Fourth World Conference                  WOM/BEI/25
 on Women                        8 September 1995
9th Meeting (PM)


   DESPITE ECONOMICALLY DYNAMIC ASIA-PACIFIC COUNTRIES, REGION'S WOMEN AMONG
   WORLD'S POOREST, ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK TELLS WOMEN'S CONFERENCE


   Beijing Conference Reaches Midway Point


   It was paradoxical that in the economically dynamic Asia-Pacific region,
women were among the most disadvantaged in the world, the Vice-President of
the Asian Development Bank, Peter Sullivan, stated this afternoon, as the
Fourth World Conference on Women continued its general exchange of views.
Large numbers lived in poverty and suffered from poor health and low economic
and social status.  He urged the nations of the region to pay its debt to
women through greater investments in their education, health and income-
generating opportunities, as well as improvements in their social and
political status.

   Expressing similar sentiments on behalf of African women, the Executive
Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, K.Y. Amoako, declared that
investing in women was central to development on the continent.  There must be
debt reduction or forgiveness to free resources for the achievement of gender
equality and women's economic empowerment.  Governments could also direct
resources away from military expenditures to social needs.

   In another statement to the Conference this afternoon, the Minister for
Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, Roza Otunbayeva, pointed out that
since ancient times, women had played a major role in Kyrgyz society, always
in the saddle, roaming among the mountains and sharing with men the
traditional free life of nomads.  No woman ever covered her face or let her
husband beat her and the women of Kyrgyz today would not allow that to happen
a thousand years later.  With help from the international donor community,
Kyrgyz women were ready to prove that women could play a catalytic role in
transition to a market society.

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   First Lady Zimena Sanchez de Lozada, of Bolivia, stressed that
individuals and couples have the right to choose the number and spacing of
their children, in a context of mutual respect between men and women.
Abortion constituted a public health problem which should under no
circumstances be considered a method of family planning.


   From Nigeria, First Lady Maryam Sani Abacha said the World Conference
should call for the urgent convening of an international forum to discuss the
external debt situation of developing countries.  Any efforts for women in
developing countries must tackle poverty which, in Africa, was adversely
affected by heavy debt burdens.

   Without peace and stability, equality and development will only be empty
intentions, Angola's Minister of Petroleum said.  The hope for lasting peace
has prevailed in Angola since the signing of the Lusaka Protocol in November
1994.  To consolidate that process, Angola was counting on the support of the
international community and, especially, of the United Nations.

   Statements were also made by Vice-President Guadalupe Jerezano Mejia of
Honduras; Princess Sonam Chodron Wangchuck of Bhutan; the Advisor to the
Minister of Social Affairs and Labour on Women and Children Affairs of Oman;
Mauritania's Secretary of State on the Status of Women; the Minister for
Social Protection of the Russian Federation; the Minister for Social Affairs
and Employment of the Netherlands; Israel's Minister of Labour; the Minister
for Community Development and Women's Affairs of Dominica; the Charge
d'Affaires of Afghanistan in Beijing; the Secretary for Women's Affairs of the
General People's Congress of Libya; the Minister for Social Affairs and the
Advancement of Women of Guinea-Bissau; the Minister of Social Welfare, Family
and Humanitarian Affairs of the Netherlands Antilles; and the Assistant
Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

   From the United Nations system: the Executive Director of the
International Trade Centre UNCTAD/GATT; the Executive Coordinator of the
United Nations Volunteers (UNV); the United Nations Under-Secretary-General
for Development Support and Management Services; the Deputy Director of the
National Meteorological Centre of the World Meteorological Centre in China of
the World Meteorological Organization (WMO); and the Director of the United
Nations Development Fund for Women.

   Also speaking were representatives of the following non-governmental
organizations: the Muslim World League; the National Council of Negro Women;
Disabled Peoples International; and the Centre for International Cooperation.

   The Conference will meet again at 10 a.m. on Monday, 11 September, to
continue its general exchange of views.

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   GUADALUPE JEREZANO MEJIA, Vice-President of Honduras:  The status of
women in Honduras is similar to that in the rest of Latin America and the
Caribbean.  It is reflected by the poverty in which they live, and in limited
access to health and education services.  Economic adjustment has had a great
impact on women in Honduras, particularly households headed by single women,
which represent some 31 per cent of the population.  Specific programmes have
been implemented to improve the living conditions of women and their family.
In 1994, the Government Office for Women's Affairs was set up as a decision-
making body at the highest level, intended to coordinate plans and projects on
behalf of women.

   Considerable progress has been made in the legal sphere.  The agrarian
law was changed in order to ensure women of access to land.  Family advisory
services have also been established.  There is presently a draft proposal for
reforming the penal code.  A revision of school texts has been undertaken to
incorporate the gender view.  In the health sphere, the central element of the
Government's policy is to provide access to the more disadvantaged sectors of
society.

