Fourth World Conference WOM/BEI/24 on Women 8 September 1995 8th Meeting (AM) STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMMES REVERSE GAINS MADE IN WOMEN'S LEGAL RIGHTS, JAMAICA'S LABOUR MINISTER TELLS BEIJING CONFERENCE UNESCO Director-General Says Increased Education, Training Opportunities Are Essential for Women's Equal Participation in Society and Decision- Making Structural adjustment programmes have reversed many of the gains made in women's legal rights, access to education, health and participation in decision-making, Jamaica's Minister of Labour, Social Security and Sport said this morning, as the Fourth World Conference on Women continued its general exchange of views. Stressing their impact on women, she urged that the terms and conditions of such programmes must be gender sensitive. International lending agencies should radically alter their conditionalities and adopt innovative measures for debt relief. The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) stressed that increased educational and training opportunities were crucial to women's equal participation in socio-economic life and decision-making. "The education and empowerment of women throughout the world cannot fail to result in a more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life for all", he said, quoting the statement made by Noble Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi to the NGO Forum. He called on Governments to devote at least 6 per cent of their gross national product to education. Education and public awareness campaigns were necessary to combat the global problem of violence against women, the Foreign Minister of Liechtenstein told the Conference. The systematic rape of women during war must not go unpunished. Its inclusion in the statutes of the ad hoc war crimes tribunals was an important step towards preventing the recurrence of such crimes. The President of the House of Counties of the Parliament of Croatia also drew attention to the systematic rape suffered by Croatian women. Croatia bore many scars from the Serbian war of aggression. War atrocities mainly hit women who lost their (more) Conference on Women - 2 - Press Release WO /BEI/24 8th Meeting (AM) 8 September 1995 homes, became widowed or were horribly abused. Until recently, Croatia provided refuge for 400,000 internally displaced persons and refugees. She appealed for continued assistance to deal with that situation. Kenya's Minister for Culture and Social Services urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to arrange training programmes to assist host countries of refugees and called for women to be involved in peace negotiations at the national, regional and international levels. She also called for an increase in funding for the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and for implementation of the platform for action. Statements were also made this morning by: the First Lady of Burundi, Ntibantunganya Pascasie; the Foreign Minister of the Bahamas; the President of Cuba's Federation of Women; the Minister for Social Affairs of Estonia; the Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resources, Women's Affairs and Youth Development of Belize; the Minister of State and Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Romania; and the President of Viet Nam's National Committee for the Advancment of Women. The Conference will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its general exchange of views. (more) Conference on Women - 3 - Press Release WO /BEI/24 8th Meeting (AM) 8 September 1995 NTIBANTUNGANYA PASCASIE, First Lady of Burundi: Women remain eternally marginalized, ill-treated and undervalued. The poor of yesterday remain the poor of today. Women are the primary victims of poverty. The United Nations condemns women to a Calvary by its silence in the face of the arms trade and everything which degrades women. Burundian women are not much represented at the executive and judiciary level, owing to the burden of tradition combined with a low level of education. Many associations for women's economic advancement have been created, but they suffer from a lack of coordination and resources, both human and financial. Women are poorly represented in the intermediary and higher levels of the education system, owing to tradition. Few have access to contraceptives. Burundian women do not own land or any factors of production. Burundi is one of the poorest countries of Africa. Burundian women suffered most from this economic crisis. Women have risen up to cry out against the blind violence into which our society has been plunged. There are few arguments to justify that violence. Women have always opposed destructive ideas and have promoted reconciliation. We appeal to the international community to give its moral, financial and technical support, so that conflict may be halted in favour of development. The Conference's platform of action must seek to create the impetus in society to enable women to deal with the difficulties and demands of the twenty-first century, in terms of political, economic, scientific and technological development. The women's dimension must be included in political, social and cultural aspects of development. Cultural attitudes and practices which perpetuate discrimination against women must be eliminated. NYIVA MWENDWA, Minister for Culture and Social Services of Kenya: The current challenge to development in Kenya is to identify programmes that mainstream women's activities. Kenya is concerned about the high rate of drop-outs, which continued to hinder the retention of girls throughout the educational system. The incidence of drop-outs was attributable to such factors as poverty, early marriages and teen-age marriages. Kenya was working to increase the admission of girls to universities, which currently stood at 29 per cent for girls and 71 per cent for boys. However, Kenya has obtained 50-50 enrollment in the faculty of law. Kenya is committed to the World Health Organization goal of health for all by the year 2000. Life expectancy has increased and infant mortality rates have dropped. Kenya is committed to promote women's commercial activities in business and entrepreneurship. Women have acquired credit facilities through the Cooperative Bank of Kenya. However, a majority of Kenyan women are not able to aquire credit facilities from commercial banks and financial institutions, which require such collateral as title to land or property. Although Kenya has enacted laws allowing women to inherit land and property, social factors continue to inhibit women from doing so. (more) Conference on Women - 4 - Press Release WO /BEI/24 8th Meeting (AM) 8 September 1995 Kenya calls for an increase in the funding of the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM). It also calls on the international community to increase the funding available to implement the global platform for action. Kenya urges the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to arrange training programmes to assist host countries of refugees. Women should be involved in peace negotiations at the national, regional and international levels. Education and public awareness campaigns were necessary to combat the global problem of violence against women, Foreign Minister Andrea Willi of Liechtenstein told the Conference. The systematic rape of women during war must not go unpunished. Its inclusion in the statutes of the ad hoc war crimes tribunals was an important step towards preventing the recurrence of such crimes. ANDREA WILLI, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Culture and Equality, Youth and Sports of Liechtenstein: The right of women to vote and to be candidates for office was introduced in Leichtenstein in 1984. At that time, the national Constitution was amended to stipulate the equality of men and women. Several legislative measures have since been adopted promoting the rights of women. A National Commission for Equality of Men and Women was established in 1986 and an additional mechanism to promote the rights of women will be created. More efforts are required. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women will be considered soon by Parliament. The work of non-governmental organizations is very important and governments and international organizations should cooperate with them. Preventive measures through education and public awareness campaigns are necessary to combat the global problem of violence against women. The systematic rape of women during war must not go unpunished. Inclusion of such crimes against humanity in the statutes of the ad hoc tribunals is an important step towards preventing their reoccurrence. Women play many roles in society. Their role as mothers is of paramount importance and their role in public and professional life is self-evident. Their wish to reconcile family and professional life has to be supported. The common aim should be equal distribution of burdens, obligations and rights between men and women. It is necessary, given the increase of alternative family structures, such as one parent and female-headed families, that working conditions for men and women be designed accordingly. VILMA ESPIN GUILLOS, President of the Federation of Women, Cuba: What is to be said of this decade in which over 1200 million people live in poverty, most in extreme poverty, as a result of the unjust international economic order, a hideous neo-liberal policy which excludes most of the planet's inhabitants from all human rights and the possibility of development. Cuban women participated in every aspect of the Cuban war for national liberation. Subsequently, they took part in construction and defense works in the new society that opened the door to rights and opportunities previously (more) Conference on Women - 5 - Press Release WO /BEI/24 8th Meeting (AM) 8 September 1995 unavailable to them. They constructed schools, hospitals in rural areas and day care centres. They were the agents for change -- breaking stereotypes and traditional prejudices, entering the labour force and becoming members of all professions. Today more than three-and-a-half million women who form the Federation of Cuban Women volunteer to help in the planning for food production, health issues, and education, particularly programmes to raise consciousness concerning sexual and parental responsibilities. The Government and Cuban women support the Cairo agreements and the right of women to make decisions about their bodies and the number of children they what to have. In Cuba, the right to legal abortions has decreased the high rate of mortality caused by abortions performed under unsafe conditions. Today, people are urged to use contraceptives. In Cuba, special attention is given to women's