regard to equality, security, liberty, integrity and dignity of all human persons,

Noting that these rights and principles are enshrined in international instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 12/ the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 13/ the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 13/ the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 14/ and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 15/

Recognizing Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women would contribute to the elimination of violence against women and that the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, annexed to the present resolution, will strengthen and complement that process,

Concerned that violence against women is an obstacle to the achievement of equality, development and peace, as recognized in the Nairobi Forward- looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, 1/ which recommend a set of measures to combat violence against women, and to the full implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,

Affirming that violence against women both violates and impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and concerned about the long-standing failure to protect and promote these rights and freedoms in relation to violence against women,

Recognizing that violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of their full advancement, and that violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared to men,

Concerned that some groups of women, such as women belonging to minority groups, indigenous women, refugee women, migrant women, women living in rural or remote communities, destitute women, women in institutions or in detention, female children, women with disabilities, elderly women and women in situations of armed conflict, are especially vulnerable to violence,

Recalling Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15 of 24 May 1990, in the annex to which it was recognized that violence against women in the family and society was pervasive and cut across lines of income, class and culture, and had to be matched by urgent and effective steps to eliminate its incidence,

Recalling further Economic and Social Council resolution 1991/18 of 30 May 1991, in which the Council recommended the development of a framework for an international instrument that would address explicitly the issue of violence against women,

Welcoming the role that women's movements have played in drawing increasing attention to the nature, severity and magnitude of the problem of violence against women,

Alarmed that women's opportunities to achieve legal, social, political and economic equality in society are limited, inter alia, by continuing and endemic violence,

Convinced that in the light of the above there is a need for a clear and comprehensive definition of violence against women, a clear statement of the rights to be applied to ensure the elimination of violence against women in all its forms, a commitment by States in respect of their responsibilities, and a commitment by the international community at large towards the elimination of violence against women,

Solemnly proclaims the following Declaration and urges that every effort be made so that it becomes generally known and respected:

Article 1

For the purposes of this Declaration, the term "violence against women" means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.

Article 2

Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation;

(b) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;

(c) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.

Article 3

Women are entitled to the equal enjoyment and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. These rights include, inter alia:

(a) The right to life; 16/

(b) The right to equality; 17/

(c) The right to liberty and security of person; 18/

(d) The right to equal protection under the law; 19/

(e) The right to be free from all forms of discrimination; 19/

(f) The right to the highest standard attainable of physical and mental health; 20/

(g) The right to just and favourable conditions of work; 21/

(h) The right not to be subjected to torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 22/

Article

States should condemn violence against women and should not invoke any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination. States should pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating violence against women and, to this end should:

(a) Consider, where they have not yet done so, ratifying or acceding to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women or withdrawing reservations to that Convention;

(b) Refrain from engaging in violence against women;

(c) Exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons;

(d) Develop penal, civil, labour and administrative sanctions in domestic legislation to punish and redress the wrongs caused to women who are subjected to violence; women who are subjected to violence should be provided with access to the mechanisms of justice and, as provided for by national legislation, to just and effective remedies for the harm that they have suffered; States should also inform women of their rights in seeking redress through such mechanisms;

(e) Consider the possibility of developing national plans of action to promote the protection of women against any form of violence, or to include provisions for this purpose in plans already existing, taking into account, as appropriate, such cooperation as can be provided by non-governmental organizations, particularly those concerned with this subject;

(f) Develop, in a comprehensive way, preventive approaches and all those measures of a legal, political, administrative and cultural nature that promote the protection of women against any form of violence, and ensure that the re-victimization of women does not occur because of gender-insensitive laws, enforcement practices or other interventions;

(g) Work to ensure, to the maximum extent feasible in the light of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international cooperation, that women subjected to violence and, where appropriate, their children have specialized assistance, such as rehabilitation, assistance in child care and maintenance, treatment, counselling, health and social services, facilities and programmes, as well as support structures, and should take all other appropriate measures to promote their safety and physical and psychological rehabilitation;

(h) Include in government budgets adequate resources for their activities related to the elimination of violence against women;

(i) Take measures to ensure that law enforcement officers and public officials responsible for implementing policies to prevent, investigate and punish violence against women receive training to sensitize them to the needs of women;

(j) Adopt all appropriate measures, especially in the field of education, to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women and to eliminate prejudices, customary practices and all other practices based on the idea of the inferiority or superiority of either of the sexes and on stereotyped roles for men and women;

(k) Promote research, collect data and compile statistics, especially concerning domestic violence, relating to the prevalence of different forms of violence against women and encourage research on the causes, nature, seriousness and consequences of violence against women and on the effectiveness of measures implemented to prevent and redress violence against women; these statistics and findings of the research will be made public;

(l) Adopt measures directed to the elimination of violence against women who are especially vulnerable to violence;

(m) Include, in submitting reports as required under relevant human rights instruments of the United Nations, information pertaining to violence against women and measures taken to implement the present Declaration;

(n) Encourage the development of appropriate guidelines to assist in the implementation of the principles set forth in the present Declaration;

(o) Recognize the important role of the women's movement and non-governmental organizations world wide in raising awareness and alleviating the problem of violence against women;

(p) Facilitate and enhance the work of the women's movement and non-governmental organizations and cooperate with them at local, national and regional levels;

(q) Encourage intergovernmental regional organizations of which they are members to include the elimination of violence against women in their programmes, as appropriate.

Article 5

The organs and specialized agencies of the United Nations system should, within their respective fields of competence, contribute to the recognition and realization of the rights and the principles set forth in the present Declaration, and to this end should, inter alia:

(a) Foster international and regional cooperation with a view to defining regional strategies for combating violence, exchanging experiences and financing programmes relating to the elimination of violence against women;

(b) Promote meetings and seminars with the aim of creating and raising the awareness among all persons in respect of the issue of the elimination of violence against women;

(c) Foster coordination and exchange within the United Nations system between human rights treaty bodies to effectively address the matter;

(d) Include in analyses prepared by bodies and agencies of the United Nations system of social trends and problems, such as the periodic reports on the world social situation, examination of trends in violence against women;

(e) Encourage coordination between bodies and agencies of the United Nations system to incorporate the issue of violence against women into ongoing programmes, particularly with reference to groups of women particularly vulnerable to violence;

(f) Promote the formulation of guidelines or manuals relating to violence against women, taking into account the measures mentioned herein;

(g) Consider the issue of the elimination of violence against women, as appropriate, in fulfilling their mandates including with respect to the implementation of human rights instruments;

(h) Cooperate with non-governmental organizations in addressing violence against women.

Article 6

Nothing in the present Declaration shall affect any provision that is more conducive to the elimination of violence against women that may be contained in the legislation of a State or in any international convention, treaty or other instrument in force in a State.

DRAFT RESOLUTION III. Communications on the status of women*                                                                                                                     [ Up ]

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 appeared 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 received 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,

Recalling also its resolution 1992/19 of 30 July 1992, in which it requested the Secretary-General to publicize widely the existence and scope of the communications mechanism of the Commission and to ensure proper coordination of the activities of the Commission in this area with those of the other bodies of the Council and requested the Commission to consider ways of making the procedure for receiving and considering communications, including the standard of admissibility, more transparent and efficient,

Noting the conclusion of the Working Group on Communications on the Status of Women, in its report to the Commission at its thirty-fifth session 23/ 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 continue to publicize widely the existence and scope of the communications mechanism of the Commission using all available media;

3. Further requests the Secretary-General to continue 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;

4. Invites the Commission to take into account the report of the Secretary-General on examining mechanisms for communications on the status of women, 24/ submitted to the Commission at its thirty-fifth session, to consider ways of making the existing procedure for receiving and considering communications more effective;

5. Invites each regional group to appoint, one week before each session of the Commission, a member of the Working Group on Communications on the Status of Women;

6. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Commission at its thirty-eighth session on the ways in which the communications mechanism of the Commission has been publicized;

7. Also 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.

* For the discussion, see chap. III.

DRAFT RESOLUTION IV. Women, environment and development*                                                                                                                   [ Up ]

The Economic and Social Council,

Taking into account General Assembly resolution 46/167 of 19 December 1991 on women, environment, population and sustainable development, in which the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to include in the report on the effective mobilization and integration of women in development, to be submitted to the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session, a section on the role of women in environment and sustainable development,

Recalling Commission on the Status of Women resolution 36/6 of 20 March 1992, in which the Commission, inter alia, urged Governments to adopt laws, policies and programmes to promote women's participation in the preservation of the environment, and invited the Governments of donor countries, international organizations and relevant non-governmental organizations to ensure that greater attention was given to women's contributions to environmental protection and management in their cooperation with and assistance to developing countries, 25/

Welcoming the Assembly took note of the decision of the Secretary-General to establish a new Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, headed at the Under-Secretary-General level and called upon the Secretary-General to establish a clearly identifiable, highly qualified and competent secretariat support structure for the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development and the High-level Advisory Board, taking into account gender balance at all levels,

Welcoming the inclusion of principle 20 in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, 26/ according to which women have a vital role in environmental management and development and their full participation is therefore essential to achieving sustainable development, and the integration of gender issues into Agenda 21, 27/ including the special focus on women in chapter 24 of Agenda 21,

Noting that in Agenda 21, paragraph 24.9, it is recommended that the Secretary-General review the adequacy of all United Nations institutions in meeting development and environment objectives, consider how the environment and development programmes of each body of the United Nations system could be strengthened to implement Agenda 21, consider how to incorporate the role of women in programmes and decisions related to sustainable development, and, in particular, make recommendations to strengthen the capacities of United Nations entities with a special focus on women, such as the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat, the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women,

Noting also the recommendations and objectives proposed for Governments in Agenda 21, chapter 24, including the objective, contained in paragraph 24.2 (d), to establish by 1995 mechanisms at the national, regional and international levels to assess the implementation and impact of development and environment policies and programmes on women and to ensure their contributions and benefits,

Recognizing that the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace will provide significant opportunities for reviewing the current status of women and for establishing priorities for future action, including action in relation to environment and development,

1. Urges the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Inter-Agency Committee on Sustainable Development and the High-level Advisory Board to develop appropriate mechanisms to ensure that the objectives and activities relating to the role of women in sustainable development, both as agents and as beneficiaries, in Agenda 21 are supported, the objectives are met and activities and other recommended actions are implemented and that Governments and all relevant United Nations entities monitor and report on the subject;

2. Requests the Secretary-General to include information on the subject in the section on the role of women in environment and sustainable development in his report on the effective mobilization and integration of women in development that is to be submitted to the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 46/167;

3. Urges Governments to take into account and to implement the recommendations in Agenda 21 in order to ensure the participation of women in developing, and making decisions on, policies and programmes relating to environmental management and sustainable development;

4. Requests Governments to include in their reports to the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace information on the extent to which the objectives for Governments proposed in Agenda 21, chapter 24, relating to women, have been met and the activities recommended in that chapter have been implemented;

5. Agrees to review the current and planned activities of the Commission on the Status of Women in order to determine which recommendations in Agenda 21 relating to women are already being included in those activities and to consider how the others might be incorporated in future activities of the Commission, including the preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women;

6. Requests the Commission on the Status of Women to examine, in its discussion on the preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women at its thirty-eighth session, the recommendations in Agenda 21 relating to women, with a view to:

(a) Identifying ways of facilitating implementation of the recommendations, including consideration of the role of Governments, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations;

(b) Considering ways in which the Commission on the Status of Women might cooperate with and provide support for the Commission on Sustainable Development in ensuring the effective integration of issues on the status of women in its programme of work.

DRAFT RESOLUTION V. Women and children under apartheid*                                                                                                                     [ Up ]

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling its resolution 1992/15 of 30 July 1992,

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 47/95 of 16 December 1992,

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 politically motivated violence that has to date claimed thousands of lives and has left hundreds of thousands of people homeless, the majority of whom are women and children, especially in Natal and Transvaal provinces,

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 of the pressure exerted by the international community,

Welcoming the progress made by the Conference for a Democratic South Africa, and encouraging the multi-party forum to discuss and debate the political dispensation and future of a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist South Africa,

Concerned at the fact that women are not integrated in the ongoing attempts to resolve the problems of South Africa by peaceful means, as envisaged in the Declaration on Apartheid, and stressing the need to ensure their full participation in that process by, inter alia, directly involving the gender advisory committee in the multi-party forum,

Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on women and children living under apartheid, 28/ in which it is mentioned that the Government of South Africa signed on 29 January 1993 a number of conventions aimed at promoting and implementing fundamental rights and freedoms without distinction as to sex, namely, the Convention on the Political Rights of Women, 29/ the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women, 30/ the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 31/ the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 32/ and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 33/

Noting draft bill on the promotion of equal opportunities and concerned that it failed to deal with questions of substantive sexism that are integral to the problems of poverty, ignorance and disempowerment,

Convinced that the present legal system requires structural changes to be relevant to a new and just South Africa and that the draft bill should represent the views and experiences of those mostly affected by it,

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,

Commending the role played by the United Nations, particularly the Centre against Apartheid and the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat, in helping South African women to participate fully in the process of establishing a non-racist, non-sexist democracy in South Africa,

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 and unconditional release of any 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 multi-party forum to place high on their agenda issues concerning women such as freedom, justice and equality, development and the environment;

4. Appeals to all countries and United Nations bodies, in conformity with General Assembly resolution 46/79 of 13 December 1991 and in consultation with liberation movements, to increase their support for educational, health, vocational training and employment opportunities for women and children living under apartheid;

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

6. 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;

7. Further requests the international community to provide financial, material and human resources to South African women towards the establishment of special programmes and projects geared to women's integration and advancement now and in post-apartheid South Africa;

8. Calls upon the Secretary-General to consolidate the United Nations observer mission already deployed in South Africa to monitor and report on the unprecedented proportion of incidents of political and domestic violence directed against women and children from a variety of sources;

9. Decides that the Commission on the Status of Women should remain seized of the question of women and children living under apartheid;

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

* For the discussion, see chap. III.

DRAFT RESOLUTION VI. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women*                                                             [ Up ]

The Economic and Social Council,

Bearing in mind that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 34/ is the most important international human rights instrument for the promotion of equality between women and men,

Welcoming the growing number of States parties to the Convention, which now stands at one hundred and twenty,

Noting with concern that the Convention is still the human rights instrument with the most reservations, despite the fact that some States parties have withdrawn their reservations to it,

Noting the importance of the monitoring function of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, as demonstrated most recently by the Committee at its twelfth session, at which the Committee adopted suggestion 4 on the World Conference on Human Rights and also adopted, in substance, and decided to place on the provisional agenda of its thirteenth session for final approval without discussion, a draft general recommendation on article 16 and related articles 9 and 15 of the Convention, to be its contribution to the International Year of the Family,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 47/94 of 16 December 1992,

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

Noting that the annual session of the Committee is the shortest of all the annual sessions of the human rights treaty bodies,

Welcoming the expressed intention of the Committee to strengthen the analysis of country reports provided to it,

1. Supports the request of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women for additional meeting time for its future sessions, as allocated to it for its twelfth and thirteenth sessions;

2. Welcomes suggestion 4 on the World Conference on Human Rights, adopted by the Committee at its twelfth session, and the draft general recommendation adopted, in substance by the Committee at that session, both of which were submitted to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-seventh session, and encourages the Committee to continue its work in developing detailed general recommendations;

3. Requests States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to review regularly their reservations and make efforts to withdraw them in order to enable the full implementation of the Convention;

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

* For the discussion, see chap. III.

