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CSW 1998Commission on the Status of Women Download the document TXT file (227 KB) ZIP file (61 KB) CONTENTS I. MATTERS CALLING FOR ACTION BY THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL OR BROUGHT TO ITS ATTENTION A.
Draft resolution to be recommended by the Council at its resumed organizational session
for 1998 for adoption by the General Assembly B. Draft resolutions for adoption by the Council I. Situation of women and girls in Afghanistan C. Draft decision for adoption by the Council D. Matters brought to the attention of the Council Resolution 42/1. Human rights and land rights discrimination Resolution 42/3. Violence against women migrant workers Resolution 42/4. Older women and support systems: gender and caregiving Resolution 42/5. Fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights III. FOLLOW-UP TO THE FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN IV. COMMUNICATIONS CONCERNING THE STATUS OF WOMEN VI. PROVISIONAL AGENDA FOR THE FORTY-THIRD SESSION OF THE COMMISSION 61 VII. ADOPTION OF THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON ITS FORTY-SECOND SESSION Annexes I. SUMMARIES OF THE PANEL DISCUSSIONS ON THE CRITICAL AREAS OF CONCERN
MATTERS CALLING FOR ACTION BY THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 1. The Commission on the Status of Women recommends to the Economic and Social Council the approval of the following draft resolution for adoption by the General Assembly: The Economic and Social Council Recommends to the General Assembly the adoption of the following draft resolution: "The General Assembly, "Recalling its resolutions, in particular resolution 52/100 of 12 December 1997, on follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and full implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, and agreed conclusions and relevant resolutions of the Commission on the Status of Women and the Economic and Social Council on the follow-up to the Conference, "Reaffirming the commitments made in the Beijing Declaration1 and Platform for Action,2 "1. Decides that the high-level plenary review to appraise and assess the progress achieved in the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women3 and the Beijing Platform for Action, five years after its adoption, and to consider further actions and initiatives, should be held as a special session of the General Assembly for five days, from 5 to 9 June 2000; "2. Also decides that the special session should reaffirm the commitment to the Beijing Platform for Action and further focus, inter alia, on obstacles encountered in implementation, as well as on strategies to overcome those obstacles, with a view to fully implementing the Platform, as well as to taking further action and initiatives; "3. Recalls that, in keeping with General Assembly resolution 52/100, the Commission on the Status of Women will serve as the preparatory committee for the review and will be open-ended for the purposes of the preparations; "4. Decides that the preparatory work, which should be supported by inter-sessional consultations convened by the open-ended Bureau of the Commission on the Status of Women as needed, will be carried out by the Commission at its forty-third and forty-fourth sessions in the years 1999 and 2000, respectively, and that the forty-third and forty-fourth sessions will be extended by five days each to complete the preparations; "5. Calls upon the Secretary-General in collaboration with the regional commissions to develop a standardized questionnaire with a focused set of indicators on all critical areas of concern as a framework to assist national Governments in their assessment of and reporting on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action; "6. Encourages Governments, especially those that have not yet done so, to submit their national plans of action to the Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations Secretariat by September 1998 as an input to the start of the review during the forty-third session of the Commission and, in 1999, to submit information on their implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, focusing particularly on positive actions, lessons learned, obstacles, key challenges remaining and a vision for gender equality in the next millennium; "7. Invites Governments to prepare their national evaluations on the implementation of the Platform for Action with the involvement of civil society; "8. Requests the Secretary-General to invite all entities of the United Nations system, including the specialized agencies, funds and programmes, to be actively involved in preparatory activities and to participate at the highest level in the special session, including through presentations on best practices, obstacles encountered and a vision for the future to accelerate implementation and address new and emerging trends; "9. Encourages appropriate regional preparatory activities for the special session, inter alia, by Governments in cooperation with the regional commissions, and recommends submission of the results as an input to the Commission at its forty-fourth session, in the year 2000; "10. Invites the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission at its forty-third session, in addition to the documentation already foreseen in the long-term work programme of the Commission for the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, suggestions on further initiatives and actions that might be considered during the review, with attention to mainstreaming gender equality and to common trends and themes across the twelve critical areas of concern; "11. Requests the Secretary-General to provide in the report on emerging issues to be submitted to the Commission at its forty-fourth session, additional material on further actions and initiatives for the preparation of the outlook beyond the year 2000; "12. Invites the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to provide information in 1999 on implementation of the Platform for Action, based on its review of reports of States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;4 "13. Invites the Secretary-General to integrate in his reports information from relevant treaty-monitoring bodies, within their mandates, on their efforts to mainstream a gender perspective; "14. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its special session a comparative report on how different categories of projects and programmes of United Nations organizations include women's interests and gender mainstreaming issues and on resources allocated in this regard; "15. Recommends that the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank focus on gender issues in the Human Development Report and the World Development Report for the year 2000; "16. Requests the Secretary-General to provide by the end of 1999 a compilation of updated statistics and indicators on the situation of women and girls in countries around the world by issuing, for example, a volume of The World's Women; "17. Calls upon States, the United Nations and non-governmental organizations to undertake necessary measures with a view to providing appropriate information to the public on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the process of preparations for the special session of the General Assembly; "18. Emphasizes the important role of non-governmental organizations in implementing the Platform for Action and the need for their active involvement in preparations for the special session as well as the need to ensure appropriate arrangements for their contributions to the special session; "19. Requests the Secretary-General to make available the necessary resources for the participation of the least developed countries at the special session in accordance with past practice."
B. Draft resolutions for adoption by the Council 2. The Commission on the Status of Women recommends to the Economic and Social Council the adoption of the following draft resolutions:
Situation of women and girls in Afghanistan* The Economic and Social Council, Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,5 the International Covenants on Human Rights,6 the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,7 the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,8 the Convention on the Rights of the Child,9 the Beijing Declaration10 and Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women,11 and other instruments of human rights and international humanitarian law, Deeply concerned by the continuing and substantiated reports of violations of the human rights of women and girls, including all forms of discrimination against them, particularly in areas under control of the Taliban, resulting, inter alia, in restrictions upon movement, denial of equal access of women to health care, prohibition of most forms of female employment, restrictions upon education for women and girls, the closing of girls' schools, and severe limitations upon the enrolment of females in institutions of higher education and upon their access to humanitarian assistance, Welcoming the ongoing work of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, in particular his special focus on violations of the human rights of women and girls, especially in territories under the control of the Taliban faction, Welcoming also the decision of the Secretary-General to send a gender mission to Afghanistan, hoping that it will serve as a model for future efforts to address the gender dimension of crisis/conflict situations, and encouraging the Secretary-General to continue to send such high-level missions, when appropriate, Taking into account the report of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women on her visit to Afghanistan in November 1997, Expressing its appreciation for the international community's support of and solidarity with the women and girls of Afghanistan, being supportive of the women of Afghanistan who protest violations of their human rights, and encouraging women and men worldwide to continue efforts to draw attention to their situation and to promote the immediate restoration of their ability to enjoy their human rights, 1. Condemns the continuing violations of the human rights of women and girls, including all forms of discrimination against them, in all areas of Afghanistan; 2. Calls upon all parties within Afghanistan to recognize, protect, promote and act in accordance with all human rights and fundamental freedoms, regardless of gender, ethnicity or religion, in accordance with international human rights instruments, and to respect international humanitarian law; 3. Strongly urges all of the Afghan factions to end discriminatory policies and to recognize, protect and promote the equal rights and dignity of women and men, including their rights to full and equal participation in the life of the country, freedom of movement, access to education and health facilities, employment outside the home, personal security, and freedom from intimidation and harassment, with special respect to the implications of discriminatory policies for the distribution of aid; 4. Appeals to all States and to the international community to ensure that all humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan integrates gender concerns and actively attempts to promote the participation of both women and men and to promote peace and human rights; 5. Encourages the continuing efforts of the United Nations, international and non-governmental organizations and donors to ensure that all United Nations-assisted programmes in Afghanistan are formulated and coordinated in such a way as to promote and ensure the participation of women in those programmes, and that women benefit equally with men from such programmes; 6. Welcomes the establishment of the ad hoc Inter-Agency Task Force on Gender in Afghanistan under the leadership of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, and encourages Member States to make particular efforts to promote the human rights of women in Afghanistan; 7. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that reports of future gender missions are made available to the Commission on the Status of Women.
The Economic and Social Council, Having considered with appreciation the report of the Secretary-General concerning the situation of Palestinian women and assistance provided by organizations of the United Nations system,12 Recalling the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women,13 in particular paragraph 260 concerning Palestinian women and children, and the Beijing Platform for Action14 adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women, Recalling also its resolution 1997/16 of 21 July 1997 and other relevant United Nations resolutions, Recalling further the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women15 as it concerns the protection of civilian populations, Concerned about the stalemate facing the Middle East peace process, including the lack of implementation of the agreements reached in Washington D.C. between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Government of Israel, and the deterioration of the socio-economic conditions of the Palestinian people as a result of the Israeli positions and measures, Concerned also about the continuing difficult situation of Palestinian women in the occupied Palestinian territory, including Jerusalem, and about the severe consequences of continuous illegal Israeli settlements activities, as well as the harsh economic conditions and other consequences for the situation of Palestinian women and their families, resulting from the frequent closures and isolation of the occupied territory, 1. Stresses its support for the Middle East peace process and the need for speedy and full implementation of the agreements already reached between the parties; 2. Reaffirms that the Israeli occupation remains a major obstacle for Palestinian women with regard to their advancement, self-reliance and integration in the development planning of their society; 3. Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, comply fully with the provisions and principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,16 the Regulations annexed to The Hague Convention of 190717 and the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,18 in order to protect the rights of Palestinian women and their families; 4. Calls upon Israel to facilitate the return of all refugees and displaced Palestinian women and children to their homes and properties in the occupied Palestinian territory, in compliance with relevant United Nations resolutions; 5. Urges Member States, financial organizations of the United Nations system, non-governmental organizations and other relevant institutions to intensify their efforts to provide financial and technical assistance to Palestinian women for the creation of projects responding to their needs, especially during the transitional period; 6. Requests the Commission on the Status of Women to continue to monitor and take action with regard to the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, in particular paragraph 260 concerning Palestinian women and children, and the Beijing Platform for Action; 7. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to review the situation and to assist Palestinian women by all available means, and to submit to the Commission on the Status of Women at its forty-third session a report on the progress made in the implementation of the present resolution.
The Economic and Social Council, Reaffirming the revised system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women, 1996-2001, and the comments of the Commission on the Status of Women contained in Commission resolution 40/10 and the annex thereto,19 Noting with concern that a number of obstacles have been encountered in the implementation of the plan, 1. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on the mid-term review of the implementation of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women, 1996-200120 and endorses the recommendations contained therein; 2. Urges the Secretary-General to ensure that the obstacles encountered in the implementation of the plan are dealt with effectively, in particular through heightened accountability at all levels, particularly that of senior managers, and by including the necessary training, where appropriate; 3. Emphasizes the need for continued efforts by all areas of the United Nations system to implement the plan fully; 4. Stresses in particular the importance of mainstreaming a gender perspective into the formulation and implementation of operational activities for development of the United Nations system and into the United Nations Development Assistance Framework, notably at the country level; 5. Welcomes the work of the Administrative Committee on Coordination Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality, particularly its coordination and catalytic role in the area of gender mainstreaming, policy analysis and operational activities in the work programmes of the bodies of the United Nations system, and its work in compiling good practices, guidelines and indicators in the area of gender mainstreaming; 6. Urges Member States, when considering the triennial policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system, during the fifty-third session of the General Assembly, to fully integrate a gender perspective into those activities; 7. Requests the United Nations Development Group to institute guidelines and procedures for the implementation of relevant aspects of the Beijing Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women21 into the planning and preparing of the operational activities for development of United Nations funds and programmes; 8. Recommends that gender equality and women's empowerment goals be integrated into the continuing United Nations reform process, including in the work of the executive committees and, in that regard, reaffirms the goal of 50/50 gender distribution by the year 2000 in all categories of posts within the United Nations system, especially at the D-1 level and above, with full respect for the principle of equitable geographical distribution, in conformity with Article 101 of the Charter of the United Nations, and also taking into account the lack of representation or under-representation of women from certain countries, in particular developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
The Economic and Security Council Endorses the following conclusions adopted by the Commission on the Status of Women with respect to the four critical areas of concern addressed by the Commission at its forty-second session:
The Commission on the Status of Women Reaffirms the Beijing Platform for Action,22 notably chapter IV.D on violence against women, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,23 and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women,24 Requests States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to take into account in their initial and periodic reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation 19 on violence against women, adopted by the Committee at its eleventh session,25 and the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, Requests States parties to international human rights treaties to compile information and report on the extent and manifestations of violence against women, including domestic violence and harmful traditional practices, and the measures taken to eliminate such violence, for inclusion in reports under the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and to include such information in reports to other treaty bodies, Proposes, in order to accelerate the implementation of the strategic objectives of chapter IV.D:
A. An integrated, holistic approach Actions to be taken by Governments and the international community: Formulate comprehensive and multidisciplinary and coordinated national plans, programmes or strategies, which will be widely disseminated, to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls and provide for targets, timetables for implementation and effective domestic enforcement procedures by monitoring mechanisms, involving all parties concerned, including consultations with women's organizations; Call upon the international community to condemn and act against all forms and manifestations of terrorism, in particular those that affect women and children; Develop strong and effective national, regional and international cooperation to prevent and eliminate trafficking in women and girls, especially for purposes of economic and sexual exploitation, including the exploitation of prostitution of women and girls; Encourage the media to take measures against the projection of images of violence against women and children; Strengthen effective partnerships with non-governmental organizations and all relevant agencies to promote an integrated and holistic approach to the elimination of violence against women and girls; Integrate effective actions to end violence against women into all areas of public and private life, as a means of working to overcome the violence and discrimination that women face because of such factors as race, language, ethnicity, poverty, culture, religion, age, disability and socio-economic class or because they are indigenous people, migrants, including women migrant workers, displaced women or refugees; Ensure that comprehensive programmes for the rehabilitation of victims of rape are integrated into global programmes.
B. Provision of resources to combat violence against all women Actions to be taken by Governments, non-governmental organizations and the public and private sector, as appropriate: Support the work of non-governmental organizations in their activities to prevent, combat and eliminate violence against women; Provide adequate resources for women's groups, helplines, crisis centres and other support services, including credit, medical, psychological and other counselling services, as well as focus on vocational skill training for women victims of violence that enables them to find a means of subsistence; Provide resources for the strengthening of legal mechanisms for prosecuting those who commit acts of violence against women and girls, and for the rehabilitation of victims; Support and encourage partnerships for the establishment of national networks and provide resources for shelters and relief support for women and girls, so as to offer a safe, sensitive and integrated response to women victims of violence, including the provision of programmes designed to heal victims of trafficking and rehabilitate them into society; Consider increasing contributions for national, regional and international action to combat violence against women, including for the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on violence against women, its causes and consequences and the Trust Fund in Support of Action to Eliminate Violence against Women of the United Nations Development Fund for Women; Develop special programmes that would assist women and girls with disabilities in recognizing and reporting acts of violence, including the provision of accessible support services for their protection and safety; Encourage and fund the training of personnel in the administration of justice, law enforcement agencies, security, social and health-care services, schools and migration authorities on matters related to gender-based violence, and its prevention, and the protection of women from violence; Include in national budgets adequate resources related to the elimination of violence against women and girls.
C. Creation of linkages and cooperation with regard to particular forms of violence against women Actions to be taken by Governments: Consider, where appropriate, formulating bilateral, subregional and regional agreements to promote and protect the rights of migrant workers, especially women and girls; Develop bilateral, subregional, regional and international agreements and protocols to combat all forms of trafficking in women and girls, and assist victims of violence resulting from prostitution and trafficking; Improve international information exchange on trafficking in women and girls by recommending the setting up of a data-collection centre within Interpol, regional law enforcement agencies and national police forces, as appropriate; Strengthen the implementation of all relevant human rights instruments in order to eliminate organized and other forms of trafficking in women and girls, including trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and of pornography; Strengthen gender focal points of the regional commissions, and further enhance their contributions to gender-balanced development policies, as they have already made significant contributions by helping member States to build capacities and as regards gender-mainstreaming for alleviating gender-based violence against women, and have contributed actively to promoting the human rights of women.
D. Legal measures Actions to be taken by Governments: Ensure the gender-sensitive development of an integrated framework that includes criminal, civil, evidentiary and procedural provisions and that addresses sufficiently the multiple forms of violence against women; Take all appropriate measures to develop an integrated and comprehensive legislative framework that addresses sufficiently the multiple forms of violence against women; Promote, where necessary, the harmonization of local legislation that penalizes acts of violence against women; Provide adequate infrastructure and support services to respond to the needs of the survivors of violence against women and girls, and to assist towards full recovery and reintegration into society, such as witness protection programmes, restraining order against perpetrators, crisis centres, telephone hotlines, shelters, provisions for economic support and livelihood assistance; Develop guidelines to ensure appropriate police and prosecutorial responses in cases of violence against women; Establish and support programmes that provide legal aid and assistance for women and girls bringing complaints relating to gender-based violence through various applicable ways and means, such as non-governmental organization support for women with claims relating to violence against women; Ensure the accountability of relevant law enforcement agencies for implementation of policies to protect women from gender-based violence; Investigate, and in accordance with national legislation, punish all acts of violence against women and girls, including those perpetrated by public officials; Implement strategies and practical measures, taking account of the Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice adopted by the General Assembly, in its resolution 52/86 of 12 December 1997, and contained in the annex thereto; Review national legislation in order to effect complete legal prohibition of rape and all forms of violence against women and girls, such as domestic violence, including rape, and to ensure that legislation that protects women and girls from violence is effectively implemented; Criminalize all forms of trafficking in women and girls for the purposes of sexual exploitation and penalize all traffickers; Take steps to enable women who are victims of trafficking to make complaints to the police and to be available when required by the criminal justice system, and ensure that during this time women have access to social, medical, financial and legal assistance, and protection, as appropriate; Develop and implement national legislation and policies prohibiting harmful customary or traditional practices that are violations of women's and girls' human rights and obstacles to the full enjoyment by women and girls of their human rights and fundamental freedoms; Ensure that women are safe at work by supporting measures that promote the creation of a workplace environment free from sexual harassment or other violence and encourage all employers to put in place policies designed to eliminate and deal effectively with harassment of women whenever it occurs in the workplace; Encourage the participation of women in law enforcement agencies so as to achieve gender balance.