health. Women are valued as individuals who have a special role in the family and society. They represent 62 per cent of middle and top level technicians; 57.7 per cent of university students; 42 per cent of scientific researchers; 40.6 per cent of the national work labour force; and 23.7 per cent of Parliament. Life expectancy is 77.6 years. The infant mortality index is under 10 per thousand live births. Despite the 33-year United States harsh economic, financial and commercial blockade, Cuban women have continued to find creative solutions to the serious difficulties caused by the blockade. SIIRI OVIIR, Minister of Social Affairs of Estonia: Although Estonian women's educational level is higher than men's, their average salary is only 71 per cent of male workers' income. Jobs are divided along gender lines with decision-making posts dominated overwhelmingly by men. Jobs in education, social welfare and health care, which traditionally go to women, are lower paid. Less than a third of the top decision-makers and legislators are women. Nearly 85 per cent of Estonian women between the ages of 16 to 60 are employed, yet they are also traditionally responsible for the family and housework and as a result carry a greater work-load than men. According to a recent survey, women are less satisfied with their lives and their emotional relations with their partners than men. The economic situation of families with children is often difficult, particularly for single parent families. In 1991, Estonia adopted the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. It plans to create national structures to promote equal rights and use social statistics on women's issues to support gender studies. A media campaign will be conducted to raise public awareness of women's issues, and promote their public, political and professional lives. Up-to-date family planning will be supported and better social security services implemented to help families with dependents and working mothers. KATICA IVANISEVIC, President of the House of Counties, Parliament, Croatia: Croatia bears many scars from the Serbian war of aggression. War atrocities mainly hit (more) Conference on Women - 6 - Press Release WO /BEI/24 8th Meeting (AM) 8 September 1995 women who lost their homes, became widowed or were horribly abused. They were the victims of a special form of war crimes: systematic rape. Until recently, Croatia provided refuge for 400,000 internally displaced persons and refugees, equalling almost 10 per cent of its population. The Government appeals for continued assistance from the countries and international and humanitarian organizations which have been providing for refugees and internally displaced persons. In the wake of a Government report analyzing the status of women, significant progress has been made towards the realization of defined national priorities. Croatian legislation conforms with the requirements of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and other international and European instruments on human rights. While Croatian women are de jure equal to men, the de facto situation is unsatisfactory. It must be remembered, however, that the war has engaged women in fields other than the political struggle for equality. They hold few seats in Parliaments. They have hardly any representation in local self-government. The mechanisms for securing equal participation of women in all spheres of public life must be strengthened. The Government has initiated a process of amending and supplementing it legislation for the implementation, protection and monitoring of the exercise of women's rights. PORTIA SIMPSON, Minister of Labour, Social Security and Sport for Jamaica: The Government expresses its sympathies and solidarity with the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis and other islands which suffered widespread devastation from hurricane Luis two days ago. We call on the international community to provide support and assistance to those islands. During the last 20 years, the road from Mexico to Beijing has been strewn with the casualties of structural adjustment policies and the heavy debt burden and overall deterioration in the economic situation of developing countries. Poverty continues to overcome women more easily than men, eroding gains and hopes of development. More than a third of Jamaican households are headed by women and unemployment among them is more than twice that of their male counterparts. Opportunities for citizens from developing countries created by the possiblity of migration to places with greater resources are decreasing. Countries are becoming more protective of what they consider theirs and are reluctant to make room for marginalized groups, women and the poor, the elderly and victims of discrimination. Women's unpaid and paid work must be represented in national statistics, recognized and valued. Education and skill training must encompass a broader range and higher standards to allow them entry into better paying employment and decision making. In Jamaica, structural adjustment programmes have reversed many of the gains made in women's legal rights, access to education, health and participation in decision-making. In future, (more) Conference on Women - 7 - Press Release WO /BEI/24 8th Meeting (AM) 8 September 1995 the terms and conditions of structural adjustment programmes must be gender