DRAFT RESOLUTION VII. Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women*                                                                                                   [ Up ]

The Economic and Social Council,

Having considered with appreciation the report of the Secretary-General on the situation of Palestinian women in the occupied territory 35/ and previous reports concerning the situation of Palestinian women inside and outside the occupied Palestinian territory,

Recalling the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, 1/ in particular paragraph 260 thereof,

Recalling also its resolution 1992/16 of 21 July 1992 and its other relevant resolutions,

Deeply concerned about the additional suffering of women and children living under occupation,

Expressing special concern about the tragic situation of the Palestinian women in the occupied Palestinian territory, which has been dangerously deteriorating at all levels,

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, mass deportation, confiscation of land and settlement activities and denial of family unification, which are illegal and contrary to the relevant provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, 36/

1. Reaffirms integration in the national development plan can be achieved only through the termination of 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 relative 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 provisions of the Convention;

3. Appeals to Governments, financial organizations of the United Nations system, non-governmental organizations and other relevant institutions to provide financial assistance to Palestinian women towards the creation of specific projects for them, in support of their attempts to achieve full integration in the development process of their society;

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

5. Requests the Secretary-General to assist in and review the situation of Palestinian women using all available resources, including missions of experts to the occupied Palestinian territory and to submit to the Commission, at its thirty-eighth session, a report on the implementation of the present resolution, containing recommendations and a programme of action aimed at improving the condition of Palestinian women under Israeli occupation.

* For the discussion, see chap. III.

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. Report of the Commission on the Status of Women on its thirty-seventh session and provisional agenda and documentation for the thirty-eighth session of the Commission*                                        [ Up ]

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

PROVISIONAL AGENDA AND DOCUMENTATION FOR THE THIRTY-EIGHTH 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 Economic and Social 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 resolutions 45/125, 45/239 C, 46/100, 47/93; Economic and Social Council resolutions 1988/60, 1989/30, 1989/105; draft resolution I above)

Documentation

Report of the Secretary-General containing updated information on the status of women in the Secretariat and a comprehensive policy on measures aimed at the prevention of sexual harassment in the Secretariat

For information

Report of the Secretary-General on the status of women in the Secretariat (A/48/ )

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

(Legislative authority: General Assembly resolutions 34/180, 44/77, 45/124, 45/129, 46/79, 47/94, 47/95; Economic and Social Council resolutions 1983/27, 1990/8, 1992/15, 1992/16, 1992/17; Commission resolution 34/1, draft resolution III above and Commission resolution 37/3)

Documentation

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 the ways in which the communications mechanism of the Commission has been publicized

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

For information

Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on its twelfth session (A/48/ )

Report of the Secretary-General on the status of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (A/48/ )

Reports of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the former Yugoslavia.

5. Priority themes.

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

(a) Equality: Equal pay for work of equal value, including methodologies for measurement of pay inequities and work in the informal sector

(b) Development: Women in urban areas: population, nutrition and health factors for women in development, including migration, drug consumption and acquired immune deficiency syndrome

(c) Peace: Measures to eradicate violence against women in the family and society

Documentation

Report of the Secretary-General on equal pay for work of equal value, including methodologies for measurement of pay inequities and work in the informal sector

Report of the Secretary-General entitled "Women in urban areas: population, nutrition and health factors for women in development, including migration, drug consumption and acquired immune deficiency syndrome"

Report of the Secretary-General on measures to eradicate violence against women in the family and society

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

(Legislative authority: General Assembly resolutions 44/171, 45/129, 46/98; Economic and Social Council resolutions 1987/20, 1990/9, 1990/12, 1990/15; Commission resolutions 35/4, 36/8 and 37/7)

Documentation

Report of the Secretary-General on preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women (1995)

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

Report of the Secretary-General on the draft rules of procedure for the Fourth World Conference on Women

Report of the Secretary-General on the first draft of the Platform for Action

Report of the Secretary-General on existing technical and financial cooperation targeting programmes in favour of women, as well as guidelines for a comprehensive plan to overcome constraints and increase such cooperation

Report of the Secretary-General on institutional arrangements for the implementation of the Platform for Action and for the programme on the advancement of women and an appraisal of options for considering the item at the Fourth World Conference on Women

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

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

* For the discussion, see chap. VI.

DRAFT DECISION II. Inter-sessional working group of the Commission on the Status of Women on the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace*                                                                                                                   [ Up ]

The Economic and Social Council, taking into account the need to provide the Commission on the Status of Women with the necessary time to complete the draft Platform for Action for further consideration by the Commission and regional preparatory conferences, and bearing in mind the urgency of the need for national preparatory committees and regional preparatory conferences to consider the draft Platform for Action,

Decides that an inter-sessional working group of the Commission on the Status of Women should be convened for a period of five working days during the first two weeks of January 1994, open to all Member States and observer States, to further develop the structure of the Platform for Action contained in the annex to Commission resolution 37/7.

* For the discussion, see chap. V.

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 37/1. Preliminary proposals for the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2001*           [ Up ]

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Bearing in mind that the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1990-1995 (E/1987/52) has yet to be evaluated,

Bearing in mind that the United Nations planning cycle to which the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women was matched has changed and that there has been a general shift to a more strategic form of planning,

Recognizing that the Platform for Action to emerge from the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace cannot be reflected in the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2001, which must be approved in 1993,

Having been informed that the Ad hoc Inter-agency Meeting on Women, at its seventeenth session, held from 15 to 16 March 1993, recommended that the United Nations system consider the establishment of a new kind of mechanism that would allow system-wide planning that was more dynamic and flexible with a shorter time-period and that would serve as a more useful instrument for coordination within the system,

Noting that programme 7 (The role of women in sustainable development) of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2001 has yet to be reformulated in the light of Agenda 21, 37/

Noting Women to make comments and suggestions regarding any necessary changes to the draft system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2001,

1. Recommends that the Economic and Social Council request the Secretary-General to revise the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2001 after the Platform for Action and the second review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women have been formulated and adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, in 1995;

2. Recommends that the Secretary-General ensure that any revised system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women be more concise, take account of the changes in the United Nations planning cycle, take a more strategic approach highlighting policy implications, and include more substantial strategies, time-frames, concrete measures, resources and allocation of responsibility for implementation;

3. Recommends that the Commission on the Status of Women be given responsibility for monitoring progress on the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women;

4. Recommends that all United Nations entities be held accountable for the components of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women falling within their areas of responsibility;

5. Recommends that the Secretary-General take into account the detailed comments annexed to the present resolution in formulating the final text of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2001, to be submitted to the Economic and Social Council in 1993.

* For the discussion, see chap. II.

Annex. Comments on the System-Wide Medium-Term Plan for the Advancement of Women for the Period 1996-2001                              [ Up ]

A. General comments

The issues raised in Commission on the Status of Women resolution 35/4, paragraph 3, should be taken up in a more substantive manner in the draft system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2001.

That paragraph reads as follows:

"The Commission on the Status of Women,

"...

"3. Decides further that the programme of action should continue to focus on equality, development and peace and should include the following elements:

"(a) The strengthening of efforts at the national and international levels, taking into account the circumstances in each country, to increase awareness among men and women of women's rights under international conventions and national law;

"(b) The implementation of special measures to increase the proportion of women involved in decision-making in the economic, social and political spheres;

"(c) The strengthening of world-wide efforts to end illiteracy among women and girls by the year 2000;

"(d) The establishment of specific programmes for improving the conditions of women and girls living in poverty, particularly those living in extreme poverty, by, inter alia, adequate training to develop their skills and capabilities;

"(e) The establishment of specific programmes aimed at improving women's and girls' health by ensuring them access to adequate maternal health care, family planning and nutrition;

"(f) The implementation of policies to prevent, control and reduce violence against women and girls in the family, the workplace and society;

"(g) The establishment or strengthening of national institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women;

"(h) The establishment of special programmes aimed at meeting the specific needs of refugee, displaced and migrant women and girls and those living in conflict areas;

"(i) The elaboration of ways and means of using new and high technologies, as well as scientific research, to benefit women."

B. Other comments

The Commission on the Status of Women should call for the following:

(a) Giving more attention to system-wide coordination by, inter alia, defining parameters by which other agencies can measure the effect on their programmes to implement the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women, for the period 1996-2001;

(b) Giving more attention to strengthening national machinery for the advancement of women;

(c) Having strategies that go beyond research and place more emphasis on making existing research accessible to interested entities and decision makers;

(d) Making research action-oriented;

(e) Having a representative group drawn from among the national machinery examine the strategies proposed in the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2001 (e.g., E/CN.6/1993/9 paras. 30, 48-52 and 129) for their validity;

(f) Giving more attention to the development of institutional capacity, awareness, commitment and competence;

(g) Articulating a vision and overall strategy to ensure that all entities include in their planning:

(i) Consistent application of gender-analysis methodology;

(ii) Consultation;

(iii) Participatory research;

(iv) Gender sensitization and training;

(h) Substantially reworking programmes;

(i) Having programme objectives that make linkages between development and women's roles and rights;

(j) Giving more attention to the lack of economic recognition of women's work;

(k) Focusing more strongly on the impact of micro- and macroeconomic reform on women;

(l) Giving more attention to the needs of indigenous women, ageing women and women with disabilities;

(m) Giving more appropriate coverage of population and reproductive health issues;

(n) Giving more attention in programme 1 (Elimination of legal and attitudinal forms of discrimination) to the elimination of gender bias in the application of the law;

(o) Giving more attention to the alleviation of poverty;

(p) Giving more attention to civil and political rights;

(q) Recognizing the provisions and implications of the draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women (E/CN.6/1993/12, annex, appendix I) when it is adopted;

(r) Giving greater attention to the implications of women's involvement in the informal sector;

(s) Giving greater attention to part-time, temporary and casual work and to the need for further work on ensuring that such employment attracts equitable pay and conditions;

(t) Using the term "gender" rather than "sex" in any revised document, when appropriate;

(u) Programme 2 (Productive resources, income and employment) to be revised to cater more effectively to the needs of women in developing countries.

Resolution 37/2. Inter-agency coordination*                                        [ Up ]

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Considering the efforts being made on behalf of women by the United Nations through its various entities,

Taking into account the need to guarantee the effectiveness of the investment inherent in those efforts, especially in programmes of international, regional and national cooperation for women,

Recognizing that enhanced communication, coordination and cooperation between United Nations entities with programmes relating to women would reinforce initiatives for cooperation among countries,

Calling attention to the desirability that United Nations entities take advantage of the benefits of inter-agency coordination, given the growing constraints on resources intended for women's programmes,

Affirming the need to disseminate widely and fully among United Nations entities a common understanding of gender-focused planning, in order to achieve a systematic approach to their actions and proposals regarding initiatives related to women,

Recommends that the Secretary-General:

(a) Further promote and institutionalize, to the extent possible, coordination of the initiatives of United Nations entities in respect of programmes related to women in order to avoid duplication and gaps;

(b) Promote acceptance of gender-focused strategic planning in all the United Nations specialized agencies, including all their decision-making bodies concerned with women;

(c) Assign to the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat responsibility for coordinating activities leading to the establishment of an official common definition of gender-focused planning for the United Nations system and for promoting its acceptance in agencies of that system.

* For the discussion, see chap. II.

Resolution 37/3. Rape and abuse of women in the territory of the former Yugoslavia*                                                                                           [ Up ]

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 38/ the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 39/ and other relevant human rights instruments,

Welcoming Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/8 of 23 February 1993,

Appalled at the recurring and substantiated reports of widespread rape and abuse of women and children in the former Yugoslavia, in particular the systematic use of those practices against Muslim women and children in Bosnia and Herzegovina by Serbian forces,

Welcoming the initiative taken by the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, particularly his prompt dispatch to the former Yugoslavia of a team of experts, including a member of the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat, to investigate the allegations of rape and abuse of women,

1. Strongly condemns the abhorrent practices of rape and abuse of women and children in the former Yugoslavia, which, in the circumstances, constitutes a war crime;

2. Expresses its outrage that the systematic practice of rape is being used as a weapon of war, in particular against Muslim women and children, and as an instrument of the policy of "ethnic cleansing" that is being carried out in Bosnia and Herzegovina by Serbian forces and that rape has also been used as an instrument of "ethnic cleansing" in Croatia;

3. Welcomes the request of the Commission on Human Rights to the Special Rapporteur to pursue an investigation into the rape and abuse of women and children in the former Yugoslavia, including the dispatch of a qualified team of experts;

4. Urges the Special Rapporteur to include in the team of experts a representative of the Division for the Advancement of Women, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women or both;

5. Welcomes Security Council resolution 808 (1993) of 22 February 1993, establishing an international criminal tribunal to try cases involving violations of international humanitarian law occurring within the territory of the former Yugoslavia, and urges the Security Council to reflect gender balance in the composition of the tribunal;

6. Urges all States and all relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to consider long-term action-oriented plans and programmes and the provision of adequate financial resources for the physical, social and psychological rehabilitation of women and children subjected to rape and other forms of violence, utilizing where possible community self-help groups;

7. Also urges all States and all relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to ensure that counselling and other support for women subjected to rape and other types of violence form an integral part of health and welfare services in order to encourage women to avail themselves of such assistance;

8. Requests the Secretary-General to make available to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-eighth session the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the former Yugoslavia.

* For the discussion, see chap. II.

Resolution 37/4. World Conference on Human Rights*                       [ Up ]

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Conscious of the importance of the international instruments and standards, particularly the specific guarantees set forth in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 39/ and the mechanisms established by the United Nations for the promotion, protection and implementation of human rights and their full enjoyment by women,

Recalling the importance of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women 1/ to the enjoyment by women of their human rights,

Convinced that women's contribution to the ways and means of promoting all human rights for women, men and children alike is invaluable to the achievement of a dignified life for all,

Recognizing that all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and fundamental freedoms are universal, inalienable, indivisible and interrelated and, as such, must be applied and be of benefit to all women without discrimination and must therefore be approached from a gender perspective,

Noting with satisfaction the resolutions referring to women's rights adopted in regional meetings as part of the preparatory process for the World Conference on Human Rights, especially resolution 13 entitled "Protection of the rights of women", adopted at the African regional meeting held at Tunis from 2 to 6 November 1992,

Welcoming Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/46 of 8 March 1993, entitled "Integrating the rights of women into the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations", and resolution 1992/4 of 14 August 1992 of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, entitled "Discrimination against women",

Fully recognizing women's democratic rights in society and emphasizing the importance of equal access to all aspects of development activities, in particular to education and training, health care, employment, and the use of technologies,

Concerned that women in all regions continue to be discriminated against, because of their sex, in terms of being able to recognize, exercise and enjoy human rights and are subject to specific forms of violence such as those listed in the draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women (E/CN.6/1993/12, annex, appendix I),

Decides to present to the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference on Human Rights the contribution set out below and urges Member States participating in the Preparatory Committee at its fourth session and in the World Conference on Human Rights to ensure that women's rights and concerns are considered under all the substantive items of the provisional agenda for the World Conference annexed to General Assembly resolution 47/122 of 18 December 1992.

* For the discussion, see chap. III.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND CONCERNS TO BE CONSIDERED UNDER THE SUBSTANTIVE ITEMS OF THE PROVISIONAL AGENDA FOR THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS

I. ITEM 9: GENERAL DEBATE ON THE PROGRESS MADE IN THE FIELD OF HUMAN RIGHTS SINCE THE ADOPTION OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND ON THE IDENTIFICATION OF OBSTACLES TO FURTHER PROGRESS IN THIS AREA AND WAYS IN WHICH THEY CAN BE OVERCOME

1. The prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex is a part of all human rights instruments. Underdevelopment, certain social and traditional practices and cultural patterns and all forms of violence and extremism create obstacles to the full realization by women of all of their rights. Human rights are universal and indivisible and should apply to women and men equally. Violations of the human rights of women have not been fully dealt with by the overall mechanism of human rights instruments, the means for recourse in the case of violations are not adequate and the process of achieving de facto equality has been slow.

2. The work of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in advancing a multidisciplinary gender-based approach to the enjoyment of human rights, empowering women in the spirit of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, 1/ has made progress in overcoming obstacles related to gender.