E. Research and gender-disaggregated data collection Actions to be taken by Governments: Promote coordinated research on violence against women to ensure that it is multidisciplinary and addresses the root factors, including external factors, that encourage trafficking in women and girls for prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation; Encourage research aimed at exploring the nature, extent and causes of violence and collect data and statistics on its economic and social costs, and its consequences, and conduct research on the impact of all laws relevant to combating all forms of violence against women; Develop common definitions and guidelines and train relevant actors for the collection of data and statistics on violence against women and ensure that all cases of violence against women are recorded systematically and appropriately, whether they are first reported to the police or to health and social services; Sponsor community-based research and national surveys, including the collection of disaggregated data, on violence against women, with regard to particular groups of women, such as women with disabilities, migrant women workers and trafficked women; Support evaluations of the impact of measures and policies, particularly with regard to legislative, evidentiary and procedural law reform, to address violence against women with a view to identifying and exchanging good practices and lessons learned, and initiate intervention and prevention programmes; Promote the sharing of research results, including information on best practices at national, regional and international levels; Explore the possibility of mechanisms such as national rapporteurs, who report to Governments on the scale, prevention and combating of violence against women, particularly trafficking in women and girls.
Action to be taken by the United Nations: Consider ways to share good practices and lessons learned, including establishing a readily accessible database of good practices and lessons learned with regard to all forms of violence against women.
F. Change attitudes Actions to be taken by Governments and civil society, including non-governmental organizations: Work to create violence-free societies by implementing participatory educational programmes on human rights, conflict resolution and gender equality, for women and men of all ages, beginning with girls and boys; Support programmes of peer mediation and conflict resolution for schoolchildren and special training for teachers to equip them to encourage cooperation and respect for diversity and gender; Encourage innovative education and training in schools to enhance awareness of gender-based violence by promoting non-violent conflict resolution, and short- and mid- and long-term strategic educational goals for achieving gender equality; Introduce and invest in comprehensive public awareness campaigns, such as "zero tolerance", that portray violence against women as unacceptable; Encourage the promotion in media portrayals of positive images of women and of men, presenting them as cooperative and full partners in the upbringing of their children, and discourage the media from presenting negative images of women and girls; Encourage the media to create positive images of women and men as cooperative and crucial actors in preventing violence against women through the development of voluntary international media codes of conduct, on positive images, portrayals and representations of women, and on the coverage of the reporting of violence against women; Raise awareness and mobilize public opinion to eliminate female genital mutilation and other harmful traditional, cultural or customary practices that violate the human rights of women and girls and negatively affect their health; Promote the responsible use of new information technologies, in particular the Internet, including the encouraging of steps to prevent the use of these technologies for discrimination and violence against women, and for trafficking in women for the purposes of sexual exploitation, including the exploitation of prostitution of women and girls; Create policies and programmes to encourage behavioural change in perpetrators of violence against women, including rape, and monitor and assess the impact and effect of such programmes; Establish legal literacy programmes to make women aware of their rights and the methods of seeking protection under the law; Recognize that women and girls with disabilities, women migrants and refugee women and girls could be particularly affected by violence, and encourage the development of programmes for their support; Encourage campaigns aimed at clarifying opportunities, limitations and rights in the event of migration so as to enable women to make informed decisions and to prevent them from becoming victims of trafficking; Encourage and support men's own initiatives to complement efforts of women's organizations to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls; Conduct research on, and create policies and programmes to change, the attitudes and behaviour of perpetrators of violence against women within family and society; Actively encourage, support and implement measures aimed at increasing the knowledge and understanding of violence against women, through gender analysis capacity-building and gender-sensitive training for law enforcement officers, police personnel, the judiciary, medical and social workers, and teachers.
The Commission on the Status of Women Reaffirms the Beijing Platform for Action,26 notably chapter IV.E on women and armed conflict; Proposes the following, taking into account the Commission's conclusions on human rights of women, violence against women and the girl child, in order to accelerate the implementation of the strategic objectives of chapter IV.E:
A. Ensuring gender-sensitive justice Actions to be taken by Governments: Ensure that national legal systems provide accessible and gender-sensitive avenues of redress for victims of armed conflict; Ensure that a gender-sensitive perspective is integrated in the drafting and interpretation of international law and domestic legislation, including for the protection of women and girls in armed conflict; Support efforts to create an international criminal court that integrates a gender perspective in its statute and functioning, enabling a gender-sensitive interpretation and application of the statute; Provide and disseminate to the public in local languages, including to women's groups and non-governmental organizations, information on the jurisdiction and procedures for accessing the ad hoc war crimes tribunals, human rights treaty bodies and all other relevant mechanisms; this information should be widely and actively disseminated in cooperation with the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations; Protect children in situations of armed conflict, especially the girl child, against participation, recruitment, rape and sexual exploitation through adherence to the applicable principles of international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and national legislation; Promote a gender balance and gender expertise in all relevant international bodies, at all times, including the International Law Commission, the ad hoc war crimes tribunals and the human rights treaty bodies, having due regard for the principle of equitable geographical distribution; Examine and consider modifying existing legal definitions and standards to ensure that they encompass concerns of all women and girls affected by armed conflict, and, in particular, reaffirm that rape, systematic rape and sexual slavery in armed conflict constitute war crimes; Ensure that where crimes of sexual violence are committed in situations of conflict, all perpetrators, including those among United Nations and international peacekeeping and humanitarian personnel, are prosecuted.
B. Specific needs of women affected by armed conflict Actions to be taken by Governments and international organizations: Collect and provide information on violations of the human rights of women under foreign occupation and take steps to ensure the full enjoyment of the human rights of these women; Take account of the impact of armed conflict on the health of all women and introduce measures to address the full range of women's health needs, including those of women with disabilities, and the psychological needs arising from trauma stemming from sexual abuses and the effects of violations of their rights; Address the specific needs and concerns of women refugees and displaced persons and ensure appropriate training for relevant bodies to address the specific needs and concerns of women refugees, who should receive special protection, including the proper design and location of camps and the adequate staffing of camps; Recognize the importance of fully involving women in designing rehabilitation policies in post-conflict situations and take steps to assist household economies, including the social and economic conditions of women-headed households and widows; Ensure the physical safety and security of all refugee women and girls and those internally displaced by, inter alia, adequately providing for and increasing their access to the right of return to their country or place of origin, and the participation of women in the committees responsible for the management of the camp(s), and ensure that camps are designed in accordance with the 1995 Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women27 of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; and arrange for gender-sensitive legal, social and medical services in camps, and for the talents and capabilities of refugee and displaced women and girls to be fully integrated in the development and implementation of these programmes while they are in these camps; Provide refugee victims of sexual violence and their families with adequate medical and psychosocial care, including culturally sensitive counselling, and ensure confidentiality; Take measures in accordance with international law with a view to alleviating any negative impact of economic sanctions on women and children; Mainstream a gender perspective, as appropriate, into national immigration and asylum policies, regulations and practices, in order to extend protection to those women whose claim for protection is based on gender-related persecution; Provide and strengthen assistance to all women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations, including through non-governmental organizations, as appropriate. Refugee women and men must have equal rights in the administration and distribution of goods and services in the camps; Condemn and bring to an immediate end massive violations of human rights, especially in the form of genocide, and ethnic cleansing as a strategy of war, and its consequences, such as rape, including systematic rape of women in war situations; Encourage rehabilitation centres to ensure that the knowledge and professions of displaced and refugee people are utilized; Mainstream a gender perspective into humanitarian responses to crises and armed conflicts and into post-conflict reconstruction activities.
C. Increasing the participation of women in peacekeeping, peace-building, pre- and
post-conflict decision-making, Actions to be taken by Governments and international and regional intergovernmental institutions: Increase, including through measures of affirmative action, women's participation and leadership in decision-making and in preventing conflict; Mainstream a gender perspective into peace-promoting activities at all levels as well as humanitarian and peace-building policies, including through gender analysis and the encouragement of the participation of more female personnel at all levels, in particular at senior or high levels in field missions, and monitor and review such policies as appropriate, on the basis of equitable geographical distribution where applicable; Recognize and support women's non-governmental organizations, particularly at the grass-roots level, in respect of their preventing conflict, including early warning and peace-building; Take note of the Kampala Action Plan on Women and Peace,28 as well as the post-Beijing follow-up Kigali Declaration on Peace, Gender and Development,29 and A Plan of Action for Conflict-affected Areas,30 and if appropriate, convene conferences to assess progress and promote implementation; Regional research and training institutes should carry out research on the role of women in conflict resolution and identify and analyse policies and action programmes; Create mechanisms to encourage more women candidates with the appropriate qualifications to apply for judicial, prosecutorial and other positions in all relevant international bodies, in order to achieve gender balance on the basis of equitable geographical distribution; Nominate and appoint more women as special representatives in conflict resolution, taking due consideration of the principle of equitable geographical distribution; Enhance the role of women in bilateral preventive diplomacy efforts as well as those undertaken by the United Nations in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations; Ensure that the participants in humanitarian missions and in peacekeeping operations, both military and civilian, are given specific gender-sensitive training; Develop and implement innovative strategies to increase the participation of women in peacekeeping operations and invite the Secretary-General to analyse their effectiveness in his reports on peacekeeping operations, if appropriate, based on an expert group meeting; Mainstream a gender perspective into bilateral and multilateral peace-building discussions and promotion of social development.
D. Preventing conflict and promoting a culture of peace Actions to be taken by Governments, the international community and civil society, as appropriate: Integrate a gender perspective into foreign policies and adjust policies accordingly; Support the establishment of women-for-peace networks; Discourage the adoption of and refrain from any unilateral measure that is not in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations and that impedes the full achievement of economic and social development by the population of the affected countries, in particular women and children, that hinders their well-being and that creates obstacles to the full enjoyment of their human rights; Ensure that education, including teacher training, promotes peace, respect for human rights and gender-sensitivity, tolerance for diversity, including cultural and religious diversity, and pluralism; Encourage the incorporation of relevant international humanitarian law principles and their interpretation from a gender perspective into national legal systems; Encourage and support the participation of young people in programmes, seminars and workshops on conflict resolution and human rights, negotiations for the peaceful settlement of disputes and the importance of a gender perspective in the promotion of a culture of peace, development and human rights of women; Strengthen ongoing efforts to train international peacekeeping forces on human rights and gender-sensitivity, provide training on codes of conduct and prevention of violence against women, ensuring that trainers include civilians, women and experts in gender issues, and monitor the impact of this training; Enhance the culture of peace and the peaceful settlement of armed conflicts, including through mass media, audio and video as appropriate; Draw upon and utilize the expertise of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations Secretariat, the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the United Nations Children's Fund for the preparation of materials for the training of United Nations peacekeepers; Continue to make resources available nationally and internationally for prevention of conflict and ensure women's participation in the elaboration and implementation of strategies for preventing conflict; Recognize and support the work done by national machineries for the advancement of women and by non-governmental organizations and work towards mobilizing the action necessary to encourage the achievement by women of a critical mass at the national cabinet level in key ministries and departments and in international organizations that make or influence policy with regard to matters related to collective peace and security.
Actions to be taken by the United Nations: Acknowledge and support the vital work of non-governmental organizations in the field of peace in efforts towards preventing conflict and for peace-building; Organize programmes and seminars to sensitize community leaders and women on the important role that women should play in developing a culture of peace in society.
E. Disarmament measures, illicit arms trafficking, landmines and small arms Actions to be taken by Governments: In order to alleviate the suffering of women and children caused by landmines, work towards the objective of eliminating anti-personnel landmines; and in this regard take due note of the conclusion of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction and its implementation by those States that become parties to it; Join international efforts to elaborate international policies to prohibit illicit traffic, trade and transfer of small arms, and to control their excessive production, with a view to alleviating the suffering of women and children in the situation of armed conflict; Provide landmine awareness campaigns or classes in close cooperation with communities and community leaders formally and informally, making them accessible to women in afflicted areas, and provide resources and assistance for landmine clearance and share technology and information so that local populations can engage effectively in the safe clearance of landmines; Support programmes for the rehabilitation and social integration of women victims of anti-personnel landmines, and demining and mine awareness activities; Encourage as appropriate the role of women in the peace movement, working towards general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control including disarmament of all types of weapons of mass destruction; Work to prevent and put an end to aggression and all forms of armed conflict, thereby promoting a culture of peace.
The Commission on the Status of Women Reaffirms the Beijing Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women,31 in particular chapter IV.I on the human rights of women, and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights,32 Recommends that the Commission on Human Rights give particular attention to the economic and social rights of women in any discussions it may have at its fifty-fourth session on the question of the appointment and mandate of a special rapporteur on economic, social and cultural rights, or a specific aspect thereof; and invites the Secretary-General to report to the Commission on the Status of Women in 1999 on decisions taken by the Commission on Human Rights on this issue, and further recommends that the rapporteur on economic, social and cultural rights, if appointed, should make his or her reports available to the Commission on the Status of Women, Proposes, in order to accelerate the implementation of the strategic objectives of chapter IV.I of the Platform for Action:
A. Creation and development of an environment conducive to women's enjoyment of their human rights and awareness-raising Actions to be taken by Governments, non-governmental organizations, employers, trade unions, the private sector and other actors in civil society, as appropriate: Ensure universal awareness by all persons, women and men, girls and boys of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and children, including the girl child, through comprehensive human rights education in accordance with the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education, and create and promote a culture of human rights, development and peace; Encourage and support broad-based national and community-based dialogues that include women and men, and girls and boys, from diverse backgrounds, on the meaning of human rights, on the obligations thereby created and on gender-specific discrimination and violations; Ensure that work, including, inter alia, work by treaty bodies within their mandates to develop an understanding of the gender dimensions of human rights, is compiled and widely disseminated, and that this gender-sensitive interpretation of human rights is fully integrated into all policies and programmes of international and regional organizations; Make widely available reports of United Nations mechanisms that deal with the human rights of women, such as on discrimination and violence against women, to the public, including the judiciary, parliamentarians and non-governmental organizations; Support, encourage and disseminate research, and collect gender- and age-disaggregated statistics on factors and multiple barriers that affect the full enjoyment by women of their economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights, including their right to development, and on violations that are particular to women, and disseminate the findings and utilize the collected data in assessing the implementation of the human rights of women; Develop and implement national legislation and policies prohibiting customary and traditional practices that are harmful to women and that are violations of women's human rights; Eradicate customary or traditional practices, particularly female genital mutilation, that are harmful to, or discriminatory against, women and that are violations of women's human rights and fundamental freedoms, through the design and implementation of awareness-raising programmes, education and training; Ensure that their personnel periodically receive gender training and are educated and made aware of all women's, men's and children's human rights; Mobilize the resources necessary and create the conditions for the full exercise of women's economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights; Establish and strengthen partnerships and cooperation with each other and with the United Nations system and regional organizations in order to promote more actively the full enjoyment by women of their human rights; Ensure that indigenous and other marginalized women's special conditions are taken fully into consideration within the framework of the human rights of women; Mainstream a gender perspective, as appropriate, into national immigration and asylum policies, regulations and practices in order to extend protection to those women whose claim for protection is based on gender-related persecution.
B. Legal and regulatory framework Actions to be taken by Governments: Guarantee the existence of a national legal and regulatory framework, including independent national institutions, or other appropriate mechanisms, that ensure the full realization of all human rights of women and girls on the basis of equality and non-discrimination, including their right to be free from violence, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, other instruments related to human rights and international law; Take steps, including a gender-sensitive review of national legislation, to revoke any laws or legal procedures and eradicate practices B national or customary B that promote discrimination on the basis of sex; Ensure that women and children have full and equal access to effective legal remedies for violations, including domestic mechanisms, which are monitored and revised to ensure that they function without discrimination, and international mechanisms that address human rights as provided, inter alia, under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;33 Promote changes that ensure that women enjoy equal opportunities in law and in practice to claim their rights through the national legal systems, including through educating them on these rights as well as ensuring availability of measures such as free or affordable legal aid, legal representation and court appeals procedures, and support existing programmes of non-governmental organizations and other agencies.
C. Policies, mechanisms and machineries Actions to be taken by Governments: Ratify and accede to and ensure implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women34 so that universal ratification of the Convention can be achieved by the year 2000; Limit the extent of any reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: formulate any such reservations as precisely and as narrowly as possible; ensure that no reservations are incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention or otherwise incompatible with international treaty law and regularly review those reservations with a view to withdrawing them; and withdraw reservations that are contrary to the object and purpose of the Convention or that are otherwise incompatible with international treaty law; Create channels of communication to promote information exchange between national institutions that address the human rights of women, and non-governmental organizations and relevant policy-making bodies of Government; Create gender mainstreaming mechanisms within all policy-making bodies so that women's ability to enjoy their rights is strengthened by all policies and programmes, including through gender-sensitive budgeting; Support efforts to create an international criminal court that integrates a gender perspective in its statute and functioning, enabling a gender-sensitive interpretation and application of the statute; Mainstream a gender perspective into all economic and social policies in order to promote the human rights of women and girls, including their right to development; Adopt measures to ensure by appropriate means that women enjoy equal opportunities to participate in decision-making processes, including parliamentary and other elected assemblies.
Actions to be taken by States parties to human rights instruments: Promote gender balance in the nomination and election of independent experts to treaty bodies having expertise and sensitivity in regard to gender issues in the field of human rights, giving due consideration to equitable geographical distribution and different legal systems; Take note of the report of the United Nations Secretariat to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women35 and encourage similar studies by other treaty bodies, as well as by the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly, especially with respect to their effect on women's and girls' enjoyment of their human rights; Ensure that their periodic reports to treaty monitoring bodies mainstream a gender perspective.
Within the United Nations system: Urge the Commission on Human Rights to ensure that all human rights mechanisms and procedures fully incorporate a gender perspective in their work, within their respective mandates; The Administrative Committee on Coordination Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality should, as planned, conduct a workshop to clarify the understanding of a rights-based approach to women's empowerment and advancement and to gender equality, drawing on the work already being done in this regard by the United Nations Development Fund for Women and others; The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat should strengthen and improve coordination in general human rights activities within their respective mandates and continue to prepare the joint annual work plan; The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Division for the Advancement of Women should continue to prepare the joint annual work plan and strengthen cooperation and coordination in human rights activities, in particular: (a) By collaborating in the writing of reports for the Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission on Human Rights, the first initiative of this type36 being welcomed; (b) Through sharing information systematically on the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, its sessions and documentation, in order to ensure that its work will be better integrated into the work of the other treaty bodies and United Nations human rights activities; (c) Through capacity-building to implement agreed conclusions 1997/2 of the Economic and Social Council37 on mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes in the United Nations system, in particular training and gender-sensitization especially of human rights monitors; Take further steps to increase cooperation and promote integration of objectives and goals among the Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission on Human Rights and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, as well as the United Nations Development Fund for Women, the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund and other United Nations funds and programmes; Cooperation, communication and exchange of expertise should be enhanced between the Commission on the Status of Women and other functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council, including the Commission on Human Rights, in order to more effectively promote women's human rights; The treaty bodies within their mandates should continue to promote a better understanding of the rights contained in international human rights instruments and their particular significance to women; Given the importance of general comments in clarifying the provisions of human rights treaties, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women is invited to draw up joint general comments with other treaty bodies, within their respective mandates, on the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of human rights and should discuss these and other collaborative activities at the annual chairpersons meeting; The treaty bodies should continue to develop working methods that facilitate communications between non-governmental organizations, treaty bodies and the States parties; The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is commended for establishing a gender team for studying, within the mandate of the Office, the human rights of women; the team should be given the necessary support by the most senior levels of management and decision-making to carry out its work effectively; Specialized agencies and other bodies of the United Nations system, as well as other international financial and national trade organizations, should develop innovative ways of integrating the promotion of women's enjoyment of their human rights in all their policies and programmes.