   Since 1995, the right of women to vote has been recognized; 90 per cent
of Honduran women exercise that right.  While there is no equality in the
distribution of posts, for the first time Honduras has a woman Vice-President.
 Despite an opening of opportunities to women, there is still considerable
inequality.  The Vice-Presidents of Central America, at their July 1995 Forum,
declared their commitment to follow-up on the resolutions to be adopted by the
Fourth World Conference on Women.

   ALBINA ASSIS PEIRERA AFRICANO, Minister of Petroleum of Angola:
Practical machinery must be designed to eliminate socio-economic inequalities.
 The results of the World Conference will be an historic turning point on the
road towards full equality between men and women.  Despite the war, which has
destroyed much of the country's infrastructure, Angola has always sought to
guarantee the rights of women.  Angolan women have taken their place in the
executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.  In its efforts to
implement the platform of action, the Angolan Government will have the help of
non-governmental organizations and national women's organizations.  However,
it requires assistance from specialized agencies and international and
regional bodies.

   Without peace and stability, equality and development will only be empty
intentions.  The hope for lasting peace has prevailed in Angola since the
signing of the Lusaka Protocol in November 1994.  To consolidate that process,
Angola is counting on the support of the international community and,
especially, of the United Nations.  United Nations humanitarian institutions,
governmental and non-governmental organizations should continue their
humanitarian assistance for the displaced persons, refugees and others in
need, particularly in the rural areas.  If women meet their responsibility as
agents of change, the future of coming generations will be guaranteed.
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   ABDULLAH AHMED AL-GHAZALI, Advisor to the Minister of Social Affairs and
Labour on Women and Children's Affairs of Oman:  Throughout history, women
have demonstrated their ability to do positive constructive work from a
position of responsibility.  Women have ruled countries and steered their
advancement.  They have participated in parliamentary work, addressing both
domestic and foreign interests.

   Efforts made thus far in securing the rights of women have not been
adequate.  Constructive dialogue is required to shift women from the margin of
society to the mainstream.  Oman has worked to remove injustices against
women, providing every possible care to ensure their effective contribution to
society.  Oman has made great strides in the education of women.  Forty-six
per cent of college graduates in 1994-1995 were women.  Thirty-nine per cent
of graduates of the industrial college were women.  Oman has established
special centres to provide care for women during pregnancy and labour.  It has
also instituted universal immunization of children.  The greatest source of
pride for the women of Oman is their representation on the Advisory Council,
where two counsellors are women.

   Laws have been enacted to protect Omani women from inequality and
discrimination in employment.  They receive two years of maternity leave.
Special subsidies are given to divorced women and widows.  Special training is
provided in cases of disasters.

   MARYAM SANI ABACHA, First Lady of Nigeria:  The last 10 years have
brought women's issues into the mainstream of Nigeria's national agenda.  The
Government has signed all international agreements that promote women's
advancement and has upgraded the National Commission for Women to a Ministry
for Women's Affairs with a woman holding the Cabinet level post.  A National
Centre for Women's Development will serve as a resource base to conduct
research and co-ordinate activities for women's organizations within and
outside the country.  Last year, the Family Support Programme was launched to
complement Government efforts, particularly in the delivery of social services
and in support of programmes that sustain family cohesion.  Co-ordinating
committees have been set up in local communities to ensure that projects reach
the grassroots level.  A national referral hospital for women and children
will specifically address family health problems.  Similarly, various projects
in education, health, agriculture and women's entrepreneurship have been
earmarked for improving the quality of life of the underprivileged.

   Nigeria is considering a proposal to establish a Special University of
Women and improving the security of women against practical difficulties
through an insurance scheme to avert difficulties emanating from divorce,
widowhood or any other unforeseen circumstances.  Any efforts in developing
countries must tackle poverty which in Africa is adversely affected by heavy
debt burdens.  Many nations have watched their citizens become even more
impoverished despite the various reform programmes of the international
financial institutions.  The Conference should call for the urgent convening
of an international forum to discuss the external debt situation of developing
countries.
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9th Meeting (PM)                     8 September 1995


   MARIEME MINT AHMED AICHA, Secretary of State on the Status of Women of
Mauritania:  In the 10 years that have elapsed since the Nairobi Conference,
many events have occurred which affected the status of women.  However, much
remains to be done, requiring the efforts of the United Nations system as a
whole.  Progress is measured particularly in terms of participation in the
decision-making process and development efforts.  We have a responsibility to
millions of women who place their hopes in this Conference.  Though women
enjoy a privileged position in Mauritania, long enshrined in the traditions
and values of Islam, they still confront the same challenges faced by their
sisters.

   A new Constitution in Mauritania guarantees human rights.  Through
various political parties, women took an active part in the free elections
held in Mauritania.  Their literacy rate has risen.  Women have benefited from
a national health strategy adopted in 1992.  The number of working women has
increased considerably.  The Government has adopted an integrated strategy for
the advancement of women, which establishes policy priorities.  However,
mobilizing resources to meet these ends is a major challenge.

   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.