II. ITEM 10: CONSIDERATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT, DEMOCRACY AND THE UNIVERSAL ENJOYMENT OF ALL HUMAN RIGHTS, KEEPING IN VIEW THE INTERRELATIONSHIP AND INDIVISIBILITY OF ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, CULTURAL, CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS

3. Ensuring the promotion of development and equal enjoyment of universal human rights for women should be emphasized under item 10 of the provisional agenda for the World Conference on Human Rights. The role of women in sustainable development as adopted in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development 40/ should be implemented.

4. Moreover, democracy implies that all women and men have the right and responsibility to participate equally in political, civil, economic, social and cultural life; unless women are able to participate on the same basis, democracy cannot be secured.

5. It is accordingly recommended to the World Conference that:

(a) All necessary steps be taken to develop a political, economic, social and cultural environment conducive to the full integration of women in sustainable development;

(b) The necessary steps be taken to increase cooperation between developing and developed countries in order to enhance the role of women in development, promote the full and equitable participation of women in partnership with men as active agents and beneficiaries in all development activities, particularly at all levels of decision-making;

(c) Special attention should be given to the problems of women in situations of extreme poverty and of rural women, as concluded by the Summit on the Economic Advancement of Rural Women held at Geneva on 25 and 26 February 1992;

(d) Efforts should be intensified to ensure the participation of women on an equal footing with men in all national and local government bodies and to achieve equity in the appointment, election and promotion of women to high posts in executive, legislative and judiciary branches of these bodies.

III. ITEM 11: CONSIDERATION OF CONTEMPORARY TRENDS IN AND NEW CHALLENGES TO THE FULL REALIZATION OF ALL HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND MEN, INCLUDING THOSE OF PERSONS BELONGING TO VULNERABLE GROUPS

6. More attention should be given to the problem of violence against women. In the draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women (E/CN.6/1993/12, annex, appendix I), it is affirmed that violence against women both violates and impairs or nullifies the enjoyment by women of human rights.

7. In addition, attention should be given to the contemporary trend of seeing the realization of human rights from a gender perspective.

8. Accordingly, it is recommended:

(a) That the World Conference take into account in its deliberations the draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women;

(b) That Member States ensure equitable participation of women and men in their delegations to the World Conference and integrate women's rights issues in their national preparations for the World Conference;

(c) That all national, regional, intergovernmental and international organizations promote the full participation of women, especially at all levels of the decision-making process, in their activities;

(d) That, in the preparations for the World Conference, the rights of all women, including women with disabilities, be included at all levels of participation, including physical accessibility as well as access to information and communication, and in decisions of the Conference;                                                            [ Up ]

(e) That a comprehensive gender perspective should be always applied when considering de jure and de facto enjoyment of human rights.

IV. ITEM 12 (c): RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ENHANCING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF UNITED NATIONS ACTIVITIES AND MECHANISMS

9. The valuable work of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in monitoring and implementing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 39/ and the relationship between the Committee and the Commission on the Status of Women should be recognized. It is recommended that the World Conference take the following measures:

(a) Women's rights and concerns should be fully integrated into the implementation of universal human rights and the gender approach should be applied in the work of all human rights bodies and instruments, and this process should be periodically reviewed and evaluated;

(b) Member States should ensure equitable representation of women and men as members of all treaty bodies and working groups and in the appointment of special and thematic rapporteurs;

(c) All human rights treaty bodies should be placed on the same footing and, accordingly, the United Nations General Assembly should consider ways and means of increasing the meeting time of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, taking into account the specific needs to fulfil its mandate;

(d) Coordination and cooperation between the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on the Status of Women, as well as between the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and other human rights treaty bodies and national machinery should be improved by, inter alia, mutual representation;

(e) Reservations in all human rights treaties should be carefully examined, especially those that might raise questions concerning their compatibility with the object and purpose of the treaties;

(f) The Commission on Human Rights at its fiftieth session should consider appointing a special rapporteur on violence against women;

(g) The gender perspective should be included in human rights education at all levels and efforts should be made to increase the awareness of women and men of women's rights under international conventions and national law including legal literacy;

(h) The monitoring work and participation of the non-governmental organizations with expertise in human rights and/or development issues concerning women, especially those in developing countries, should be recognized, through their national machinery, and should be encouraged and utilized in the implementation of human rights instruments;

(i) The participation of non-governmental organizations, including those concerned with women's rights, should be supported in the World Conference and adequate communication between the non-governmental organization meetings and the World Conference should be guaranteed.

Resolution 37/5. Women and legal literacy*

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Guided by Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15 of 24 May 1990, in which the Council selected the issue of increased awareness by women of their rights under international conventions and national law, including legal literacy, as a priority theme in the area of equality to be considered by the Commission on the Status of Women,

Guided also by the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, 1/ in particular, paragraphs 43 to 92 thereof,

Noting that the lack of awareness of women's rights is a critical area of concern in the proposed Platform for Action under preparation for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, to be held at Beijing from 4 to 15 September 1995,

Emphasizing that literacy and increased awareness by women and men of women's legal rights under international conventions and national law and the ability of women to access and use legal systems to secure their rights are essential to the promotion, protection and improvement of the status of women and the full realization of equality,

Expressing concern that, despite progress, there remains a significant percentage of illiteracy among girls and women and that the rate of illiteracy among women is considerably higher than that among men,

Recalling the World Conference on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs, held at Jomtien, Thailand, from 5 to 9 March 1990, and noting the follow-up work to that Conference that is being done,

Noting with concern that in some States multiple legal systems coexist and that rights conferred under civil law may be undercut by their absence in customary law when customary law is given equal status,

Also noting with concern that some customary and traditional views regarding women contribute to discrimination against women and to gender insensitivity in judicial and administrative systems and processes,

Recognizing the importance of the use of equality legislation, national institutions and special mechanisms to promote legal literacy both nationally and internationally,

Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.6/1993/2) on increased awareness of women of their rights, including legal literacy, submitted to the Commission at its thirty-seventh session,

Noting with appreciation the efforts of the expert group on increased awareness by women of their rights, including legal literacy, which met at Bratislava from 18 to 22 May 1992 (E/CN.6/1993/2, annex),

Stressing that successful legal literacy and legal services and support programmes require cooperation between all levels of government and non-governmental organizations,

Also stressing the role that the reporting systems of the international human rights treaties can play in promoting national and international awareness of women's rights at all levels and in disseminating information on ways and means of promoting legal literacy for women,

Bearing in mind the important role that non-governmental organizations have played in promoting legal literacy and services programmes and that their experiences serve as models for future programmes,

Recognizing the pioneering work done by researchers in women's law in various States aimed at enhancing gender sensitivity among members of the legal profession and the general public,                                                                                [ Up ]

1. Calls upon all member States to further promote equality of educational opportunities and education about legal rights under international conventions and national law with a gender perspective and to take appropriate measures to promote legal literacy at all levels of education;

2. Also calls upon national institutions, women's and human rights mechanisms, and ombudspersons to actively promote legal literacy for women and to facilitate women's access to judicial and administrative systems and processes;

3. Emphasizes the need to consider ways in which the United Nations system can contribute to the eradication of illiteracy and the further promotion of education, including education concerning legal rights;

4. Requests all relevant entities of the United Nations system, particularly the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, the International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to support legal literacy programmes for women and to dedicate existing resources to such programmes as part of their efforts to promote international standards and norms;

5. Encourages Governments and non-governmental organizations to produce and disseminate information on women's rights under international conventions and national law and on how to exercise those rights in understandable forms and media, and in all appropriate forums, including the mass media and agencies that provide social services to women;

6. Encourages Governments, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations and women's groups, to provide and make widely available support and programmes for gender-sensitive legal literacy services, taking into account models developed by non-governmental organizations;

7. Urges Governments to ensure that all persons responsible for enforcing and interpreting the law are aware of, and act in accordance with, the rights set out in international instruments, constitutions and the law as they pertain to women and to promote gender sensitivity in all levels of legal and administrative systems;

8. Requests the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit for Social Development to consider including in its agenda the consideration of education for all, the eradication of illiteracy, and the promotion of legal literacy, particularly among women;

9. Urges the World Conference on Human Rights, to be held at Vienna from 14 to 25 June 1993, to address itself to the issue of legal literacy and services and to include recommendations on legal literacy and services in any plan of action or declaration that it may adopt.

* For the discussion, see chap. IV.

Resolution 37/6. Women and development*                                           [ Up ]

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 47/174 of 22 December 1992, Economic and Social Council resolutions 1990/15 of 24 May 1990 and 1992/53 of 31 July 1992 and Commission resolutions 34/3 of 8 March 1990, 35/7 of 8 March 1991 and 36/5 of 20 March 1992,

Reaffirming the principles contained in the Declaration on the Right to Development, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 41/128 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 1/ and the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade, 41/

Aware 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,

Welcoming the organization of the Summit on the Economic Advancement of Rural Women, held at Geneva on 25 and 26 February 1992, and the adoption by the Summit of the Geneva Declaration for Rural Women,

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. 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;

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

3. 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;

4. 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;

5. 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;

6. 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;

7. Also recommends that Governments, international donors and non-governmental organizations further 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;

8. 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;

9. 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;

10. Urges all States to work for the achievement of the goals endorsed in the Geneva Declaration for Rural Women and all organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to take into account the goals of the Geneva Declaration in carrying out their programmes, and invites the relevant governing bodies to consider the adoption of specific measures, within their respective fields of competence, with a view to meeting the special needs of rural women in the light of the Geneva Declaration;

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;                                                                                           [ Up ]

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.

* For the discussion, see chap. IV.

Resolution 37/7. Preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace*                                      [ Up ]

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Recalling the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, 1/ 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 further its resolutions 35/4 of 8 March 1991, on preparations for the world conference on women in 1995, and 36/8 A to E of 20 March 1992, on preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace,

I

Preparations at the national, regional and international levels

Noting with concern that, according to the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.6/1993/5, para. 3) on preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, only a few Governments have established national committees or designated national focal points to initiate and promote preparations for the Conference,

1. Urges all Governments that have not already done so to establish national committees or to designate national focal points without delay, in accordance with Commission on the Status of Women resolution 36/8 B of 20 March 1992;

2. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that preparatory and conference documentation is accessible and that facilities at the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace cater to the needs of people with disabilities;

II

Participation of non-governmental organizations in the preparatory process and in the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace

Taking into account Commission on the Status of Women resolution 36/8, approved by the General Assembly, which provided for the participation at the Fourth World Conference on Women of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council,

Bearing in mind the important role of non-governmental organizations in all activities for the advancement of women and the fact that some of them, specially those from developing countries, do not enjoy consultative status with the Economic and Social Council,

1. Invites Governments to include, whenever possible, non-governmental organizations in their delegations;

2. Requests the Secretary-General of the Conference taking as a guideline practices being used by such other world conferences as the International Conference on Population and Development, to propose to the regional commissions a formula to determine the eligibility of non-governmental organizations not in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council to participate in preparatory activities and/or regional meetings, which would make them eligible to apply for accreditation to the World Conference;

3. Also requests the Secretary-General of the Conference to obtain from the regional commissions a list of those non-governmental organizations not in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council which were determined to be eligible, which will be submitted to the Commission at its thirty-ninth session so that the Commission may make the list of those to be invited to the World Conference, bearing in mind that for the proper functioning of the Conference and the efficient participation of non-governmental organizations themselves, their number should not be excessive and that the list should have a regional balance; attention will be given to the existing resources and facilities available in the host country;

4. Further requests the Secretary-General of the Conference to submit to the Commission at its thirty-ninth session a proposal for criteria to be used by the Commission in drawing up the final list;

* For the discussion, see chap. V.

III

Platform for Action

Conscious of the importance of the approval of the Platform for Action,

Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.6/1993/6, annex) containing a draft outline of the Platform for Action,

Emphasizing that the Platform for Action should be concise and accessible and should accelerate, through concerted and intensive action in the coming years, the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women 1/ in critical areas so that equality becomes a reality by the twenty-first century,                                                                                                [ Up ]

Taking note of the need to bring the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies into line with the challenges facing women in the twenty-first century,

1. Requests the Secretary-General to prepare, and to present to the Commission at its thirty-eighth session, a draft of the Platform for Action, following the structure and guidelines set out in the annex to the present resolution and in the results of the proposed inter-sessional working group;

2. Requests national committees and focal points to initiate and promote preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace to take into account the critical areas of concern in the structure of the Platform for Action when preparing their reports;

3. Requests the Secretary-General to bring the structure of the Platform for Action to the attention of the regional conferences to prepare for the Conference so that they may take it into account in their deliberations;

IV

Second review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women

Recalling its resolution 36/8 A of 20 March 1992, in which it requested the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission at its thirty-seventh session a report containing an outline of the second report on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, 1/ in which special emphasis should be given to 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,

Taking note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.6/1993/7) on the outline and contents of the second review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies, which presented the outlines for national and global reports and suggestions on the indicators to be included in them,

Taking into account the need for the global report of the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies to reflect the situation of countries and regions and the criteria of Governments as regards the implementation of the Strategies,

1. Urges Governments to initiate preparations for their national reports as soon as possible and to ensure that they are submitted to the regional conferences in time to serve as contributions to the regional review and appraisal of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and to the Secretariat in time to serve as input for the global review and appraisal;

2. Recommends that Governments, in preparing their national reports, utilize available reports, such as those prepared by them for the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, taking into account the guidelines given by the Committee for those reports;

3. Recommends that the review and appraisal at all levels focus on priorities of Governments and highlight the critical areas of concern identified in the structure of the Platform for Action;

4. Requests the Secretariat to prepare a list of the most significant indicators on the basis of the critical areas of concern identified in the structure of the Platform for Action, taking into account the availability of reliable national statistics, and to circulate it to national committees and focal points to initiate and promote preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace;

5. Also requests the Secretariat to use the necessary machinery to include the results of the regional conferences in the second report on the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies; V

Information campaign

Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.6/1993/8) on the preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, which contained an outline of the objectives of the public information strategy for the Conference,

Convinced that information and, most important, access to information on the status of women worldwide, and plans and preparations for the Conference are of the utmost importance if women at all levels are to be part of this major United Nations initiative,

Noting with concern that international, regional and national women's media networks, computer networks, press services, women's newsletters and journals, databases and other information channels that reach women where they live and work in every country are not taken into consideration in the report of the Secretary-General,

1. Suggests that an informal, regionally representative team of United Nations and non-governmental communication personnel be set up by the secretariat of the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace in consultation with Member States to assist it in disseminating widely information on the regional conferences to prepare for the Conference, the World Conference itself and forums of non-governmental organizations;

2. Also suggests that planned information materials for the Conference be easily understandable and clearly presented and use visuals and simple language to facilitate their adaptation, translation into local languages and transcription in Braille;

3. Endorses the emphasis given in the report of the Secretary-General to national information campaigns and urges national committees and focal points to initiate and promote preparations for the Conference to implement such campaigns;

VI

Institutional arrangements for the implementation of the Platform for Action

Convinced that the preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace and implementation of the Platform for Action require a strong institutional base within the United Nations and the United Nations system, including both the Secretariat and operational organizations,

Strongly emphasizing that the restructuring of the economic and social sectors of the United Nations should include a strengthened and identifiable entity to deal with both the advancement of women and the incorporation of gender concerns in all economic, social and environmental policies at an early stage,

1. Reiterates its request, contained in its resolution 35/4 of 8 March 1991, that the Secretary-General present to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-eighth session a report on existing technical and financial cooperation targeting programmes in favour of women, as well as guidelines for a comprehensive plan to overcome constraints and increase such cooperation;

2. Requests the Secretary-General to prepare a report for the Commission at its thirty-eighth session on institutional arrangements for the implementation of the Platform for Action and for the programme on advancement of women and an appraisal of options for considering the agenda item at the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace.