The Commission on the Status of Women Reaffirms the Beijing Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women,38 notably chapter IV.L on the girl child, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights,39 the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,40 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child,41 Proposes, in order to accelerate the implementation of the strategic objectives of chapter IV.L:
A. Promotion and protection of the human rights of the girl child Actions to be taken by Governments, local authorities, non-governmental organizations and civil society and the United Nations system, as appropriate: Promote further the enjoyment by children, particularly the girl child, of their human rights, by the elaboration of an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on measures for the prevention and eradication of the sale of children, child prostitution and pornography; Organize community-based actions, including the setting up of local committees to create awareness of, and monitor conformity with, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, with a special focus on the situation of adolescent girls and young mothers; Conduct awareness-raising campaigns designed to mobilize communities, including community leaders, religious organizations, parents and other family members, especially male family members, with regard to the rights of the child, giving special emphasis to the girl child, and monitor changes in attitudes; Conduct awareness-raising campaigns and gender training targeted at law enforcement and justice system officials with regard to the rights of children, giving special attention to the girl child; Eliminate traditional and customary practices that constitute son-preference through awareness-raising campaigns and gender training; Recognize and promote the contribution of girls and boys to development; Promote non-discriminatory treatment of girls and boys in the family and, in this regard, adopt measures to ensure equal access by girls and boys to food, education and health.
Actions to be taken by States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Include comprehensive information and sex- and age-disaggregated data on children in their reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and invite the treaty monitoring bodies to pay special attention to the rights of the girl child while assessing those reports; Ensure that any reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child are formulated as precisely and as narrowly as possible and that they are not incompatible with the object and purpose of those conventions, and review the reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child with a view to withdrawing them.
B. Education and empowerment of the girl child Actions to be taken by Governments, educational institutions and the United Nations system, as appropriate: Consider drawing upon the findings and recommendations of the United Nations Expert Group Meeting on Adolescent Girls and their Rights, held in Addis Ababa in October 1997; Consider making primary education compulsory; Ensure universal enrolment and retention of girls in school and ensure the continued education of pregnant adolescents and young mothers in order to guarantee basic education to the girl child; Encourage all levels of society, including parents, Governments and non-governmental organizations, to support the implementation of educational policies to enhance gender awareness in the community; Provide gender-sensitive training for school administrators, parents and all members of the school community, such as local administrators, staff, teachers, school boards and students; Review teaching materials, including textbooks, to promote the self-esteem of women and girls through positive self-images and revise these materials, highlighting women's effective role in society, including in decision-making, development, culture, history, sports and other social, political and economic endeavours; Develop programmes of sensitization on the gender perspective for staff of government offices working on educational issues concerning indigenous and rural girls, and develop educational materials adapted to their situation; Identify the special needs of girls in difficult circumstances, including girls from migrant families, refugee and displaced girls, girls from ethnic minorities, indigenous girls, orphaned girls, girls with disabilities and other girls with special needs, and provide the resources necessary to address their needs; Involve girls, including girls with special needs, and their representative organizations in the decision-making process and include them as full and active partners in identifying their own needs and in designing, planning, implementing and assessing policies and programmes to meet those needs; Provide training opportunities for girls to develop their skills in leadership, advocacy and conflict resolution; Make visible girls' and boys' unpaid work in the household by conducting research and documenting gender differences, particularly in rural communities, note the implications of household work for girls' equal access to basic and further education and career development and take measures to redress imbalances and eliminate discrimination.
C. Health needs of girls Actions to be taken by Governments, civil society and the United Nations system, as appropriate: Protect the girl child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse by taking appropriate measures, including, for example, designing and implementing legislation; Encourage parents, coalitions of concerned organizations and individuals, especially political leaders, popular and community figures and the media, to advocate for children's health, including adolescent girls' reproductive and sexual health; Eradicate all customary or traditional practices, particularly female genital mutilation, that are harmful to or discriminate against women and girls and that are violations of women's human rights and obstacles to the full enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, through the design and implementation of awareness-raising programmes, education and training, as well as programmes to help the victims of such practices to overcome their trauma; Develop and implement national legislation and policies prohibiting customary or traditional practices that are violations of women's human rights and obstacles to the full enjoyment by women of their human rights and fundamental freedoms and prosecute the perpetrators of practices that are harmful to the health of women and girls; Make widely available information and counselling to adolescent girls and boys, especially on human relationships, reproductive and sexual health, sexually transmitted diseases and adolescent pregnancy, that are confidential and easily accessible and emphasize the equal responsibility of girls and boys; Improve the health care for adolescent girls by health personnel and provide the latter with appropriate training, and encourage health- care personnel to work with girls to understand their special needs; Recognize and protect from discrimination pregnant adolescents and young mothers and support their continued access to information, health care, nutrition, education and training; Support the activities of non-governmental organizations in the area of reproductive health and health orientation centres for girls; Enact laws concerning the minimum age for marriage and raise the minimum age for marriage when necessary in order to ensure respect for the rights of the child, as stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.42 D. Girls in armed conflict Actions to be taken by the United Nations and Governments: Incorporate information on the rights of the child in the mandates and operational guidelines of peacekeeping forces, the military and humanitarian workers and provide them with gender-sensitive training; Encourage girls and other individuals and communities to play a key role in reporting violations of rights of girls in armed conflict to the appropriate authorities and ensure adequate, accessible and gender-sensitive support services and counselling; Protect the girl child in situations of armed conflict against participation in armed conflicts, recruitment, rape and sexual exploitation, in particular through the adoption of an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child,43 as recommended by the General Assembly; Take measures to address the special needs of girls for protection and for gender-appropriate support and counselling centres in refugee camps, and in resettlement and reintegration efforts; Create and respect zones of peace for children in armed conflict.
E. Trafficking, including for purpose of prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation Actions to be taken by Governments, international organizations and civil society: Collect information and raise public awareness on the issue of trafficking, physical and psychological abuse, and sexual exploitation of girls in order to better design and improve preventative programmes; Consider implementing the recommendations of the Declaration and Agenda for Action of the World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children,44 held in Stockholm in 1996; Establish recovery programmes for children who have been abused or sexually exploited, with specially trained personnel to provide a safe and supportive environment.
Actions to be taken by Governments: Enact and enforce laws that prohibit sexual exploitation including prostitution, incest, abuse and trafficking of children, paying special attention to girls; Prosecute and punish persons and organizations engaged in and/or promoting the sex industry, sexual exploitation, acts of paedophilia, trafficking in organs, child pornography and sex tourism involving minors, and condemn and penalize all those offenders involved, whether local or foreign, while ensuring that children who are victims of those practices are not penalized; Design mechanisms and strengthen international cooperation to better protect girls and bring to justice the perpetrators of such crimes; Adopt measures that ensure that judicial and legal processes are sensitive to the specific needs of abused girls to prevent further traumatization or victimization.
F. Labour and the girl child Actions to be taken by Governments, international organizations and the private sector: Consider ratifying and implementing international agreements that are designed to protect children, including conventions of the International Labour Organization, and bring national legislation into conformity with those agreements in order to protect the girl child; Ensure that girls who work have access to education and vocational training, health, food, shelter and recreation on equal and favourable conditions, and are protected from economic exploitation, sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace; Pay special attention to girls in the informal sector, such as domestic workers, and develop measures to protect their human rights and fundamental freedoms and prevent their economic exploitation, ill-treatment and sexual abuse; Raise government and public awareness as to the nature and scope of the special needs of girls employed as domestic workers and of those performing excessive domestic chores in their own households, and develop measures to prevent their economic exploitation and sexual abuse; Actively contribute to efforts at the 1998 session of the International Labour Conference to draw up a new international convention to eliminate the most abhorrent forms of child labour; Consider the implementation of the actions identified in the Agenda for Action45 of the 1997 Oslo Conference on Child Labour.
G. General recommendations Actions to be taken by Governments and the United Nations system: Prepare programmes for the girl child as part of national action plans in order to fully implement the Beijing Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women;46 The organizations of the United Nations system, in particular the United Nations Children's Fund, as the agency mandated to deal with the rights and concerns of children, should give greater attention to the girl child through Fund country programmes, using its goodwill ambassadors for raising awareness on the situation of the girl child on national, regional and international levels; The Secretary-General should report on the girl child to the Commission on the Status of Women prior to the five-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action; Base programmes and policies for the girl child on the rights of the child, the responsibilities, rights and duties of the parents and the evolving capacity of the girl child, in accordance with the Beijing Platform for Action and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.47
C. Draft decision for adoption by the Council 3. The Commission on the Status of Women recommends to the Economic and Social Council the adoption of the following draft decision: The Economic and Social Council takes note of the report of the Commission on the Status of Women on its forty-second session and approves the provisional agenda and documentation for the forty-third session of the Commission set out below.
1. Election of officers. 2. Adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters. 3. Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women: (a) Review of mainstreaming in organizations of the United Nations system;
Documentation Report of the Secretary-General on the measures taken and the progress achieved in the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and in mainstreaming a gender perspective within the United Nations system (b) Emerging issues, trends and new approaches to issues affecting the situation of women or equality between women and men;
Documentation Report of the Secretary-General on the differential impact of population ageing on men and women, as a contribution to the International Year of Older Persons (c) Implementation of strategic objectives and action in the critical areas of concern.
Documentation Analytical report of the Secretary-General on the thematic issues before the Commission in accordance with the multi-year work programme, including, as far as possible, progress made in national implementation, based on available existing data and statistics 4. Initiation of the comprehensive review and appraisal of the implementation of the Platform for Action and preparation for the high-level plenary review in the year 2000. 5. Communications concerning the status of women. Documentation Lists of confidential and non-confidential communications concerning the status of women 6. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, including the elaboration of a draft optional protocol to the Convention. 7. Provisional agenda for the forty-fourth session of the Commission. 8. Adoption of the report of the Commission on its forty-third session.
D. Matters brought to the attention of the Council 4. The following resolutions and decision adopted by the commission are brought to the attention of the Council: Resolution 42/1. Human rights and land rights discrimination* The Commission on the Status of Women, Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,48 the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,49 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,50 the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,51 the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights,52 and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women,53 Noting that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights prohibits discrimination and proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, including distinction based on sex, Noting also that the States parties to the International Covenants on Human Rights have the obligation to ensure the equal right of men and women to enjoy all economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights, and concerned, however, that despite these various instruments extensive discrimination against women continues to exist, Gravely concerned that in many countries the treatment accorded to women, whether in terms of property rights, land rights, rights of inheritance, laws related to marriage and divorce or the rights to acquire nationality, manage property or seek employment, reflects the inequality between women and men, Concerned that in situations of poverty, women are disproportionately affected and have the least access to productive resources, food, health, education, training and opportunities for employment and other needs, Recognizing that land is a valuable resource, and that secure land rights are key rights for the economic empowerment of women, Recognizing also that the full and equal participation of women in all spheres of life is essential for the full and complete development of a country, Reaffirming the equal rights of women and men, as enshrined, inter alia, in the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 1. Stresses the need for full and urgent implementation of the rights of women, as guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; 2. Urges all States to take all necessary measures, including legislation, to ensure the full development and advancement of women for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with men, and to take effective action against violations of those rights and freedoms; 3. Calls upon States: (a) To set goals and develop and implement gender-sensitive strategies for addressing the rights and needs of women; (b) To generate social support to change the social and cultural patterns of conduct of women and men with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices that are based on the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for women and men; (c) To develop innovative activities at all levels, including human rights education, to increase women's awareness of their human rights and the mechanisms that are available to protect and enforce women's full enjoyment of them, inter alia, through the translation, production and dissemination of information materials on these rights to all sectors of society; (d) To ensure women's equal rights with men in the areas of education, health and nutrition, and to provide equal access to programmes of continuing education, including adult and functional literacy programmes; 4. Urges States to pay particular attention to women and their rights and needs in designing and implementing development programmes, and specifically to address the feminization of poverty and its root causes, including secure land tenure; 5. Also urges States to design and revise laws to ensure that women are accorded full and equal rights to own land and other property, including through the right to inheritance, and to undertake administrative reforms and other necessary measures to give women the same right as men to credit, capital, appropriate technologies, access to markets and information; 6. Calls upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in the exercise of her mandate, to increase awareness that land rights discrimination is a violation of human rights and that in addressing the right to development secure land tenure for women should be taken into account; 7. Requests the Secretary-General, as Chairman of the Administrative Committee on Coordination, to ensure that all organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, individually and collectively, in particular the United Nations Development Programme, take into account land rights discrimination and its negative impact on women in all poverty eradication programmes and policies; 8. Calls upon all States and all relevant organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to report to the Commission on the Status of Women at its forty-third session on initiatives related to the present resolution.
Resolution 42/2. Release of women and children taken hostage in armed conflicts, including those subsequently imprisoned* The Commission on the Status of Women, Recalling its resolutions 39/2 of 31 March 1995, 40/1 of 22 March 1996 and 41/1 of 21 March 1997, Recalling also the relevant provisions contained in the instruments of international humanitarian law relative to the protection of women and children in areas of armed conflict, Welcoming the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action by the Fourth World Conference on Women,54 including the provisions regarding violence against women and children, Expressing grave concern at the continuation of armed conflicts in many regions throughout the world and the human suffering and humanitarian emergencies they have caused, Emphasizing that all forms of violence committed against the civilian population, including women and children in areas of armed conflict, including capturing them as hostages, seriously contravene international humanitarian law, in particular the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,55 Expressing its strong belief that the rapid and unconditional release of women and children taken hostage in areas of armed conflict will promote the implementation of the noble goals enshrined in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 1. Condemns violent acts in contravention of international humanitarian law against civilian women and children in areas of armed conflict, and calls for an effective response to such acts, including the immediate release of such women and children taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned, in armed conflicts; 2. Strongly urges all parties to armed conflicts to respect fully the norms of international humanitarian law in armed conflict and to take all necessary measures for the protection of these women and children and for their immediate release; 3. Urges all parties to conflicts to provide unimpeded access to specialized humanitarian assistance for these women and children; 4. Requests the Secretary-General and all relevant international organizations to use their capabilities and efforts to facilitate the release of these women and children; 5. Requests the Secretary-General to prepare, taking into account the information provided by States and relevant international organizations, a report on the implementation of the present resolution, for submission to the Commission on the Status of Women at its forty-third session.
Resolution 42/3. Violence against women migrant workers* The Commission on the Status of Women, Recalling all resolutions relevant to women migrant workers adopted by the General Assembly, in particular Assembly resolution 52/97 of 12 December 1997, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, as well as the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women,56 Recalling also the outcome of major world conferences, specifically those pertaining to women migrant workers, Emphasizing the need for objective comprehensive, broad-based information and a wide exchange of experiences and lessons learned by individual Member States and civil society in the formulation of policies and strategies to address the problem of violence against women migrant workers, Noting the large numbers of women from developing countries and some countries in transition who continue to venture forth to more affluent countries in search of a living for themselves and their families as a consequence of poverty, unemployment and other socio-economic conditions, and acknowledging the duty of the sending States to work for conditions that provide employment and security for their citizens, Acknowledging the economic benefits that accrue to sending and receiving countries from the employment of women migrant workers, Recognizing the importance of continued cooperation at the bilateral, regional and international levels in protecting and promoting the rights and welfare of women migrant workers, 1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the thematic issues before the Commission on the Status of Women;57 2. Invites concerned Governments, particularly of sending and receiving countries, to include in their national action plans information on the problems of women migrant workers; 3. Encourages concerned Governments, particularly of sending and receiving countries, to avail themselves of the expertise of the United Nations, including the United Nations Statistics Division and other relevant bodies such as the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, to develop appropriate national data-collection methodologies that will generate comparable data on violence against women migrant workers as bases for research and analyses on the subject; 4. Invites Governments, in cooperation with relevant United Nations bodies, other intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations, to undertake further research on the causes and consequences of violence against women migrant workers; 5. Invites concerned States parties, particularly of sending and receiving countries, to include in their periodic reports to relevant human rights treaty bodies, updated and comprehensive information on actions they have taken to address the problem of violence against women migrant workers; 6. Invites Member States and non-governmental organizations to contribute to the proposed database of good practices and lessons learned on all forms of violence against women, information on bilateral and multilateral agreements, national experiences and lessons learned, initiatives and projects that have proved viable and effective in evolving national strategies and strengthening bilateral, regional and international cooperation for dealing with violence against women migrant workers; 7. Calls upon concerned Governments, particularly of sending and receiving countries, if they have not done so, to put in place penal and criminal sanctions to punish perpetrators of violence against women migrant workers and, to the extent possible, to provide victims of violence with the full range of immediate assistance, such as counselling, legal and consular assistance, temporary shelters and other measures, that will allow them to be present during the judicial process, as well as to establish reintegration and rehabilitation schemes for returning women migrant workers; 8. Encourages Member States to consider ratifying and complying with International Labour Organization conventions and to consider signing and ratifying or acceding to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families;58 9. Encourages the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to consider developing a general recommendation on the situation of women migrant workers; 10. Encourages concerned Governments, in particular those of sending and receiving countries, to adopt measures to regulate the recruitment and deployment of women migrant workers, as well as consider adopting appropriate legal measures against intermediaries who deliberately encourage the clandestine movement of workers and who exploit women migrant workers; 11. Requests the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Development Fund for Women and other relevant organizations of the United Nations system, within the context of the country cooperation and development assistance framework, to support national measures, in both sending and receiving countries, designed to strengthen preventive action, in particular education and information campaigns to increase awareness of the issue of violence against women migrant workers, and to ensure adequate briefing and training of prospective women migrant workers on the laws, culture, working and living conditions, possible problems, coping mechanisms and support services in the receiving countries; 12. Requests the Secretary-General to take into account the relevant provisions contained in the present resolution in preparing, for submission to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session, the report on the problem of violence against women migrant workers requested by the Assembly in paragraph 10 of its resolution 52/97.
