ISO: GUY *************************************************************************** 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 PRESENTATION MADE BY HER EXCELLENCY I. CHANDARPAL * MINISTER WITHIN THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR, HUMAN SERVICES, SOCIAL SECURITY AND HOUSING OF THE CO-OPERATIVE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA AT THE UNITED NATIONS FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN BEIJING - SEPTEMBER 4 - 15, 1995. 1. Madam Chairperson Esteemed members of the Head Table Esteemed ladies and gentlemen from all over the world. Here we are in the city of Beijing, people from all corners of the earth to meet, share and chart the way forward. 2. I bring you warm and fraternal greetings from the President and people of the Republic of Guyana. At the same time please permit me to thank our host country China for the tremendous work which they have put in to make our stay here a comfortable one. 3. We are meeting at the conclusion of a very important meeting when for the first time in history all heads of states and governments came together in Copenhagen, Denmark to recognise the significance of social development and for all to give those goals the highest priority both now and into the 21st century. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. What better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary than one in which there was the Social Summit and now the Fourth World Conference of Women. 4. This epoch in which we are meeting is one filled with many possibilities. The cold war is over and now is the chance, as voiced by governments everywhere, to promote social development and social justice. The magic phrases today are "people at the centre of human development", "gender empowerment" and "social justice". We do not want them to be merely phrases but to have meaning. Who can give them meaning but we who are gathered here? Let us as women who are Presidents, Prime Ministers, Ministers and other personnel who are in decision making bodies ensure that more women are brought into leadership positions through the strategies we develop, by giving guidance to those who are involved in ~ this - strategy. - Let us lead by example and give support to other women who have the ability to do so. - We must set ourselves feasible targets to get more women in Trade Unions and political parties and not to allow ourselves to be pawns when we may be in the minority. - We must mobilise women to work together on common issues and encourage and give more support to women to stand for high office, and finally to - Mobilise women to act as pressure groups on relevant issues. All countries of the world present today have done much preparatory work towards this Conference. Many in-depth analyses were made and many solutions offered. All national reports-have pinpointed the problems we are all facing and the fact that women still have a long way to go in realising the equality we are striving for. The Draft Declaration and Draft Programme of Action of World Summit for Social Development made a number of commitments. No 36 ---page 45 from a - n in the Social Summit Document. All these commitments have a time- frame attached. We must help our governments to achieve those targets by sensitising our population about those issues} to organise them for implementation in order to prevent them from being mere lip-service. Within the 10 Critical Areas identified there are six areas of issues through which immediate action can be taken to bring changes. There are 4 issues which some countries, because of religion and tradition, do not want to confront. These are: 1) Inequality of men and women in decision- making. 2) Gender equality. 3) Violence Against Women. 4) Women's Human right. Governments- of these countries must take a bold approach in confronting these issues objectively by promoting Women's human rights. No government, irrespective of its position, should _ violence against women. If governments are not prepared to make concessions on these issues then the only alternative left is for women to vote them out of office. 5. Another contentious issue is that of armed conflict. Without peace we can have no real development. Women must work to put pressure on their governments to preserve peace, Wars mean destruction of our countries, our homes, our sons and our husbands and now our women. Wemust shout a resounding no to war. We must voice our concern against the atrocities committed against the people of Bosnia and Rowanda. Ethnic cleansing is destroying millions of lives and has brought untold suffering to humanity. Let us denounce those who practice ethnic cleansing by murdering defenceless women and children leaving them without husbands and fathers. We must call for the end of that war now! Poverty in the developing countries has tremendous implications for women especially as it relates to the current macro-economic policies including structural adjustment and heavy debt burden. In this regard I wish to reiterate the appeal made by the President of Guyana at the Social Summit in calling for a New Global Human Order and for the creation of an International Fund for Social Development. Also I wish to reiterate the call for the World Bank and IMF to adopt innovative approaches in order to assist low-income countries with significant multilateral debts to reduce the burden of debt and cancellation of debt by developed countries. I wish to call on the multilateral organisations to review structural adjustment programmes since they create more hardships to the poor and powerless. They must be re-configured to have a human face and most important of all human heart. also, we must not allow our governments to squander and mismanage our countries resources. Pressure must be put on our governments to rule democratically, to have accountability and good governance, and finally We must dismiss the notion that poor countries will always remain poor. Our governments must have the political will to manage in such a way as to give hope and confidence in the future. 1990-1995 was ,marked by many important conferences and forums of a very significant nature. For us in Guyana it is also significant since it was the first time after 28 years that the people of Guyana have had the opportunity to vote for a government of their choice. When the new government came to power in 1992 October, we had a huge debt at US$2.1B or (US$2800 per capital, one of the highest per capita debt rates in the world. Slowly as a result of transparency, consensus and good governance Guyana is once again on the road to recovery. Many gains were won for women and we are consolidating those gains by looking at other issues which need rights was won yet to come are the adoption of the Draft Domestic Violence Bill, the Adoption of a National Policy on Women and the setting up of a National Commission on Women later in this year. 30% quota as the minimum for women in decision-making positions has already been approved by our Cabinet. In addition to being a signatory to The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has an Equal Rights Act (1990) which secures equality for women and makes all forms of discrimination against women illegal. Guyana has also recently approved in Parliament the ratification of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication against Women (April 1S, 1995). The Government of Guyana has placed violence against women as a priority and has supported in various ways the setting up of a shelter for battered Women. In the 1995 Budget, $500 M was allocated to the alleviation of poverty. 2000 young people will be trained in technical and vocational programmes and 500 women will be trained in conscious awareness programmes.We are fortunate to have in our country a consensus on women issues and a very high level of political maturity. Unfortunately, many women are not getting into political parties and as a result too few women participate in the decision making process at a political level. : We believe that our women can make a significant difference in our national development but as yet many do not recognise the strength which they possess. I hope this conference will act as a catalyst to rejuvenate our commitment to the cause of women in the urgent achievement of Equality, Development and Peace. Let this meeting motivate us to a positive manner so that we can rededicate our energies towards the upliftment of women the world over.