Annex                                                                                                       [ Up ]

STRUCTURE OF THE PLATFORM FOR ACTION

I. Statement of mission

To accelerate, through concerted and intensive action in the coming years, the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women 1/ in critical areas so that equality becomes a reality by the twenty-first century.

II. Strategic diagnosis of critical areas of concern

[This part should be substantiated by objective, concise and quantitative data.]

Inequality in the sharing of power and decision-making at all levels;

Insufficient mechanisms at all levels to promote the advancement of women;

Lack of awareness of, and commitment to, internationally and nationally recognized women's rights;

Poverty;

Inequality in women's access to and participation in the definition of economic structures and policies and the productive process itself;

Inequality in access to education, health, employment and other means of maximizing awareness of rights and the use of their capacities;

Violence against women;

Effects on women of continuing national and international armed or other kinds of conflicts.

[In each of the critical areas, the diagnosis should take into account women having special concerns such as refugee, displaced and migrant women and women living in conflict areas.]

III. Strategic goals to deal with the critical areas of concern

[Expressed in terms of slogans that might be adopted by the Conference.]

Share power equally;

Full access to the means of development;

Overcome poverty;

Promote peace and defend women's human rights;

Inspire a new generation of women and men working together for equality.

IV. Strategic objectives and the action to be taken to achieve them

A. To strengthen factors that promote the full participation of women in power structures at all levels of society and to eliminate factors that prevent it:

[Examples of types of text]

1. Undertake positive action measures to increase the proportion of women in decision-making structures and processes;

2. Undertake campaigns to educate women in the use of their votes and other forms of direct participation to change political, economic and social structures;

3. Provide the necessary financial and technical resources to strengthen organizations working for the advancement of women;

4. Revise laws and procedures to make it easier for women to participate in power structures;

5. Include gender factors in all national planning and policy-making;

6. Establish both national and decentralized mechanisms to formulate policies and coordinate the execution of programmes to achieve equality;

7. Complete the process of achieving equal participation of men and women in decision-making and policy implementation in the United Nations system and other international bodies;

8. Complete studies that show the difference made by larger numbers of women in decision-making structures and processes in Government, legislatures, the judiciary, political parties, unions, private enterprises and other organizations.

B. To eliminate the factors that accentuate poverty among women and prevent them from overcoming the circumstances that keep them in that situation:

1. ...

2. ...

C. To strengthen factors that ensure women's equitable access to education, health, employment and other means of maximizing the use of their capacities:

1. ...

2. ...

D. To eliminate all kinds of violations of women's human rights, and their causes, and to promote the role of women in achieving and maintaining peace:

E. To promote actions to develop the mutual responsibility of women and men to achieve equality:

V. Financial arrangements

VI. Institutional arrangements for implementing and monitoring the Platform for Action

[Including accountability]

Resolution 37/8. Women in extreme poverty*                                    [ Up ]

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Recalling the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 39/ and the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women 1/ for the period up to the year 2000,

Recalling also Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15 of 24 May 1990,

Deeply concerned about the continued worsening of the economic situation in many developing countries, particularly the least developed countries, the deterioration of the external economic environment, the significant decline in living conditions and the continued increase of widespread poverty in a large number of those countries,

Welcoming with satisfaction General Assembly resolution 47/92 of 16 December 1992, in which the Assembly decided to convene a World Summit for Social Development in Denmark early in 1995,

Convinced that the eradication of poverty constitutes one of the main challenges for Governments, the international community and people themselves and that the situation of continuous and growing deprivation impedes the full enjoyment of fundamental human rights and hinders the achievement of sustainable development of society as a whole,

Convinced of the essential role of international cooperation for development in efforts at all levels aimed at eradicating poverty,

Convinced that poverty affects women more deeply and disproportionately than men, thus making indispensable the formulation of socio-economic policies from a gender perspective,

Noting with concern that rural women, who are the backbone of the rural economy, are most vulnerable to situations of extreme poverty,

Expressing deep concern over the fact that single-parent households headed by women represent a considerable proportion of households living in extreme poverty in numerous societies,

Conscious that the circumstances imposed upon women living in extreme poverty constitute one of the fundamental means by which poverty is transmitted from one generation to another,

Recognizing in that regard the responsibility of Governments and their citizens in efforts aimed at eradicating poverty,

Aware that the eradication of poverty demands a vigorous and sustained response at all levels and that, in order to be effective, national efforts should be complemented by international cooperation,

1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General entitled "Women in extreme poverty: integration of women's concerns in national development planning" (E/CN.6/1993/3), in particular the conclusions and recommendations contained therein;

2. Urges Governments, international organizations, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations to continue to examine more closely the structural causes of poverty and ways and means of overcoming it and to evaluate from a gender perspective the effects of current socio-economic policies;

3. Recommends that in formulating strategies to eradicate poverty, Member States take into account the specific requirements of women living in poverty, in both rural and urban areas, in order to enable them to fully exercise their social, economic, cultural, civil and political rights, as well as to maximize their resources and to increase their productivity;

4. Calls upon Governments to adopt or strengthen measures to facilitate women's access to education, training, health, family planning, productive resources and income-generating employment and to ensure their full participation in the decision-making process;

5. Requests Governments to strengthen the effectiveness of national machinery for the advancement of women, in order to guarantee the inclusion of a gender perspective in the mainstream of socio-economic policies at the national level, giving particular attention to women living in extreme poverty;

6. Appeals to Governments to share national experiences, at the regional and international levels, relating to their efforts to deal with extreme poverty, in particular the effects of those efforts on women;

7. Appeals to the Governments of developing countries to strengthen collaborative technical assistance and to exchange practical experiences in poverty eradication programmes by establishing a network of focal points;

8. Requests Member States and international, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to allocate or reallocate national resources through appropriate channels with a view to assisting women living in poverty to be active agents as well as direct beneficiaries of poverty eradication programmes;

9. Calls upon multilateral institutions and donor countries to provide assistance to developing countries to improve the availability and reliability of statistics and baseline data on the situation of women in extreme poverty;

10. Encourages multilateral institutions, bilateral mechanisms and donor countries to provide technical and financial cooperation to developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, in order to complement and strengthen national efforts, taking into account that such assistance, while continuing to address emergency situations, should also be directed to medium- and long-term self-sustaining programmes.

* For the discussion, see chap. IV.

Resolution 37/9. The work programme on the advancement of women and the proposed restructuring of the economic and social activities of the United Nations*                                                                                         [ Up ]

The Commission on the Status of Women,

Stressing the importance of women in economic, social, political, cultural and all other aspects of human life,

Affirming the central role of the United Nations in advancing the status of women through, inter alia, its efforts to draw world attention to issues affecting women and to integrate a gender perspective into issues considered throughout the United Nations system,

Recognizing the importance of the achievements of the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat to United Nations efforts for the advancement of women,

Emphasizing the importance to the work of the Commission on the Status of Women of the continuing inclusion of experts in women's affairs as members of the delegations of Member States,

Acknowledging the increasing priority being given to women's issues and human development issues and recognizing the role of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs in giving visibility to those concerns,

Recognizing the interrelationship between the goals and likely outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, to be held at Beijing from 4 to 15 September 1995, and the World Summit for Social Development, to be held at Copenhagen early in 1995,

Noting that the Fourth World Conference on Women and the World Summit for Social Development will consider institutional mechanisms in their respective areas,

Emphasizing the importance of the restructuring proposals included in the report of the Secretary-General containing revised estimates of the programme budget for the biennium 1992-1993 (A/C.5/47/88) in relation to the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs,

1. Calls upon the Secretary-General to take the necessary steps to strengthen the structure for the advancement of women and maintain its identity and status, to ensure adequate resources on an ongoing basis before and beyond the Fourth World Conference on Women and to report to the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-eighth session;

2. Urges that, in making decisions in relation to the Division and the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, due consideration be given to the long- and short-term impact of those decisions on the priority, substance and visibility of the United Nations commitment to women and to social development;

3. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that any institutional arrangements resulting from the current restructuring exercise strengthen the work programme of the United Nations on the advancement of women and improve coordination of this programme with other programmes in the economic and social fields;

4. Encourages Member States to consider sending high-level representation, including that of national machinery on the advancement of women, to future sessions of the Commission.

* For the discussion, see chap. V.

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

1. The Commission considered item 3 of its agenda at its 1st, 2nd, 7th, 8th, 10th and 12th meetings, on 17 and from 22 to 24 March 1993. It had before it the following documents:

(a) Note by the Secretariat on preliminary proposals for the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2001 (E/CN.6/1993/9);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General containing updated information on the status of women in the Secretariat (E/CN.6/1993/15);

(c) Note by the Secretariat on the proposed programme of work of the Division for the Advancement of Women for the biennium 1994-1995 (E/CN.6/1993/16).

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/47/508).

2. In introducing the item, the Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women stated that the system-wide medium-term plan was an indicative one that had to be incorporated into the respective medium-term plans of the United Nations organizations and specialized agencies. With regard to the proposed programme of work for the Division for the Advancement of Women for the biennium 1994-1995, the Director said that the Commission was requested to provide its guidance in setting priorities for the activities contained in the proposed programme of work.

3. 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. She said that the Secretary-General had accorded greater priority to the recruitment and promotion of women in the posts subject to geographical distribution.

4. She further indicated that progress in higher-level posts was more encouraging and that the Secretary-General had appointed five senior women, three at the Under-Secretary-General level and two at the Assistant Secretary-General level. She referred also to the administrative instruction (ST/AI/382) on appointments and promotions, which provided that in all departments and offices with less than 35 per cent women overall and in those with less than 25 per cent women at levels P-5 and above, vacancies overall and those in high-level posts should be filled by women, if there were women candidates whose qualifications matched all the requirements of the vacant post. She further informed the Commission that the Office of Human Resources Management had been requested to prepare a plan of action for 1993 and 1994 in the context of reaching the 1995 targets.

Improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat

5. Most representatives noted with concern the slow progress that had been made in improving the situation of women in the Secretariat. It was felt that at that rate, the Secretariat would be unlikely to achieve the targets set for 1995. Some representatives expressed their disappointment that the United Nations, as the leading international organization promoting and setting policies for the advancement of women, was lagging behind Member States, who implemented United Nations recommendations at the national level.

6. Many representatives were also concerned about the low representation of women in policy- and decision-making positions. A few representatives noted the underrepresentation of women from developing countries, especially in the higher-level posts. It was suggested that the ongoing restructuring in the Secretariat should be used as an opportunity for improving the representation of women from developing countries at those levels, particularly women from those countries that were unrepresented or underrepresented.

7. Several representatives supported the action programme (see A/47/508) that had been submitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session. They particularly welcomed the new mechanisms adopted in the recruitment and promotion policy, the career development plan, the accountability to be placed on the managers concerned, and the roster of qualified women candidates. Member States were urged to assist the Secretary-General in achieving the target set for 1995 by forwarding the names of qualified women candidates, especially at the decision-making level.

8. One representative, speaking on behalf of a group of countries, expressed concern over the findings in the report on the barriers to the advancement of women in the Secretariat, noting that the obstacles encountered in 1985 were still valid. The representative urged the Secretary-General to give priority to the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report.

9. One representative commented on the existence of sexual harassment cases in the workplace. She deemed the Secretary-General's action in releasing administrative instruction ST/AI/379 on procedures for dealing with incidents of sexual harassment in the Secretariat as a first step in the right direction, and recommended that the Secretary-General develop a comprehensive policy to combat sexual harassment, which would have to include counselling practices and measures aimed at preventing sexual harassment.

Coordination matters

10. Several representatives supported the general focus of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2001, but suggested including additional items such as the strengthening of national machinery for the advancement of women. With relation to gender and gender planning, it was considered that the United Nations should define basic criteria for the term "gender" and encourage the inclusion of the gender dimension in national and community planning. One representative stressed that in formulating plans, their implementability should be considered and the diverse geographical, social, cultural conditions taken into account. A plan should concentrate on activities that were focused and attainable but that had a wide spiral effect. Another representative welcomed the statement that the main monitoring mechanisms should be the extent to which the system-wide medium-term plan was included in various medium-term plans and programmatic statements of individual organizations covering the period 1996-2001. It was also proposed to increase inter-agency coordination in order to avoid the duplication of effort and to increase cooperation.

ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION

Preliminary proposals for the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2001

11. At the 7th meeting, on 22 March 1993, the representative of Australia, on behalf of Australia, Canada, 42/ Finland, Ireland, 42/ Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, 42/ and Venezuela, subsequently joined by Belarus, Brazil, 42/ Denmark, 42/ Egypt, Germany, 42/ Greece, 42/ Italy, New Zealand, 42/ the Russian Federation, Sweden, 42/ Thailand and the United States of America, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.2) entitled "Preliminary proposals for the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women for the period 1996-2000".

12. At the 10th meeting, on 23 March, statements were made by the representatives of Australia and Japan.

13. At the 12th meeting, on 24 March, the representative of Australia orally revised the draft resolution as follows:

(a) In section B, the phrase "including through defining parameters by which other agencies can measure the effect on their programmes of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and the system-wide medium-term plan" was added at the end of subparagraph (a);

(b) The words "when appropriate" were added at the end of subparagraph (t);

(c) A new subparagraph was added, reading:

"(u) Programme 2 to be revised to cater more effectively to the needs of women in developing countries".                                                                                  [ Up ]

14. At the same meeting, the representative of Venezuela made a statement.

15. The Commission then adopted the draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 37/1).

Improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat

16. At the 7th meeting, on 22 March 1993, the representative of Finland, on behalf of Algeria, Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belgium, 42/ Canada, 42/ Croatia, 42/ Denmark, 42/ Egypt, Ethiopia, 42/ Finland, Italy, Ireland, 42/ Luxembourg, 42/ Morocco, 42/ the Netherlands, New Zealand, 42/ Nicaragua, 42/ Norway, 42/ the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Slovenia, 42/ Spain, Sweden, 42/ Turkey, 42/ the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 42/ the United States of America, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe, subsequently joined by Belarus, Brazil, 42/ C“te d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Germany, 42/ Ghana, Greece, 42/ Israel, 42/ Japan, Jordan, 42/ Lebanon, 42/ Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, 42/ the Republic of Korea, 42/ Slovakia, the Sudan, Thailand, Tunisia 42/ and the United Republic of Tanzania, 42/ introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.3) entitled "Improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat", and revised the seventh preambular paragraph by adding the words "and combating" after the words "aimed at preventing".

17. At the 10th meeting, on 23 March, statements were made by the representatives of Greece, Finland and Japan.

18. At the 12th meeting, on 24 March, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution I).

Inter-agency coordination

19. At the 8th meeting, on 22 March 1993, the representative of Venezuela, on behalf of Chile, Colombia, Cuba and Venezuela, subsequently joined by Argentina, 42/ Australia, Croatia, 42/ Ecuador, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Spain and Thailand, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.4) entitled "Inter- agency coordination".

20. At the 10th meeting, on 23 March, statements were made by the representatives of Chile, the United States of America and the Netherlands. The observer for the African National Congress also made a statement.

21. At the 12th meeting, on 24 March, the representative of Venezuela orally revised the draft resolution as follows:

(a) In the first preambular paragraph the words "all the different efforts" were replaced by the words "the efforts";

(b) The fourth preambular paragraph, which read:

"Calling attention to the fact that in some cases United Nations entities do not recognize or are not inclined to take advantage of the benefits of inter-agency coordination, despite the growing constraints on resources intended for women's programmes",

was replaced by the following text:

"Calling attention to the desirability that United Nations entities take advantage of the benefits of inter-agency coordination, given the growing constraints on resources intended for women's programmes";

(c) The words "regarding initiatives related to women" were added at the end of the fifth preambular paragraph.

22. At the same meeting, after hearing a statement by the representative of Australia, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. C, draft resolution 37/2).

