ISO: WSM
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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


SAMOA

Country Statement to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
September 4-15, 1995

by Hon. Polataivao Fosi
Minister of Women Affairs
12 September 1995 Beijing, China


MADAM CHAIR
EXCELLENCIES
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

TALOFA LAVA.

I am highly honored to address this distinguished gathering on behalf
of the Government of Western Samoa. I bring you greetings and warm
wishes for a successful Conference from my government. I wish to
extend my congratulations to you Madam Chair and members of your
Bureau on your election to lead and guide our deliberations. I would
also like to express our deep appreciation to the Secretary General
of this Conference as well as the government and people of the
People's Republic of China for the tremendous efforts they have put
into the organization of this Conference so that it becomes a
reality. This Conference has afforded us the opportunity to enjoy the
wonderful hospitality of our hosts, and for many of us, to experience
at first hand the history and culture of this beautiful country.

The Beijing Conference convened on the eve of the Fiftieth
Anniversary of the United Nations Organization has special
significance for women all over the world in their earnest hope and
unwavering efforts to attain equality, development and peace. There
is no doubt that all countries of the world, including smaller
countries like Samoa, have taken important steps in the
implementation of the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies towards the
achievement of equality, development and peace for women. For the
Pacific island countries, and my own, this Conference highlights the
crucial need to review the progress in the current as well as future
implementation of the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies in proper
perspective. In the light of this, allow me to first of all focus on
the Pacific experiences. The Small island countries of the Pacific
region, are developing nations with extremely limited natural
resources and highly fragile ecosystems.

We are struggling to strike a balance between the preservation of our
cultures and economic development and a balance between economic
development and the conservation of our natural resources. Efforts to
reach and maintain such balance have brought about major changes in
the political, economic, social and cultural relationships within our
Pacific countries. These changes have had direct impact on the lives
of the women and children of the Pacific. The prime importance of
family, customs and traditions, and the strong ties of the people
with the land make the experiences of the Pacific island countries
and territories unique, a factor which must be taken into
consideration in global forums such as this one.

In the spirit of this Conference, I would like to focus on the
concept of PEACE through the eyes of the Pacific people. As you are
aware, peace is vital to the existence of the individual, and the
community in society. Peace for all is a human right and is a woman's
right! We in the Pacific, have been fortunate for centuries, having
been blessed with this right which we believe God has given us and
our children. Madam Chair, the Pacific means "PEACE". Like our
forefathers before us, we have enjoyed the peacefulness accorded our
land and seas and our people.

However, I am sad to say that this blessing is no longer with us. The
peaceful waters of the Pacific have been rippled by the effects of
nuclear testing! The greenness of our land and environment is being
threatened by the effects of nuclear activity. And as a result Madam
Chair the lives and survival of our people in the Pacific are in
danger. It is often said that wars begin in the minds of men and
mankind. Samoa upholds that ;'Peace begins in the hearts of Women."
Without peace, there will be no development. If women therefore is
peace, then women is development.

Madam Chair, I am glad to say that the Pacific countries present at
this Conference applaud the inclusion of Peace in the Beijing
Platform of Action and acknowledge the consideration made in the
Declaration.

The Pacific region's recognition of its unique situation and the need
to formulate appropriate regional and national strategies for the
advancement of women led to the adoption of the Pacific Platform for
Action in 1994, which has formed the basis of the pacific Island
countries’ contribution to the Beijing conference. Our regional input
in the Conference negotiations focuses on thirteen critical areas of
concern which we hope will be adequately reflected in the Beijing
Platform of Action. As well, the Pacific island countries and
territories adopted the Suva Declaration on Sustainable Human
Development in 1994, reaffirming their commitment to development
which enhances the quality of life and well being in the Pacific,
including the advancement of women.

Madam Chair, I would like to briefly outline Samoa's national
experiences in the implementation of the Nairobi Forward Looking
Strategies for the advancement of women. The full review of Samoa's
experiences is contained in our national report which, I am very
happy to say, we brought to this Conference.

Samoa has taken historic steps to promote the advancement of its
women. It has been at the forefront in efforts to strengthen the
national machineries for women, by being the first developing country
in the Pacific to establish by Act of Parliament, a full Ministry of
Women Affairs in 1990.

 The Ministry of Women Affairs has given the women of Samoa, not only
an official voice in the decision making system of government, but a
focal point to address issues, as well as co-ordinate activities of
women. Recognizing the important role of women in non government
organizations, a Women's Advisory Committee comprising government of
officials and representatives of women's non government organizations
is established within t-he Ministry to advise government on women's
issues.

Madam Chair, the human rights and of women of Samoa are guaranteed in
our country's Constitution, which accords to women equality as men
before the law. The principle of freedoms from discrimination on the
basis of gender is embodied in our Constitution. There have been
legislative changes in the early nineties giving practical
application to the principle of freedom from discrimination. Samoa
has further reinforced this by being the first developing country in
the Pacific to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination Against Women in 1992. Samoa's ratification of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1994, reinforces the
protection of the rights of our sons and daughters. With Universal
Suffrage implemented for the first time in the 1991 General
Elections, our women and men twenty one years and over now enjoy the
right to vote and participate in decision making on the selection of
our country's law makers.