Resolution 42/4. Older women and support systems: gender and caregiving* The Commission on the Status of Women, Aware that gender difference in life expectancy rises with age and that therefore two thirds of the very old are women, Aware also that, traditionally, women are relied upon as caregivers at all ages and that they make an essential but often unrecognized and unremunerated contribution to society and the economy, Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on older women and support systems: new challenges,59 based on the report and recommendations of the Expert Group Meeting on Caregiving and Older Persons: Gender Dimensions, held in Malta from 30 November to 2 December 1997, which underscored that: (a) Changes in the traditional support systems affect women and men differently; (b) Urbanization has weakened the traditional support systems for older persons; (c) There are growing numbers of women who, as the primary caretakers, are entering the labour market; (d) Because women live longer than men, they are more likely than men to live alone in old age: in most countries, widows outnumber widowers; (e) Older women are more likely than men to be poor; (f) Older women face a higher risk of chronic illness and disability; female advantage in life expectancy is often offset by disability; (g) Older women's contributions to the well-being of their families, communities and the economy are widely overlooked, 1. Takes note of the recommendations made in the report of the Secretary-General; 2. Invites Member States to consider implementing, at the national level, as appropriate, the recommendations contained in the annex to the present resolution, which are based on the report of the Secretary-General and the views expressed in the Commission by Member States; 3. Requests the Secretary-General to take into account these recommendations when preparing his report to the Commission at its forty-third session, as requested in its resolution 41/2, on key global issues regarding the differential impact of population ageing on men and women.
Annex RECOMMENDATIONS ON CAREGIVING AND OLDER PERSONS: GENDER DIMENSIONS A. Research So far, there is a lack of expertise and research on support systems for older persons from a gender perspective. National and international statistical and research institutes should: (a) Disaggregate all data by age and sex; (b) Analyse the needs of older persons and caregivers from a gender perspective; (c) Pay special attention to the situation of older women and men in developing countries and carry out research on how support systems affect women and men differently; (d) Analyse the consequences of changes in pensions and health care based on gender and age; (e) Develop a methodology to measure the value of women's unpaid labour.
B. Economic security Women in all parts of the world are more likely than men to be poor. Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental institutions should: (a) Ensure that women at all stages of life have access to employment, social protection systems and income equal to that of men; (b) Value the important contributions older women make to development; (c) See that particular attention is paid to efforts to eliminate the gender gap in income; (d) Eliminate discrimination against women in pension funds that are based on the principle of continuous employment; (e) Ensure that older women have access to credit and income-earning possibilities; (f) Involve men and women equally at all levels when designing and implementing economic policies that affect older persons.
C. Education and empowerment The level of formal education and participation in public life of older women is much lower than that of men. Governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental institutions should: (a) Ensure that throughout their lives, girls and women have equal access to education and vocational training, and promote women's self-esteem at all stages of life; (b) Promote lifelong learning on the part of women, provide possibilities for training and retraining, and equip older women with knowledge of modern and traditional technologies so they remain in the mainstream of society; (c) Promote a positive image of older women in political and economic decision-making through mass media and education in order to ensure older women's autonomy and productivity; (d) Give special attention to the situation of older women in the context of the International Year of Older Persons (1999).
D. Well-being of caregivers Women as caregivers are in demand. In order to support caregivers, Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental institutions should: (a) Attach higher value to unpaid caregiving labour and be aware that caregiving is not in unlimited supply; (b) Ensure that the demand put upon women as caregivers does not increase disproportionately in relation to that put upon men; (c) Provide caregivers with opportunities for occasional respites from their duties and provide caregivers with various services, such as housekeeping help, self-help groups, specialized counselling and training; (d) Promote an equal sharing and better reconciliation of working, employment and caregiving responsibilities between men and women; (e) Consider providing financial assistance to informal caregivers; (f) Support women and men who combine paid work and elder care with measures such as flexible working arrangements, family leave for the care of older dependent family members, and reintegration of caregivers after a career break; (g) Offer a variety of alternative services to older people, such as home care and day-care centres.
Resolution 42/5. Fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights* The Commission on the Status of Women, Recalling, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,60 that the Universal Declaration reiterates the principle of the equal rights of women and men contained in the Charter of the United Nations, and entitles everyone to the rights and freedoms set forth in the Universal Declaration without distinction on the basis of sex, Recalling also that gender mainstreaming is a key strategy for achieving equality between women and men and the full enjoyment of all human rights by women, 1. Calls upon the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations system as a whole to ensure that the human rights of women form an integral part of all activities in the commemoration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and are also especially addressed through targeted activities; 2. Recommends that all activities for the commemoration should address the human rights of women, with a view to achieving common understanding and awareness on the promotion and protection of all human rights of women by, for instance, inviting gender experts to participate or contribute and devoting specific attention to the theme "Human rights of women"; 3. Also recommends that specific activities be undertaken to highlight the human rights of women such as the analysis of obstacles in the realization of their rights; 4. Encourages Member States, as well as other actors in the human rights field, to also mainstream a gender perspective into their commemorative activities. Decision 42/101. Documents considered by the Commission on the Status of Women under agenda items 3 and 5 At its 13th meeting, on 13 March, the Commission on the Status of Women took note of the following documents: (a) Report of the Secretary-General on a high-level plenary review in the year 2000 to appraise and assess the progress achieved in the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and the Beijing Platform for Action, containing options for convening the review as contained in General Assembly resolution 52/100;61 (b) Synthesized report of the Secretary-General on national action plans and strategies for implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action;62 (c) Report of the Secretary-General containing an annotated comparison of the draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the amendments proposed thereto with the provisions of existing international human rights instruments;63 (d) Report of the Secretary-General on the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat;64 (e) Note by the Secretariat on the high-level plenary review in the year 2000;65 (f) Report of the Secretary-General on women's real enjoyment of their human rights, in particular those relating to the elimination of poverty, economic development and economic resources.66 1. In accordance with General Assembly resolution 52/100, the Commission, during its forty-second session, met also as the Preparatory Committee for the High-level Review in the Year 2000 of the Implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and the Beijing Platform for Action, which is to be held by the General Assembly. 2. The Preparatory Committee held five meetings (1st to 5th) and a number of informal meetings, on 4, 6 and 11 to 13 March 1998. It had before it the report of the Secretary-General on the high-level plenary review in the year 2000 (A/52/789) containing options for convening the review and a note by the Secretariat on the review (E/CN.6/1998/10).
ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and full implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 3. At the 3rd meeting, on 11 March, the Preparatory Committee had before it a draft text for a resolution (E/CN.6/1998/L.11) entitled "Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and full implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action", submitted by the Chairperson on the basis of informal discussions. 4. At the 4th meeting, on 12 March, the Chairperson made a statement with regard to the draft resolution. 5. At the 5th meeting, on 13 March, the Commission had before it a statement of the programme budget implications of the draft resolution, submitted by the Secretary-General in accordance with rule 31 of the rules of procedure of the Economic and Social Council (E/CN.6/1998/L.14). 6. At the same meeting, the Chairperson drew the attention of the Commission to an informal paper containing revisions to the draft resolution resulting from informal consultations. 7. The Commission then adopted the draft resolution, as revised (see chap. I, sect. A, draft resolution). 8. Before the draft resolution was adopted, statements were made by the representatives of Indonesia (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77 and China) and Côte d'Ivoire and the observer for Pakistan. Report of the Secretary-General containing options for a high-level plenary review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the year 2000 9. At the 13th meeting, on 13 March, the Commission took note of the report of the Secretary-General on a high-level plenary review in the year 2000 of the implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women (A/52/789) containing options for convening the review (see chap. I, sect. D, Commission decision 42/101). FOLLOW-UP TO THE FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN
1. The Commission considered item 3 of its agenda at its 1st to 10th, 12th and 13th meetings, from 2 to 6 and on 12 and 13 March 1998. It had before it the following documents: (a) Report of the Secretary-General on the high-level plenary review in the year 2000 on the implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women (A/52/789), containing options for convening the review; (b) Report of the Secretary-General on the follow-up to and implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (E/CN.6/1998/2 and Add.1 and 2); (c) Report of the Secretary-General on the mid-term review of the implementation of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women, 1996-2001 (E/CN.6/1998/3); (d) Report of the Secretary-General on older women and support systems: new challenges (E/CN.6/1998/4); (e) Analytical report of the Secretary-General on the thematic issues before the Commission (E/CN.6/1998/5); (f) Synthesized report of the Secretary-General on national action plans and strategies for implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (E/CN.6/1998/6); (g) Report of the Secretary-General on the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat (E/CN.6/1998/8); (h) Note by the Secretary-General transmitting information provided by the United Nations Development Fund for Women on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 50/166 on the role of the Fund in eliminating violence against women (E/CN.6/1998/9); (i) Note by the Secretariat on the high-level plenary review in the year 2000 (E/CN.6/1998/10); (j) Report of the Secretary-General on women's real enjoyment of their human rights, in particular those relating to the elimination of poverty, economic development and economic resources (E/CN.4/1998/22-E/CN.6/1998/11). 2. At the 1st meeting, on 2 March, the Commission heard an introductory statement by the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. 3. At the same meeting, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women made a statement. 4. Also at the 1st meeting, statements were made by the representatives of Indonesia (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77 and China), the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the European Union), the United States of America, Chile and the Dominican Republic and the observers for Zambia (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Southern African Development Community) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 5. The representative of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific also made a statement. 6. The Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women made a statement. 7. At the 2nd meeting, on 2 March, statements were made by the representatives of Brazil, Japan, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and China and the observers for Ecuador, Spain, South Africa, Bangladesh, Israel, Liechtenstein, Singapore, Namibia and Botswana. 8. Statements were made by the representatives of the Economic Commission for Europe and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. 9. Statements were also made by the representatives of the United Nations Development Programme, the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women and the United Nations Children's Fund. 10. Statements were made by the representatives of the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Health Organization and the World Bank. 11. The observers for the Council of Europe and the International Organization for Migration also made statements. 12. Statements were made by the observers for the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, a non-governmental organization in general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, and All India Women's Conference, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status with the Council. 13. At the 3rd meeting, on 3 March, statements were made by the representatives of Norway, Poland, the Philippines, Togo, the Republic of Korea, the United Republic of Tanzania, Mexico, Slovakia and the Islamic Republic of Iran and the observers for Sweden, Canada, Australia, Kenya, Saint Lucia (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Caribbean Community), New Zealand and Finland. 14. The observer for the Holy See also made a statement. 15. The representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees made a statement. 16. The observer for the Women's Environment and Development Organizations, a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, Roster, also made a statement. 17. At the 7th meeting, on 5 March, the Commission held a discussion on agenda item 3 (a) and (b) and heard statements by the representatives of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the European Union), the Republic of Korea, the Dominican Republic, Greece and China and the observers for Israel and Canada. 18. The observer for the European Community also made a statement. 19. A statement was made by the observer for HelpAge International, a non-governmental organization in general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, who spoke on behalf of a coalition of non-governmental organizations. 20. At the 9th and 10th meetings, on 6 March, the Commission resumed its discussion of agenda item 3. 21. At the 9th meeting, statements were made by the representatives of Sri Lanka, Cuba, Malaysia, the Russian Federation, Paraguay, Morocco, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Uganda, India and Mali and the observers for Pakistan, Iraq, Lithuania, Argentina, Jordan, Algeria, Austria, Nigeria and El Salvador. 22. The observer for Palestine also made a statement. 23. Statements were made by the representatives of the Economic Commission for Africa and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. 24. Statements were also made by the observers for the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the International Council of Women, non-governmental organizations in general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, and by a caucus of non-governmental organizations on women in armed conflict. 25. At the 10th meeting, on 6 March, statements were made by the representatives of Rwanda, Peru, Greece and the Sudan and the observers for Guatemala, Ukraine, Venezuela and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. 26. The representative of the United Nations Population Fund also made a statement. 27. Statements were made by the observers for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross. 28. Statements were also made by the observers for the following non-governmental organizations: an Asian caucus; the World Islamic Call Society, a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, Roster; an African caucus; Housewives in Dialogue, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status with the Council (on behalf of several non-governmental organizations); and General Arab Women Federation, a non-governmental organization also in special consultative status with the Council. Panel discussions on implementation of strategic objectives and action in the critical areas of concern (agenda item 3 (c)) 29. At the 4th meeting, on 3 March, the Commission held a panel discussion and dialogue on human rights of women (agenda item 3 (c) (iii)). 30. Presentations were made by the following experts: Cecilia Medina, member, Human Rights Committee, Chile; Rose Mtengeti Migiro, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania; Shelagh Day, human rights consultant, Canada; and Shanti Dairiam, Director, International Women's Rights Action Watch in Asia and the Pacific, Malaysia. 31. At the 5th meeting, on 4 March, the Commission held a panel discussion and dialogue on the girl child (agenda item 3 (c) (iv)). 32. Presentations were made by the following experts: Lina Bellosillo-Laigo, Secretary, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Philippines; Sadig Rasheed, Director, Programme Division, United Nations Children's Fund; Paloma Bonfil Sanchez, Executive Secretary, Grupo Interdisciplinario sobre Mujer, Trabajo y Pobreza (GIMTRAP), Mexico; and Margaret Vogt, Research Professor and Head, Strategic Studies Division, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs. 33. At the 6th meeting, on 4 March, the Commission held a panel discussion and dialogue on women and armed conflict (agenda item 3 (c) (ii)). 34. Presentations were made by the following experts: Helga Hernes, Ambassador and Special Adviser, Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway; Rafiga Azimova, research scientist, Institute of Philosophy and Law, Academy of Sciences, Azerbaijan; Bernard Muna, International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States, between 1 January and 31 December 1994, Cameroon; and Hina Jilani, advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan. 35. At the 8th meeting, on 5 March, the Commission held a panel discussion and dialogue on violence against women (agenda item 3 (c) (i)). 36. Presentations were made by the following experts: Barbara Prammer, Federal Minister for Women's Affairs and Consumer Protection, Austria; Bonnie Campbell, Head, Violence against Women Office, United States Justice Department, United States of America; Lisbeth Guevara, Professor of Law, and member, Commission against Domestic Violence of the National Women's Council, Venezuela; and Radhika Coomaraswamy, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on violence against women, Sri Lanka. 37. The principal elements emerging from the panel discussions were summarized by the moderators of the four panels, that is to say, the Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons of the Commission. The text was approved by the Commission for inclusion as an annex to its report on its forty-second session (see annex I to the present report); and was neither negotiated nor adopted by the Commission.
ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION Human rights and land rights discrimination 38. At the 12th meeting, on 12 March, the observer for Zambia,1 on behalf of Austria,1 Belgium, Botswana,1 Canada,1 Chile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,1 Denmark,1 Ecuador,1 Finland,1 France, Ghana, Greece, Ireland,1 Italy,1 Kenya,1 Kyrgyzstan,1 Luxembourg,1 Malawi,1 Mauritius,1 Mozambique,1 Namibia,1 the Netherlands,1 Norway, Portugal, Saint Lucia, South Africa,1 Spain,1 Swaziland, Sweden,1 Turkey,1 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United Republic of Tanzania,1 Zambia1 and Zimbabwe,1 introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1998/L.3) entitled "Human rights and land rights discrimination". 39. Subsequently, Angola, Bulgaria, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Guinea,1 Guinea-Bissau,1 Mali, Nigeria,1 the Philippines, Poland, Rwanda, Switzerland,1 Togo, Uganda and the United States of America joined in sponsoring the draft resolution. 40. At the 13th meeting, on 13 March, the representative of the Sudan proposed an amendment to operative paragraph 5 of the draft resolution, by which the word "equal" was deleted before the word "inheritance". 41. The amendment was accepted by the observer for Zambia on behalf of the sponsors. 42. At the same meeting, the Commission agreed that no explanations of position would be made on the draft resolution. Upon that understanding, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as orally amended (see chap. I, sect. D, Commission resolution 42/1). The girl child 43. At the 12th meeting, on 12 March, the Commission had before it a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1998/L.4) entitled "The girl child", submitted by the observer for Namibia,1 on behalf of Angola, Bangladesh,1 Botswana,1 Kyrgyzstan,1 Lesotho, Malawi,1 the Marshall Islands,1 Mauritius,1 Morocco, Namibia,1 Pakistan,1 South Africa,1 Swaziland, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania,1 Zambia1 and Zimbabwe.1 The draft resolution read as follows: "The Commission on the Status of Women, "Recalling General Assembly resolution 52/100 of 12 December 1997, "Also recalling all relevant conferences and human rights instruments as they concern the girl child, "Noting with appreciation the expert group meeting on adolescent girls and their rights, held at Addis Ababa from 13 to 17 October 1997, which was jointly organized by the Division for the Advancement of Women, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Population Fund and the Economic Commission for Africa, "Deeply concerned about the discrimination against the girl child and the violation of the rights of the girl child, which often result in less access for girls to education, nutrition, physical and mental health care, in girls enjoying fewer rights, opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than boys and often being subjected to various forms of cultural, social, sexual and economic exploitation, and in violence and harmful practices, such as incest, early marriage, female infanticide, prenatal sex selection and female genital mutilation, "Taking note of the panel discussion held on the critical areas of concern on the girl child during the forty-second session of the Commission, "Stressing the need for more awareness-raising at the global level on the plight of the girl child, "1. Demands that Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, as appropriate, ensure the full and urgent implementation of the rights of the girl child, as guaranteed to her under all human rights instruments, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; "2. Calls upon the Secretary-General to appoint a special ambassador to raise awareness on the special needs and concerns of the girl child; "3. Requests Governments, the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations to give due account to the recommendations contained in the report of the expert group meeting on adolescent girls and their rights; "4. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the Commission on the Status of Women prior to the five-year review of the Fourth World Conference on Women in the year 2000, and thereafter on a biennial basis, on the initiatives and progress made in the implementation of the Platform for Action adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women relating to the Girl Child." 44. At the same meeting, the observer for Namibia withdrew the draft resolution on behalf of the sponsors. Situation of women and girls in Afghanistan 45. At the 12th meeting, on 12 March, the representative of the United States of America, on behalf of Australia,1 Austria,1 Belgium, Bolivia, Canada,1 Chile, the Czech Republic,1 the Democratic Republic of the Congo,1 Denmark,1 Finland,1 France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala,1 Guinea-Bissau,1 Iceland,1 Ireland,1 Israel,1 Italy,1 Japan, Kyrgyzstan,1 Liechtenstein,1 Luxembourg,1 Malawi,1 Mali, the Marshall Islands,1 the Netherlands,1 New Zealand,1 Panama,1 Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania,1 Rwanda, Slovakia, South Africa,1 Spain,1 Sweden,1 Turkey,1 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1998/L.5) entitled "Situation of women and girls in Afghanistan". Subsequently, Argentina,1 Bulgaria, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador,1 Ghana, Guinea,1 Malta,1 Norway and Poland joined in sponsoring the draft resolution. 46. In introducing the draft resolution, the representative of the United States of America orally revised it by adding an operative paragraph 7 which read as follows: "Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that reports of future gender missions are made available to the Commission on the Status of Women". 47. At the 13th meeting, on 13 March, the representative of the United States of America further orally revised the draft resolution by deleting the word "Member" before the word "States" in operative paragraphs 4 and 6. 48. The observer for Switzerland1 joined in sponsoring the draft resolution, as further orally revised. 49. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as further orally revised (see chap. I, sect. B, draft resolution I). 50. After the draft resolution was adopted, the representative of the Russian Federation made a statement. Release of women and children taken hostage in armed conflicts, including those subsequently imprisoned 51. At the 12th meeting, on 12 March, the observer for Azerbaijan,1 on behalf of Angola, Argentina,1 Azerbaijan,1 Bangladesh,1 Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,1 Botswana,1 Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador,1 Georgia,1 Ghana, Guatemala,1 Guinea-Bissau,1 the Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan,1 Kazakhstan,1 Kyrgyzstan,1 Malaysia, Mali, Morocco, Namibia,1 Nigeria,1 Pakistan,1 Peru, South Africa,1 Tajikistan,1 Togo, Tunisia,1 Turkey,1 Turkmenistan,1 Uzbekistan1 and Zimbabwe,1 introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1998/L.6) entitled "Release of women and children taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned, in armed conflicts". Subsequently, the Dominican Republic, Guinea,1 Mozambique1 and the Sudan joined in sponsoring the draft resolution. 52. At the 13th meeting, on 13 March, the Commission adopted the draft resolution (see chap. I, sect. D, Commission resolution 42/2). Violence against women migrant workers 53. At the 12th meeting, on 12 March, the representative of the Philippines, on behalf of Bangladesh,1 Bolivia, Côte d'Ivoire, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador,1 Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1998/L.7) entitled "Women migrant workers", which read as follows: "The Commission on the Status of Women, "Recalling all resolutions relevant to women migrant workers adopted by the General Assembly, in particular resolution 52/97 of 12 December 1997, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, as well as the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, "Also recalling the outcome of major world conferences, specifically those pertaining to women migrant workers, "Emphasizing the need for comprehensive, broad-based information and a wide exchange of experiences and lessons learned by Member States and civil society in the formulation of policies and strategies to address the problem of violence against women migrant workers, "Recognizing the importance of continued cooperation at the bilateral, regional and international levels in protecting and promoting the rights and welfare of women migrant workers, "1. Takes note of the Secretary-General's report on the thematic issues before the Commission on the Status of Women; "2. Requests concerned Governments to include in their national action plans information on the problems of women migrant workers which could form part of a database for the formulation of appropriate measures to address the problem of violence against women migrant workers; "3. Encourages Governments to avail themselves of the expertise of the United Nations, including the Statistics Division of the United Nations Secretariat and other relevant bodies such as the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women, to develop appropriate data collection methodologies that will generate comparable data on violence against women migrant workers as bases for research and analyses on the subject; "4. Invites Governments, in cooperation with relevant United Nations bodies and non-governmental organizations to undertake further research on the causes and consequences of violence against women migrant workers; "5. Requests concerned States Parties to include in their periodic reports to relevant human rights treaty bodies updated and comprehensive information on actions they have taken to address the problem of violence against women migrant workers; "6. Requests the Secretary-General to establish a database of good practices and lessons learned relating to gender-based violence, in cooperation with relevant entities in the United Nations system, and in that regard, invites Member States and non-governmental organizations to provide information on bilateral and multilateral agreements, national experiences and lessons learned, initiatives and projects which have proved viable and effective as bases for evolving model strategies for dealing with violence against women migrant workers; "7. Calls upon concerned Governments to put in place penal and criminal sanctions to punish perpetrators of violence against women migrant workers and to provide survivors with the full range of immediate assistance, such as counselling, legal and consular assistance, temporary shelters and other measures that will allow them to be present during the judicial process; "8. Encourages Member States to ratify and comply with International Labour Organization conventions and to sign and ratify or accede to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; "9. Invites Member States to implement, as appropriate, the Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice; "10. Invites the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women to develop a general recommendation on women and migration; "11. Requests the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Development Fund for Women and other relevant agencies of the United Nations system, within the context of the country cooperation and development assistance framework, to support national measures designed to strengthen preventive action, in particular, education and information campaigns to increase awareness of the issue of violence against women migrant workers; "12. Requests the Secretary-General to take into account the relevant provisions contained in the present resolution in preparing the study requested in paragraph 10 of General Assembly resolution 52/97." 54. In introducing the draft resolution, the representative of the Philippines orally revised it. Subsequently, Argentina,1 Ghana, Guinea,1 and Guinea-Bissau1 joined in sponsoring the draft resolution, as orally revised. 55. Also at the 12th meeting, the representative of the Russian Federation made a statement. 56. At the 13th meeting, on 13 March, the representative of the Philippines further orally revised the draft resolution. 57. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as further orally revised (see chap. I, sect. D, Commission resolution 42/3). Older women and support systems: gender and caregiving 58. At the 12th meeting, on 12 March, the representative of the Dominican Republic, on behalf of Australia,1 Austria,1 Bangladesh,1 Bolivia, Canada,1 Chile, Costa Rica,1 Côte d'Ivoire, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador,1 El Salvador,1 Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala,1 Guinea-Bissau,1 Ireland,1 Israel,1 Japan, Lesotho, Malaysia, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria,1 Pakistan,1 Panama,1 Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, Spain,1 the Sudan, Togo and the United States of America, introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1998/L.8) entitled "Older women and support systems: gender and caregiving". Subsequently, Bulgaria, Guinea,1 Indonesia, Italy,1 Malta,1 Namibia,1 the Republic of Korea, Swaziland, Switzerland,1 Thailand, Uganda, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United Republic of Tanzania1 and Uruguay1 joined in sponsoring the draft resolution. 59. At the 13th meeting, on 13 March, the Commission adopted the draft resolution (see chap. I, sect. D, Commission resolution 42/4). Palestinian women 60. At the 12th meeting, on 12 March, the representative of Indonesia, on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the Group of 77 and China, introduced and orally corrected a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1998/L.9) entitled "Palestinian women". 61. At the 13th meeting, on 13 March, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as corrected, by a recorded vote of 34 to 1, with 5 abstentions (see chap. I, sect. B, draft resolution II). The voting was as follows:2 In favour: Angola, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Japan, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Sudan, Swaziland, Thailand, Togo, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Against: United States of America. Abstaining: Lebanon, Lesotho, Norway, Rwanda, Uganda. 62. Before the draft resolution was adopted, statements were made by the representative of the United States of America and the observer for Israel; after it was adopted, statements were made by the representatives of Lebanon, Norway and the Russian Federation and the observer for the Syrian Arab Republic. The observer for Palestine also made a statement. Mid-term review of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women, including the status of women in the Secretariat 63. At the 12th meeting, on 12 March, the observer for Canada,1 on behalf of Angola, Argentina,1 Armenia,1 Australia,1 Austria,1 Bangladesh,1 Botswana,1 Canada,1 Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark,1 the Dominican Republic, Finland,1 France, Germany, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau,1 Ireland,1 Japan, Kyrgyzstan,1 Lesotho, Liechtenstein,1 Luxembourg,1 Malawi,1 Mali, Morocco, Namibia,1 the Netherlands,1 New Zealand,1 Nigeria,1 Norway, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania,1 Rwanda, Senegal,1 South Africa,1 Spain,1 the Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden,1 Uganda, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America and Zambia,1 introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1998/L.10) entitled "Mid-term review of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women, including the status of women in the Secretariat". Subsequently, Belgium, Bolivia, Ecuador,1 Guinea,1 Guatemala,1 India, Indonesia, Italy,1 Malaysia, Mozambique,1 Paraguay, Togo and the United Republic of Tanzania1 joined in sponsoring the draft resolution. 64. At the 13th meeting, on 13 March, the Commission adopted the draft resolution (see chap. I, sect. B, draft resolution III). Fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 65. At the 13th meeting, on 13 March, the Commission had before it a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1998/L.12) entitled "Fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights", submitted by the Chairperson. 66. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution (see chap. I, sect. D, Commission resolution 42/5). Conclusions of the Commission on the Status of Women on critical areas of concern identified in the Beijing Platform for Action 67. At the 13th meeting, on 13 March, the Commission had before it draft conclusions submitted by the Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons as the Moderators of the panel discussions on the critical areas of concern (E/CN.6/1998/CRP.2, CRP.3/Rev.1, CRP.4 and CRP.5). 68. At the same meeting, revisions to the draft conclusions were circulated to the Commission in informal papers. 69. Also at the 13th meeting, the representative of the Sudan made a statement, to which the Chairperson responded. 70. At the same meeting, the Commission adopted the draft conclusions, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. B, draft resolution IV). Documents relating to agenda item 3 71. At the 13th meeting, on 13 March, the Commission took note of the following documents under agenda item 3: (a) Synthesized report of the Secretary-General on national action plans and strategies for implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (E/CN.6/1998/6); (b) Report of the Secretary-General on the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat (E/CN.6/1998/8); (c) Report of the Secretary-General on women's real enjoyment of their human rights, in particular those relating to the elimination of poverty, economic development and economic resources (E/CN.4/1998/22-E/CN.6/1998/11). (See chap. I, sect. D, Commission decision 42/101.) COMMUNICATIONS CONCERNING THE STATUS OF WOMEN
1. The Commission considered item 4 of its agenda at the 11th meeting (a closed meeting), on 11 March 1998. 2. Pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 1983/27, the Commission had established a working group to consider communications concerning the status of women. The following five members, nominated by their regional groups, were appointed: Esmaeil Afshari (Islamic Republic of Iran); Fidel Coloma (Chile); Diénébou Kaba Camara (Côte d'Ivoire); Sissel Salomon (Norway); and Krystyna Zurek (Poland). The Working Group held six meetings.
ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION Report of the Working Group on Communications on the Status of Women 3. At the 11th meeting (a closed meeting), on 11 March, the Commission considered the report of the Working Group on Communications on the Status of Women (E/CN.6/1998/CRP.6). 4. At the same meeting, the Commission took note of the report of the Working Group and agreed to include it in the report of the Commission. The report of the Working Group is as follows: "1. The Working Group on Communications on the Status of Women was guided in its deliberations by the mandate given in Economic and Social Council resolution 76 (V) of 5 August 1947, as amended by Council resolutions 304 I (XI) of 14 and 17 July 1950 and 1983/27 of 26 May 1983. "2. The Working Group considered the confidential list of communications (E/CN.6/1998/SW/COMM.LIST/32 and Add.1) and the non-confidential list of communications concerning the status of women (E/CN.6/1998/CR.34). "3. The Working Group took note of the nine confidential communications received directly by the Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations Secretariat and of the 27 communications that formed the confidential list received by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations Office at Geneva. It also took note of the fact that no confidential communications had been received from other United Nations bodies or specialized agencies. It considered three non-confidential communications. At the request of one Government, the Working Group agreed to postpone consideration of one confidential communication until the forty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women. "4. Regarding the confidential communications, the Working Group expressed its deep concern in relation to the systematic and grave violation of women's human rights, including violations of women's and girls' rights to security; to life and liberty; to freedom of movement, freedom of thought and freedom of expression; and to the right to assemble. "5. The Working Group was further concerned at the alleged use of massive arbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention, detention of minors, torture, refusal of a fair trial to political opponents and prisoners, and the use of forced exile. The Working Group was also specifically concerned at the abusive treatment of women with impunity by security forces, including military and police forces, and by other governmental authorities. That abusive treatment included rape and sexual abuse of women in detention and in camps for detained migrant workers. "6. The Working Group also expressed its deep concern over the mass punishment of women residents in areas targeted by security forces and the cruel and degrading treatment of women by soldiers, including gang rape and sexual slavery. "7. The Working Group was gravely concerned about the allegedly increasing gross violations of the human rights of women, including patterns of arbitrary and extrajudicial killings, kidnappings, disappearances and disappearances after arrest, death in police custody, and also trafficking in women and girls. "8. The Working Group noted with concern the widespread repression in the context of conflict situations which resulted in gross human rights violations that sometimes amounted to genocide, leading to physical and psychological abuses of women, including rape. "9. The Working Group expressed its concern at harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation, which continued in certain States, and also noted with concern the practices of forced abortion and sterilization. "10. The Working Group further noted the alleged harassment to which human rights defenders had been subjected by members of the police and other authority figures. "11. The Working Group noted with concern the continued discrimination against indigenous families, including women and children who had been forcefully evicted from their homes and land and moved to unknown places. It also noted with concern the discrimination against minorities, in particular the denial of their rights to education and to the enjoyment of their religious and cultural life. "12. The Working Group noted with grave concern the gross and consistent violations of the social, economic and cultural rights of women as reflected in the continued discrimination against women in the spheres of employment, education and health, including malnutrition. "13. The Working Group further noted with concern the continuing de facto discriminatory treatment of women as reflected in limited employment opportunities, forced retirement during pregnancy and after childbirth, and the absence of child-care leave for part-time workers with time-limited employment - a majority of whom were women. "14. The Working Group took note of the alleged specific cases of discrimination and harassment, including physical and sexual assault, verbal and non-verbal abuse, unprovoked and improper obscene comments, psychological abuse, intimidation and threats of bodily harm, shunning and exclusion from employee gatherings. "15. In considering the non-confidential communications, the Working Group took note of the continued absence of women in decision-making processes, particularly in the context of conflict prevention and resolution. "16. The Working Group expressed appreciation to Governments for having sent replies conducive to the clarification of the cases concerned. It noted, however, that some Governments had not replied. The Working Group urged the Commission to encourage all Governments concerned to send their replies and to cooperate in order to improve the communication mechanism. "17. With reference to the criteria used in selecting the communications to be submitted to the Commission on the Status of Women, the Working Group reiterated that the content of communications must refer to women and to women's issues only - that is, to injustices or discriminatory acts or practices against women."
1. The Commission considered item 5 of its agenda at the 13th meeting, on 13 March 1998. It had before it the report of the Secretary-General containing an annotated comparison of the draft optional protocol and the amendments proposed thereto with the provisions of existing international human rights instruments (E/CN.6/1998/7).
ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION Report of the Open-ended Working Group on the Elaboration of a Draft Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 2. At the 13th meeting, on 13 March, the Chairperson of the Open-ended Working Group on the Elaboration of a Draft Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Aloisia Woergetter (Austria), introduced and orally revised the report of the Working Group, as contained in documents E/CN.6/1998/WG/L.1-3. 3. The Commission also had before it an informal paper containing a summary by the Chairperson of the Working Group of views and comments made by delegations during the negotiations, which was subsequently circulated in document E/CN.6/1998/WG/L.4. 4. The representative of the United States of America raised a question, which was responded to by the Chairperson of the Working Group. 5. The Commission then adopted the draft report of the Working Group, as orally revised, and agreed to annex it to the report of the Commission (see annex II to the present report). Report of the Secretary-General containing an annotated comparison of the draft optional protocol and the amendments proposed thereto with the provisions of existing international human rights instruments 6. At the 13th meeting, on 13 March, the Commission took note of the report of the Secretary-General containing an annotated comparison of the draft optional protocol and the amendments proposed thereto with the provisions of existing international human rights instruments (E/CN.6/1998/7) (see chap. I, sect. D, Commission decision 42/101). PROVISIONAL AGENDA FOR THE FORTY-THIRD SESSION OF THE COMMISSION
1. The Commission considered item 6 of its agenda at the 13th meeting, on 13 March 1998. It had before it a note by the Secretariat containing the draft provisional agenda for the forty-third session together with a list of requested documentation (E/CN.6/1998/L.13). 2. At the same meeting, the Deputy Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women made a statement. 3. The Commission then approved the provisional agenda for its forty-third session together with the requested documentation (see chap. I, sect. C, draft decision). ADOPTION OF THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON ITS FORTY-SECOND SESSION 1. At the 13th meeting, on 13 March 1998, Zuzana Vranová (Slovakia), as Vice-Chairperson with rapporteurial responsibilities, introduced the report of the Commission on its forty-second session (E/CN.6/1998/L.2 and Add.1) and orally revised it. 2. At the same meeting, following statements by the representative of France and the observers for the Syrian Arab Republic, Egypt and Spain, the Commission adopted its draft report, as orally revised, and entrusted the Vice-Chairperson with its completion. 3. It was noted that full interpretation services were provided for extended and additional meetings of the Commission and its Working Group at the current session on an as-available basis. The taking of action without full interpretation at one of those meetings was agreed to by the Commission on an exceptional basis on the understanding that it would not constitute a precedent. SUMMARIES OF THE PANEL DISCUSSIONS ON THE CRITICAL AREAS OF CONCERN A. Chairperson's summary 1. Member States, United Nations organizations and non-governmental organizations made statements during the general debate, held on 2, 3 and 6 March 1998, on agenda item 3 (c), Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women: implementation of strategic objectives and action in the critical areas of concern. 2. Delegates reported on actions taken to implement the Beijing Platform for Action, including specific national action plans that had been formulated for that purpose, which in some cases were elaborated on with assistance from organizations of the United Nations system from specific countries. They underlined the importance of strengthening national and international efforts to follow up on the Beijing Conference, emphasizing that the Platform for Action had become an important frame of reference for action at the national level for the advancement of women and the achievement of gender equality. While priorities differed, depending on the situation in a given country, the human rights of women and the elimination of violence against women tended to be common priorities. Countries that had not formulated national plans to follow up on the Platform for Action were urged to do so by the year 2000. 3. Representatives emphasized the importance of pursuing a policy of gender mainstreaming for equality and the empowerment of women. A number reported on recently formulated gender policies and on the establishment of national mechanisms for the advancement of women, including integration of gender equality goals into development policies, such as a white paper on women's advancement, integration of a gender perspective into a reconstruction and development plan, and gender mainstreaming in federal development plans. Others noted the establishment of monitoring and oversight mechanisms to oversee activities for the advancement of women, sometimes in collaboration with non-governmental organizations and other actors in civil society. 4. The need for development assistance from the international community for national efforts to implement the Platform for Action was underscored. 5. Several representatives emphasized the urgency of stepping up efforts to collect statistical data disaggregated by sex and on gender-specific indicators. Some reported progress in that regard, including the development by one country of a set of economic gender-equality indicators which provided benchmarks of women's and men's economic realities that were often overlooked. 6. A number of delegates recommended continued close cooperation between the Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission on Human Rights and their secretariats. One representative called for further rationalization of the work of the Commission on the Status of Women to ensure that, in its decisions and recommendations, it addressed only the central issues. 7. Several representatives expressed views on the proposals for a high-level review in the year 2000 of the implementation of the Nairobi and Beijing strategies. Preference to convene the review as a special session in May or June in the year 2000 was expressed, and the importance of the preparatory process was emphasized. The substantive framework for the review needed to be established as soon as possible and should provide for active contributions from the regional commissions, the specialized agencies, and United Nations funds and programmes. Delegates welcomed the prospect of the African regional conference, to be convened by the Economic Commission for Africa in 1999. 8. A number of representatives thanked the Division for the Advancement of Women for the preparation of high-quality reports and endorsed the recommendations in the reports of the expert group meetings, convened by the Division in partnership with other institutions, on gender-based persecution, adolescent girls and their rights, and promoting women's enjoyment of their economic and social rights. The previous Bureau of the Commission was commended for its efforts inter-sessionally to prepare for the Commission and its panel discussions.
