ISO: RUS
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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


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                       Excerpt from Press Release.
  The written statement was not available in a scannable language at the
                time of presentation in the conference.
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   LUDMILA BEZLEPKINA, Minister for Social Protection of the Russian
Federation:  We stand at the threshold of a great planetary undertaking.  We
are deeply responsible to those living today and to future generations.
History today has given us the right to take decisions and to take action, and
to address the age-old disturbing questions of the relations between men and
women.  Men have played the role of builders of civilization, while women were
onlookers.  Today, men and women are partners in that process.

   Men in Russia are now ready to take on a significant portion of
household work and child rearing.  Today Russia, while going through the
complexities of a country in transition, must take account of the qualities of
women.  Running a household has given women significant entrepreneurial
experience, which is already being used in the country's social and business
life.

   Russia will undertake additional efforts to harmonize its national
legislation with the most advanced international standards in this area.  It
will continue to promote the lives, safety, working conditions and health of
Russian women, including efforts to improve maternal and infant mortality
rates.  It is necessary to remove the legal, social and economic barriers
hindering the development of the human person, whether woman or man.  The
results of the Beijing Conference will have a positive impact and will meet
the expectations of every mother.