   Ad MELKERT, Minister of Social Affairs and Employment of the
Netherlands:  This Conference is not only about the rights of women, it is
about the responsibilities of men.  The role of women has been extensively
discussed.  It is time to update the role of fathers.  Amnesty International
reports that in many parts of the world women are maltreated, humiliated,
sexually abused and arrested, simply because they stand up for their rights.

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Whether it is domestic violence, forced abortion or genital mutilation, this
is the world we live in.  In 1994, the United Nations took an important step
by appointing a special rapporteur on violence against women.  Her appointment
has encouraged women to speak up louder as, for example, at the Tribunal
against Violence, which was held at the non-governmental organizations Forum
in Huairou.  For many of the women of Huairou, it was not easy or without risk
to speak up.  Women have made effective use of this Conference as a forum to
voice their concerns, publicize their ideas and to call for solidarity.

   In this year's Human Development Report the Netherlands was ranked
fourth in overall human development, but tumbled to twentieth place when
gender statistics were applied.  This is mainly due to wage disparities and
Dutch women's relatively low participation in the labour market and shows the
difference between statistics and gender specific statistics.  Women in the
Netherlands still spend twice as much time on domestic care as men.  More
women than ever are the breadwinners for their families and many are single
parents, but they earn less and have lower positions than men.  The
Netherlands is attempting to stimulate the redistribution of paid and unpaid
work and get men to take greater responsibility for caring tasks.  Employers
and workers' organizations are being encouraged to use flexible working hours
and parental leave, so both men and women can combine professional work and
caring tasks.  The Government is also promoting women into leadership roles.
Women now make up one third of membership of the Cabinet and the Lower House
of Parliament.  Changes to the stereotyping of women and men are being
promoted.  A media campaign to prevent sexual harassment shows men as
perpetrators rather than women as victims.  Women's reproductive and sexual
rights are among the most important issues of the Conference and women should
have control over their own fertility and sexuality.  They must be free to
choose their own partners and the use of coercion and violence must not be
tolerated.

   ZIMENA SANCHEZ DE LOZADA, First Lady of Bolivia:  Bolivia seeks to
eliminate all forms of gender discrimination.  In such a multi-ethnic,
multicultural country, inequality between men and women is a cultural
phenomenon.  We need to overcome gender discrimination, based on respect for
women's autonomy, strengthening of their self-esteem, and respect for women's
decisions in the area of sexuality and fertility in the context of shared
family responsibilities.  It must also be based on consolidation of their
right to education, respecting different cultural identities, and fostering
and valuing women's productive role.

   Bolivia's democracy is being extended through laws on participation of
the people, educational reform, and the capitalization of public enterprises.
 Bolivia's law on popular participation seeks to close the gap of injustice
which separates rural from urban areas.  The educational reform law is
intercultural and bilingual, aims at universalizing education, eliminating
illiteracy and improving teaching methods, administrative structures and
community participation, ending all discrimination against women, and
promoting their

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access to all forms of science and technology.  The law on capitalization
seeks to convert public enterprises into motors for development.

   The Conference should promote shared responsibility within the family
and pay special attention to women heads of households in poverty situations.
 Individuals and couples have the right to choose the number and spacing of
their children, in a context of mutual respect between men and women.
Abortion constitutes a public health problem which should under no
circumstances be considered a method of family planning.  In Bolivia, abortion
is illegal unless the pregnancy puts the mother's life at risk, or in cases of
rape or incest.  We are attacking the root causes of the problem.  Special
measures must be taken to ensure the full participation in society of
indigenous women.

   ORA NAMIR, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of Israel:  Israel's
Declaration of Independence entails equal rights as well as equal obligations
for men and women, including compulsory military service.  Woman's most basic
biological role -- childbearing -- creates an a priori inequality defined by
nature -- they can perform two or three full-time jobs simultaneously: home
management and child care; work outside the home; public and political
activities.  Women are clearly "the stronger sex" but they can only achieve
equality through affirmative action.  In Israel, they account for 50.4 per
cent of the population; 45 per cent of the labour force; 50 per cent of
university students; and one-third of the judges and prosecutors.  Although 60
per cent of the public sector are women, only 11 per cent hold senior
positions.

   Israel has made much progress in legislation to promote the status of
women.  They have equal status in all areas except marriage and divorce.
Regrettably, there is no separation between State and religion, thus creating
a major problem for women in personal status law.  Nevertheless, the law
forbids discrimination in employment, sexual harassment and dismissal because
of pregnancy.  It guarantees equal pay; adequate representation on public
boards of directors; the right to work to age 65; and minimum wage. The social
security system provides for universal child allowances, national health
insurance, maternity leave with pay, birth and hospitalization grants,
benefits for single-parent families and a basic alimony benefit to divorcees.
 Yet, legislation alone cannot change the status of women.  More intensive
enforcement of existing laws, affirmative action  and supportive services are
essential.