sensitive. The international lending agencies should radically alter their conditionalities and adopt innovative measures for debt relief. JANET G. BOSTWICK, Foreign Minister of Bahamas: Much has happened in the two decades since the United Nations has been actively seized of matters relating to the advancement of women. The present agenda for the empowerment of women, if implemented, will make full equality for women and men by the year 2000 a realistic possibility. Our cry for change has been long and loud. Our pain is intense. We can be ignored no longer. The world has been made aware of the plight of the girl child, forced and unsafe abortions, forced prostitution, sexual mutiliations, forced marriages, marital rapes, women's poverty and armed conflict. The world can no longer pretend to be ignorant of the discrimintory conditions which women constantly face. Bahamian women enjoy a relatively high quality of life and are recognized as vital participants in all aspects of society's development. Bahamian women hold many high positions. Laws have been passed dealing with domestic violence, sexual harassment and other sexual offences, and maternity leave. The Government has established a domestic court, created an early chilhood care centre for children of working mothers, built new schools, constructed new health facilities and introduced training in the investigation of sexual offences. All these changes have been carried out depite the adverse effects of an uncertain global economic climate. Developing countries may help themselves, but technical and financial assistance is also needed. The United Nations has fallen short of its words with respect to its commitments on the equal status of men and women. The Secretary-General is to be commended for his commitment that women would comprise some 40 per cent of United Nations personnel by 1997. The United Nations should raise that figure to 50 per cent by the year 2000. FAITH BABB, Minister of State, Ministry of Human Resources, Women's Affairs and Youth Development of Belize: An increase in migration has caused Belize's literacy rate to decline from 96 per cent to 74 per cent. Other indices of human development have also plunged. Due to statistical errors, the 1995 Human Development Report states Belize has moved from position 88 to 29 on the Human Development Index. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has acknowledged these errors. We appeal to our developmental partners to take these errors into consideration as Belize's development continues to be discussed, especially as it relates to women. The current unemployment rate for women is 17 per cent, four per cent higher than for men. The recent significant decline in women's unemployment is due to their withdrawal into home duties and masks their true level of unemployment. (more) Conference on Women - 8 - Press Release WO /BEI/24 8th Meeting (AM) 8 September 1995 One of the Government's key strategies is to educate and train women to make a more significant contribution to the country's economic development. Another strategy is to translate into action the recognition that unrenumerated home duties contribute to the gross national product. More affordable child care will also be provided. Violence against women is another priority area for immediate action. In 1993, legislation was enacted to protect victims of domestic violence. Public awareness has been raised and there has been an increase in the number of reported cases. Legislation on sexual harassment will be enacted before the end of the year and is designed to protect students, teachers and employees. FEDERICO MAYOR, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): As Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi said in her statement to the NGO Forum, "The education and empowerment of women throughout the world cannot fail to result in a more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life for all". Increased learning and training opportunities from basic through higher education are crucial to the equal participation of women in socio-economic life and decision- making. Ensuring that women are able to use acquired skills in economically rewarding ways is another important aspect of empowerment. Governments should set the goal of devoting at least six per cent of gross national product to education. Lifelong learning facilities should be provided to the excluded and unreached, particularly women and girls, in such a way that gender parity at all levels of education is reached by the year 2005. The UNESCO is actively concerned with the place of women in the media and with the curbing of press and screen violence. "Some advertisements in 'important' journals in many 'advanced' countries are shameful and a clear affront to women's image -- sado-masochistic practices are announced, as well as sex tours in 'under-developed' countries." That kind of publicity constitutes sexual exploitation of human beings, and both the media and advertisers should refrain from such offences to women. CHAFIKA MESLEM, Director of the Division for Economic Cooperation among Developing Countries and Special Programmes of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD): Women in the least developed countries continue to be denied access to adequate education and basic health care. Sixty-five per cent live below the poverty line, and their socio-economic