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

1. 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) at its 2nd to 6th, 9th and 11th to 15th meetings, from 17 to 19 and from 23 to 26 March 1993. It had before it the following documents:

(a) Note by the Secretary-General on the situation of Palestinian women in the occupied territory (E/CN.6/1993/10);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General on women and children under apartheid (E/CN.6/1993/11);

(c) Report of the Secretary-General on the elimination of violence against women (E/CN.6/1993/12);

(d) Report of the Secretary-General on women and the United Nations Decade against Drug Abuse (E/CN.6/1993/13);

(e) Report of the Secretary-General on activities related to preparations for the World Conference on Human Rights (E/CN.6/1993/14);

(f) Note by the Secretary-General transmitting a list of confidential communications concerning the status of women (S.W. Communications List No. 27).

2. In addition, the Commission had before it, for information, the following documents:

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

(b) Report of the Secretary-General on the status of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (A/47/368);

(c) Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the year 2000 (A/47/377);

(d) Extract from the note by the Secretary-General on the effective implementation of international instruments on human rights, including reporting obligations under international instruments on human rights (A/47/628);

(e) Extract from the report of the Third Committee (part II) (A/47/678/Add.1);

(f) Results of the twelfth session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (E/CN.6/1993/CRP.2 and Corr.1);

(g) Resolution 1992/3 of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities (E/CN.6/1993/CRP.3).

3. In introducing the item, the Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women elaborated on the various documents. She made an oral statement on the preparation of a report on violence against migrant women workers, indicating that information was being solicited from Governments. She invited the Commission to express its views concerning the situation of migrant women, which would be taken into account in preparing the oral reports to the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly. She highlighted the main issues discussed by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at its twelfth session, including the alleged violations inflicted upon women in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.

Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women

4. Many representatives referred to the deteriorating situation of Palestinian women in the occupied territory and in the refugee camps. While commending the intense research efforts made by the Division for the Advancement of Women in preparing the report on the subject (E/CN.6/1993/10), several representatives expressed concern that the occupying power had not allowed any expert groups or consultants to study the actual conditions of Palestinian women since 1989, thus impeding the preparation of a report that would reflect more accurately the living conditions of those women. Concern was also expressed by some representatives over the recent deportation of Palestinians by the occupying power. A few representatives stated that the Palestinian women living under conditions of occupation for decades were deprived of the most fundamental human rights. Many representatives and observers expressed their hope for the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace in the region in accordance with United Nations resolutions. It was suggested that a fact-finding mission should be sent to the region.

Women and children under apartheid

5. Several representatives mentioned the positive changes in removing barriers to apartheid in South Africa, but drew the attention of the Commission to the need to continue to take measures to improve the situation of women and children living under apartheid. A few representatives expressed concern over the continuing political violence in South Africa. One representative welcomed the action taken by various organizations of the United Nations system to provide assistance to women living under apartheid. Another representative emphasized the need for the Commission to monitor the evolving situation of women in a post-apartheid society to ensure the full integration of all South African women into the political process.

Violence against women in all its forms

6. Most representatives supported the draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women (E/CN.6/1993/12, annex, appendix I) and recommended its adoption, which would constitute an important step forward in the promotion of women's fundamental human rights. Most representatives took the view that it should be adopted by the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session.

7. Some representatives indicated that the text did not cover all possible aspects of the issue of violence and said that a few additions should be made - such as, a clear reference to a strict obligation of States to condemn acts of violence against women that were committed in the name of political interests; the need for further consideration to be given to penal and civil sanctions; and the establishment of norms and codes of conduct applicable to military forces in times of armed conflict.

8. Most representatives stated that violence against women was one of the major obstacles hindering de facto equality between men and women, and that measures, campaigns and programmes for education should be taken to eradicate it, including the provision of heavier penalties for perpetrators and more shelters for victims. Others considered the issue of violence against women within the context of human rights violations. They supported resolution 1993/46 of the Commission on Human Rights, in which it decided to consider the appointment of a special rapporteur on violence against women at its fiftieth session, the integration of women's rights into the mainstream of human rights and the need to work with other mechanisms of the United Nations system and the European Economic Community. Those proposals should be taken into account in the report being prepared by the Secretary-General on measures to eradicate violence against women in the family and society and the fact that those issues also required the full attention of, and active monitoring by, the Commission on the Status of Women.

9. Several representatives expressed their concern over the situation of women in the former Yugoslavia based on the results of the investigation and findings of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the territory. They strongly condemned the practice of rape and abuse of women and children, and suggested that the Commission on the Status of Women should take firm action. They emphasized that such mass rape constituted a war crime that required action by an international tribunal. They further expressed support for Security Council resolution 808 (1993), by which the Council had decided that an International tribunal should be established for the prosecution of persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991, as well as for any initiative taken by the Commission on the Status of Women in investigating those cases and in preparing long-term action-oriented plans and programmes for the social and psychological rehabilitation of women victims. While emphasizing the new developments taking place to combat violence against women, particularly the steps taken towards the adoption of the draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women, many representatives indicated that a reversion to barbarism was taking place, as reflected in the abuses perpetrated against women by the use of systematic sexual violence as a weapon of war and as a means of "ethnic cleansing".                                                                                      [ Up ]

Violence against migrant women workers

10. With regard to violence against migrant women workers, several representatives stated that the enjoyment by women of human rights had not been fully realized in view of the existing unequal power relations between women and men. That was reflected, inter alia, in the high incidence of violence against women, and the abuses and acts of violence committed against women migrant workers. It was emphasized that the problems faced by migrant women workers in certain countries had not been able to attract international attention and that women, lured by promises of a better life in a foreign country, often ended up in a situation whereby they suffered mental, physical and sexual harm at the hands of employers in the receiving countries. In most cases, failing to obtain redress under the local legal system, they had no choice but to await deportation.

11. It was further stated that socio-economic compulsions and the allurement of a better life were the chief factors motivating the migration of workers. The inherent vulnerability of job-seeking women made them easy targets for exploitation in trafficking and for other kinds of maltreatment. It was stressed also that the primary responsibility for creating safeguards against the exploitation of migrant workers in general, and of women workers in particular, rested with the host countries, and that any unilateral corrective actions that might be initiated by a sending country might provoke retaliatory action that could be counterproductive. One representative suggested some of the immediate issues that could be addressed by the countries, such as the need to institute a regulatory mechanism in the recipient countries to give proper status to migrant workers in the legal sense; to narrow the disparity in the civil status of migrants compared with that of nationals; to make the problem more visible and to take it up as a human rights issue; and to see that regional and international forums take up the problem with the recipient countries.

12. One representative stated that, on account of their being poor, female and foreigners in their places of employment, women migrant workers were doubly vulnerable to all kinds of maltreatment. While acknowledging that it was the primary duty of a State to provide employment and appropriate training and education to its citizens to enable them to improve their lot in life, receiving countries also had a moral obligation, as signatories to the Charter of the United Nations, to ensure that the fundamental human rights and freedom of all persons within their boundaries were protected. The representative stressed the need for concerted efforts on the part of sending and receiving countries to find ways of addressing the problem on the bilateral or multilateral level. She believed that the measures mentioned in articles 4 and 5 of the draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women were useful guidelines for implementing the provisions of General Assembly resolution 47/95. In particular, the compilation of statistics on the extent of violence against women migrant workers could be undertaken as an initial measure. Furthermore, it was suggested that the Commission consider the issue at its thirty-eighth session as a sub-item of the item on the priority theme of Peace: measures to eradicate violence against women in the family and society.

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

13. Several representatives urged those States that had not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to do so. Concern was expressed by many representatives about reservations that ran counter to the object and purpose of the Convention in that they undermined the very rights that the Convention was aiming to protect and eroded the competence of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. They stated that other States parties should object to such reservations and they urged the States parties that had not yet done so to consider reviewing and withdrawing their reservations. They recommended to the Committee that it should include the issue of reservations in its work and raise the question of the validity and legal effect of reservations in the appropriate bodies. A few representatives, as well as the representatives of the United Nations system, pointed out that the main obstacles to the implementation of the Convention were the lack of appropriate national laws or of their enforcement in cases where they existed, on the one hand, or the existence of laws that contained elements of discrimination, on the other hand. Regarding the issue of additional resources for the Committee to help it clear the backlog of reports awaiting consideration, a few representatives supported the Committee's request, and said that if the Committee's backlog in considering reports had not been reduced by the end of its thirteenth session, an extension of the annual sessions by an additional week on a regular basis ought to be granted.

Women and the United Nations Decade against Drug Abuse

14. Some representatives emphasized the crucial role that women played, and especially non-governmental women's organizations, in combating drug abuse and trafficking. The importance of involving women at all stages, in a holistic approach to the drug problem, was stressed. Others expressed satisfaction with the activities being carried out by the United Nations system and suggested that the matter be discussed further by the Commission on the Status of Women at its thirty-eighth session under the key priority theme in the area of development - namely, women in urban areas: population, nutrition and health factors for women in development, including migration, drug consumption and AIDS. One representative drew attention to the fact that drug abuse among men was a further potential source of violence against women and that women could be exposed to abuse by drug addicts both in their homes and in society. Another representative stressed the importance of developing strategies for creating awareness about the bad effects of drugs in order to prevent abuse, as well as of designing comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation programmes.

Activities related to preparations for the World Conference on Human Rights

15. The contribution of the Commission to the World Conference on Human Rights was considered to be of particular significance in order that women's rights, as an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights, were addressed in depth on the global agenda. Several representatives urged that the full realization of all human rights of women should be reflected in all agenda items both at the fourth session of the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference on Human Rights and at the Conference itself, as well as in any final document that might emerge from the Conference.

16. Some representatives referred to suggestion 4 made by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at its twelfth session to the World Conference on Human Rights as a good basis for the work of the Commission. Several representatives stressed that the World Conference should examine the question of the compatibility of the reservations made to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women with those made to other human rights treaties. Some representatives underlined the importance of achieving an improved balance of men and women serving on human rights treaty bodies and stressed that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women should have a standing equal to that of other human rights instruments.                                                                                           [ Up ]

17. Several representatives observed that the adoption of the draft declaration on violence against women would be a major contribution to the World Conference on Human Rights. Some representatives emphasized the need for a better definition of international human rights; the Conference should be asked to highlight the rights of women as part of the mainstream fundamental human rights guaranteed under the Charter of the United Nations. The importance of focusing on women's issues in the whole field of human rights - civil, political, economic, social and cultural - was noted; some representatives described it as calling for a qualitative change with regard to human rights philosophy and as a new approach that would need to be fully applied by the World Conference.

18. Many representatives expressed the wish that the World Conference would develop more responsive and effective enforcement mechanisms, especially in addressing violations of women's rights, particularly violence against women. Among other specific violations of women's rights were mentioned violence against migrant workers and violation of women's labour rights as well as of women's equal participation in and de facto enjoyment of the benefits of development and economic life. Some representatives urged that the opportunity created by the World Conference should be used to establish the relationship between universal human rights, democracy and development.

19. Several representatives urged that all human rights bodies should pay due attention to gender aspects in implementing human rights, with a view to integrating the human rights of women into the mainstream of the system for monitoring human rights. Many representatives expressed the need for cooperation and coordination between all the bodies concerned within the United Nations system in order to strengthen the promotion and protection of the rights of women. A few representatives referred to resolution 1993/46 of the Commission on Human Rights on integrating the rights of women into the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations, and most representatives welcomed the idea of appointing a special rapporteur on violence against women as an important step in building on the draft declaration on violence against women. A few representatives pointed to the urgent need to protect women's rights in situations of civil strife and to prevent human rights abuses against women in times of armed conflict.

20. In accordance with the Economic and Social Council resolution 1992/20 on the advancement of women and human rights, in which the Commission on the Status of Women was requested to establish, during its thirty-seventh session, an open-ended working group to consider its contributions to the World Conference, two working group meetings were held and, as a result, a resolution on the World Conference on Human Rights was drafted.

Communications concerning the status of women

21. On 17 March 1993, a list of confidential communications concerning the status of women (S.W. Communications List No. 27) was distributed in a sealed envelope to the representatives of each State member of the Commission.

22. At its 5th meeting, on 19 March 1993, the Commission appointed a Working Group on Communications concerning the Status of Women. The Working Group held two closed meetings.

23. Many representatives took the view that the communication procedure needed to be further strengthened and suggested informal discussions on ways of making the existing procedure more transparent and efficient. Specialized agencies were encouraged to provide the Commission with information that was relevant to the issue of discrimination against women. One representative observed that the procedure would be enhanced by the adoption of the draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women.

24. On 24 March, the representative of Chile, on behalf of the members of the Working Group, introduced the report of the Working Group in a closed meeting of the Commission. At the subsequent meeting, the Commission decided to adopt the report of the Working Group as orally revised, and to include it in its entirety in the report of the Commission.

25. 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 resolution 1983/27 of 26 May 1983 of the Economic and Social Council.

"The Working 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 and those received from United Nations bodies and specialized agencies.

"The Working Group noted that among the five communications received directly by the Division for the Advancement of Women there was a diversity of alleged cases relating to de facto and de jure discrimination against women in various areas, including aspects of everyday life, specifically discrimination in marital relations, prohibition of the right of association and participation in public life, restriction of the freedom of movement, lack of economic opportunities leading to prostitution and inequality in social security rights.

"Among the 21 communications received from the Centre for Human Rights, the Working Group noted alleged acts of sexual violence perpetrated by the army or the police force in the wake of civil war and internal armed conflicts and by prison guards as well as sexual assault on women in police stations.

"Referring to the information received from units, bodies and specialized agencies of the United Nations, the Working Group observed that communications from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) dealt with the non-observance of several ILO conventions, such as the Equal Remuneration Convention, the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention and the Maternity Protection Convention.

"Having considered all those communications, the Working Group took the view that there had been a variety of cases received from all sources, and that the communications that were directly received by the Division for the Advancement of Women were related to areas that were within the competence of the Commission on the Status of Women and were not dealt with by other bodies and agencies of the United Nations. It noted also that in spite of the diversity of cases the questions of sexual violence and equal remuneration appeared to be the most prevalent.

"The Working Group noted with satisfaction the increasing number of replies provided by Governments; however, it enjoined the Commission on the Status of Women to urge Governments to supply more substantive replies.

"The Working Group proposed that further publicity be given to the existing communications mechanism within the Commission on the Status of Women.

"Based on those observations, the Working Group proposed to the Commission, than, when considering the priority themes of 1994 related to equality and peace, the Commission give due attention to the trends emerging from the communications procedure for appropriate action by the Economic and Social Council."

ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION                                            [ Up ]

World Conference on Human Rights

26. At the 9th meeting, on 23 March 1993, the Vice-Chairperson of the Commission, Mrs. Achie Luhulima (Indonesia) introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.5) entitled "World Conference on Human Rights", submitted on the basis of informal consultations.