   GERTRUDE ROBERTS, Minister for Community Development and Women's Affairs
of Dominica:  Dominica supports and endorses the draft platform for action.
It specifically supports the critical areas of concern as outlined in chapter
II of the document, especially the five areas emphasized by the Caribbean
countries:  poverty; health care; violence; economic structures and policies;
and the girl child.  It strongly urges the Conference to focus on chapter IV
of the platform with its carefully structured "strategic objectives and
action" for achieving the critical areas of concern.  The bracketed portions
must be removed before the closure of the Conference as it is the only
possible measure that will ensure the removal of existing barriers from
women's lives.
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   Women in Dominica comprise 50 per cent of the population with
approximately 38 per cent of them heading households.  They have worked
assiduously to overcome the hurdles of poverty; domestic violence; gender
inequality; reproductive health, with focus on the AIDS pandemic and other
sexually transmitted diseases, as well as the impact of the social ills that
are inherent in society.  Dominican women call on international governments to
ratify and implement the international conventions which promote women's and
human rights.  Enforcement of laws is inextricably linked to women's
empowerment through education and training, economic growth and sustainable
development.  The eradication of poverty and violence will enrich the lives of
women and their families, communities and nations.

   G.M. SUKHANYAR, Charge d'Affaires of Afghanistan:  The Government-
designated Afghanistan delegation was unable to attend the Conference because
of technical problems with their flight.  The stable political, social and
economic situation Afghanistan was destroyed by the 1979 aggression of the
former Soviet Union.  During the 14 years of war, approximately 1.5 million
people were killed, three million injured and disabled and five million became
refugees, among which half were women and children.   During the jihad, Afghan
women took an active role providing food for everyone and defending the
motherland against the foreign aggression.  They encouraged their brothers and
sons to fight against the enemies.

   During the jihad, the international community assisted the Afghan people
but after the collapse of the communist Soviet Union and the establishment of
the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1992, international aid to the poor,
homeless and disabled was stopped or reduced.  Meanwhile, the bloody power
struggle within Afghanistan became worse.  Thousands of people were injured or
killed and more than half a million people became displaced and homeless.
More than ten million mines remain. Every day, hundreds of people, mostly
children and women, are killed by rockets, mines or starvation.  There is no
water, food, electricity or shelter.  The international community must not
forget these women and children and asks it to restart assistance to the
homeless and disabled women and children and the Afghan refugees in other
countries as well as in Afghanistan.

   ABRAHIM AUF, Assistant Secretary-General of the Organization of the
Islamic Conference (OIC):  Monotheistic religions, and especially Islam, seek
to instill human values and a code of conduct that would serve human
advancement.  Social problems result from divergences from revealed teachings.
 The OIC States reaffirm their faith in heavenly revealed faiths as the
platform for human societies.  They determine to pursue their goals with
respect for the cultural identity and sovereign of States.

   Islam recognizes the family as the first unit of society.  This unit
should enjoy stability.  Islamic civilization provides a proper environment
for the family, away from all

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sins.  It provides for compassion, respect and love among the main elements of
the family -- man, woman and children.  It sets specific roles for each member
of the family.  Woman has a special role within the family under Islam.

   Woman has rights which are not the same as those of men; they are
complementary rights.  A woman is fully protected under Islam.  She does not
lose her name or dissolve in the family of her husband.  She maintains an
independent legal status.  Her husband cannot take any of her property without
her consent.  She is free to work or not work.  The man is responsible for
paying the expenses of the family.  That is why men are given double the
amount of inheritance.  The right to life is a holy right, which applies to
the fetus and to the newborn.  Infant males and females are equal.

   Marriage partners must be chosen with full freedom.  Under Islam,
sexuality must be practised exclusively within legal marriage.  Any sexual
relations outside of marriage is considered a sin.  A woman should be kept
away from promiscuity and prostitution, or the use of femininity for sexual
attraction.  AIDS is not a problem in Islamic societies, because they have
followed their religious teachings in regulating the sexual activities of
their members.  Islamic values have provided protection from this epidemic.

   ROZA OTUNBAYEVA, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyz:  Since ancient
times women have played a major role in Kyrgyz society, always in the saddle,
roaming among the mountains and sharing with men the traditional free life of
nomads.  No woman ever covered her face or let her husband beat her and the
women of Kyrgyz today will not allow that to happen a thousand years later.
Women have free access to education and are in the majority at the
universities.  They constitute 61 per cent of university trained specialists
and at the age of 15, there is 95.6 per cent literacy.  Despite the goal to
preserve those levels, the proportion of women in high positions has decreased
in the post-Soviet period.  Out of the 102 senior positions in the national
Government only nine are held by women.  Out of 105 members of Parliament,
only five are women.

   The national health programme in Kyrgyz combines international and
domestic efforts and resources to reduce the high maternal and child mortality
rates and disseminate information about family planning.  The programme has
comprehensive measures to protect the health of women.  Thousands of rural and
urban women with large families in Kyrgyz, under the auspices of the Swiss aid
organization Helvetas and the American non-governmental organization FINCA,
have launched their own endeavours -- bakeries, sewing shops, retail stores
and various services.  With help from the international donor community,
Kyrgyz women are ready to prove that women can play a catalytic role in
transition to a market society.