B. Human rights of women: Moderator's summary 9. On 3 March 1998, at the 4th meeting, the Commission held a panel discussion, followed by a dialogue, on the human rights of women, one of the critical areas of concern in the Platform for Action. The panellists were: Rose M. Migiro (United Republic of Tanzania), Head, Department of Civil and Criminal Law, University of Dar es Salaam; Cecilia Medina (Chile), member, Human Rights Committee; Shanthi Dairiam (Malaysia), Director, International Women's Rights Action Watch in Asia and the Pacific; and Shelagh Day (Canada), Special Adviser on Human Rights, National Association of Women and the Law. 10. Participants noted that the Beijing Platform for Action reaffirmed that all human rights were universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated, and that the human rights of women and girls were an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights. Building on the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and taking it further, the Platform stressed that enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by women and girls was a priority for Governments and the United Nations and was essential for the advancement of women. The Platform underlined the importance of gender analysis in addressing the systemic and systematic nature of discrimination against women. 11. Women's enjoyment of their human rights required a holistic approach to, and a better understanding of, women's human rights, including violations thereof, and Governments had primary responsibility for ensuring women's full enjoyment of their rights. A compartmentalization of rights - for example, of civil and political rights, on the one hand, and economic, social and cultural rights, on the other - was not in keeping with the spirit of fundamental human rights and not conducive to achieving women's equality, advancement and empowerment, since development and human rights complemented each other. 12. Although progress had been made in many countries in achieving women's de jure equality, women's de facto lack of, or limited enjoyment of, human rights was particularly visible in their economic inequality, which contributed to women's poverty. That constituted a significant obstacle to women's economic empowerment and to development. Women's enjoyment of human rights would strengthen democracy and contribute to more accountable and transparent government. 13. Representatives cited factors contributing to women's lack of enjoyment of human rights, including the continuing prevalence of discriminatory cultural norms and traditions, national laws, including customary laws, inconsistent with international human rights norms, harmful traditional practices, and women's high levels of illiteracy and consequent marginalization and exclusion. Trends such as globalization, market liberalization and privatization had had an impact on women's enjoyment of their human rights as well, contributing to the changing role of the State, including its decreasing ability to deliver social services. 14. Some participants noted that indigenous, disabled, refugee and ethnic minority women, elderly women and single mothers were among the most vulnerable. Women in poverty or precarious economic situations were increasingly becoming victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation. Migrant women workers were susceptible to multiple forms of discrimination. 15. Equal access to rights, equal opportunities for the enjoyment of rights, and equal treatment in that enjoyment remained to be achieved in areas such as health and health care, education, work and employment, and participation in public life. Widespread discrimination against women persisted with regard to ownership of land, property and inheritance rights and access to economic resources such as credit and agricultural extension services, all of which were among the essential means for women to overcome poverty. Discrimination in marriage, family and nationality laws also persisted. Violence against human rights activists and defenders of women's rights further inhibited progress. Religious fundamentalism had also often led to a denial of rights to women. 16. There was general agreement that knowledge of rights was an important starting point for improving enjoyment of rights. Restrictive and traditional interpretations and applications of human rights law from a male perspective affected the ways in which women experienced rights or violations thereof. Clarifying the scope and content of human rights from a gender perspective required a new approach on the part, inter alia, of international human rights treaty bodies. It also required that States parties, in their regular reporting to those bodies, include gender-specific information. 17. Human rights education, research and broad-based awareness-raising of women's human rights were needed, along with efforts to reach illiterate and disadvantaged women. Men also needed to be targeted for increased awareness. The role of non-governmental organizations and civil society was pivotal in the protection and promotion of women's human rights. 18. At the national level, legislative change was necessary but not sufficient. Constant and critical monitoring of legal provisions was required to determine their impact on women's enjoyment of their rights. International human rights law and jurisprudence provided guidance and incentives for domestic legislative reform. The impact of, and change brought about by, other measures also needed to be monitored over the long term. 19. Some representatives emphasized that the availability of strong and independent national institutions for promoting the enjoyment of rights, including remedies for violations, was essential for the realization of women's rights. Such institutions should allow diverse groups of women to share their experience and should thus lead to an enriched understanding of factors that affected the enjoyment of rights. 20. At the international level, the establishment of an international criminal court was viewed favourably by a number of delegations, and there was support expressed for making gender-based persecution and trafficking in women and girls an integral part of the court's mandate and for ensuring gender expertise and gender balance throughout the court. Human rights bodies and mechanisms, including the Commission on Human Rights, also needed to develop greater expertise on women's human rights issues. The Commission's catalytic role in that regard could facilitate such efforts, and women's non-governmental organizations could increase their visibility at and contributions to such mainstream forums in order to shape their agendas. An optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, with broad standing for individuals and groups, was seen by many representatives as an essential step in strengthening the Convention. 21. Several speakers noted that a gender perspective needed to be mainstreamed into all human rights activities and machineries at the national and international levels. More and better data collection, more systematic use of data, and more research on women's human rights issues were essential. Women's human rights needed to be an integral part of the development of economic, trade and fiscal policies. It was stated that economic indicators providing benchmarks of women's and men's economic realities, which were often overlooked, should be developed. 22. As a matter of principle, a call for action was made to address violations of women's and girls' human rights in particular countries, including Afghanistan. Concern was expressed about the situation of women and children in Algeria and Palestine and for Palestinian women, who remained refugees and were unable to return to their homeland. The human rights impact of the embargo on women in Iraq was also mentioned.
C. Violence against women: Moderator's summary 23. At the 8th meeting, on 5 March 1998, the Commission held a panel discussion on violence against women, one of the critical areas of concern in the Platform for Action. Presentations were made by the panellists: Barbara Prammer (Austria), Federal Minister for Women's Affairs and Consumer Protection; Bonnie Campbell (United States of America), Head of Violence against Women, Office of the Justice Department; Maria Lisbeth Guevara (Venezuela), Coordinadora de la Comisión de Legislación, Consejo Nacional de la Mujer; and Radhika Coomaraswamy (Sri Lanka), Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on violence against women. 24. Participants in the panel discussion and the dialogue recalled that the Beijing Platform for Action had identified violence against women as a priority concern of the international community and had defined it, in line with the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (General Assembly resolution 48/104), as an act of gender-based violence occurring in public or private life. The Platform for Action emphasized the need to take integrated measures to prevent and eliminate violence against women and to study the causes and consequences of violence and the effectiveness of preventive measures. 25. Participants emphasized that violence and fear of violence in public and private life remained one of the main concerns of women worldwide. Violence continued to be an obstacle to the achievement of equality, development and peace, since it had a direct impact on women's economic, social and political participation. Thus, violence against women in all its forms constituted a flagrant violation of women's human rights, which could only be tackled through a multidisciplinary and coordinated approach. 26. Gender-based violence which resulted in or was likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women affected the corporal integrity of women. It was emphasized that the elimination of violence against women was therefore linked to other human rights guarantees, including the right to life, freedom from torture, detention and arbitrary arrest, and the Geneva Conventions. 27. All forms of gender-based violence against women had a devastating effect on women and their families, in particular their children, and brought with it the risk of a continuous cycle of violence between generations, focused on groups of women, including women with disabilities, migrant women and women in prostitution. 28. It was noted that trafficking in women had become an integral feature of transnational organized crime. International cooperation was needed to address the issue of trafficking and to punish those involved in organizing and profiting from it. In several instances, regional cooperation in that regard had started, and national task forces had been established. It was underlined that the problem of trafficking should be dealt with along the lines set out by the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, which had not yet been ratified by all countries. 29. Recently, many Governments had given the elimination of violence against women top priority, as reflected in the many national action plans established in the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women. In addition, several countries had elaborated specific action plans to combat gender-based violence, involving non-governmental organizations. At the international level, activities carried out by existing mechanisms, including the Commission on the Status of Women, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, the Commission on Human Rights and reports of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on violence against women, were praised. 30. Mention was made of good practices in the fields of appropriate assistance, management and communication, and prevention, investigation and prosecution, which involved social, educational, medical, judicial, law enforcement, and migration authorities as well as non-governmental organizations. There was consensus that legal action and reform of the criminal and civil justice systems were critical. It was essential that perpetrators be confronted with the consequences of their behaviour and held accountable. It was noted that some countries had introduced legislation that made it possible to remove the violent offenders from the family home, instead of accommodating victims and children in shelters. 31. Gender training for law enforcement officers and other personnel, relevant governmental agents and officials was considered important in order to sensitize the criminal justice system regarding violence against women. In some countries, special examination kits were provided to the police for collecting forensic evidence from women. It was emphasized that the full participation of women in the development and execution of laws was required and that there was need for more gender-sensitive women police officers, prosecutors and judges. Training of health and social workers, teachers and counsellors was also necessary in order to ensure that they would be able to identify crimes of violence committed against women and girls. Effective partnership between the police and non-governmental organizations working on violence was considered crucial. 32. Various steps had been taken to make women aware of the existing problem, to ensure their safety and to give assistance. Shelters and emergency helplines, which provided support and protection to victims, existed in many countries. Greater restrictions on access to weapons was being considered in some countries. Witness protection schemes using protective court orders had been introduced and were necessary for protecting, in particular, female victims of trafficking and rape during war. Multidisciplinary teams made up of medical doctors, social workers, psychologists, health workers, teachers, volunteers and non-governmental organizations were providing legal assistance and social services. The valuable assistance given by non-governmental organizations in providing legal and psychological counselling was acknowledged. 33. To raise public awareness and to break the silence and taboos surrounding violence, public awareness campaigns on the impact of violence were considered essential. Many community education campaigns were being carried out, aimed at changing community attitudes towards violence, introducing "zero tolerance" for violent behaviour, and promoting non-violent methods of conflict resolution. Teacher training and the development of curriculum material to address gender-based violence in schools were mentioned. Media campaigns could encourage women to file complaints instead of hiding the problem. At the same time, the portrayal of violence in the media perpetuated violence and continued to have negative effects, especially on children. 34. Many obstacles remained, and the gap between de jure and de facto implementation persisted, since most women seemed not to seek help from crisis services or the police, because of ignorance, fear or shame. Many women were not aware of existing laws or their rights and frequently had no access to the judicial system, especially if they were poor, illiterate or migrants. It was deplored that the real extent of violence against women remained hidden as well as unreported. Random surveys suggested that the extent of the problem was much greater than estimated. Consequently, it was difficult to design adequate policies and offer sufficient services to victims. The lack or inadequacy of data available made it difficult to assess the nature, severity and effects of violence against women and to better understand its causes. The academic community needed to conduct more research on the causes and consequences of violence against women and on the economic costs that accrued to countries because of such violence. It was regretted that there were so few impact studies on steps taken to combat violence against women. 35. With regard to the rehabilitation of perpetrators, programmes had been carried out in a number of countries, with varied success. Most programmes focused on the role of men, emphasizing positive new role models for men and new types of male/female relationships in the family. It was important to change patriarchal values and to create a non-violent culture. However, in view of the scarcity of funds, assistance to victims of violence had to be the priority and needed to be seen as a moral obligation. 36. Participants also recalled the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and stressed the need for concrete follow-up, including studies on the impact of measures to eliminate violence against women and to assist the victims, and it was proposed that mechanisms were needed to monitor follow-up on violence against women, including good practices.
D. The girl child: Moderator's summary 37. At the 5th meeting, on 4 March 1998, the Commission held a panel discussion on the girl child, one of the critical areas of concern in the Platform for Action, and heard presentations by the following panellists: Lina Laigo (Philippines), Secretary, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Chairperson, Council for the Welfare of Children; Sadig Rasheed (Sudan), Director, Programme Division, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); Paloma Bonfil Sanchez (Mexico), Secretaria Ejecutiva, Grupo Interdisciplinario sobre Mujer, Trabajo y Pobreza (GIMTRAP); and Margaret Vogt (Nigeria), Senior Associate, International Peace Academy. 38. Following the panel discussion, 16 government delegations participated in a dialogue. Two girls, sponsored by the non-governmental organization Committee for UNICEF/Working Group on Girls, and representatives of a non-governmental organization caucus also spoke. 39. Speakers recalled that the Beijing Platform for Action recognized that women in many countries faced discrimination from the earliest stages of life. They also recognized that discrimination and neglect in childhood could initiate a lifelong downward spiral of deprivation and exclusion. The Platform for Action had called upon Governments, the United Nations system and civil society to take urgent measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child, including negative traditional and cultural attitudes and practices and discrimination with respect to education, skills development and training, health and nutrition, employment and family life. It recommended that Governments enact and enforce appropriate legislation and take actions that would ensure equal rights for girls and their full participation in development. 40. Since the Fourth World Conference on Women, a variety of policy measures and programmes specifically targeting the girl child had been introduced by countries, reflecting actions also proposed at recent United Nations conferences and summits and in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and various International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions and standards. Public awareness campaigns had been organized in various regions to sensitize people to the specific needs and concerns of girls. National legislation had been reviewed and modified to protect girls. Stereotypes in teaching materials had been removed in some countries, and teachers were being given gender training. Affirmative action had been used to increase the number of female entrants to colleges and universities. 41. Representatives stressed that the empowerment of the girl child was critical not only for eliminating gender-based discrimination but for personal growth. Human rights instruments, especially the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, obliged States parties to make efforts to protect the rights of the girl child and to eliminate discrimination. The two conventions were viewed by some delegates as interrelated, and measures had been taken to implement them in a coordinated and complementary way. However, in order to be more effective, it was proposed that the two conventions be widely disseminated in local languages and incorporated into national laws. 42. Education was referred to as the most important tool for girls' empowerment and, in that connection, many participants expressed concern at the high drop-out rate among girls, compared with boys. A support system needed to be in place to help girls complete their education and to prevent the sexual harassment of girls in schools. The paucity of role models for girls in textbooks was noted. 43. Reference was made to prevailing negative cultural and traditional attitudes and practices that often stood in the way of equal treatment of girls. Some of those attitudes and practices, combined with traditional role models maintained by families, discouraged girls' career development, their participation in social and political life, and their access to recreational activities and sports. A preference for sons continued in many countries, leading to discrimination against girls, often even before birth, and to such practices as female infanticide and prenatal sex selection. 44. The situation of girls living in poor economic conditions was mentioned by a number of speakers. Those girls were often the most marginalized. They were often forced to take up low-paid work or to become prostitutes. They often became domestic workers, were paid very little, and were subjected to abuse and exploitation. 45. In rural areas, unpaid domestic work was frequently expected from girls, preventing them from going to school or developing skills suited to income- earning activities. Moreover, their contribution to household work was often undervalued. Since globalization contributed to the further impoverishment of rural areas in many developing countries, out-migration by adults had increased and had led to an increase in girls' domestic labour and responsibilities. 46. In traditional cultures, families generally maintained the traditional roles of males and females. Since the empowerment of girls started in the family, families needed to recognize the rights and specific needs of the girl child beyond the traditional cultural framework. 47. The particular needs of adolescent girls resulting from the transitional and developmental nature of their physical and emotional states were acknowledged. Adolescent girls and boys needed to be given adequate information on sexual and reproductive health, and it was necessary to help counsellors who dealt with adolescents to be gender-sensitive. It was also important for national Governments and the international community to recognize that the health needs of girls were generally different from those of boys. Traditional practices that were harmful to girls' health, such as female genital mutilation, should be eliminated. Adolescent girls should be empowered and supported by their families and communities to take control of their physical well-being and educational attainment. 48. Reference was made to girls affected by armed conflict and to refugee girls. Where the family system was no longer functioning, many children were left without parents or primary caregivers. Concerns were expressed that girls in such circumstances were particularly vulnerable to rape and sexual violence, for example, in refugee camps or when fleeing their home countries. 49. Personnel involved in peacekeeping and humanitarian activities should be sensitized to the specific needs of girl children and should not exploit them. Attention was drawn to young girls' serving as soldiers, a phenomenon that seemed to be on the increase and one on which more data and research were required. 50. Much concern was expressed about trafficking and the sexual abuse of girls, including the growing sex industry, and on child pornography, including the use of the Internet in that regard. Rehabilitation of the victims of sexual abuse and trafficking needed to be organized by trained personnel. Mechanisms at the national and international levels to prosecute and punish the perpetrators were also urgently needed, whether their offences were committed in their own or in a foreign country.