27. At the 13th meeting, on 25 March, the Vice-Chairperson informed the Commission that during further informal consultations, the following revisions had been agreed upon:

(a) In the fifth preambular paragraph, the words "referring to women's rights" were inserted after the words "the resolutions";

(b) The operative paragraph, which had read:

"Urges Member States participating in the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference on Human Rights at its fourth session and in the World Conference on Human Rights to ensure that women's rights and concerns are considered under the substantive items of the provisional agenda for the World Conference, annexed to General Assembly resolution 47/122 of 18 December 1992, as set out in the annex to the present resolution",

was replaced by the following text:

"Decides to present to the Preparatory Committee for the World Conference on Human Rights the contribution set out below and urges Member States participating in the Preparatory Committee at its fourth session and in the World Conference on Human Rights to ensure that women's rights and concerns are considered under all the substantive items of the provisional agenda for the World Conference annexed to General Assembly resolution 47/122 of 18 December 1992";

(c) The heading "Annex" was deleted;

(d) In paragraph 1, the words "and indivisible" were inserted after the words "Human rights are universal";

(e) In paragraph 5 (b), the words "full, quality participation" were replaced by the words "full and equitable participation";

(f) In paragraph 5 (c), the words "the problems of rural women" were replaced by the words "the problems of women in situations of extreme poverty and of rural women";

(g) In paragraph 8 (d), the words "including disabled women" were replaced by the words "including women with disabilities";

(h) In paragraph 9 (a), the phrase "Women's concerns should be fully integrated into the implementation of all human rights" was revised to read "Women's rights and concerns should be fully integrated into the implementation of universal human rights";

(i) Paragraphs 9 (b) and (c), which had read:

"(b) Member States should ensure equitable representation of women and men as members of all treaty bodies and working groups and as special and thematic rapporteurs;

"(c) All human rights treaty bodies should be placed on the same footing and, accordingly, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women should be given the authority to determine its own meeting time taking into account the specific needs to fulfil its mandate",

were replaced by the following text:

"(b) Member States should ensure equitable representation of women and men as members of all treaty bodies and working groups and in the appointment of special and thematic rapporteurs;

"(c) All human rights treaty bodies should be placed on the same footing and, accordingly, the United Nations General Assembly should consider ways and means of increasing the meeting time of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, taking into account the specific needs to fulfil its mandate";

(j) In paragraph (i), the words "women's issues" were replaced by the words "women's rights".

28. At the same meeting, statements were made by the representatives of Japan, France and Venezuela.

29. The Commission then adopted the draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 37/4).

Women and children under apartheid

30. At the 9th meeting, on 23 March 1993, the representative of Egypt, on behalf of the African States that are members of the Commission, 43/ introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.6) entitled "Women and children under apartheid", which read as follows:

"Women and children under apartheid

"The Economic and Social Council,

"Recalling its resolution 1992/15 of 30 July 1992,

"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 [...],

"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, especially in Natal and Transvaal provinces,

"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,

"Welcoming the progress made by the Conference for a Democratic South Africa and eventually the multiparty conference in discussing and debating the political dispensation and future of a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist South Africa,

"Concerned about the fact that women are not integrated in the ongoing attempts to resolve the problems of South Africa by peaceful means as envisaged in the Declaration on Apartheid, and stressing the need to ensure their full participation in that process by, inter alia, directly involving the gender advisory committee with the Conference for a Democratic South Africa in the mainstream negotiations,

"Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on women and children living under apartheid (E/CN.6/1993/11), in which it is mentioned that the Government of South Africa signed on 29 January 1993 a number of conventions aimed at promoting and implementing fundamental rights and freedoms without distinction as to sex, namely, the Convention on the Political Rights of Women (General Assembly resolution 640 (VII), annex, of 20 December 1952), the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women (General Assembly resolution 1040 (XI), annex, of 29 January 1957), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (General Assembly resolution 34/180, annex, of 18 December 1979), the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (General Assembly resolution 39/46, annex, of 10 December 1984) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (General Assembly resolution 44/25, annex, of 20 November 1989),

"Noting the subsequent release by the Government of South Africa of the draft bill on the promotion of equal opportunities of 1993 and concerned that it failed to deal with questions of substantive sexism that will continue to operate through such disabilities as poverty, ignorance and disempowerment,

"Convinced that the present legal system needs structural changes for it to be in any way relevant to a new and just South Africa [and that unless the draft Bill represents the views and experiences of those mostly affected by it],

"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,                                                                                           [ Up ]

"Commending the role played by the United Nations, particularly the Centre against Apartheid and the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat, in helping South African women to participate fully in the process of establishing a non-racist, non-sexist democracy in South Africa,

"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 and 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. Appeals to all countries and United Nations bodies, in conformity with General Assembly resolution 46/79 of 13 December 1991 and in consultation with liberation movements, to increase their support for educational, health, vocational training and employment opportunities for women and children under apartheid;

"5. 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;

"6. 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;

"7. Further requests the international community to provide financial, material and human resources to South African women towards the establishment of special programmes and projects geared to women's upliftment, integration and advancement now and in post-apartheid South Africa;

"8. Calls upon the Secretary-General to consolidate the United Nations observer mission already deployed in South Africa by sending a special envoy to that country to monitor and report on the unprecedented proportion of incidents of political and domestic violence directed against women and children from a variety of sources;

"9. Decides that the Commission on the Status of Women will remain seized of the position of women and children under apartheid;

"10. 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-eighth session."

31. At the 13th meeting, on 25 March, the representative of Egypt orally revised the draft resolution.

32. At the same meeting, statements were made by the representatives of Australia, the Netherlands and Spain. The Observer for the African National Congress of South Africa also made a statement.

33. At the 14th meeting, on 25 March, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution V).

34. After the adoption of the draft resolution, a statement was made by the representative of the Netherlands.

Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women

35. At the 9th meeting, on 23 March 1993, the representative of Algeria, on behalf of Algeria, Bangladesh, Cuba, Cyprus, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Jordan, 42/ Lebanon, 42/ Malaysia, Morocco, 42/ Pakistan, the Philippines, the Sudan, Tunisia, 42/ Turkey, 42/ the United Republic of Tanzania, 42/ Viet Nam 42/ and Zimbabwe, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.8) entitled "Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women". Subsequently India joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.

36. At the 13th meeting, on 25 March, at the request of the representative of Algeria, the Commission decided to defer taking action on the draft resolution.

37. At the 14th meeting, on 25 March, the representative of the United States of America made a statement.

38. At the 15th meeting, on 26 March, the representative of Algeria, on behalf of the sponsors, introduced a revised draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.8/Rev.1). Subsequently, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya joined in sponsoring revised the draft resolution.

39. At the same meeting, statements were made by the representatives of Egypt, the Sudan and the United States of America and the observers for Israel and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The observer for Palestine also made a statement.

40. The Commission then adopted the revised draft resolution by a roll-call vote of 28 to 1, with 9 abstentions (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution VII). The voting was as follows:

In favour: Algeria, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Cyprus, Egypt, Finland, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Spain, Sudan, Thailand, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Against: United States of America.

Abstaining: Belarus, Bulgaria, Ecuador, France, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Russian Federation and Slovakia.

41. After the adoption of the revised draft resolution, statements were made by the representatives of Australia, France, Japan, the Netherlands and the United States of America.

Draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women

42. At the 11th meeting, on 24 March 1993, the representative of Australia, on behalf of Algeria, Angola, 42/ Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belgium, 42/ Brazil, 42/ Bulgaria, 42/ Canada, 42/ C“te d'Ivoire, Croatia, 42/ Cyprus, Denmark, 42/ Egypt, Ethiopia, 42/ Finland, France, Ghana, Hungary, 42/ Ireland, 42/ the Netherlands, Nicaragua, 42/ Nigeria, Norway, 42/ Panama, 42/ the Philippines, Poland, 42/ Portugal, 42/ the Republic of Korea, 42/ Slovenia, 42/ Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, 42/ Tunisia, 42/ Turkey, 42/ the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 42/ the United Republic of Tanzania, 42/ the United States of America, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe, subsequently joined by Belarus, Chile, Colombia, Gabon, 42/ Germany, 42/ Greece, 42/ Italy, the Russian Federation, Slovakia and Thailand, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.9) entitled "Draft declaration on the elimination of violence against women".

43. At the 13th meeting, on 25 March, the Commission adopted the draft resolution (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution II).

Communications on the status of women                                                      [ Up ]

44. At the 11th meeting, on 24 March 1993, the representative of the United States of America, on behalf of Bulgaria, C“te d'Ivoire, Denmark, 42/ Ghana, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, 42/ the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Sweden, 42/ Switzerland, 42/ Thailand, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 42/ and the United States of America, subsequently joined by Belgium, 42/ Croatia, 42/ Cyprus, Gabon, 42/ Germany, 42/ Japan, Malaysia, Portugal, 42/ Slovakia and Slovenia, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.10) entitled "Communications on the status of women".

45. At the 13th meeting, on 25 March, the Commission adopted the draft resolution (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution III).

Rape and abuse of women in the territory of the former Yugoslavia

46. At the 12th meeting, on 24 March 1993, the representative of the United States of America, on behalf of Algeria, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, 42/ Canada, 42/ Chile, C“te d'Ivoire, Croatia, 42/ Denmark, 42/ Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, 42/ Lebanon, 42/ Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, 42/ Nigeria, Norway, 42/ Pakistan, the Philippines, Spain, the Sudan, Sweden, 42/ Switzerland, 42/ Thailand, Tunisia, 42/ Turkey, 42/ the United Republic of Tanzania, the United States of America, Venezuela and Zambia, subsequently joined by Argentina, 42/ Ecuador, Greece, 42/ Israel, 42/ Luxembourg, 42/ Morocco, 42/ Poland, 42/ Portugal, 42/ Slovenia 42/ and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 42/ introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.11) entitled "The rape and abuse of women in the territory of the former Yugoslavia".

47. At the same meeting, statements were made by the representatives of China, Cyprus, Egypt, Finland (on behalf of Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, New Zealand, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States of America), Japan, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Sudan and the United States of America and the observer for Denmark (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the European Economic Community). The observer for the African National Congress of South Africa also made a statement.

48. Also at the same meeting, following statements by the representatives of Ecuador and the Russian Federation, the Commission voted separately on the third preambular paragraph and operative paragraph 2. The third preambular paragraph was adopted by 34 votes to 1, with 4 abstentions; operative paragraph 2 was adopted by 33 votes to 1, with 4 abstentions.

49. The Commission then adopted the draft resolution, as a whole, by 38 votes to none, with 1 abstention (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 37/3).

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

50. At the 11th meeting, on 24 March, the representative of France, subsequently joined by Chile, Colombia, C“te d'Ivoire, Egypt, Finland, Slovakia, Slovenia, 42/ Sweden, 42/ Thailand and Venezuela, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.14) entitled "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women".

51. At the 14th meeting, on 25 March, the representative of France, on behalf of the sponsors, now joined by Australia, Belgium, 42/ Canada, 42/ Cuba, Denmark, 42/ Gabon, 43/ Ghana, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, 42/ Norway, 42/ the Philippines, Spain, the United Republic of Tanzania, 42/ Zambia and Zimbabwe, introduced a revised draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.14/Rev.1). 52. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the revised draft resolution (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution VI).

Chapter IV. Priority Themes                                                              [ Up ]

1. The Commission considered item 5 of its agenda at its 6th to 11th and 13th to 15th meetings, on 19 and from 22 to 26 March 1993. It had before it the following documents:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General on increased awareness by women of their rights, including legal literacy (E/CN.6/1993/2);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General on women in extreme poverty: integration of women's concerns in national development planning (E/CN.6/1993/3);

(c) Report of the Secretary-General on women and the peace process (E/CN.6/1993/4).

2. In addition, the Commission had before it, for information, the following reports:

(a) Recommendations of the Expert Group Meeting on Population and Women (E/CONF.84/PC/6);

(b) Report of the Expert Group Meeting on Family Planning, Health and Family Well-being (E/CONF.84/PC/7).

3. The Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women introduced the item. Under the priority theme of "Equality: increased awareness by women of their rights, including legal literacy", the Director stated that, while most countries had enacted legal measures to ensure that women had equal opportunities before the law, de facto as well as de jure discrimination continued. She stated that legal literacy was necessary for both women and men, as a part of their roles as citizens of their country. Regarding the priority theme of "development: women in extreme poverty: integration of women's concerns in national development", the Director emphasized that an analysis of poverty in a broad context had shown that women and men experienced poverty differently and unequally, and that women constituted the majority of the poor. Failure to take gender into account in micro- and macro-policies continued to sustain poverty and hinder the achievement of the goals of sustainable development and equality. With reference to the priority theme of "Peace: women and the peace process", the Director said that women had been absent from the official peace process at the national level, but had been involved in the military, especially during periods of mass mobilization, such as wars of national liberation and responses to invasion, and included in all jobs performed by men. Women had been extremely active in the non-governmental peace movement.

A. Equality: increasing awareness by women of their rights, including legal literacy                                                                                                    [ Up ]

4. Many representatives agreed that it was not enough to have constitutional provisions and laws guaranteeing women equal rights with men. Women also had to be aware of those provisions and laws and exercise them. One representative defined the three factors in legal literacy as being the substance, the structure and the culture of law. Legal literacy was defined as the process of acquiring a critical awareness of rights and the law; the ability to assert rights; and the capacity to mobilize for legal and societal change.

5. Several representatives identified the obstacles to legal literacy that were inherent in existing laws. Obstacles such as laws governing the relationships between men and women in the family and society, the complex structure of the legal system and the nature of the judicial process had their cultural origins and were frequently gender-biased. It was stressed that, as a consequence, women were prevented from or constrained in their ability to exercise their rights or to have recourse to legal channels. The specificity of legal terminology and the costs involved in seeking redress constituted additional obstacles. All those factors were at the origin of women's lack of awareness and understanding of the legal and administrative system. One representative pointed out that literacy was a prerequisite for legal literacy.

6. Several representatives reported on legal reforms in the field of civil and labour rights and penal laws that their countries had undertaken in order to overcome those obstacles at the governmental level. One representative emphasized the need to make women aware of the limitations of existing laws and to stimulate their active participation in revising those laws in order to eradicate gender discrimination and to increase gender equity. The need for the structural reform of the legal system was underlined by one representative. She proposed that women's access to justice could be promoted by employing female judges, prosecutors and lawyers.

7. Many representatives considered opportunities for and various means of promoting legal literacy for women. It was suggested that legal literacy should be included in the framework of the various programmes for the advancement of women such as employment, education and health. Several representatives stressed the importance of formal, informal and non-formal education. Strategies to educate the public on legal literacy needed the support of the mass media and the structures of the legal system, particularly the police, courts, schools and other public institutions. The establishment of model programmes to sensitize and retrain judicial and administrative personnel was emphasized by several representatives.

8. Many representatives underlined the role of various legal aid systems as an important link between the individual and the legal system, in particular the establishment of information centres on women's rights that provided counselling services. Speaking on behalf of a group of countries, one representative reported that legal assistance programmes for individuals below certain income levels had been introduced. Abused women and victims of rape and incest were entitled to free legal aid, regardless of their level of income. A few representatives suggested the establishment of an independent control body or ombudspersons, which they had successfully introduced. Information campaigns and the publication and dissemination of material on women's rights were considered important. Several representatives observed that the material should be easy to read and translated into local languages. Special editions focusing on target groups, such as migrant women, were suggested. The collaboration of the mass media was considered necessary for the success of any campaign.

9. Many representatives agreed that legal literacy programmes required a good partnership between Governments and non-governmental organizations. It was acknowledged that legal literacy programmes had been developed primarily by non-governmental organizations. Another representative suggested that government policy to promote legal literacy should include financial support to groups and institutions working in that area, since their activities constituted an essential part of a strategy for women's legal literacy.

10. Several representatives stressed that legal literacy programmes for women should be accompanied by training in building self-esteem, assertiveness and leadership, because empowerment would not come automatically by having knowledge but by using knowledge. It was said also that women had to make the step from having passive knowledge of their rights to being critics of the law, which was one way of gaining access to decision-making positions.

11. Several representatives and observers were alarmed that the actual economic and political crisis might lead women to lose their conferred rights and full equality. It was emphasized that equality and the recognition of women's rights constituted an obligatory step towards democracy, and that economic and social rights could not be separated from civil and political rights.

12. Many representatives considered the issue of legal literacy to be of primary importance for equality and established a link to other issues such as women's poverty. It was suggested that legal literacy should be included in the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women and should be discussed at the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993.

B. Development: women in extreme poverty: integration of women's concerns in national development planning                                          [ Up ]

13. Many representatives emphasized that poverty was still a major challenge for the world community and that the development and implementation of policies and programmes for the elimination of poverty should be given top priority. The success of such policies depended heavily on joint efforts at the international, regional, national and local levels. Several representatives stated that manifestations of poverty were common not only to developing countries, but also to countries at a higher level of economic development, which had to deal with the issue in terms of social and economic policies.