   

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WOM/BEI/25
9th Meeting (PM)                     8 September 1995

DENIS BELISLE, Executive Director, International Trade Centre (UNCTAD/GATT):
Foreign trade presents a formidable opportunity for the empowerment and
advancement of women.  A number of factors have led the Centre to focus on
women entrepreneurship and international trade.  One is the rapid growth of
the private sector and the key role played by small and medium size
enterprises.  Another is the increasing visibility of women entrepreneurs in
this sector.  A third factor is the shift in general economic policy in
developing countries from inward-looking, import-substitution policies to
outward-looking export market-oriented strategies.

   In most developing countries, women entrepreneurs are concentrated in
the micro and small enterprise sector, providing employment and rural income
redistribution.  They also make significant contributions to export earnings.
 These sectors are natural for new women entrepreneurs because they have few
barriers to entry and can be harmonized with women's traditional roles.  For
many women, such opportunities mark a significant change in their way of life.
 Effective linkages between production and trade can provide the path from
domestic to export markets.  The foreign trade sector can be included in the
Platform for Action under chapter IV, sector F.  Specific measures to help
women should include strengthening women's business organizations; improving
access to credit and financial institutions; training in enterprise
management, export marketing, costing and pricing, import operations and
techniques; technical support services such as product design and technology
transfer; quality control and packaging; business support services; and
marketing facilities including cooperative arrangements.

   Her Royal Highness PRINCESS SONAM CHORON WANGCHUCK, President of the
National Woman's Association of Bhutan:  Bhutanese women have always enjoyed
political, economic and social equality and are often favoured in terms of
inheritance and institutional credit.  They play an equal role in all aspects
of decision-making within the family.  Tradition ensures that divorcees and
widows are not stigmatized and remarriage is an honourable option for both
sexes.  New and updated legislation on crime against women, especially minors,
provide additional protection for women.  Today, women leaders and
professionals are increasingly prominent figures in government and in the
private sector.  In rural Bhutan, village women enjoy equal influence and
decision-making and their representation on elected local bodies can be as
high as 70 per cent.

   Development planning and policies reflect a special sensitivity to the
needs, role and potential of women.  They have been the focus of programmes
such as school enrolment and health activities with dramatic results.  The
National Women's Association was established in 1981 to enhance the role of
women at all levels of the development process.  At the regional level, Bhutan
shares its awareness and concerns of the socio-economic problems faced by the
women in the region.  The success of the Conference will depend on the
understanding and commitment of every nation and individual.  Bhutan appeals
to the developed countries, international agencies and financial institutions
to pledge the necessary resources and technology to enable the poorer nations
to translate their willingness to action.

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WOM/BEI/25
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   NURA RAMADAN ABUSAFRITA, Secretary for Women's Affairs of the General
People's Congress of Libya:  The unjust embargo imposed on the people of Libya
represent the politics of force and of interference in the internal affairs of
States.  By adopting noble principles, Libya aims at building a happy society
where there are no class distinctions and where private and public rights are
safeguarded.  The distinction between women and men in political, economic and
social rights is a blatant injustice.  However, the distinction between them
in duties preserves the humanity of women and reflects a correct understanding
of their biological constitution.  In Libya, all doors are open for women to
enter in all areas of political, economic and social life.  However, it is not
just for any member of society to be forced to do a job for which he or she is
not suited.

   Libyan women have enjoyed important gains in a short period, in the
fields of education, culture, the arts, health, the economy, diplomatic
service, the judiciary and other activities which they did not do before.
They have also managed and steered productive projects through administrative
and technical posts at the highest levels.  However, the women of Libya are
suffering from the ferocious imperialist campaign against Libya that resulted
in the imposition of an unjust embargo.  This embargo has led to the death of
many people and is threatening the lives of a whole generation.  This runs
counter to human values and the most basic principles of the Nairobi
Strategies.

   N. INTCHASSO NHAREBATE, Minister for Social Affairs and the Advancement
of Women of Guinea-Bissau:  Although much has been achieved for humanity,
women have yet to achieve a desirable level of development.  Women make up 52
per cent of the population of Guinea-Bissau; however, illiteracy among them is
76 per cent.  This is largely attributable to the high drop-out rates among
girls.  A plan was currently being developed for family planning.  The
Republic has ratified Conventions against all forms of discrimination against
women and in support for the rights of the child.

   The concerns of Guinea-Bissau's women include access to education and
basic health care; setting up of a credit bank for women; rights to land
ownership and inheritance; access to appropriate technology to alleviate the
burden of work in rural areas; and child care, to avoid woman having to work
with their children strapped to their backs all through the day.  Debt-relief
is also essential.

