ISO: GBR *************************************************************************** The electronic version of this document has been prepared at the Fourth World Conference on Women by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women Secretariat. *************************************************************************** AS WRITTEN UNITED NATIONS FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND STATEMENT by The Right Honourable The Baroness Chalker of Wallasey Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Minister for Overseas Development PEKING, 5 September 1995 BARONESS INTRODUCTION I am honoured to address the Fourth UN World Conference on Women; the Conference itself is a great achievement and I would like to thank all those involved in its organisation. In the past year I am privileged to have spoken for the UK Government at two other major international conferences concerned to promote people- centred development. I now speak on behalf of all three Ministers jointly leading the UK delegation: Cheryl Gillan, responsible for co- ordinating policy on all women's issues; Angela Browning, Government Co- Chair of the Women's National Commission; and myself, responsible for overseas aid. In March I led the UK delegation to the Social Development Summit in Copenhagen. There I stressed the importance of gender equality for children, as well as adults. This is not achieved overnight. But ultimately, our future success depends on the younger generation. The Platform for the World Conference on Women reflects this view by including a critical area of concern devoted solely to the girl child. Last September, I led the UK delegation to the International Conference on Population and Development. Most of us believe that Cairo was an outstanding achievement. I certainly do. Governments, NGOs and communities are responding to the demands of women who tell us that "reproductive rights are my rights". We committed ourselves at Cairo to the advancement and empowerment of women, the elimination of all kinds of violence against women and women's right to control their own fertility. We must endorse these commitments here at the World Conference on Women. These cannot be renegotiated now.HUMAN RIGHTS Both these conferences built on the strong foundations laid at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993. The Declaration and Programme of Action agreed there affirmed powerfully the importance and universality of the human rights of women. The Platform for Action for the World Conference on Women must be based on these foundations. Justice and respect for the fundamental freedoms of all citizens are not only important in their own right, but are also the most effective basis for economic and social development. As we all recognised in Vienna, the rights of women are an integral part of universal human rights. The British Government attaches considerable importance to the universality of rights and we will defend this principle at this Conference. By far the best way to promote these rights is for individual countries to ratify and implement all the human rights Conventions and particularly the ones relating to women and children. This would ensure that the principles of the UN Charter were fulfilled. What better way to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the UN? THE WORLD CONFERENCE Here in China, our task is twofold. First, we will build on the commitments we have already made: we will dedicate ourselves once again to attaining the advances established for women at previous international conferences. Second, we will agree a Platform for Action that provides a positive framework for women and men to work together to achieve further advances in a partnership based on equality of opportunity and mutual respect; we must all commit ourselves to take forward this vision. We will carry forward the principles set out in the Platform, including: - mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies; - ensuring that all women, regardless of age, ethnicity, religion, disability or other characteristics, have equal opportunities, choices and rights; - supporting women's promotion to the top of public and working life; and - working in partnership with NGOs and others with an interest to take forward the objectives of the Platform. Two themes I want to focus on today are freedom of choice and working in partnership. These are also two of the key themes which guide the UK national approach to equal opportunities. If this Conference achieves only one thing it should be a global recognition of women's right to freedom of choice. Women must be treated as individuals; we must respect and support their personal choices. This holds true not only for women's sexual and reproductive health, but extends to work, education, politics, as well as the management of household resources and expenditure. A change in attitudes and practices is just as important as equality under the law if we are to enable women and men to make full use of their talents and potential. It means a new flexibility in approach from public and private sector institutions, from civil society, as well as from government and formal sector employers. I would like to see more women reaching the senior positions in industry and politics which their talents deserve; more young women training and pursuing careers in a wider range of occupations; more women entrepreneurs. But as I have already said, these changes must begin with the girl child. Children have rights and we must encourage action to stop exploitation and abuse. Both in the work place and in the home. We all recognise that girl children are particularly vulnerable. Brought up in many societies to remain quiet and docile, their rights and needs are often over-looked. That is why the British aid Programme places so much emphasis on access of girls to education. In the UK, we have begun to see changes which promise much for the future. Young women have started to outperform young men in all subjects, including mathematics and science, in school examinations at age 16. But we need to see more young women go on to study science, engineering and technology subjects if they are truly to have freedom of choice in all walks of life, and I am pleased to see that the Platform for Action reflects this need. Where women do not have choice, this significantly affects the way children are cared for; it perpetuates patterns of gender inequality from one generation to the next. A more equal sharing, between women and men, of parental and household responsibilities provides a better quality of life for women and girl children within the family. It is also fundamental for women's equal access to education, jobs and politics. This leads me to my next theme of partnership. PARTNERSHIP This Conference is much more than governments talking to each other. The inspiration for change has come from many individuals and groups working in partnership all over the world. The draft Platform for Action is largely an outcome of women's organised voice in dialogue with governments. It is up to all of us to work together to realise