Fourth World Conference on Women WOM/BEI/35 Main Committee 15 September 1995 5th Meeting (Night) MAIN COMMITTEE OF WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN COMPLETES WORK; APPROVES DRAFT PLATFORM OF ACTION, DECLARATION Final Documents Submitted for Adoption by Conference At Its Final Meeting This Afternoon "We have a Platform that I will be most proud to present tomorrow to the plenary", declared the Chairperson of the Main Committee of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Patricia Licuanan (Philippines), as it concluded its work at 4:44 this morning. "After tomorrow, the real challenge begins: implementing the Platform". Following intensive discussions during a meeting which spanned a 10- hour period, the Main Committee of the Fourth World Conference on Women concluded its work by clearing the remaining contentious language in the draft Platform for Action and by approving a Beijing Declaration to be sent to the Conference plenary for adoption later today. Agreement was reached on such difficult issues as financial resources for the Platform's implementation; macroeconomic measures to eradicate poverty; nuclear testing as a cause of environmental degradation; and unsustainable patterns of consumption. At the outset of the meeting, the Committee attempted to resolve the placement of text relating to the sovereign responsibility of countries in implementing the draft Platform which makes reference to full respect for the various religious and ethical values, cultural backgrounds and philosophical convictions. Text to that effect was approved for inclusion in the draft's Global Framework. Numerous delegations said that if it were not also included in a footnote to the section on health, they would express (more) Main Committee - 2 - Press Release WOM/BEI/35 5th Meeting (Night) 15 September 1995 reservations on the matter, while many others called for a deletion of the proposed footnote. There being no agreement after more than one and-a-half hours of discussion, the matter was put aside until the end of the meeting, at which point Chairperson Licuanan ruled that the footnote should be deleted. Another deeply divisive issue requiring a ruling from the Chair concerned sexual orientation, references to which were ultimately removed from the draft Platform. Prior to the decision to remove the references, the following countries spoke in favour of their retention: Canada, Spain (on behalf of the European Union), New Zealand, Israel, Switzerland, Slovenia, Cuba, United States, Barbados and South Africa. Voicing their opposition to the references were the representatives of Benin, Egypt, Iran, Ecuador, Libya, Syria, Jordan, Uganda, Belize, Kuwait, Senegal, Ghana, Bangladesh, Cote d'Ivoire, Algeria, Sudan, Nigeria and Guatemala. After this discussion, which did not exhaust the list of speakers, the Chairperson, Ms. Licuanan (Philippines), ruled that, given the large number of countries opposed to references to sexual orientation, "I have no alternative but to delete the bracketed text. So we are removing the term 'sexual orientation' from the Platform for Action". Interpretative comments were then offered by 22 States, detailed below. The draft's Mission Statement was approved following the addition of text from the Copenhagen Declaration, adopted last March by the World Summit for Social Development, to the effect that broad-based and sustainable economic growth is necessary to sustain social development and social justice. The decision was taken on the recommendation of the representative of the Philippines, speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China. On institutional arrangements for implementation of the Conference Platform, the Committee approved language calling on the Bretton Woods Institutions, the United Nations and specialized agencies to coordinate their assistance with women and their families in mind. It encouraged international financial institutions to provide new and additional resources to ensure that investments and programmes benefitted women. On the issue of women and poverty, the Committee approved language calling for a mobilization of "new and additional resources that are both adequate and predictable and mobilized in a way that maximizes the availability of such resources and uses all available funding sources and mechanisms with a view to contributing towards the goal of poverty eradication and targeting women living in poverty". International financial institutions would be invited to examine innovative approaches to assist low-income countries with a high proportion of multilateral debt. (more) Main Committee - 3 - Press Release WOM/BEI/12 5th Meeting (Night) 15 September 1995 Text was cleared in the section on education concerning freedom of religion, which calls for the creation of an educational and social environment in which all are treated equally and in which freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief are respected. Governments and educational institutions are asked to remove barriers, where appropriate, to sexual and reproductive health education. Regarding the human rights of women, the Committee approved text reaffirming that reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children, and to have the information and means to do so. In addition, the Committee approved text calling for the elimination of gender-based violence and all forms of sexual harassment, prostitution, pornography, sexual slavery and exploitation, including violations resulting from cultural prejudice, racism, xenophobic ethnic cleansing, religious and anti-religious extremism and international trafficking in women and children. The use and testing of nuclear weaponry is cited as a contributing factor in environmental degradation in a newly approved portion of Section K, on women and the environment. The text also states that the major cause of the continued deterioration of the global environment is the unsustainable pattern of consumption and production, particularly in industrialized countries. Also in the environmental realm, language concerning the intellectual property rights of indigenous women was approved. It calls for the effective protection and use of their knowledge of traditional medicines, biodiversity and indigenous technologies. The Committee approved language in the draft Platform's section on the media calling for the production of media materials on women as leaders who have many different life experiences, including but not limited to, their experiences of balancing work and family responsibilities. The Committee also approved language in the Platform's section on mechanisms for the advancement of women calling on governments to give ministries the mandate to review policies and programmes from a gender perspective and in light of the Platform for Action. It recommended improving data collection on access to health services including access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive services. The Committee approved language urging the development of communications strategies to promote public debate on the