   PETER H. SULLIVAN, Vice-President, Asian Development Bank:  It is
paradoxical that in the economically dynamic Asia-Pacific region, women are
among the most disadvantaged in the world.  Large numbers live in poverty and
suffer from poor health and low economic and social status.  Female literacy
rates are as low as 16 per cent in some countries.  Only 10 per cent of women
participate in the formal labour market although they make a major
contribution
   
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to the informal labour market and agricultural activities.  New problems are
emerging such as the feminization of poverty, female child prostitution,
exploitation of child labour; female infanticide; sex tourism prostitution and
exploitation of migrant women workers.    

   The significant role women play in the economic development of the Asian
Pacific region needs to be recognized and rewarded.  Without their
contribution, the economic growth experienced in many parts of Asia would not
be possible and even larger numbers of people would live in poverty.  The
region needs to pay its debt to its women.  There must be greater investments
in women's education, health and income-generating opportunities as well as
improvements in women's social and political status.  The Bank is committed to
improving women's situation and has increased the number of its women
professional staff by more than 50 per cent, although with a current level of
only 12 per cent of female professionals, it has a long way to go.  In other
initiatives, the Bank is placing greater emphasis on gender considerations in
all of its operations, including its country assistance plans.  Attempts are
being made to ensure women and development concerns are not dealt with in
isolation or marginalized way.

   BRENDA GAEL MCSWEENEY, Executive Coordinator of the United Nations
Volunteers (UNV):  Educators and community health workers of UNV help women
improve their daily lives.  For example, one volunteer, a Chinese
gynecologist, is working in the Comoros to support the national programme on
safe motherhood.  In the Congo, volunteers lend their skills to the national
AIDS programme.  Poverty has a woman's face, and gaining access to credit is a
way out.  United Nations volunteers are assisting women to get credit and
expand it into working capital.  Participation is key to women's advancement.
 Nearly 1,000 volunteers assisted in organizing democratic elections in
Cambodia, Mozambique and Haiti.  In Central America, UNV is working with
indigenous women's groups to get their voices heard.  The UNV is ready to join
hands to help further the work of volunteers for development and peace.

   LIU HUANZHU, Deputy Director of the National Meteorological Centre in
China of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO):  Women play a central
part in the provision, management and safeguarding of water.  This pivotal
role of women as providers and users of water and guardians of the living
environment has seldom been reflected in institutional arrangements for the
development and management of water resources.  Policies are needed to empower
women to participate at all levels in water resources programmes.
Opportunities for women are provided through education and training.  The WMO
awards about 10 per cent of its training fellowships to women.  Similar
percentages can be found in the post-graduate fellowship awards on a country-
by country basis.

   Even in the most progressive societies, women are still a minority in
such fields as meteorology and hydrology.  A prerequisite to measuring
progress would be having reliable

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statistics on the current representation of women.  The draft platform
proposes increasing the involvement of women in programmes for natural
resource management and environmental protection.  Public awareness and
information programmes about weather, climate and water could highlight the
special role played by women both as providers and recipients of these basic
services in various parts of the world.  The WMO could play a role in
disseminating such information.

   JI CHAOZHU, Under-Secretary-General, United Nations Department for
Development Support and Management Services:  The Department, the main locus
of technical operational in the field in the United Nations Secretariat, has
addressed the concerns of women in developing countries for many years.
Although women have always played a central role in the economic and social
life of developing countries, they have too often been excluded from
development efforts. The economic impact of many past development efforts is
diminished by the failure to fully recognize the roles of women and their
capacity for influencing the planning and implementation of field programmes.
 The Department has sought to redress this with a more integrated and multi-
disciplinary stance, placing women at the forefront in management and
decision-making at both national and local levels.

   The range of programmes now being undertaken include encouraging women
entrepreneurs, creating support networks for women in rural communities,
efforts to adapt appropriate technology to local needs in energy and water
fields, marketing, financial management and administration, to develop
managerial skill.  At the Department's initiative, the Economic and Social
Council included for the first time an agenda item on women and small-scale
mining.  The Department has established a social development management branch
to focus and improve its capacity to design and deliver programmes for the
empowerment of women in society.

   EDITH STRAUSS-MASERA, Minister of Social Welfare, Family and
Humanitarian Affairs, Netherlands Antilles:  Since the Second World War the
women of the country have progressed in the professions, in politics and in
Government administration, largely thanks to free and equal access to
education.  At Parliamentary elections held last May, a 30 per-cent female
representation was achieved in the island Council of the largest island of the
Netherlands Antilles.

   However, while the accession of women to decision-making levels is
crucial, it is equally crucial that women and men share equally the joys and
burdens of the family.  The need to foster and protect the values of healthy
family life is perhaps felt with special strength in the Caribbean region as
it enters a highly globalized and technological age.  Global unemployment,


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economic recession, drug abuse and migration are among the factors threatening
family life in the region, not to speak of the vulnerability of small islands
to natural disasters -- such as the recent hurricane devastation suffered by
neighbouring sister islands.

