ISO: JAM
***************************************************************************
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


ADDRESS BY HON. PORTIA SIMPSON,
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT AND MINISTER OF LABOUR, SOCIAL SECURITY & SPORT
FOR JAMAICA

TO THE FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN,
BEIJING, CHINA...SEPTEMBER 8, 1995.


MADAM PRESIDENT,

ON BEHALF OF THE JAMAICAN DELEGATION, I WISH TO EXPRESS OUR THANKS AND
APPRECIATION TO THE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF
CHINA FOR THE EXCELLENT ARRANGEMENTS MADE FOR THE HOSTING OF THIS
HISTORIC CONFERENCE AND FOR THE WARM HOSPITALITY EXTENDED TO US.

ON A SADDER NOTE, WE MUST EXPRESS OUR DEEP SYMPATHIES AND SOLIDARITY TO
OUR CARIBBEAN ISLAND STATES OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, ST. KITTS AND NEVIS
AND OTHER ISLANDS WHICH SUFFERED WIDESPREAD DEVASTATION FROM HURRICANE
LUIS, TWO DAYS AGO. WE CALL UPON THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO GIVE
EVERY SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE TO THEM IN THEIR PROGRAMME OF RECOVERY AND
REBUILDING.

MADAME PRESIDENT, DURING THE LAST TWENTY YEARS, THE ROAD FROM MEXICO TO
BEIJING HAS BEEN STREWN WITH CASUALTIES OF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT
POLICIES, THE HEAVY BURDEN OF DEBT AND OVERALL DETERIORATION IN THE
ECONOMIC SITUATION OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. POVERTY CONTINUES TO STALK
OUR LANDS, OVERCOMING WOMEN MORE EASILY THAN MEN; ERODING BOTH THE GAINS
AND THE HOPES OF DEVELOPMENT.

TODAY, EVEN AS I SPEAK BEFORE THIS HONOURABLE GATHERING; I HEAR ECHOING
IN MY MIND, THE PLAINTIVE CRY OF PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD WHO ARE
LIVING IN THE ABYSS OF POVERTY. IT IS A CRY THAT CHALLENGES US TO MAKE
THIS CONFERENCE DIFFERENT FROM ALL THE OTHERS THAT HAVE PASSED INTO
HISTORY. IT IS A CRY THAT DEMANDS THAT THE COLD, DEAD STATISTICS OF
DEPRIVATION AND SUFFERING WHICH SLIDE SO EASILY OVER OUR TONGUES, BE
READ WITH COMPASSION AND SO BE BROUGHT TO LIFE; SO THAT WE MAYBE
CONFRONTED WITH THE TANGIBLE AND GRAPHIC EVIDENCE THAT WE HAVE YET TO
OVERCOME THE CHALLENGE OF THE MOST POWERFUL AND IMPLACABLE ENEMY OF THE
TWENTIETH CENTURY; POVERTY.

WOMEN HAVE SUFFERED MOST FROM THE RAVAGES OF POVERTY. IN JAMAICA, MORE
THAN A THIRD OF OUR HOUSEHOLDS ARE HEADED BY WOMEN; AND UNEMPLOYMENT
AMONG THEM IS MORE THAN TWICE AS MUCH AS IT IS FOR THEIR MALE
COUNTERPARTS. JAMAICA IS NOT ALONE IN THE EXPERIENCE OF POVERTY. THE
WORLD IS IN A DEEP CRISIS.

BEFORE I LEAVE THIS ISSUE, I WANT TO MAKE ONE POINT CLEAR: WHILE MANY OF
OUR FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS ARE POOR - THEY ARE POOR ONLY BECAUSE WOMEN
ARE POORER THAN MEN. AT THE SAME TIME, FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS ARE ONE
OF THE MANY FORMS OF HOUSEHOLDS WHICH WE IN JAMAICA COUNT AS LEGITIMATE
AND WHICH WE HONOUR.

ONE BY ONE, THE WINDOWS OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE CITIZENS OF DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES CREATED BY THE POSSIBILITY OF MIGRATION TO PLACES WITH GREATER
RESOURCES ARE BEING CLOSED.

PEOPLE AND NATIONS ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE PROTECTIVE OF WHAT THEY
CONSIDER TO BE THEIRS. THERE IS RELUCTANCE ON THE PART OF THOSE WHO ARE
COMFORTABLE, TO MAKE ROOM FOR THOSE WHO ARE KNOCKING AT THE DOOR - THE
MARGINALISED GROUPS; WOMEN, THE POOR, THE ELDERLY, PERSONS WITH
DISABILITIES AND ALL VICTIMS OF DISCRIMINATION IN ALL ITS FORMS.

WE WHO ARE GATHERED HERE FOR THIS HISTORIC OCCASION REPRESENT THE WOMEN
OF THE WORLD. INDEED, WEARING THE LENS OF GENDER CONSCIOUSNESS, WE
REPRESENT THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD. WE CAN HEAR MANY VOICES QUESTIONING:
"WHAT IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT THIS TIME? WHAT IS GOING TO MAKE THE
WORDS LEAP OFF THE PAGES OF THE BEIJING PLATFORM AND STRENGTHEN US TO
GUARANTEE IMPLEMENTATION?"