E. Women and armed conflict: Moderator's summary 51. On 4 March 1998, at the 6th meeting, the Commission held a panel discussion on women and armed conflict, followed by a dialogue. The panellists were: Helga Hernes (Norway), Special Adviser on Peacekeeping and Preventive Diplomacy, Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Rafiga Azimova (Azerbaijan), Head, Research Centre of the Council of Women; Bernard Muna (Cameroon), International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States, between 1 January and 31 December 1994; and Hina Jilani (Pakistan), advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan. 52. Representatives noted that the Beijing Platform for Action emphasized that peace was inextricably linked to equality between women and men, but that aggression, foreign occupation, ethnic conflict and other types of conflict were an ongoing reality, affecting women and men in nearly every region. They recalled that, building on the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, the Platform for Action had stressed that violations of the human rights of women in times of armed conflict were violations of fundamental principles of international human rights and humanitarian law and emphasized that the implementation of cooperative approaches to peace and security was urgently needed. Noting the consequences of armed conflict for women, which included internal displacement and refugee flight, the speakers stressed the crucial role of women in the maintenance and promotion of peace and security and the preservation of social order in times of armed conflict. They also reiterated the Platform for Action's emphasis on the importance of all forms of education to foster a culture of peace, tolerance and respect for diversity and stressed the critical role of an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes to address armed conflict or other conflicts. 53. It was noted that contemporary armed conflict affected civilians disproportionately. Most conflicts were fought within, rather than between, States and were no longer fought exclusively by professional soldiers. Non-State actors, including paramilitaries and vigilantes, increasingly threatened the security of civilians, particularly women and children. Reduced tolerance for ethnic, religious and cultural diversity and decreased respect for the right to self-determination brought about instability. The easy availability of small arms, including landmines, to non-State actors had heightened the possibilities of civilian insecurity and risk, especially for women and children, during both conflict and post-conflict, in, inter alia, refugee camps and camps for the internally displaced. 54. Representatives noted that, although entire communities were affected by and suffered the consequences of armed conflict, women and girls were particularly affected because of their status in society and their sex. They suffered many forms of abuse during armed conflict, but were particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse, rape, sexual mutilation, sexually humiliating treatment, forcible impregnation, sexual slavery and forced marriages. Sexual violence was commonly used as an instrument of war. Sexual violence brought with it the risk of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and pregnancy. Women have been forced to bear and raise the children of their aggressors or forced to raise rejected orphans. Women have also experienced the trauma of being shamed in the eyes of their communities, of losing relatives and friends in times of armed conflict, and of having to take responsibility for the care of surviving family members. 55. Representatives recalled that armed conflicts, civil strife and foreign occupation had resulted in internal displacement and refugee flows, with women and children comprising the majority of those who were internally displaced or refugees. Displaced and refugee women faced the risk of abuse during flight, in refugee camps and in countries of ultimate refuge, from the military, paramilitaries, bandit gangs and male refugees. 56. Camps for the internally displaced and refugees had sometimes become the site of continuing conflict and, in the absence of structures to preserve law and order, had served to shield the activities of warring groups. Displaced and refugee women in camps faced other difficulties, including lack of physical security and privacy, difficulties relating to health, and lack of suitable occupation and income-generating opportunities. Humanitarian workers were sometimes insensitive to the needs of women in camps, and that circumstance underlined the importance of gender balance among such workers and mainstreaming a gender perspective into their activities. Representatives noted the importance of training all security workers in international human rights and humanitarian principles and the participation of women in all areas, as civilian and military peacekeepers, peace-builders and as special representatives of the Secretary-General. National armed forces should be well acquainted with international human rights and humanitarian principles as well as gender perspectives. The increased participation of women at all levels of national armed forces should be a specific goal. 57. Breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law affecting women required a particularly effective response and should not be marginalized during post-war reconstruction. Speakers emphasized the importance of justice at the international and national levels to provide the foundation for national reconciliation. Delegates stressed that the statute of the proposed international criminal court should provide for the prosecution of violations of the human rights of women during conflict and should specifically address sexual violations. National legal systems should also be reviewed in order to ensure that they provided justice for women who had been affected by armed conflict. The importance of procedural and evidentiary safeguards and of strengthened support for victims was also emphasized by representatives. Representatives encouraged support for trust funds for women victims of armed conflict. 58. Many representatives emphasized the potential of women as agents of preventive diplomacy, peacekeeping and peace-building. Noting that women should not be viewed primarily as the victims of armed conflict, delegates noted that the participation of women in peacekeeping missions had positive results and that their participation should be secured in all relevant areas, particularly in modern multifunctional peacekeeping operations. Innovative strategies to encourage women's participation in peace processes, refugee camps and their reconstruction, and post-conflict resolution were crucial, and concrete steps were necessary to ensure that women were appointed as special representatives of the Secretary-General. Close connections with grass-roots and local initiatives with regard to peace-building were also essential. 59. Representatives stressed that sustained and energetic efforts to avert the occurrence of conflict were required, along with short-term and long-term strategies to develop a culture of peace. Formal and informal education should incorporate values emphasizing the morality of peace, a tolerance of diversity, gender-sensitivity and respect for human rights. Governments and civil society, including the media, should develop programmes involving women relating to peace education and conflict prevention and resolution, and girls and women should be encouraged to speak as women, rather than as representatives of other interests. REPORT OF THE OPEN-ENDED WORKING GROUP ON THE ELABORATION OF A DRAFT OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN Chairperson: Ms. Aloisia WOERGETTER (Austria) 1. In accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1995/29 of 24 July 1995, the Open-ended Working Group on the Elaboration of a Draft Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women met as an in-session open-ended working group of the Commission at its fortieth session. By its decisions 1996/240 of 22 July 1996 and 1997/227 of 21 July 1997, the Council renewed the mandate of the Working Group so that it might continue its work, and authorized it to meet in parallel with the Commission at its forty-first session, and at its forty-second and forty-third sessions, respectively. 2. Ms. Aloisia Woergetter (Austria) continued to serve as Chairperson of the Working Group. 3. The Working Group met from 2 to 13 March 1998. It held 5 meetings (1st to 5th) and a number of informal meetings. It had before it the following documents: (a) Report of the Secretary-General containing an annotated comparison of the draft optional protocol and the amendments proposed thereto with the provisions of existing international human rights instruments (E/CN.6/1998/7); (b) Note by the Secretary-General on the results of the eighteenth session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (E/CN.6/1998/CRP.1). 4. At the 1st meeting, on 2 March, the Chairperson opened the meeting and made a statement. 5. At the same meeting, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women and Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women made an introductory statement. 6. Also at the 1st meeting, a statement was made by the Minister of the Department for Women's Affairs of Chile. 7. At the same meeting, statements were also made by the representatives of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the European Union, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia), Australia, Norway, Ghana, Algeria, China, Liechtenstein, Lesotho, Japan, New Zealand, the United States of America and Pakistan. 8. Also at the 1st meeting, a statement was made by the representative of the Friends World Committee for Consultation, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. 9. At the 2nd meeting, on 3 March, a statement was made by the representative of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in her capacity as a resource person in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1997/227. 10. At the same meeting, the representative of India made a statement. 11. At the 3rd meeting, on 4 March, statements were made by the State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, and by the Federal Minister for Women's Affairs and Consumer Protection of Austria. 12. At the 4th meeting, on 13 March, a statement was made by the representative of Cuba. 13. At the 5th meeting, also on 13 March, a statement was made by the representative of the European Women's Lobby, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.
General exchange of views 14. At the 1st meeting, on 2 March, the Working Group, at the invitation of the Chairperson, held a general exchange of views on item 5 of the agenda of the Commission. 15. Delegations recalled that the conclusion of an optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was a commitment of both the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna) and the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing). They noted that the year 1998 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that it was five years since Governments had adopted the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. They pointed out that the adoption of an optional protocol to the Convention would make 1998 the year of women's human rights, thereby giving real meaning to the anniversary. 16. Delegations stressed the importance of concluding a strong protocol that would take account of the difficulties faced by women in accessing legal remedies for violations of their human rights but that would at the same time build on existing and widely accepted principles. The importance of concluding a strong, well-drafted text that could be widely accepted was emphasized. 17. Several delegations suggested that standing requirements should be broad, and there was also a suggestion that, although the protocol should be based on other instruments, it should contribute to the progressive development of international law. Accordingly, it was suggested that specific provisions relating to interim measures and follow-up should be included in the text. A number of delegations stressed the usefulness of an investigations procedure. 18. Several delegations were of the view that it was vital not to allow reservations to the protocol.
ACTION TAKEN BY THE WORKING GROUP 19. At the 4th meeting, on 13 March, the Working Group adopted its draft report (E/CN.6/1998/WG/L.1), as orally corrected. It agreed that the revised draft optional protocol contained in document E/CN.6/1998/WG/L.2, as orally revised during informal consultations, should be included in its report to the Commission (see appendix I to the present annex). 20. At the same meeting, the Working Group had before it, in document E/CN.6/1998/WG/L.3 and in an informal paper, a summary by the Chairperson of views and comments made by delegations during negotiations on a draft optional protocol, which was subsequently circulated in document E/CN.6/1998/WG/L.4. 21. At the 5th meeting, on 13 March, the Working Group decided to include the Chairperson's summary in its report to the Commission (see appendix II to the present annex). Appendix I REVISED DRAFT OPTIONAL PROTOCOL SUBMITTED BY THE CHAIRPERSON ON THE BASIS OF THE COMPILATION TEXT CONTAINED IN THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN ON ITS FORTY-FIRST SESSION (E/1997/27) AND PROPOSALS MADE BY THE COMMISSION AT ITS FORTY-SECOND SESSION
[The States Parties to this Protocol, Noting that the Charter of the United Nations reaffirms faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of women and men, Noting that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind, including distinction based on sex, Recalling that the international covenants on human rights and other international human rights instruments prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, Recalling also the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, in which States Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms and agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women, Reaffirming their determination to ensure the full and equal enjoyment by women of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and to take effective action to prevent violations of these rights and freedoms, [Recalling also that the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action reaffirms that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated,] [Recalling that the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action calls for the introduction of a right to petition through the preparation of an optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,] [Recalling also that the Beijing Platform for Action urges that such a protocol enter into force as soon as possible,]] Have agreed as follows:
Article 1 [A State Party to the present Protocol recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications [submitted in accordance with article 2].]
Article 2 [Communications may be submitted by [or on behalf of] individuals or groups [of individuals] under the jurisdiction of a State Party claiming to be victims of a violation of any of the [rights] [provisions] set forth in the Convention [through an act or failure to act] by that State Party.] Alternative [Communications may be submitted by an individual or groups of individuals, or on their behalf, by organizations/their designated representatives, subject to the jurisdiction of a State Party, claiming to be victims of violations of any of the rights set forth in the Convention.]
Article 3 Communications shall be in writing and shall not be anonymous. No communication shall be received by the Committee if it concerns a State Party to the Convention that is not a party to this Protocol.
Article 4 1. The Committee shall not consider a communication unless it has ascertained that all available domestic remedies have been exhausted unless [it is demonstrated that] the application of such remedies is unreasonably prolonged or unlikely to bring effective relief [as determined in accordance with generally recognized rules of international law]. 2. The Committee shall declare a communication inadmissible where [, in the view of the Committee]: (i) The same matter has already been examined by the Committee or has been or is being examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement; (ii) It is incompatible with the provisions of the Convention; [(iii) It is manifestly ill-founded or not sufficiently substantiated;] [(iv) It is [vexatious] or otherwise an abuse of the right to submit a communication;] (v) The facts that are the subject of the communication occurred prior to the entry into force of this Protocol for the State Party concerned unless those facts continued after that date.
Article 5 1. At any time after the receipt of a communication and before a determination on the merits has been reached, the Committee may transmit to the State Party concerned for its [urgent] consideration a request that the State Party take interim measures as may be necessary to avoid possible irreparable damage to the victim or victims of the alleged violation. 2. Where the Committee exercises its discretion under paragraph 1, this does not imply a determination on admissibility or on the merits of the communication.
Article 6 1. Unless the Committee considers a communication inadmissible without reference to the State Party concerned, and provided that the individual or individuals consent to the disclosure of their identity or identities to that State party, the Committee shall bring any communication submitted to it under this Protocol [confidentially] to the attention of the State Party concerned. 2. Within six months, the receiving State Party shall submit to the Committee written explanations or statements clarifying the matter and the remedy, if any, that may have been taken by that State Party. [3. During its examination of a communication, the Committee shall place itself at the disposal of the parties concerned with a view to facilitating settlement of the matter on the basis of respect of the rights and obligations set forth in the Convention]. [In the event of agreement between the parties, the Committee shall adopt findings taking note of the settlement of the matter].
Article 7 [1. While exercising its function under this Protocol, the Committee should be in compliance with the principles of objectivity and impartiality.] 1. The Committee shall consider communications received under this Protocol in the light of all [[written] [or recorded]] information made available to it by [or on behalf of] the [author] [individual] and by the State Party concerned. [The Committee may also take into account information obtained from other [United Nations] sources provided that this information is transmitted to the author and the State Party for comment.] 2. The Committee shall hold closed meetings when examining communications under this Protocol. [2 bis. When a communication is being considered, the State Party concerned shall be entitled to take part in the proceedings of the Committee and to make submissions orally and/or in writing.] 3. After examining a communication, the Committee shall transmit its views on the communication, together with its recommendations, if any, to the State Party and the individual or individuals concerned. 4. The State Party shall give [due] consideration to the views of the Committee, together with its recommendations, if any, and shall submit to the Committee, [as far as possible] within six months, a written response, including information on any action taken in the light of the views and recommendations of the Committee. 5. The Committee may invite the State Party to submit further information about any measures the State Party has taken in response to its views or recommendations, if any, including as deemed appropriate by the Committee, in the State Party's subsequent reports under article 18 of the Convention. Article 10 [1. If the Committee receives reliable information indicating a serious [and] [or] systematic violation by a State Party to the Protocol of rights set forth in the Convention [or of a failure to give effect to obligations set forth in the Convention], the Committee shall invite that State Party to cooperate in the examination of the information and to this end to submit observations with regard to the information concerned. 2. Taking into account any observations that may have been submitted by the State Party concerned as well as any other reliable information available to it, the Committee may designate one or more of its members to conduct an inquiry [with the consent of the State Party] and to report urgently to the Committee. [[Where warranted and] [in agreement with] [with the consent of] the State Party, the inquiry may include a visit to its territory.] 3. After examining the findings of such an inquiry, the Committee shall transmit these findings to the State Party concerned together with any comments and recommendations. 4. The State Party shall, within [three] [six] months of receiving the findings, comments and recommendations transmitted by the Committee, submit its observations to the Committee. 5. Such an inquiry shall be conducted confidentially and the [consent and] cooperation of the State Party shall be sought at all stages of the proceedings.]
Article 11 [1. The Committee may at [any] [an appropriate] time invite a State Party concerned to discuss with it the measures that that State Party has taken in response to such an inquiry. [2. The Committee may invite the State Party concerned to include in its report under article 18 of the Convention details of any measures taken in response to such an inquiry].]
Article 11 bis [1. Each State Party may, at the time of signature or ratification of this Protocol or accession thereto, declare that it [does not] recognize[s] the competence of the Committee provided for in articles 10 and 11. 2. Any State Party having made a declaration in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article may, at any time, withdraw this declaration by notification to the Secretary-General.]
Article 12 [States Parties to this Protocol undertake: [(a) To respect the [right] [procedure] provided by this Protocol to submit communications or information to the Committee and to cooperate with the Committee at all stages of its proceedings under this Protocol;] [(b) To take all appropriate steps to protect [all persons] [those] under its jurisdiction submitting communications or information [or those the subject of such information/communications,] to the Committee from interference or reprisal by any party.]]
Article 13 The Committee shall include in its annual report under article 21 of the Convention a summary of its activities under this Protocol.
Article 14 Each State Party to this Protocol undertakes to make [widely] known and to give [due] publicity to the Convention and its Optional Protocol and to facilitate access to information about the views and recommendations of the Committee, in particular, in matters involving that State Party.
Article 15 The Committee shall develop its own rules of procedure to be followed when exercising the functions conferred on it by this Protocol.
Article 16 [The Committee shall meet for such a period as is necessary [within its agenda] to carry out its function under this Protocol.] Alternative [The Committee shall hold meetings to exercise its functions under this Protocol, in addition to its meetings held under article 20 of the Convention. The duration of such meetings shall be determined, and reviewed, if necessary, by a meeting of the States Parties to the Protocol, subject to the approval of the General Assembly.] New resources paragraph [The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall provide the necessary staff and facilities for the effective performance of the functions of the Committee under the present Protocol.]
Article 17 1. This Protocol shall be open for signature by any State that has signed, acceded to or ratified the Convention. 2. This Protocol shall be subject to ratification by any State that has ratified or acceded to the Convention. Instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. 3. This Protocol shall be open to accession by any State that has ratified or acceded to the Convention. 4. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Article 18 1. This Protocol shall enter into force three months after the date of the deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the [fifth] [tenth] [twentieth] instrument of ratification or accession. 2. For each State ratifying this Protocol or acceding to it after its entry into force, this Protocol shall enter into force three months after the date of the deposit of its own instrument of ratification or accession.
Article 20 [No reservations to this Protocol shall be permitted.] Alternative [Reservations to this Protocol shall be permitted, unless such a reservation is incompatible with the object and purpose of the present Protocol and the Convention, in accordance with the rules of international law.]
Article 21 1. Any State Party to the present Protocol may propose any amendment and file it with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Secretary-General shall thereupon communicate any proposed amendments to the States Parties to this Protocol with a request that they notify her/him whether they favour a conference of States Parties for the purpose of considering and voting on the proposal. In the event that at least one third of the States Parties favour such a conference, the Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the auspices of the United Nations. Any amendment adopted by a majority of the States Parties present and voting at the conference shall be submitted to the General Assembly of the United Nations for approval. 2. Amendments shall come into force when they have been approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations and accepted by a two-thirds majority of the States Parties to this Protocol in accordance with their respective constitutional processes. 3. When amendments come into force, they shall be binding on those States Parties that have accepted them, other States Parties still being bound by the provisions of this Protocol and any earlier amendments that they have accepted.
Article 22 1. Any State Party can denounce this Protocol at any time by written notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Denunciation shall take effect six months after the date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General. 2. Denunciations shall be without prejudice to the continued application of the provisions of this Protocol to any communication or inquiry before the effective date of denunciation.
Article 23 The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all States of: (a) Signatures, ratifications and accessions under this Protocol; (b) The date of entry into force of this Protocol and the date of entry into force of any amendment under article 21 and any denunciations under article 22.
Article 24 1. This Protocol, of which the Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the United Nations. 2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit certified copies of this Protocol to all States referred to in article 25 of the Convention. Appendix II CHAIRPERSON'S SUMMARY OF VIEWS EXPRESSED AND COMMENTS MADE BY DELEGATIONS DURING THE NEGOTIATIONS ON THE OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN
1. The Open-ended Working Group on the Elaboration of a Draft Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women held a number of informal meetings to continue negotiations on the optional protocol based on the results of a first reading of the draft which had been completed in 1997, and reflected in appendix I of annex III to document E/1997/27. The Working Group requested the Chairperson to prepare a summary of the discussions held during the informal meetings for inclusion in the report of the Working Group. 2. Throughout the informal meetings, the Working Group benefited from the comments of and replies to questions by Ms. Silvia Cartwright, a representative of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, who participated in the Working Group as a resource person in accordance with Economic and Social Council decision 1997/227. The Working Group also benefited from the comments of a member of the Human Rights Committee who provided the Working Group with information on the practice of the Human Rights Committee under its first Optional Protocol (to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). The Working Group received information from a representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on technical aspects of the work and practice of human rights treaty bodies under similar procedures to those contained in the draft optional protocol, and from a representative of the Office of Programme Planning, Budget and Accounts of the United Nations Secretariat. 3. The following reflects the Chairperson's understanding of the discussions of the Working Group on the optional protocol, arranged on an article-by-article basis. Delegations requested amendments to the text from the floor, but the Chairperson wishes to note that this text was not negotiated, nor was it adopted by the Working Group.