   Nevertheless, although mere specks on the map compared to the Conference
host country, the islands of the Caribbean region boast a diversity of
peoples, cultures, religions and geography, in which non-violent forms of
conflict resolution among and within countries is more of a rule than an
exception.  Perhaps this Caribbean model of diversity and mutual respect might
offer the rest of the world a viable alternative of coexistence for nations of
diverse ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds.

   K.Y. AMOAKO, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa
(ECA):  Investing in woman is central to development in Africa.  Governments
can direct resources away from military expenditures to social needs, so that
Africa's women will not have to walk miles carrying water on their heads.
Equal opportunities can be provided, so a woman can have equal access to
credit and inherit, and be free to dispose of, land.  But Governments cannot
do it alone.  Coordination with the international community and non-
governmental organizations is necessary.

   Africa is in crisis.  The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has
admitted that the spending on water supply and sanitation has been one fifth
of the need to provide the bulk of the population with proper access.  There
is chronic food insecurity, because production cannot keep up with population
growth.  Soil erosion and deforestation are grim words because of the lack of
remedial action.  However, there is an emerging consensus that, while Africa
needs support, Africans must take fundamental responsibility for bringing
about positive change.

   Africa's external debt continues to be a major obstacle to development.
 There must be debt reduction or debt forgiveness.  This will free resources
for programmes essential for achieving gender equality and the economic
empowerment of women.  Reducing gender disparities in Africa is not only a
matter of allocating resources.  The attitudes and actions of men must also
change.  We are therefore also talking about equalizing men's
responsibilities, not only increasing women's access to opportunities.

   NOELEEN HEYZER, Director, United Nations Development Fund For Women
(UNIFEM):  What women want from this Conference is a new vision of development
that is founded on women's realities and built on women's rights.  They want
the commitment of their Governments on the following points:  implementation
of recommendations agreed to in Rio, Vienna, Cairo and Copenhagen, where
governments acknowledged that the equality and empowerment of women are
prerequisites for sustainable development; an agenda for

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development that will empower people, eradicate poverty and encourage
sustainable livelihoods; elimination of gender gaps in basic needs, especially
in education and health; new partnerships between governments and civil
society so common problems can be addressed collectively and effectively; a
worldwide campaign to eliminate violence against women and the universal
ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination Against Women; and adequate resources and mechanisms to
translate commitments into action.

   UNIFEM is the collective voice and conscience of women within the United
Nations system.  It has expertise in creating strategies to strengthen women's
skills and voices and ensure their priorities are addressed in development
planning and practice.  It strives to keep women's issues on the agendas of
mainstream organizations and builds partnerships with other United Nations
agencies.  It also plays a mediating role among women, Governments and the
United Nations.  Although only a small fund, UNIFEM has made a big difference
to the lives of many women.  Its commitment is to ensure that the
recommendations from the Platform for Action are translated into innovative
programmes that will empower women in the developing world.  Currently, UNIFEM
has less than one cent to assist each woman in the developing world.  Imagine
what we could do if we had a dollar.

   INGAR BRUEGGEMANN, Secretary-General, International Planned Parenthood
Federation:  The Federation contributes through its volunteers and services to
achieving a healthier and thus more productive and happier life for
individuals and families.  It meets family planning needs,  promotes sexual
and reproductive health for women and men, works to eliminate unsafe abortion
and takes affirmative action to gain equality and empowerment of women.  The
Federation also helps young people to understand their sexuality and thus
enables them to prevent unwanted pregnancies as well as sexually transmitted
diseases, including HIV/AIDS.

   Policies and programmes have been developed to reflect the Federation's
concern with sexual and reproductive decision-making of individuals, as
embodied its strategic plan "Vision 2000".  Vision 2000 commits the Federation
to promote and monitor gender equality at all levels of its activities.  It
provides an ethical framework for family planning and reproductive health.
The Federation is also developing a comprehensive charter on reproductive and
sexual rights, intended to raise awareness that sexual and reproductive
health, particularly affecting women, is recognized as part of human rights,
as expressed in the right to individual decisions, privacy and
confidentiality.

   AHMED FATHY SOROUR, President of the Council of the Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU):  The Union feels it should be closely involved in any

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global conference where Governments make commitments.  It is up to Parliaments
to adopt legislation consistent with such commitments and to vote on national
implementation programmes and budgets.  For true democracy, more women must
become political actors.  The concept of democracy will only come into its own
when major policy objectives and national legislation are decided on jointly
by men and women.  Today, women still occupy only 11.3 per cent of seats in
the world's parliaments.