14. Many representatives stated that poverty affected women and men in different ways, and women were in the majority among the poorest sections of the population. Failure to take gender into account in micro- and macro-policies continued to sustain poverty and to undermine the goals of overall development. The growing feminization of poverty was prevalent and was one of the most serious obstacles to the achievement of true equality between women and men.

15. Many representatives stressed that international as well as national development planning processes should incorporate women's interests, and expressed concern that those processes were still very slow. Women continued to be denied productive resources and opportunities. They said that development policies, at the international, regional and national levels, should ensure the full integration of women into the mainstream of development actions throughout all the phases of policy design, formulation, implementation and evaluation.

16. Many representatives endorsed the recommendations that had been adopted by the seminar on women in extreme poverty: integration of women's concerns in national development planning (E/CN.6/1993/3, annex), and said that all efforts to eradicate poverty must be designed on the basis of a thorough gender analysis. A number of representatives stressed that gender-sensitive planning should be followed by the well-planned mobilization and coordination of international, regional, national and local resources. It was noted that in order to incorporate women's interests into national development policies, it was necessary to improve statistical data and its collection in a gender-sensitive way.

17. Sustainable development should be based on the equal participation of women and men as active agents and as beneficiaries. Several representatives referred to the main document of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Agenda 21, which took into account women's vital role in environmental management and development (A/CONF.151/26/Rev.1 (vol.I), resolution 1, annex II, chap. 24). A number of representatives stated further that the Fourth World Conference on Women, the World Summit for Social Development, and the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations should use those unique opportunities to formulate a new poverty agenda, which would be more cognizant of women's contribution to development and more responsive to women's needs.

18. Several representatives stressed that the empowerment of women would be a significant step towards the eradication of extreme poverty. A number of representatives emphasized that women in extreme poverty were not only deprived of access to productive resources, but also of exercising their rights as citizens as they were excluded from decision-making processes. That denial was inconsistent with the important role that women performed in economic and social life. It was stressed that the empowerment of women would require considerable changes in the roles and responsibilities of men, especially in the reproductive sphere. The importance of the role of non-governmental organizations in the eradication of poverty and in the empowerment of women was also stressed.

19. A number of representatives noted that structural adjustment policies had had a negative effect on efforts for the full integration of women into development. It was emphasized that such macroeconomic strategies should be based on gender-sensitive analysis, in order to take into account women's needs and interests, and should be able to deal with the specific obstacles that women faced. One representative noted that policies, programmes and projects should address the triple role of women, as expressed in their productive, reproductive and community-managing activities and find appropriate ways of meeting that challenge. Several representatives emphasized that the international economic situation and the debt burden had negative implications for the social and economic conditions of women in poverty. It was noted that more attention should be given to the economic causes of poverty, such as the price of raw materials, trade imbalances and structural adjustment programmes.

20. Several representatives stressed the significance of the intergenerational transmission of poverty as a final interaction between gender and poverty. They emphasized that women's role as mothers, and their ability to manage resources within poor households, had important consequences for the ability of their children to escape from poverty in the future. Several representatives drew attention to the systematic discrimination against girls, who were often deprived of their basic needs, such as sufficient intake of food, and education. Expanding educational and training opportunities for girls and women was a cost-effective measure and was directly connected to achieving global well-being.

21. Many representatives stated that the number of women who were heads of household had been steadily increasing and that they were likely to be among the poorest as they faced severe constraints and restricted access to almost all services. It was necessary to focus on different groups of women, such as elderly women, refugees and displaced women, and migrant women, as well as women with disabilities and indigenous women. It was considered that adequate services and pension schemes for elderly women should be set up.

22. Many representatives emphasized the vital role of rural women in the social and economic life of a society. In most developing countries, rural women played an important role in agricultural production; however, such women still had limited access to land, credit and technology, as well as to essential social services, such as education, training, health, and maternity and child care. Several representatives stressed the need to support agricultural development. Since women were the main producers of food in many regions, the transfer of agricultural technology to women was of crucial importance, as well as the support of small and medium-sized industries, in order to enhance income and employment opportunities in rural areas.

23. Many representatives and observers stressed that poverty might be caused by the insufficient education of girls and women, as education was a prerequisite for improving economic self-reliance. Efforts should be taken to eradicate illiteracy and to facilitate at all levels women's access to all types of education and training. Better education also helped to reduce fertility rates, to improve health and prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, and to increase productivity.

24. A number of representatives considered the problem of unemployment as the main source of poverty. It was stressed that poor women possessed only one asset to contribute to the economic process and to improve their standard of living, namely their labour. Efforts should be made to allow them to use their labour in a productive and optimally effective way, thereby ensuring gainful employment, and encouraging self-employment and entrepreneurial activity. The right to work should be accompanied by the provision of essential social services, in fields such as health, family planning, education and child care.

25. Many representatives expressed their commitment to strengthening cooperation particularly in the provision of women's basic needs, such as primary education, health care, water and sanitation, in order to ensure their function as agents, as well as beneficiaries of development. It was recognized that investments channelled towards women often had a multiplier effect and that women invested their income in the well-being of their families. A few representatives urged all specialized agencies and bodies of the United Nations dealing with development programmes to take gender issues into account in their activities.

26. Many representatives described their experience in incorporating women's concerns into national development planning. It was indicated that programmes assisting women to undertake small scale income-generating projects had led to an improvement of the situation of women together with that of their families.

Such projects also included skill training, introduction to simple technologies and management training, as well as access to financial assistance. A number of representatives referred to the need for a wider development of labour-saving technologies, which reduced time constraints and women's workload and improved their life in general.

27. It was stressed also that problems related to women migrant workers, prostitution and sex-tourism, as a result of poverty among women, could not be handled by a single country, but had to be dealt with at the international level.

C. Peace: women and the peace process                                                [ Up ]

28. Many representatives referred to women's underrepresentation in decision-making bodies at all levels, especially in international negotiations related to the peace process, and emphasized that it was time to redress the situation, particularly since women were the main victims of armed conflicts. Others stressed the relationship between the low participation of women in public life and decision-making at the national level, and the lack of women in the peace process at the international level, and suggested that the role of women in the resolution of armed conflicts should be studied in more detail.

29. A few representatives stated that in order to assess fully the contribution of women to the peace process, women's traditional roles should be regarded in a new light. Women should not only be seen as natural peacemakers and peace-keepers in households, but also as effective participants in the larger process of the quest for peace: in the armed forces, as well as in peacemaking processes at national and global levels. A few representatives stated that the contribution of women to the new movement for peace should include protection of the environment, as well as a more equitable distribution of resources.

30. Several representatives welcomed the recent measures taken by the Secretary-General to place more women in decision-making positions within the Secretariat and stressed that that decision was in keeping with the larger role that the United Nations had assumed in global peacemaking and peace-keeping. Several representatives expressed the hope that the United Nations system would take appropriate measures to ensure an enhanced participation of women in peace negotiations at every level, particularly at the national level, and stressed that, given the opportunity, women could make a difference in the peace process.

31. Many representatives emphasized that equality and development could only be achieved with the attainment of peace. A few representatives emphasized that there was a large amount of potential material and financial resources that could be diverted from military to peaceful purposes, that would significantly contribute to socio-economic development. One representative drew attention to the detrimental effects of armed conflicts on the socio-economic development of one affected country in particular and on the region in general. It stressed further the linkage between the enjoyment of good health and peace, since the enjoyment of a wholesome life could not be attained if the women's health was poor.

32. Several representatives and observers emphasized that war and armed conflict were the main obstacles to the achievement of equality for women worldwide. They drew attention to the issue of violence against women during times of war, referring especially to the situation prevailing in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the incidences of armed conflict elsewhere, and urged the Commission, as well as the international community, to take action and to condemn violence against women as a violation of human rights. It was agreed that all violence against women was barbaric and contemptible and they called for strict legislation against violence directed at women during wartime.

33. A few representatives stated that violence against women during times of war, when women were often used as instruments to humiliate the adversary, should be denounced as a war crime. It was stated that the perpetrators of violence against women during times of war should be judged by a United Nations tribunal. Several representatives called upon the international community to provide further humanitarian aid to women and children in situations of armed conflict worldwide. It was suggested that the contribution of women's non-governmental organizations and individual women to alleviating the plight of victims of armed conflict worldwide should be recognized by the international community.

34. It was agreed that the concept of peace should be understood not only in the context of the abolition of war and the resolution of conflicts, but also in the context of the elimination of violence within the family and within society. A few representatives supported the idea of the establishment of a special rapporteur on violence against women under the auspices of the Commission on Human Rights, as well as the establishment of a global monitoring system on violence against women and the formation of national, regional, subregional and global surveillance committees on the subject reporting to the Commission on the Status of Women.

35. One representative emphasized the necessity for national institutions to be able to guarantee peace and security to the population in general and to women in particular. Some representatives stated that, while the participation of women in all decision-making levels in order to preserve peace was important, women should be free to choose whether or not they would want to join the armed forces or the police.

ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION

Women and development                                                                             [ Up ]

36. At the 11th meeting, on 24 March 1993, the representative of Egypt, on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.7) entitled "Women and development". Subsequently Australia joined in sponsoring the draft resolution.

37. At the 13th meeting, on 25 March, the representative of Australia orally revised operative paragraph 7 of the draft resolution by inserting the word "further" before the word "develop".

38. At the 14th meeting, on 25 March, the Commission adopted the revised draft resolution by a roll-call vote of 39 to 1 (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 37/6). The voting was as follows:

In favour: Algeria, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, C“te d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain, Sudan, Thailand, Venezuela, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Against: United States of America.

Abstaining: None.

39. Before the draft resolution was adopted, the representative of the United States of America made a statement; after it was adopted, the representative of Japan made a statement.

Women, environment and development

40. At the 11th meeting, on 24 March 1993, the representative of Australia, on behalf of Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Canada, 42/ C“te d'Ivoire, Croatia, 42/ Denmark, 42/ Ecuador, Finland, Indonesia, New Zealand, 42/ Portugal, 42/ Turkey, 42/ the United Republic of Tanzania 42/ and Zambia, subsequently joined by Angola, 42/ Argentina, 42/ Ethiopia, 42/ Gabon, 42/ Ghana, Greece, 42/ Israel, 42/ Italy, Malaysia, Nigeria, Norway, 42/ Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, 42/ Sweden, 42/ Thailand, Tunisia, 42/ the United States of America and Zimbabwe, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.12) entitled "Women, environment and development".

41. At the 13th meeting, on 25 March, the Commission adopted the draft resolution (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution IV).

42. Before the draft resolution was adopted, the representative of Australia made a statement.

Women and legal literacy

43. At the 11th meeting, on 24 March, the representative of the United States of America, on behalf of Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Belarus, Canada, 42/ C“te d'Ivoire, Denmark, 42/ Ethiopia, 42/ Finland, France, Indonesia, Ireland, 42/ Israel, 42/ Italy, Lebanon, 42/ Malaysia, New Zealand, 42/ Norway, 42/ the Philippines, Poland, 42/ Portugal, 42/ The Republic of Korea, 42/ the Russian Federation, Slovenia, 42/ Thailand, Tunisia, 42/ Turkey, 42/ the United Republic of Tanzania, 42/ the United States of America and Venezuela, subsequently joined by Chile, Colombia, Croatia, 42/ Egypt, Gabon, 42/ Germany, 42/ Ghana, Greece, 42/ Japan, Jordan, 42/ Nigeria, Pakistan, Slovakia, the Sudan, Sweden, 42/ the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 42/ Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.13) entitled "Women and legal literacy".

44. At the 13th meeting, on 25 March, the representative of the United States of America, orally revised the draft resolution, as follows:

(a) In the seventh preambular paragraph, the words "multiple and conflicting legal systems" were replaced by the words "multiple legal systems";

(b) In the eighth preambular paragraph, the words "customary and traditional views regarding women have often contributed to discrimination against women" were replaced by the words "some customary and traditional views regarding women contribute to discrimination against women".

45. Also at the 13th meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 37/5).

46. Before the draft resolution was adopted, the representatives of Bangladesh, France and Japan made statements.

Women in extreme poverty

47. At the 13th meeting, on 25 March, the representative of Chile, on behalf of the States members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.16) entitled "Women in extreme poverty". Subsequently Australia, Denmark, 42/ Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, 42/ Spain and Turkey 42/ joined in sponsoring the draft resolution, which read as follows:

"The Commission on the Status of Women,

"Recalling the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women for the period up to the year 2000,

"Recalling also the Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15 of 24 May 1990,

"Deeply concerned about the continued worsening of the economic situation in many developing countries, particularly the least developed countries, owing to, inter alia, the deterioration of the external economic environment, as evidenced by the significant decline in living conditions, and the continued increase of widespread poverty in a large number of those countries,

"Welcoming with satisfaction General Assembly resolution 47/92 of 16 December 1992, in which the Assembly decided to convene a World Summit for Social Development in Denmark early in 1995,

"Convinced that the eradication of poverty constitutes one of the main challenges for Governments, the international community and people themselves and that the situation of continuous and growing deprivation is a violation of fundamental human rights that hinders the achievement of sustainable development of society as a whole,

"Convinced of the essential role of international cooperation for development in efforts at all levels aimed at eradicating poverty,

"Convinced that poverty affects women more deeply and disproportionately than men, thus making indispensable the formulation of socio-economic policies from a gender perspective,

"Noting with concern that rural women, who are the backbone of the rural economy, are most vulnerable to situations of extreme poverty,

"Expressing deep concern over the fact that single-parent households headed by women represent a considerable proportion of households living in extreme poverty in numerous societies,

"Conscious that the circumstances imposed upon women living in extreme poverty constitute one of the fundamental means by which poverty is transmitted from one generation to another,

"Aware that the eradication of poverty demands a vigorous and sustained response at all levels that, in order to be effective, requires international cooperation to complement national efforts,

"1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.6/1993/3) on women in extreme poverty: integration of women's concerns in national development planning, in particular, the conclusions and recommendations contained therein;

"2. Urges Governments, international organizations, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and community-based organizations to examine more closely the structural causes of poverty and ways and means of overcoming it and to evaluate from a gender perspective the effects of current socio-economic policies;                                                                                                [ Up ]

"3. Recommends that Governments should formulate strategies to eradicate poverty, taking into account the specific requirements of women living in poverty, in both rural and urban areas, in order to enable them to fully exercise their social, economic, cultural, civil and political rights, as well as to maximize their resources and to increase their productivity;

"4. Calls upon Governments to adopt measures to facilitate women's access to education, training, health, family planning, and income- generating employment and to ensure their full participation in the decision-making process;

"5. Requests Governments to strengthen the effectiveness of national machinery for the advancement of women, in order to guarantee the inclusion of a gender perspective in the mainstream of socio-economic policies at the national level, giving particular attention to women living in extreme poverty;

"6. Appeals to Governments to share national experiences, at the regional and international levels, relating to their efforts to deal with extreme poverty, in particular the effects of those efforts on women;

"7. Appeals to the Governments of developing countries to strengthen collaborative technical assistance and to exchange practical experiences in poverty eradication programmes by establishing a network of focal points;

"8. Requests Member States and international, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to allocate or reallocate national resources through appropriate channels with a view to guaranteeing that women living in poverty are active agents as well as direct beneficiaries of poverty eradication programmes;

"9. Calls upon multilateral institutions, bilateral mechanisms and donor countries to provide technical and financial cooperation to developing countries, in particular to least developed countries, in order to complement and strengthen national efforts, taking into account that such assistance, while continuing to address emergency situations, should also be directed to medium- and long-term self-sustaining programmes."

48. At the 15th meeting, on 26 March, the representative of Chile, on behalf of the sponsors, orally revised the draft resolution.