WE WHO MEET IN CONFERENCE TODAY HAVE MADE DECLARATIONS BEFORE, BUT ARE
STILL DISAPPOINTED AFTER THE EXPERIENCES OF THE LAST TWENTY YEARS.
ALREADY, WE HAVE AMASSED AN AMAZING NUMBER OF FACTS AND STATISTICS.
SITUATIONAL ANALYSES ABOUND. WE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP NEW STRATEGIES AND
REVISIT OLD ONES. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THIS TIME, WE MAKE A COLLECTIVE
COMMITMENT TO DECISIVE ACTION!

MADAM PRESIDENT:

WOMEN MUST BE GIVEN THEIR RIGHTFUL PLACE IN THE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND
POLITICAL ORDER. IF THE GOALS OF EQUALITY, DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE ARE TO
BE ACHIEVED, WOMEN MUST BE EMPOWERED AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF DECISION-
MAKING.

THE CALL IS FOR WOMEN'S PAID AND UNPAID WORK TO BE REPRESENTED IN
NATIONAL STATISTICS AND MADE VISIBLE, RECOGNIZED, PAID AND VALUED; AND
FOR EDUCATION AND SKILL-TRAINING FOR WOMEN TO ENCOMPASS A BROADER RANGE
AND HIGHER STANDARDS TO AFFORD THEM ENTRY INTO BETTER PAYING AREAS OF
EMPLOYMENT AS WELL AS TO DECISION-MAKING. WOMEN REPRESENT AN UNTAPPED
RESERVOIR OF RESOURCES WHICH IS VITAL FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. WE
IGNORE THIS VAST POTENTIAL AT OUR PERIL. POLICY MAKERS AND PLANNERS MUST
BE LED TO UNDERSTAND IN STARK AND MEANINGFUL TERMS, THE DEVELOPMENT
POSSIBILITIES FOR ALL, OFFERED BY THE MAINSTREAMING OF WOMEN.

MY GOVERNMENT COMMITS ITSELF TO THE GREAT TASK AHEAD IN IMPLEMENTING THE
PLATFORM OF ACTION WHICH WILL BE DECIDED ON. WE HAVE ALREADY PLACED
"POVERTY ALLEVIATION" AS A MATTER OF HIGH PRIORITY ON THE NATIONAL
AGENDA.

AS WE COME TOGETHER HERE TO MEASURE CHANGES IN THE SITUATION OF WOMEN
SINCE NAIROBI, LET US ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT IN COUNTRIES LIKE
JAMAICA, THE PRESENT CONDITIONALITIES OF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT
PROGRAMMES ARE REVERSING THE GAINS THAT WE STRUGGLED TO MAKE IN WOMEN'S
LEGAL RIGHTS, ACCESS TO EDUCATION, HEALTH AND PARTICIPATION IN DECISION-
MAKING.

WE WILL BE SEEKING TO ENSURE THAT IN FUTURE THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF
STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMMES ARE GENDER SENSITIVE AND WE CALL ON THE
INTERNATIONAL LENDING AGENCIES TO RADICALLY ALTER THEIR CONDITIONALITIES
AND TO ADOPT INNOVATIVE MEASURES FOR DEBT RELIEF.

IT IS OUR GOAL TO ENSURE THAT WOMEN ARE GUARANTEED EQUALITY IN OUR
SOCIETY AND PARTICIPATE FULLY IN ALL ASPECTS OF OUR NATIONAL LIFE. WE
INTEND TO APPLY THE SAME COMMITMENT TO THE INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT FOR
THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN.

TO SUCCEED IN THIS, WE CANNOT JUST WAIT IN PATIENT EXPECTATION. WE NEED
TO BRING BACK A MISSING INGREDIENT FROM THE OLD DAYS. THAT INGREDIENT IS
PASSION, AND BY PASSION I AM REALLY SPEAKING ABOUT THE INTENSE DESIRE
FOR CHANGE THAT FIRES A RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF THE TRANSFORMATIONAL
EXPERIENCE WE KNOW MUST TAKE PLACE. I AM SPEAKING OF A NEW COMMITMENT TO
ACTION - A REKINDLING OF THE FIRES THAT BURNT SO BRIGHTLY IN OUR MINDS
AND HEARTS ON THE ROAD TO MEXICO, TWENTY YEARS AGO.

LET EACH OF US VOW TO ALLOW THIS CONFERENCE TO IGNITE OUR IMAGINATION
AND OUR HEARTS AND GENERATE THE ENERGY AND POWER TO CARRY FORWARD THE
STRATEGIES WE DEVELOP.

IF THIS HAPPENS WE WILL REALIZE OUR GOALS; WE WILL ANSWER THE VOICES OF
THOSE AT HOME WITH A POSITIVE MESSAGE; WE WILL TAKE BACK TO OUR LANDS,
NOURISHMENT FOR THE SEEDS OF HOPE THAT LONG LAY BURIED IN THE HEARTS OF
OUR PEOPLE.

END.