   The Union has a plan of action to correct imbalances in the
participation of men and women in political life.  It provides strategies,
which in particular contexts and without disclaiming traditional values, can
redress the imbalance.  The Conference is just a single step in a long-term
process aimed at rebalancing society and democracy.  The Union will follow up
on the Platform of Action and its own plan of action.  It will also work for
the universal ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination Against Women and examine the validity of any reservations
or interpretive statements with a view to having them lifted.  Each country
should have a mechanism for measuring the impact on women of any draft law or
bill.  The Parliaments will feel more committed to ensuring measures are taken
and adequate resources allocated if the Platform of Action includes a direct
appeal for them to do so.
   AHMED MOHAMMED ALI, Secretary-General, Muslim World League:  The Koran
says that mankind was created with men and women, nations and tribes, so that
they could get to know each other.  Equality is called for in all divine
religions.  In Islam, women's issues are clearly addressed.  Islam cherishes
the family as the nucleus of society and that is why women's dignity and
equality in society has been guaranteed for the last 1,400 years.  Women have
been  guaranteed the right to education and to conduct business dealings.
Islam dictates, however, that man must provide for women, whether as father,
husband, brother or son, and even if the woman is richer and has more means at
her disposal. The Muslim League is willing to works with anyone who would like
to work seriously and sincerely.

   The misbehaviour of some must not be considered part of Islam.  Rape
must no longer be used as a means of armed conflict.  Such action is
considered a stark violation of the woman's rights and dignity.  It is hoped
that the Conference will find solutions to the problems of women and that all
means will be made available to assist women on international level while
taking into account the conditions prevailing in each country so that
comprehensive development can be attained in the coming years.  It is hoped
that women will attain their development without social pressure in any
society.  It is important that social and religious values be maintained in a
way that will be more beneficial to society.  Muslims hope to continue
building civilization through their values and reject any strange visions that
run counter to their creed.

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   SARAH E. MOTEN, Special Assistant to the President of the National
Council of Negro Women Incorporated:  The issues of racism and discrimination
continue to permeate the development of global society.  These ills of the
life cycle are particularly prevalent against people of the African diaspora
and women.  We must look beyond the divisions of colour.  Black women, brown
women and white women are critical to defining our future and charting the
course for women's development.  The issue of the status of women in the
global community is not a single interest issue.  The status of women is the
status of the family and the regeneration of societies to evolve.

   As Mary McCloud Bethune said: "If we cannot push our agenda forward,
then who will?".  The National Council of Negro Women and its delegation of
110 African American women are attending the Conference and prepared to meet
the challenge.  Through seven workshops, an all-day AIDS symposium and other
scheduled activities, they will address environmental issues, empowerment
issues, networking and building coalitions. There has been enough information
management and mismanagement around issues of concern to women.  We are not
here to reinvent Nairobi, Cairo or Copenhagen.  We are here and we are ready
to define a global strategy.

   MARIA RANTHO, Deputy Chairperson, Disabled Peoples' International:
Problems impeding the empowerment of people with disabilities have long been
addressed from a paternalistic, welfaristic perspective.  More than 500
million people in the world today have disabilities, half of them girls and
women, with most living in developing countries torn by war and characterized
by poverty and human rights violations.  Despite the existence of various
United Nations and other human rights instruments, including the Standard
Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, most
governments have responded only minimally to the need to create equal
opportunities for women and girls with disabilities.  This exclusion is
evident from the small number of disabled women appearing as official
delegates at this present Conference.

   It is gratifying that some of the central concerns of disabled women are
already reflected in the agreed text of the draft Platform for Action.
However, numerous important sections have excluded the concerns of millions of
the world's most marginalized and oppressed people.  It is important to
disabled women that -- together with implementation of the Platform for Action
-- all Governments also recognize and implement the Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.  States have a
responsibility to create the legal basis for the full participation and
equality of people with responsibilities.  They should ensure that disability
issues are included in all relevant national planning.  They also have the
financial responsibility for national programmes and measures to create equal
opportunities for persons with disabilities, including educational and
employment opportunities, social security measures

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and income maintenance.  The Standard Rules for Persons with Disabilities
should be developed into a convention, and along with the Beijing Platform for
Action, should be implemented in all countries, in order for girls and women
with disabilities to attain equality and development.

   PAULINE E. TANGIORA of the Center for International Cooperation, and an
Indigenous Elder, on behalf of indigenous representatives attending the
Conference:  During the past 500 years of colonialism, more than 2,000
indigenous nations and tribes have disappeared.  And as the Conference sits
and talks of peace, genocide continues, vectored by aggressive militarism,
deterioration of the environment through uranium mining, nuclear-weapons
tests, germ warfare, and the effect of new technologies -- such as genetic
engineering -- which could wipe out indigenous peoples forever.  Many
countries continue to profit from the exposure of indigenous peoples in
tourism, including the trafficking of women and children for men's
gratification.  The imposition of Western culture through education, religion
and the media is leading to monoculturalization and destruction of the
diversity that makes indigenous peoples unique.

   If the Conference fails to recognize the collective rights of the
world's four million indigenous peoples to self-determination, sovereignty,
and above all to their lands, their human rights will have been violated.
Those peoples formally request that the framers of the Declaration include the
term "indigenous peoples" -- with a final "s" -- in the Declaration now being
drafted, and express gratitude to the United States for its support on the
issue.









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