49. The Commission then adopted the draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 37/8).

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

1. 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) at its 2nd to 6th, 11th, 13th and 16th meetings, from 17 to 19 and from 24 to 26 March 1993. It had before it the following reports:

(a) Report of the Secretary-General on the preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace (E/CN.6/1993/5);

(b) Report of the Secretary-General containing a first draft to serve as a working document for the elaboration of the Platform for Action (E/CN.6/1993/6);

(c) Report of the Secretary-General on the outline and content of the second review and appraisal of the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women (E/CN.6/1993/7);

(d) Report of the Secretary-General on the planning and implementation of the information campaign for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace (E/CN.6/1993/8);

(e) Preliminary version of the 1994 World Survey on the Role of Women in Development (A/48/70-E/1993/16).

Preparatory activities

2. In introducing the item, the Secretary-General of the Fourth World Conference on Women indicated the need for the Commission to agree on an outline for the Platform for Action so that future sessions could be devoted to its substantive content. She stressed that the Platform should be short and easily understandable and she also emphasized the importance of the wide dissemination of information. On the subject of finances, she stated that the Conference secretariat should be strengthened and she invited contributions to the Trust Fund for the Preparatory Activities for the Fourth World Conference.

3. Many representatives stressed the importance of the Conference as a means of injecting momentum into the issue of the advancement of women and of revitalizing the Forward-looking Strategies. A few representatives added that it was of particular importance, in the light of the changes occurring in the world and the difficulties being faced in social, economic and political situations, that the issue of women's advancement should be approached on a cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary basis.

4. Some representatives were concerned about the possible negative impact of organizational reform within the United Nations, and the resulting relocation of the Conference secretariat, on preparations for the Conference. Others expressed their concern about the transfer of parts of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs from Vienna to New York, hoping that the move would not jeopardize the preparations for the Conference.

5. Many representatives stressed the importance of the preparatory process and attached importance to joint and coordinated efforts of Governments, non-governmental organizations, voluntary organizations and the United Nations system. Many representatives were of the opinion that the inclusion of a gender dimension in other world conferences, particularly the World Conference on Human Rights, the International Conference on Population and Development and the World Summit for Social Development, should be highlighted as preparations for the Conference.

6. Regarding preparations at the national level, many representatives reported on the establishment of national committees or focal points as part of the preparations for the Conference, most of which consisted of governmental and non-governmental representatives. A few representatives presented reports on national preparatory activities. A few representatives acknowledged the preparations of the host country, which reported on its activities in disseminating information and mobilizing the country. One representative reported that the preparatory process was being used as a vehicle to achieve the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies.

7. Several reports were given on regional and subregional preparatory activities. While some representatives regretted that no decision had been made concerning a European regional preparatory conference, others reported on plans within the Economic Commission for Europe to hold such a conference in 1994, the main themes of which should be women's role in the economy, in particular in countries in transition, compatibility between employment and family responsibilities, and empowerment of women in society. Many international organizations reported on their preparatory activities and a few mentioned financial restrictions.

8. Many representatives stressed the importance of widespread and diversified media coverage throughout the preparatory process, as well as during the Conference. Others stated that information and publication services in all languages of the United Nations should be reinforced. Some representatives noted the importance of the access of the media to the Conference and to the parallel NGO Forum.

9. Many representatives noted that the decision of the Commission in its resolution 36/8 regarding the participation of non-governmental organizations in the Conference might have been overtaken by events. Referring to the precedent set by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and also to the arrangements being made for the World Conference on Human Rights, the International Conference on Population and Development and the United Nations conference on human settlements (Habitat II), the representatives questioned whether the Commission should not reopen the issue in order to allow for a broader representation of the world's women at the Conference. Many stressed the importance of non-governmental organizations in the dissemination of information and their influence at the community level. The importance of the need for close proximity between the NGO Forum and the Conference, as well as the hope that many women's organizations would participate in the Forum, was expressed by a few representatives.

Platform for Action

10. Many representatives stressed the crucial importance of the Platform for Action as the main document to emerge from the Conference in 1995. They stressed further that the Platform should be easily accessible to every woman and man and serve as practical guidelines for action for the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies to the year 2000.

11. Several representatives emphasized the need to take global common issues and problems into account in the Platform, such as sustainable development, poverty, famine, environmental concerns, equality, peace, violence against women, health and illiteracy. Many representatives underlined the important role of non-governmental organizations, and their innovative ideas and experience, as well as the national reports of concrete suggestions based on grass-roots experience, as important contributions for the formulation of the Platform. Women's needs, particularly as regards health and at all stages of life, should be viewed in a broader context and given attention in developing the key priority issues for the Platform.

12. Many representatives indicated that the Platform for Action should be action-oriented, concise and written in a language that was simple and easy to understand. Several representatives said that it should contain clearly specified and realistic goals, concrete recommendations, well-defined targets and priorities, as well as indicators for measurable achievement. A few representatives pointed to the need to organize the action required according to short-, medium- and long-term plans and to call upon Governments to make new political commitments and to specify the efforts required at the regional and national levels.

13. Several representatives stressed the need to build into the Platform carefully specified implementation and monitoring mechanisms, as well as accountability measures. The Platform should focus on areas that had neither been adequately discussed nor adequately implemented so far. A few representatives emphasized that the special topics and concrete suggestions given in earlier resolutions on the formulation of the Platform should be taken into account. One representative questioned the need for a statement of mission and a status report in the Platform, stating that their contribution to the Platform would be limited. Another representative stated that equality was a matter of human rights for women, and suggested that the statement of mission should be reformulated to take that human rights approach into account, rather than stressing the enhanced cost-efficiency and cost-effectiveness of power-sharing. Several representatives indicated that the Platform should focus on the idea that sustainable development could only be built upon the basis of equitable partnership between women and men, and that the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies was to a great extent determined by solidarity between women and men, and a redefinition of gender values.

14. One representative referred to the conceptual difficulties in drawing up the Platform, and stated that approaches such as "mainstreaming" and "empowerment" should be regarded as mutually complementary and not competing approaches, and that institution-building was a necessary prerequisite for the efficient implementation of new policy ideas on women.

Review and appraisal                                                                                  [ Up ]

15. Most representatives intervened on the issue of the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Forward-looking Strategies and stressed its importance both as a preparatory process for the Conference and as a means of implementing of the Forward-looking Strategies. As such, the review and appraisal should help countries and regions in identifying priorities and in focusing on them.

16. Some representatives recognized that the key to the success of the exercise was at the national level and that it was therefore urgent to begin planning and organizing the review and appraisal. A number of countries had already begun to do so. It was indicated that preparations at the national level also required the involvement of diverse actors, in particular non-governmental organizations which were repositories of experience gained at the grass-roots level, of the many innovations made since the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, Nairobi, and of qualitative data. Such information would be a useful contribution to the Platform for Action. 17. The complexity of the preparations necessary at all levels was stressed by many representatives. At the national level, the availability of data and the insufficiency of resources were highlighted. It was further indicated that data on a number of important issues were often difficult to collect, whether at the conceptual level (for example, on violence, the environment, poverty and performance of national machinery) or at the field level, particularly for those countries whose national machinery and statistical institutions were overburdened. Therefore, while generally endorsing the approach proposed by the Secretariat, some representatives expressed their concern over its feasibility in some areas. A number of bilateral and multilateral donors and international agencies indicated their willingness to assist in those areas.

18. The review and appraisal at the regional level raised issues such as the need to hold a European preparatory conference in order that all regions should be covered. Efforts had been initiated to convene one. Many representatives stressed the fact that other regional or subregional forums were playing an active and important role in contributing to the review and appraisal, in particular through highlighting the progress made or obstacles remaining in specific areas.

19. A number of representatives emphasized the importance of the coordination required between all the levels and the difficulties in ensuring a flow of information on the preparations carried out in order to maximize the impact of the activities undertaken and to link them where and when necessary.

ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION

Work programme on the advancement of women and the proposed restructuring of the economic and social activities of the United Nations

20. At the 11th meeting, on 24 March 1993, the Chairperson, in her capacity as representative of Egypt, on behalf of Egypt and the Philippines, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.15) entitled "The work programme on the advancement of women and the restructuring of the economic and social activities of the United Nations".

21. At the same meeting, statements were made by the representatives of Algeria, Australia, Austria, Italy, Nigeria, the Russian Federation, Spain, Tunisia, the United Republic of Tanzania and Venezuela. The Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women also made a statement.

22. At the 13th meeting, on 25 March, the Commission had before it a revised draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.15/Rev.1) submitted by Egypt and the Philippines. Subsequently the Bahamas, Chile, C“te d'Ivoire, Croatia, 42/ Ethiopia, 42/ Gabon, 42/ Ghana, Indonesia, Lebanon, 42/ Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, Slovakia, 42/ the Sudan, Thailand, the United Republic of Tanzania, 42/ Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe joined in sponsoring the revised draft resolution.

23. At the same meeting, the representative of the Bahamas orally revised the title of the revised draft resolution by inserting the word "proposed" before the word "restructuring".

24. At the 14th meeting, on 25 March, the Commission decided to defer taking action on the revised draft resolution to a later meeting.

25. At the 16th meeting, on 26 March, the representative of the Bahamas further revised the revised draft resolution as follows:

(a) In the third preambular paragraph, the words "the achievements and importance of the Division" were replaced by the words "the importance of the achievements of the Division";

(b) In operative paragraph 1, the words "Division for the Advancement of Women" were replaced by the words "structure for the advancement of women" and the words "Action for Equality, Development and Peace" after the words "Fourth World Conference on Women" were deleted.

26. Also at the 16th meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 37/9).

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

27. At the 14th meeting, on 25 March, the Vice-Chairperson of the Commission, Mrs. Olga Pellicer (Mexico), introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1993/L.17) entitled "Preparations for the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace", submitted on the basis of informal consultations, and orally revised it by replacing operative paragraphs 2-4 of section II, which had read:

"[2. Requests the Secretary-General of the Conference to propose to the regional commissions a formula to determine eligibility for the participation of non-governmental organizations not in consultative status, taking as a guideline practices being used by other world conferences, such as the International Conference on Population and Development, based on which those non-governmental organizations will be invited to participate in regional preparatory meetings and, having been determined to be eligible, will be entitled to apply for participation in the Fourth World Conference;

"3. Also requests the Secretary-General of the Conference to obtain from regional commissions a list of the non-governmental organizations not in consultative status that attended those meetings in order to present it to the Commission at its thirty-ninth session, with a view to allowing the Commission to compile the list of those who will be invited to the World Conference, taking into account that for the good functioning of the Conference and the efficient participation of non-governmental organizations themselves, their number should not be excessive, the list should have a regional balance and attention should be given to the existing resources and facilities available at the host country;

"4. Further requests the Secretary-General of the Conference that a proposal for criteria to be used by the Commission in order to draw the final list should be presented to the Commission at its thirty-eighth session],"

by the following text:

"2. Requests the Secretary-General of the Conference, taking as a guideline practices being used by such other world conferences as the International Conference on Population and Development, to propose to the regional commissions a formula to determine the eligibility of non-governmental organizations not in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council to participate in preparatory activities and/or regional meetings, which would make them eligible to apply for accreditation to the World Conference;

"3. Also requests the Secretary-General of the Conference to obtain from the regional commissions a list of those non-governmental organizations not in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council which were determined to be eligible, which will be submitted to the Commission at its thirty-ninth session so that the Commission may make the final list of those to be invited to the World Conference, bearing in mind that for the proper functioning of the Conference and the efficient participation of non-governmental organizations themselves, their number should not be excessive and that the list should have a regional balance; attention will be given to the existing resources and facilities available in the host country;                                                                                           [ Up ]

"4. Further requests the Secretary-General of the Conference to submit to the Commission at its thirty-ninth session a proposal for criteria to be used by the Commission in drawing up the final list."

28. Also at the 14th meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. C, resolution 37/7).

29. After the draft resolution was adopted statements were made by the representatives of Algeria, Australia, the United States of America and Venezuela and the observers for Ireland and the United Republic of Tanzania.

Chapter VI. Provisional Agenda for the 38th Session of the Commission                                                                                              [ Up ]

1. The Commission considered item 7 of its agenda at its 16th meeting, on 26 March 1993. It had before it a note by the Secretariat containing the draft provisional agenda and documentation for the thirty-eighth session (E/CN.6/1993/L.18)

2. At the same meeting, statements were made by the representatives of Bangladesh, Egypt, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines and Venezuela. The Director and the Deputy Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Secretary-General of the Conference also made statements.

3. The Commission then approved the provisional agenda for its thirty-eighth session for submission to the Economic and Social Council (see chap. I, sect. B, draft decision I).

Chapter VII. Adoption of the Report of the Commission on its 37th Session                                                                                                      [ Up ]

1. At the 16th meeting, on 26 March 1993, the Rapporteur introduced the report on its thirty-seventh session (E/CN.6/1993/L.1 and Add.1-5), and orally revised it.

2. At the same meeting, amendments were proposed by the representatives of the Bahamas, the Philippines, Spain, Venezuela and the Russian Federation.

3. Also at the same meeting, the Commission considered a letter dated 25 March 1993 from the Alternate Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Yugoslavia to the United Nations Office at Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization addressed to the Secretary-General (E/CN.6/1993/17). The following statements were made for the record:

Statement made by the representative of Ghana on behalf of the African States

The African Group totally rejects the letter and its annexes as distributed by the Alternate Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Yugoslavia to the United Nations Office at Vienna (E/CN.6/1993/17), and strongly condemns the conduct of the said Representative and the contents of the above-mentioned letter.

As the Chairperson is acting on behalf of the Commission, we consider this letter and its annexes not only as an affront to her authority but also as a challenge to the dignity and authority of the Commission.

The African Group would like to express its full support for the Chairperson and its appreciation of and satisfaction with the manner in which she conducted the sessions, in particular in her handling of the deliberations on resolution E/CN.6/1993/L.11 under the most difficult circumstances.

The African Group categorically requests the withdrawal of the said letter and its annexes, and asks that this statement be recorded and reflected in the final report of the Commission and be sent to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and all United Nations organizations in Vienna.

Statement made by the representative of Denmark on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the European Economic Community

I do not wish to go into the substance of this document.

However, with regard to the presence of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) and consequently also its right to issue documents, I wish to refer to the European Community's statement made on 24 March, as follows:

As we have already made clear on a number of occasions, the European Community and its member States do not accept that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is the automatic continuation of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In this context, we take note of General Assembly resolution 47/1, adopted on 22 September 1992, in which the Assembly considered that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) cannot continue automatically the membership of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the United Nations, and decided that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) should therefore apply for membership in the United Nations and shall not participate in the work of the General Assembly. The European Community and its member States have also noted the United Nations Legal Counsel's advice on the applicability of the General Assembly resolution to the other United Nations bodies. We regard General Assembly resolution 47/1 as a model for action in the specialized agencies and other United Nations bodies in due course, as appropriate. We do not accept that representatives of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) may validly represent Yugoslav in this meeting. The presence of the representatives in question is without prejudice to any future action which the Community and its member States may take.

Statement made by the representative of the Netherlands on behalf also of Belgium

My delegation supports the intervention of the Danish representative in the name of the European Community and its member States. I would like to add that regardless of the legal status of the document, its content is totally unacceptable to my delegation. We consider this to be an insult to the work of the Commission and to its Chairperson. We insist that this statement be reflected in the record of the present session.

Statement made by the representative of Australia

Australia notes and supports the statement by the representative of Denmark on behalf of the European Community on this matter. I would go further on behalf of my delegation and indicate our firm objection to the tenor and tone of the language of the document as wholly inappropriate to the conduct and work of this Commission. We have confidence in the competence and leadership of the Chair of this Commission. We wish this statement to be recorded in the proceedings of this Commission.

4. Statements were also made by the representatives of Austria, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Chile (on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean States that are members of the Commission), Finland (on behalf of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland), Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Turkey, the United States of America and Venezuela.

5. The Commission then adopted the report on its thirty-seventh session (E/CN.6/1993/L.1 and Add.1-5), as orally revised and amended.

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

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