situation is much worse than that of men. The different dimensions of the role of women have been recognized, but the interrelationship between their economic and political role and their social role remains at the heart of the flagrant inequalities with men in terms of both status and power. The Conference must propose pragmatic measures that governments, the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations should implement. The question of women must cease to be a monologue among women; it is urgent and imperative to involve men. Progress for women does not mean a step back for men -- it is progress for all humanity. (more) Conference on Women - 9 - Press Release WO /BEI/24 8th Meeting (AM) 8 September 1995 The Conference should take account of the Niamey Declaration on the problems of women in least developed countries, adopted earlier this year, as an indication of its concern for the most disadvantaged women. Within the framework of its mandate relating to poverty alleviation, UNCTAD has recently turned its attention to the role that could be played by export- oriented small and micro-enterprises as well as producers of non- traditional agricultural exports. Because women are responsible for a large share of agricultural production and comprise the basic workforce of so many small export enterprises, they are at the centre of UNCTAD's proposals. Within the UNCTAD organization itself, greater efforts are needed to encourage the participation of women. Currently, there are only three women for every 33 men at upper management levels and 224 men for every 50 women at lower and middle professional levels, while at the General Service level, which includes clerks and typists, 76 per cent of all UNCTAD staff are women. DAN MIRCEA POPESCU, Minister of State, Minister of Labour and Social Protection for Romania: Romania addresses women's human rights as an integral part of universal human rights. A democratic society based on the rule of law and the promotion of human rights has to ensure women's development, equal access to employment, education and health, and to stimulate their participation in economic, social and political life. There is much to be done before these objectives are achieved. The 1989 structural changes had unexpected implications for women in terms of decline of living standards and higher unemployment. Consequently, social protection has become a major part of the reform programme. Among the objectives of Romanian governmental and non-governmental organizations, the following are especially relevant: ensuring appropriate employment; making gender equality effective; promoting an active social policy; upgrading women to senior management and decision-making positions; and assisting the organization of the women's movement and non-governmental bodies. The Government plans to set up a representative body which will coordinate the strategies for women's advancement and the assurance of equal opportunity for men and women in all fields. Romania's endeavours are reflected, in a general way, in the proposed declaration and platform of action. The objectives of the Conference will be achieved through the joint efforts of international, governmental and non-governmental institutions as well as that of individuals. The Government supports the proposal to establish an international centre for non-governmental organizations from central and eastern Europe. The Romanian Government would be pleased to organize, in Bucharest, in cooperation with the United Nations, a regional conference for this group of countries. (more) Conference on Women - 10 - Press Release WO /BEI/24 8th Meeting (AM) 8 September 1995 TRUONG MY HOA, President of the Viet Nam National Committee for the Advancement of Women: Viet Nam's improvement today, both domestically and externally is helping the advancement of women. At the same time they are having to adapt to new difficulties arising from the change to a market economy. Unlike the previous generation, whose maturation to the country's political life and the power structures took place under wartime conditions, women today are striving in more favourable material conditions. But there is also a tendency to return to old practices and stereotypes which betray prejudices against women. Although a poor country, with a per capita gross national product of only $220, Viet Nam has achieved near gender equality in terms of primary school enrolment, adult literacy, access to health care and labour force participation. Nearly 95 per cent of all women work outside the home. Some 27 per cent of all families are headed by women, the majority being divorced, separated and widowed. However, those households enjoy similar economic living conditions as male-headed households. However, Vietnamese women need to strive harder to achieve equality with men in the division of domestic work within the family. Also, men often work in the high skilled sectors, whereas women tend to work in labour intensive jobs. Education is the key to women's emancipation and advancement. Viet Nam drew five lessons during its implementation of the Nairobi strategies: a correct understanding of women's leadership role; integration of gender perspectives into development strategies; attention to education and national traditions; and the promotion women-related work in international cooperation and assistance. * *** *