that vision. None of us can effect real change alone. The role of NGOs both in our own countries and at the NGO Forum is a key example of the vitality which can be produced when women at grass roots work together. Governments can and should set out a strong legal framework for equality but it is essential that we all 4workinpartnership-governments,non- governmentalorganisationstemployersand individuals - women and men alike - if real equality is to be achieved. In the UK we are proud of what we have achieved so far, much of which has been achieved in partnership with many of the actors concerned. One example is Opportunity 2000, an employer-led initiative which aims to increase the participation of women in the workplace at all levels on the basis of their ability. Another is a regional initiative, "Fair Play for Women"; this is a joint Government and Equal Opportunities Commission initiative to remove barriers to women's fulfilment of their potential, which operates through co-operation between the public, private and voluntary sectors. DEVELOPMENT CO-OPERATION The ECE Regional Platform drew out some important themes for the countries of our region. The protection of the human rights of women headed that list, but we also committed ourselves to promoting the eradication of poverty and ensuring that women were able to make a full contribution to the economy and to p-public life. We in the UK stand ready to play our part. Our regional platform also committed us to promoting international solidarity and co-operation for the empowerment of women. The UK Government, in concert with other donors in the OECD Development Assistance Committee, has welcomed the opportunity to assist in the preparations of other regions for this Conference. This process has led to thousands of women and men enhancing their skills in promoting women's status. It has heightened public awareness and concern for the issues in a significant number of countries. And it has produced regional platforms for action for developing countries which the British aid Programme intends to support. The Africa Platform, for example, has identified women's health and reproductive rights as priority issues. This document recognised that improvements in women's health and ability to control their own fertility were major steps in enabling them to make choices in other areas. The Asia Platform stressed the needs of those most vulnerable to poverty, such as young women and the elderly. It was particularly concerned with the predominance of women among the poorest groups in society. If improvements in women's lives are to be seen, governments and nongovernmental organisations must give priority to tackling the problems of women within their regions. The UK aid Programme is ready to help. Making aid work for women has been a challenge for the British aid Programme since the first international women's conference in Mexico twenty years ago. We established our first comprehensive strategy for promoting women's role in development after the 1985 women's conference in Nairobi. Enhancing the status of women' has been one of British aid's priority objectives since 1993 and we are spending increasing amounts on making aid work for women. The main effort, however, will come from the people of this world and their governments. Even the collective efforts of aid donors cannot hope to alleviate directly the conditions of the many millions of disempowered women living in poverty. For governments, this means encouraging the conditions whereby the private sector, civil society and individual women and men can respond creatively and positively to the agenda for equality. Again, partnership is the key. To create these conditions governments may also have to reallocate public resources, for example, reducing excessive military expenditure and increasing investment in education and health care. It means governments implementing policies which reflect women's concerns. This requires the full participation of the women themselves in the design of programmes intended to benefit them. NATIONAL COMMITMENT We in the United Kingdom are not complacent. We must consolidate and build on our achievements, and the Platform for Action provides an impetus for this process. We will, of course, be taking away many ideas from the Platform: - we will be making new efforts to integrate gender into all our policies; - we will be striving to ensure that all women are able to make free choices and achieve their full potential; and - we will continue to work in partnership with NGOs and others for the equality of women. At this Conference, we have been invited to state or restate some of our national commitments within the context of the Platform for Action. First, our international commitment. Promoting the status of women is central to our aid programme's overriding goal of poverty reduction through sustainable development. Reducing the poverty and powerlessness of many millions of women around the world is not just a "women's issue". It is important for everybody and I hereby restate our commitment to making aid work for women. Second, we intend to make some new national commitments. I would like to share one or two of these with you today. I have already mentioned the importance we attach to international conventions. The UK has recently prepared its third report to the CEDAW Convention. As part of that exercise, we have reviewed all our reservations and declarations to the Convention. Whilst we have always maintained that our reservations are not contrary to the object and purpose of the Convention, I am delighted to be able to report that we have decided to withdraw many of our reservations. In addition, we intend to build on the success of our Out of School Childcare Initiative, which has created thousands of childcare places and so enabled parents, especially women, to exercise real choice in combining work with their family responsibilities. This year, we have now decided that we can increase our target for places in England by 20% to 50,000 by March 1996. Finally, the UK Government has for some time been committed to the policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes. We have issued guidance to all government departments aimed at ensuring that policies do not discriminate on grounds of sex or other factors. We are pleased to see that the Platform recognises the importance of mainstreaming. We therefore intend to review the guidance in the light of the Platform for Action and other recent developments . CONCLUSION Here and now in China is an enormous gathering of women and men committed to making the world a better place for women, as well as for men. We must make fully effective the advances for women established at previous international conferences. And we must dedicate ourselves to agree a Platform which will provide a real framework for further progress. I repeat, empowering women around the world is not just a "women's issue". It is important for both men and women. Progress for women is progress for everyone. We must respond to this vision: the future of our children depends on it. 1 8/8/95 version 4