Preamble 1. The Working Group agreed that the optional protocol would be preceded by a short, succinct preamble which reflected the international human rights framework of the United Nations. Delegations agreed that the preamble would note that the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights establish the principles of equality between men and women and the entitlement of all, without distinction based on sex and other grounds, to human rights. Delegations agreed that the preamble would recall the international covenants and other human rights instruments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. It would reaffirm States parties' determination to ensure the full and equal enjoyment by women of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and to take effective action to prevent violations of these rights and freedoms. Some delegations suggested that the preamble should also recall that the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action reaffirmed the universality, indivisibility and interrelatedness of all human rights and that it called for the introduction of the right of petition through the preparation of an optional protocol to the Convention. Some delegations also suggested that the preamble should make reference to the Beijing Platform for Action. Others suggested that these documents be addressed in a resolution.
Article 2 2. The Chairperson of the Working Group submitted a new draft of article 2 which was accepted by the Working Group as the basis for its further negotiations on this article. 3. Delegations agreed that the optional protocol should entitle individuals and groups of individuals to submit communications to the Committee. Some delegations were of the view that groups should be entitled to submit communications, while several suggested that organizations, including non-governmental organizations, should also be entitled to do so, as they also can be victims of human rights violations. Other delegations expressed the view that groups and organizations might participate in other human rights mechanisms. 4. Many delegations referred to the communications procedures in the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families which entitle communications to be submitted on behalf of complainants. The practice of the Human Rights Committee, reflected in its rules of procedure, was to receive communications submitted on behalf of victims. Many delegations took note of the explanation of the representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights with regard to the existing procedures under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture in relation to communications submitted in cases where victims are unable to submit communications themselves, or when victims give consent for the submission of communications by others. These delegations were of the view that this protocol should explicitly provide that communications could be submitted on behalf of complainants and that this element could be specified in the Committee's rules of procedure. 5. Several delegations were of the view that the parameters of the phrase "on behalf of" required clarification so as to preclude communications from unauthorized representatives with neither the consent of, nor a link to, victims. Several delegations suggested that clarification could be provided by limiting those who could claim submission of communications "on behalf of" victims to designated representatives. 6. Delegations agreed that it was important to indicate that the protocol would reflect existing communications procedures and provide that claimants should be subject to the jurisdiction of the relevant State party. Some suggested that designated representatives should also be subject to the State party's jurisdiction, while others suggested that this requirement was inappropriate. 7. Many delegations suggested that it was important to provide for communications concerning violation of rights set forth in the Convention through an act or failure to act by the State party. Other delegations were of the view that communications should be able to address violations of all the provisions of the Convention. Several delegations expressed the view that violation of rights of the Convention encompassed both acts and omissions and that a concise formulation referring to violation of rights or provisions of the Convention would be understood as including acts and the failure to act and was thus sufficient. 8. One delegation expressed the view that article 2 should include, as did the first Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, reference to the requirement of exhaustion of available domestic remedies which would also be addressed in article 4.
Article 3 9. Delegations recalled that article 3 of the draft optional protocol had been agreed by the working group ad referendum. Noting that article 1 of the first draft protocol had explicitly precluded reception of communications relating to States parties to the Convention that were not States parties to the protocol, delegations agreed to the addition of this formula in article 3 ad referendum.
Article 4 10. Delegations agreed that admissibility criteria would be reflected in two separate subparagraphs of article 4, that is to say, article 4 (1) would deal with the exhaustion of domestic remedies, and article 4 (2) would reflect the remaining criteria. 11. Delegations agreed to a negative formulation according to which the Committee would not consider a communication unless it had dealt with the question of exhaustion of domestic remedies, thereby making the subparagraph more succinct. Some delegations doubted whether current language on this matter as contained for example in the Convention against Torture was appropriate within the scope of the present protocol, and were in favour of a requirement that the author of a communication demonstrate the exhaustion of domestic remedies. Others noted that the exhaustion of domestic remedies was a standard provision in other human rights instruments, and its application should be determined within generally recognized principles of international law. 12. While delegations discussed various possibilities for reflecting inadmissibility because of an abuse of the right, several suggested that this element would be further specified by the addition of the criterion of vexatiousness. It was agreed to combine lack of substantiation and manifest ill-foundedness. However, both sets of criteria, as contained in article 4 (2) (iii) and (iv), remain in brackets, with the word "vexatious" also appearing in brackets. Delegations agreed to include admissibility criteria covering prior occurrence and prior, or simultaneous, consideration by another procedure of international settlement. 13. Some delegations, while emphasizing that the principles of objectivity and impartiality which they noted were important principles of international law, needed to be maintained in the consideration of communications by the Committee, suggested that, instead of those principles' being included as an admissibility criterion, they could be moved to another place within the protocol, for example, to a new article 7 (1). Other delegations noted that, while appreciating the removal of this aspect from article 4, they could not agree to its inclusion in article 7. 14. Delegations agreed to retain article 4 (1) and (2) as set out in document E/CN.6/1998/WG/L.2 with two sets of brackets in article 4 (1) and one set in the chapeau of article 4 (2), in addition to the sets of brackets around article 4 (2) (iii) and (iv). Several delegations suggested that a further paragraph should be added to the article that would provide for the consent of the victim of the violation for representative communications.
Article 5 15. Some delegations considered it inappropriate for the Committee to request a State party to take interim measures, while many pointed out that this was in accordance with established practice of human rights treaty bodies, such as the Human Rights Committee. A formulation according to which the Committee may transmit to a State party a request for interim measures was acceptable to all delegations, especially since a similar approach was used in article 7 (transmittal of views). Delegations also noted that a State party was under a general bona fide obligation to give consideration to such a request of the Committee, and that this could be reflected in a shortened article 5 (1) with the deletion of article 5 (2). 16. While some delegations expressed a preference for the deletion of all three bracketed qualifications of situations that might justify the request for interim measures, all delegations agreed to the retention of the words "as may be necessary". Delegations agreed that a reference to the preservation of the status quo could be ambiguous, indicating preservation of a violation, and should therefore be deleted. While some delegations expressed a preference for the term "harm" in English, others pointed out that for translation into other languages, the use in English of the term "damage" would be preferable. 17. Delegations agreed that the use of interim measures did not imply a determination on the merits of a case, nor on its admissibility, and that this should be reflected in article 5 (2). 18. Article 5 (1) and (2) was retained by the Working Group, with the word "urgent" in article 5 (1) remaining in brackets.
Article 6 19. Many delegations expressed the view that the identity of the complainant should be revealed to the State party. It was noted that practical considerations required that the State party be informed of the identity of those submitting communications to allow for the provision of information to the Committee. Several delegations suggested that claimants should be able to decide whether their identities should be revealed to the State party. 20. Several delegations noted the changing practice of the Human Rights Committee in regard to confidentiality. Some delegations expressed a preference for deleting the confidentiality requirement from article 6 (1), but others expressed the view that, while a communication was pending, only the State party, the complainant and the Committee should be apprised of the proceedings and their content. 21. While some delegations expressed a preference for a three-month time limit for submission of information by the State party, all delegations agreed on a six-month period. 22. Several delegations expressed their support for the retention of the substance of article 6 (3) in the optional protocol. Other delegations suggested that the current language of article 6 (3) was inappropriate in a human rights instrument. Several noted that the provision suggested that the Committee had an arbitral role which they considered inappropriate. Others underlined that the thrust of this provision was to encourage reconciliation and mediation, rather than arbitration or quasi-judicial proceedings. 23. The Working Group agreed to retain article 6 (1), with the term "confidentially" remaining in brackets. Article 6 (2) was adopted ad referendum. Article 6 (3) remains unchanged. Articles 7, 8 and 9 24. Many delegations suggested the deletion of the requirement that only written information may be used by the Committee in considering a communication, pointing in particular to the constraints that women in developing countries might face in this regard. Some suggested an explicit reference to recorded information. Others maintained that the procedure should be based on written information. While several delegations were of the view that the Committee should be entitled to receive information from "other sources" which would be transmitted to the State party and the author of the communication, others pointed to the importance of verifying these sources. Some delegations indicated that they could accept other sources if these were further specified. 25. Article 7 (2) had been agreed to ad referendum in 1997. 26. Some delegations expressed the view that article 7 (2) bis would encourage the dialogue between the Committee and the State party, and argued that a State party was entitled to be present at proceedings of the Committee involving that particular State party. Other delegations noted the resource implications of such a provision, which would also preclude authors of communications and their representatives' taking advantage of a similar opportunity. Several delegations noted that the Human Rights Committee did not grant States parties or complainants access to its proceedings. 27. Article 7 (3) was adopted ad referendum in a shortened version. 28. As many delegations recognized the desirability of setting out provisions on follow-up currently contained in articles 7 (3), 8 and 9, including alternatives, in a streamlined form, it was agreed to merge these articles and to delete the original drafts. Recognizing the need for both short- and long-term follow-up to the Committee's views and recommendations, if any, many delegations agreed that the State party should provide a first follow-up response to the Committee's views within six months on any action taken. In light of constraints that might be present in a State party, some delegations requested a qualification of the six-month time period. Others pointed out that since no detailed reply on completed actions would be required at this short-term stage, but that an indication of initiated action and planned steps would suffice, they could not agree to such a qualification. Delegations also affirmed that this article, including the time period for the submission of information to the Committee, would apply only to the follow-up phase after the Committee's adoption of views, and was not linked to article 5. 29. Delegations agreed that the Committee would have a long-term role in monitoring follow-up to its views on communications, including through the inclusion of relevant information in the periodic reports States parties are required to submit under article 18 of the Convention. Article 7 (5) was adopted ad referendum. Article 10 30. Several delegations, while noting their support for an inquiry procedure, stated that, in their view, the Committee already had the power under its current mandate to deal with situations of serious or systematic violations. In this regard, they encouraged the Committee to develop its mandate under article 18 of the Convention, especially in regard to exceptional reports. It was also noted that the proposed inquiry procedure would strengthen and expand the Committee's mandate in this regard. Some doubt about the desirability of including an inquiry procedure in the optional protocol was also voiced. 31. As to whether an inquiry procedure could be based on the Committee's receipt of information about what was termed "serious [and] [or] systematic violation", several delegations stated that, while they preferred "or", they would also be able to accept "and". It was argued that the use of the word "or" would not achieve the objective of the inquiry procedure. Others were of the view that the reverse was the case. Single cases of violations could be serious, but they should be dealt with under the communications procedure. Those who supported the retention of "and" noted that in order for an inquiry by the Committee to be initiated, allegations of violations needed to be both serious and systematic. 32. Many delegations expressed the view that the words "with the consent of" in article 10 (2) and "the consent ... of" in article 10 (5) were redundant, while others emphasized the importance of this explicit requirement. Several delegations were of the view that a provision under this article allowing for visits to the territory of the State party should be retained, stressing that such visits could only take place with the agreement or consent of the State party.
Article 11 bis 33. Recognizing that while many delegations favoured the inclusion of an inquiry procedure in the optional protocol, others were reluctant to provide the Committee with such a mandate, the Chairperson introduced a provision according to which States parties would, upon signature, ratification or accession to the optional protocol, be in a position to declare that they did not recognize the competence of the Committee under its articles 10 and 11 (the so-called opt-out clause). 34. Delegations welcomed this proposal as a good basis for further discussions on articles 10 and 11. Some delegations proposed that, instead of an opt-out procedure, an opt-in procedure should be included. While noting their preference for an opt-in procedure, some also expressed their flexibility in this regard. Other delegations noted that in principle, and to ensure the integrity of the optional protocol, such a provision should not be required at all. In this regard, some delegations noted the link between this proposal and the issue of reservations and that they could only consider an opt-out procedure on the basis of a clause precluding reservations. Others suggested that the question of the opt-out provision should not be linked to the issue of reservations. Article 12 35. Some delegations were of the view that article 12 of the protocol was not required because States parties to the protocol would be obliged to ensure that its procedures were accessible and to cooperate with the Committee and because the texts of existing international procedures did not include a similar provision. 36. Many delegations were of the view that an article emphasizing States' obligations in this regard was desirable, but that this article should be put in positive terms. Several delegations suggested that the State party should be called upon to cooperate in the effective exercise of the right to submit communications or information to the Committee. Others suggested that this right should be facilitated, promoted or supported. A number of delegations were of the view that it was undesirable to refer to the protocol as creating rights and it was preferable to provide that States parties would respect the procedure provided by the protocol. 37. Many delegations suggested that the protocol should provide that the State would cooperate with the Committee at all stages of its proceedings under the protocol, but noted that this obligation would be implied in the absence of such a provision. 38. Some delegations suggested that the protocol should explicitly provide that States parties would undertake to take appropriate steps to protect those using the protocol from interference and reprisal.
Article 13 39. Delegations recalled that article 13 had been adopted ad referendum.
Article 14 40. Many delegations stressed the importance of wide knowledge of and publicity for the protocol, its procedures and the conclusions of the Committee in this context. Several noted the importance of ensuring wide dissemination of the jurisprudence of the Committee. Several noted that provisions relating to knowledge of and publicity for treaties were not included in existing instruments providing communications procedures, while others noted that article 42 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child made such provision, as did the rules of procedure of the Human Rights Committee. 41. A number of delegations expressed the view that a simple formulation relating to publicity would be appropriate and that this should address the optional protocol and the Convention. Several expressed the view that this could be accommodated by mention of the protocol, which would be enough to make known its procedures. 42. Many delegations agreed that it was important for women to be aware of the Convention and the protocol, but cautioned against a provision that would involve onerous obligations, including of a financial nature, for States parties. Several delegations were of the view that a provision of this nature was unnecessary and inappropriate, and that States parties that had not been subject to the procedures set forth in the protocol should not have obligations with respect to publicizing proceedings. Article 15 43. Several delegations noted that in light of article 19 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, article 15 of the protocol was redundant. Many delegations expressed the view that a specific reference to the Committee's powers with regard to rules of procedure should be included in the protocol for the purposes of clarity. Delegations adopted the article ad referendum.
Article 16 44. Possible implications of the adoption and entry into force of the optional protocol with regard to the Committee's requirements for meeting time and resources were discussed. In this regard, the financial regulations and rules of the United Nations, in particular those applying to the preparation of the proposed programme budget by the Secretary-General and its review and approval by the General Assembly following the consideration of the reports of the financial and budgetary committees, were noted. While there was recognition that to enter into any particular aspect of possible implications would be premature, it was pointed out that the Committee's responsibilities under the optional protocol would have implications for the Committee's meeting time. In this regard, it was suggested that the recent amendment of article 20 (1) of the Convention could be reflected in the optional protocol. Possible resource implications with regard to the Secretariat's servicing of the Committee would also have to be addressed by Member States in due course in accordance with established regulations and rules. 45. Note was taken of the proposed new paragraph on resources, introduced by the Chairperson, which restates article 17 (9) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. 46. Following consideration of the resource issues by the Working Group, a proposal was made by the Chairperson to remove provisions pertaining to resources, including meeting time, from the text of the optional protocol and to have these elements reflected in the resolution by which the finalized text of the protocol would be adopted. Pending further discussion, the paragraphs were retained in brackets.
Article 17 47. Delegations adopted article 17 of the draft protocol ad referendum.
Article 18 48. While several delegations expressed the view that the optional protocol should enter into force after the fifth instrument of ratification or accession was lodged with the Secretary-General, they were willing to join the many delegations who favoured entry into force after 10 ratifications or accessions. A number of delegations, arguing for consistency with the threshold established in the Convention, were of the view that 20 should be required.
Article 19 49. Several delegations were of the view that this provision was a restatement of article 29 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and suggested its retention. A number of delegations noted that an equivalent provision was not to be found in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Delegations agreed to delete this article from the protocol.
Article 20 50. Many delegations recalled that reservations to human rights treaties, consistent with the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, and not incompatible with the object and purpose of the treaty, were permissible under international law and might be appropriate in certain circumstances. 51. Recognizing that the purpose of the protocol would be to assist women in realizing their rights under the Convention, but that there were, however, a large number of reservations to the Convention itself, many delegations supported the inclusion of an explicit provision prohibiting reservations, which they noted was also compatible with international law. The optional and procedural nature of the protocol was stressed, as well as the interrelationship among the provisions of the protocol, the effective functioning of which would be undermined if reservations to any of its provisions were permitted. 52. A number of delegations noted that, while several provisions of the protocol, such as article 11 bis, had been drafted to address the concerns of some delegations that might otherwise have resulted in reservations, several provisions of the protocol had been agreed to by a number of States on the understanding that a provision prohibiting reservations would be included. Some delegations expressed the view that if reservations were permitted, then article 11 bis, about which there was no agreement, would not be necessary, and more States might accept the competence of the Committee to conduct inquiries. 53. A number of delegations indicated that a prohibition of reservations could only be accepted when the balance of the protocol had been agreed. Several suggested that a provision prohibiting reservations might discourage States from ratifying or acceding to the protocol. Some delegations argued that certain States might be willing to accept all substantive obligations established by the protocol, but unable to accept minor obligations. In such cases, a provision precluding reservations would prevent such States from becoming party to the protocol. These delegations suggested the inclusion of a provision allowing for reservations permissible under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties or the setting out of no provision relating to the issue, which would subject the protocol to the regime of that Convention and preclude reservations that were inconsistent with the protocol's object and purpose. 54. Several delegations acknowledged difficulties in respect of examining the question of reservations at the present stage of consideration of the protocol, but expressed the wish to address the issue once the draft protocol was consolidated. Several took note of the strong sentiments expressed in the Working Group with respect to the prohibition of reservations in light of the subject matter of the Convention and agreed to take these sentiments into account as the draft reached finalization. 55. A number of delegations noted that human rights treaties rarely contained explicit prohibitions of reservations and that no instruments establishing communications procedures incorporated such a provision. Noting that their Governments did not envisage specific reservations to the protocol, several delegations expressed serious concerns about the long-term implications of a complete prohibition of reservations in a human rights instrument. Despite these concerns, some delegations indicated a willingness to discuss a wide variety of options with respect to discouraging or otherwise limiting reservations to the protocol short of an absolute ban of the type contained in article 20. 56. A large majority of delegations argued, nevertheless, that the protocol was an exceptional case which justified a complete prohibition of reservations. Recalling that the underlying aim of the protocol was to assist women in realizing their rights under the Convention, those delegations stressed with great passion that reservations could defeat the purpose of the protocol.
Articles 21, 22, 23 and 24 57. Delegations adopted these articles ad referendum.
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