ISO: ITA
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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.
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AS WRITTEN


IV UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON WOMEN
SPEECH BY MRS. SUSANNA AGNELLI,
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND HEAD OF THE ITALIAN DELEGATION

(SEPTEMBER 5, 1995)


Ms Chairwoman,
Ladies and Gentlemen: 

On behalf of the Italian delegation I would like first of all to offer 
the Chinese Government my sincere thanks for the hospitality extended to 
the United Nations World Conference on Women and the NGO Forum. 

Our Spanish colleague, in her capacity as current President of the 
Council of the European Union, has illustrated in great detail the 
European position and spoken of our expectations regarding the outcome 
of the Conference. 

Italy endorses that position wholeheartedly. I should, however, like to 
say a few words on what I see as the over-riding aim of this Conference. 

The debate will be focusing on three main goals: equality, development 
and peace. They are obviously intertwined and share a common thread, 
namely improving the condition of women as one of the main means of 
achieving them.

Today, in Beijing, we represent societies of different traditions and 
cultures. Yet, the well being of our peoples is related to a certain 
degree to the role and status granted to women. 

No matter how different our societies may be, women should never indulge 
in destructive or war-prone attitudes. War is death. And women are 
oriented to life. Motherhood, exclusive privilege and responsibility of 
women, bears witness to this fact. 

When women have a say, they should always defend peace, also because 
they are among those who suffer most. The tragic events ill Bosnia, a 
country close to mine, are a good case in point. 

In the struggle to improve the condition of women therefore lies one of 
the greatest hopes for humanity. only through a stronger presence of 
women in the political, economic and social decision-making processes 
can we hope that our peoples will finally undergo the necessary change 
of heart that can guarantee not only women, but the whole world, 
equality, development and peace.

In this light, we must demand full respect for women’s inalienable human 
rights, as well as a total commitment to the care and education of 
girls, a prerequisite to enable them to make their decisive contribution 
to the good oŁ society. 

Ms. Chairwoman.

We have all come from long distances and in large numbers to attend this 
Conference. A considerable amount of resources has been allocated for 
it. We must be aware that our deeds will be under close scrutiny. 

We are not here to celebrate. Despite the progress made in many fields, 
various constraints, limitations and restrictions are rendering slow and 
arduous the advancement of women. 

Major political, economic and social changes have occurred during the 
ten years that. have elapsed since the 1985 World conference in Nairobi. 
Yet, in virtually every country, including Italy, there still remain 
major discrepancies between men and women in such key sectors as health 
care, literacy, education and employment, to mention but a few. 

We are not here to exercise diplomatic brinkmanship. Of course, 
negotiations are necessary and documents will have to be fine-tuned to 
accommodate everybody's concerns. But all our efforts will be negligible 
if we lack vision. Our vision must be the achievement of equal dignity 
and peace. 

We are here to advocate this vision. The Beijing Conference must send 
out a universal political message, enshrining the collective commitment 
of all governments, and of each individual government, to guarantee full 
equality of rights and equal opportunities between the sexes, in the 
awareness that It 1S not possible to build up a balanced society unless 
women have a full part. to play in it. 

It is primarily governments which must take the lead and assume their 
burdensome responsibilities to put into daily practice the right to 
equality which too often remains purely theoretical and is not 
translated into practice. It is, however, certain that if this is to be 
done, every member of society, men and women alike, must become totally 
committed to achieving it, each playing their part, on an equal footing. 

For this reason Italy hopes that ill addition to the Programme of 
Action, we shall adopt here in Beijing a strong and meaningful 
Declaration aimed at enlivening public awareness on the necessity of 
fostering the human rights of women and girls. We trust that with the 
help of our governments, the mass media and NGOs, this document will be 
disseminated far and wide, and thereby become a useful tool for 
progress. 

Ms Chairwoman,

At the Copenhagen Social summit we stressed the need to ensure that the 
political and social dimensions of development move ahead "pari passu", 
and emphasised the need to make a prior assessment of the social impact 
of the economic programmes implemented by governments and international 
organisations. I should like to add that assessments of this kind cannot 
be complete unless they take account of the gender impact. 

In all the final documents of the preparatory regional conferences, 
concern was voiced regarding the increasing poverty among women, women's 
unemployment and the failure to recognise the value of women's unpaid 
work, which is a source of additional wealth to society. 

The long-acknowledged principle of equal pay, not only for the same work 
but also for work of equal worth, is still awaiting implementation. The 
economic independence of women must also be promoted by constantly 
improving access to education and employment. Education is in our view a 
fundamental factor for the advancement of women. Another important 
element in this process is obviously the need to provide adequate social 
services and improve possibilities of access to them. It is especially 
important that the globalisation of the economy and trade should be 
accompanied by the widespread acceptance of the fundamental rights of 
working women. Equally essential is the importance of freely chosen, 
quality work. 

Each of the great social conferences that have been convened by the 
United Nations during this decade has served to reveal the crisis in the 
dominant development model. 

From the outset, Italy has lent her strong, determined and concrete 
support to affirming the need to give priority to human development. 
Italian cooperation, which launched a series of systematic programmes in 
the Nineties to foster the advancement of women, intends to concentrate 
on two specific objectives in the future. 

The first objective is to encourage the incorporation of gender policies 
into cooperation activities promoted with public development aid. The 
second objective is to make e specific contribution to the issue of 
women in conflict situations and in the reconstruction and 
rehabilitation of civilian life in their country.

Ms Chairwoman,

The Programme of Action of the Beijing Conference must rightly highlight 
the role that women can and must play in conflict prevention and peace-
keeping. Moreover, as a logical consequence of this, it must also 
sanction the repudiation of violence. For women suffer far too many 
terrifying, and often unrecorded, acts of violence in every region of 
the world. 

Too many women are gravely stricken by armed conflicts and, as refugees 
and displaced persons, they have to endure the consequences of abuse, 
making their lives intolerable and no longer consonant with the dignity 
of the human person. 

Ms Chairwoman,

This Conference has raised great expectations within Italy At the 
invitation of the Secretariat, Italy carried out a wide-ranging review-
taking stock of the past experience and making proposals for the future 
- involving Italy's public institutions, social bodies, private 
associations Non-Governmental Organisations and other movements in 
Italian society. 

Our national Report provides a snapshot of the Italian situation and the 
improvements made in the past ten years. This has come about thanks to 
positive actions often encouraged by the National Commission on Equality 
and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women set up at the Office of the 
Prime Minister. 

Italy and I personally nurture one firm- and I trust-well-founded hope: 
that Beijing will be able to further develop the work already begun with 
determination and with total success with the lively and substantial 
contribution of the NGO Forum. 

We hope that this Conference will represent a positive breakthrough in 
the long and difficult history of human development. If we are able to 
reach out to public opinion and convince it of the need to better 
guarantee the role and status of women we will be laying the foundations 
of new societies where it will be possible for our vision to eventually 
prevail. Women will then stand as the ultimate defenders of harmony 
development and peace. 

Thank you Ms Chairwoman.