Madam Chair, our government recognizes the important role women play
in decision making at all levels of our society. In government, we
have women in top decision making positions. We have our first woman
Cabinet Minister, first woman High Commissioner and have recently
appointed our first woman Judge to the Land and Titles Court. In a
relatively small government sector compared to other countries, we
have women chief executives in Broadcasting; Lands and Environment;
Visitors Bureau and of course the Ministry of Women Affairs. In
addition, we have women in deputy rank positions in Health;
Education; Finance and Planning; Audit and Foreign Affairs. In all
government departments, women are well represented in middle
management positions. Representative of women' s organizations are
members of most national policy advisory committees such as the
National Food and Nutrition Council and the National Environment
Development and Management Committee.

Madam Chair, Samoa recognizes that women's issues are not issues just
pertaining to concerns of women only. They are also issues of concern
for the family, community and society as a whole. As such, policies
and programs to address women's issues cannot be confined to the
Ministry of Women Affairs, but must span all the departments of
government. In Health, the Maternal Child Health Family Planning
program, with the generous assistance of the United Nations agencies
like UNFPA; WHO and VNICEF has provided invaluable services to
promote the overall welfare of the family, in particular mothers and
children. This program strongly advocates and promotes safe
motherhood; provides services pertaining to Reproductive Heath and
maintains our high coverage of Immunization amongst infants and
children. Other health policies involving women are the Breast-
feeding Policy of 1995; Food and Nutrition Policy of 1994; and
Population Policy and an A.I.D.S Policy currently in development.

In Education, women enjoy equal access as men to schooling
opportunities. Formal schooling in Samoa is almost universal as
evident in the high literacy rates of 97.8 percent for females and
98.ó percent for males. Educational policies are underpinned by our
conviction that education is a lifelong process for every individual.
Although priority is given to basic education, some adult education
is provided by some institutions, both governmental and non
government. Non-government organizations of women are the major
providers of adult education for women in the community. Government
is committed to the social and economic advancement of women as
required under the overall objectives of the 'policy and Program
Development for Women of Samoa" Plan of Action, administered through
the Ministry of Women Affairs in 1994. The priorities identified in
this Plan of Action target the empowerment of women through education
and training to expand their knowledge, skills and economic
capabilities. We note with utmost appreciation the assistance of the
government of New Zealand in the formulation of this Plan and design
of its three year program of assistance.

I believe Madam Chair, that Samoa has made significant headway in its
national efforts to implement the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies.
It is quite evident from these efforts that our government is
committed to the advancement of women in our country. In this light,
our government fully endorses the proposal that the Beijing
Conference be one of Commitment. Samoa commits itself to completing
the review of its current legislation to eliminate any indications on
discrimination against women. It aims for Legislative changes as
appropriate to be in place by year 2000. Further, our government will
concentrate on achieving the objectives set out in the Policy and
Program Development Plan of Action for women, as earlier noted,
through the Ministry of Women Affairs. In particular, we will focus
our efforts on expanding the skills of our women to increase their
income-generation-capacity. As well, we shall be strengthening our
efforts to promote self employment opportunities for women in rural
areas and women in business. In these vital areas, we will be seeking
the assistance of our development partners to enable us to effect
full implementation of our objectives.

Madam Chair, our progress to date on the advancement of women has
been well supported by our development partners; donor countries and
international and regional organizations. Although major achievements
have been made, there are still many areas in which our women are
disadvantaged, as reflected in the priorities identified in our Plan
of Action. In the face of limited resources, we call for continued
support by the international donor community, to enable us to achieve
the expected outcomes, identified at this Conference.

Madam Chair, we strongly believe that the outcomes of this conference
will have far reaching effects on the lives of not only women, but
also children and men. Our mission together therefore is to reach
agreement on objectives and strategies that would best address our
policies and guide future programs in order to remain faithful to the
theme of equality, development and peace for women. It is therefore
the view of my delegation that the one major outcome of this
conference must be a broad and well balanced Platform of Action, that
would have universal acceptance. It's objectives and strategies must
be realistic such that they can be implemented by governments in
partnership with non government organizations, and the international
community at large. In conclusion, the government of Western Samoa
wishes to acknowledge with gratitude the assistance of the
governments of Australia and New Zealand, and the United Nations
agencies namely WHO, UNFPA, UNDP and UNESCO, which enabled our
delegation to participate in this distinguished conference. We would
also like to thank our regional organization namely the South Pacific
Commission in Noumea, for the co-ordination and technical assistance
provided to our government, towards participation at this Conference.
Last but not least, the government of Western Samoa wishes to thank
the government and people of the People's Republic of China for the
excellent arrangements for this conference, and warm hospitality
extended to us while in your country.

SOIFUA.