new roles of men and women in the family. It also approved titles for each of the "critical areas of concern", which relate generally to poverty; education; access to health care; violence against women; the effects of armed conflict on women; economic structures; power sharing and decision-making; mechanisms for the advancement of women; the human rights of women; the media; the environment; and the girl child. (more) Main Committee - 4 - Press Release WOM/BEI 5th Meeting (Night) 15 September 1995 In the section setting out the global framework of the Conference, the Committee last night approved a paragraph asserting that excessive military expenditures and investments has reduced resources available for development, and that some structural adjustment programmes have been poorly designed and implemented, with resulting detrimental effects on social development. It also noted that the transition to democracy in Central and Eastern Europe has given rise to a variety of experiences depending on specific country circumstances. It further stresses the "great potential" of the media to promote the advancement of women. It recognizes that discrimination against women and the girl child "begins from the earliest stages of life and continues unabated throughout their lives", and that they are often subjected to forms of sexual and economic exploitation, including "female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, incest, female genital mutilation and early marriage, including child marriage". Interpretative Statements, Reservations Offering one in a series of interpretative comments to the text, the representative of the United States said that while it concurred that human rights violations occurred in territories under foreign occupation, it had reservations about the implication that foreign occupation was a human rights violation per se. The representative of Syria replied that according to the Vienna Declaration adopted by the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, foreign occupation was a human rights violation. The Russian Federation said that political parties, not States, determined the pace at which women would enter political parties. Speaking after the decision to delete all references to "sexual orientation" in the draft Platform, the representatives of Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Latvia, Israel, Norway, Cook Islands and South Africa said that the reference in the draft Platform to barriers faced by women because of "other status" covered all people, regardless of their sexual orientation. The representative of Syria said her country opposed discrimination but considered the lifestyle in question as immoral; in Syria, it was subject to criminal punishment. The representative of Slovenia indicated that she interpreted language on sexual rights as including the right to decide freely on matters related to sexuality. The representatives of Uganda, Yemen, Sudan, Venezuela and the United Arab Emirates said the decision had been wise. (more) Main Committee - 5 - Press Release WOM/BEI 5th Meeting (Night) 15 September 1995 The representative of Brazil said the issue of sexual orientation deserved attention and the representatives of Chile, Colombia and Bolivia spoke in favour of the principle of non-discrimination. The representative of Spain said that the issue centred around the problem of discrimination, while the representative of Belize said his country's constitution prohibited discrimination. "Any remark that we might have made is not to be taken as indicating that Belize is discriminatory against such people. The reference is to "such factors as..." which could include all people, including prostitutes and strip- tease dancers." The representative of the United States said that at a woman's Conference, the comments of the above speaker were out of order. Her country had a firm policy of non-discrimination against people for their sexual orientation. The omission of the phrase in no way justified discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Offering an interpretive comment on a separate issue, the representative of the Holy See stressed that it endorsed all language which rejected violence against women or the exploitation of women. It was somewhat dismayed by text which introduced innovations into international human rights language through a reference to a paragraph on sexual rights. The representatives of Paraguay, Uruguay, Morocco, Jordan, Mauritania, Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Oman, Tunisia and Mauritania expressed reservations on text relating to sexual rights and to abortion. The representative of Jordan expressed reservations to certain references to sexuality. Speaking on behalf of the Baltic States, the representative of Latvia expressed a reservation to text in the Mission statement which, she said, sidelined the concerns of the countries with economies in transition. The representative of Slovenia said economic independence was a critical human right. It was a matter of regret that the draft Platform fell short in that area. In addition, the text should have been stronger in calling for the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction. Draft Beijing Declaration The draft Beijing Declaration, also approved by the Main Committee, expresses the determination of Governments to intensify efforts and actions to achieve the goals of the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women by the end of this century. (The Strategies, adopted at the last United Nations conference on women, (more) Main Committee - 6 - Press Release WOM/BEI 5th Meeting (Night) 15 September 1995 held in 1985, provided a framework for action at the national, regional and international levels to promote empowerment of women and their enjoyment of human rights.) Governments would assert their determination to promote women's economic independence, including employment, promote people-centred sustainable development, including sustained economic development through the provision of basic education, life-long education, literacy and training and primary health care for girls and women. Governments would express their determination to assure peace for women and, recognizing the leading role that women have played in the peace movement, work towards general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control. It would support negotiations on the conclusion, without delay, of a universal and multilaterally and effectively verifiable nuclear-test-ban treaty. The Declaration calls for elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls. Governments would pledge to intensify efforts to ensure equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms for women and girls. They would commit to implementing the Platform for Action, ensuring that a gender perspective is reflected in all their policies and programmes. They urge the United Nations system, regional and international financial institutions, regional and national institutions, and all women and men, to commit themselves fully to action as well. * *** *