***************************************************************************
The electronic version of this document has been prepared at the Fourth
World Conference on Women by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in collaboration with the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
Secretariat.
***************************************************************************
AS WRITTEN


FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN
Beijing, 4-15 September 1995

STATEMENT BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCTAD)
MRS. CHAFIKA MESLEM
Director of the Division for Economic Cooperation among Developing Countries
and Special Programmes


 1. Your great country has the honor of hosting the Fourth World
Conference on Women, called upon to consider the achievements of two
decades of struggle for equality, development and peace. These three
objectives have been the catalysts of a unique dynamic which allowed
women to emerge from anonymity and indifference and clearly posed the
problem of the age-old discrimination of which they are still victims as
a worldwide issue that men and women together must solve.

2. This Conference is being held during the year of the fiftieth
anniversary of the United Nations. Already, at the time of its birth,
men dreamed that the United Nations Organization would succeed in
establishing lasting world peace, so that all people, men and women
alike, would enjoy equal rights, respect, justice, peace and well-being.

3. These same ideals have also served as an inspiration for women who,
in Mexico in 1975, believed that in just one decade discrimination would
be eliminated. Since then, at Copenhagen in 1980, and Nairobi in 1985,
these same hopes were renewed: and better still, with the Forward-
looking Strategies adopted in Nairobi, the year 2000 was to see complete
equality among men and women.

4. Where are we today? This Conference will, I am sure, take a hard look
at the results of these last twenty years. As the representative of
UNCTAD, but above all as a woman who has contributed, albeit modestly,
at both the governmental level and within the United Nations, to the
promotion of women, I would like to add my thoughts to yours, in the
belief that our hopes will not be in vain for the second and third
generations to follow.

5. Equality is enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, but
through the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women, now ratified by more than 143 countries, this principle
has the force of law. But how many of those countries which ratified the
Convention apply this principle correctly or have revised their national
legislation to bring it into conformity with the articles of the
Convention? I don't need to draw up a list of the continuing
inequalities, it would be too long. I will confine myself to taking as
an example the case of women in the least developed countries and about
which the relevant statistics are particularly eloquent.

6 These women 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 At the
beginning of this decade, the literacy rate of women in the least
developed countries reached barely 36 per cent, compared to 59 per cent
for men The gap widens even further at higher education levels For
example the female/male ratio for school enrollment is 79 per cent but
it falls to 58 per cent for secondary revealing indicators are: the life
expectancy for women in the least developed countries is 10 years less
than that of women in other developing countries, and maternal mortality
rates are twice as high. The statistics presented by the UNDP in its
recent Human Development Report only confirm this state of affairs.

7. As far as development is concerned, we have made some progress - in
what we say at least. The role of women as key actors in development is
being recognized. And we are now aware that policies and programmes that
do not take this role into account will fail. It is also recognized that
women must take part in the elaboration of any development plans,
programmes and strategies at both national and international levels.
This will permit the coherent integration of measures designed to ensure
equality between the sexes and to formulate policies which also take
into account the views of women on how to solve the problems of society.
This approach also implies a decision-making role and a political power
that women have not yet acquired in proportion to their numbers.

8. The different dimensions of the role of women have also 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
steps taken to remedy the situation remain quite inadequate, as they are
not part of any global plan involving a complete rethinking of socio-
economic policies.

9. During the past five years important changes have taken place giving
market forces a predominant role and reducing the role of the State,
which is nonetheless primordial when ensuring the elaboration and
implementation of the policies necessary to meet the needs and concerns
of women.

10. The uneven effects of globalisation and liberalization on different
societies requires consideration and discussion of the very concept of
development. The question of "women and development" is posed in terms
of "social relations of sex" - that is to say between men and women,
called "gender" by Anglo-Saxons, an expression that is difficult to
translate into other languages, so causing a certain distortion of the
substance of the concept itself. Taking this concept into account,
however, opens up the real debate as to the type of economic and social
development sought by societies.

11. The end of the bipolar world removed the specter of a third global
conflict, but did not bring peace. Unfortunately. Regional conflicts are
multiplying, caused not only by poverty, underdevelopment and the
absence of democracy, but also by religious extremists who are reviving
the barbary of the inquisition and, closer to our time, naziism. Hordes
of displaced women and children chased from their homes, with their
haggard beseeching stares, raped and murdered women - these are the
images broadcast almost daily by the medias.

12. Moving towards the third millennium - although we believed in peace
and felt so much hope with the end of apartheid - we see with deep
sadness and barely restrained revolt, that the grand principles of
equality, development and peace which floated around Geneva during the
Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations, were well presented but in
fact only figured in speeches that in no way reflect reality.

13. What can be done? And what role is there for UNCTAD? This Fourth
Conference must meet all these expectations by proposing concrete and
pragmatic measures that governments, the United Nations system as a
whole, and non-governmental organizations - in short, the international
community - should implement.

14. The question of women must cease to be a monologue among women. It
is urgent and imperative to involve men. Progress in the status of women
does not mean a step back for men - it is progress for all humanity.
Women play a crucial role not only in the education and health of
children, but also in all other spheres. Responsibility shared between
men and women in all these fields is necessary in the endeavor to build
a balanced world. Participation in all decision-making is crucial and
will serve the interests of society in general and at all levels.

15. Research should be carried out by universities and international
organizations which study the nature of our economies, in order to
understand the real impact of socio-economic policies on women and men
and, gradually, to make the necessary adjustments. The past has given us
too many examples of decisions being taken with the best intentions in
the world but which have proved to be ineffective or even worse counter-
productive. Finally, work must be undertaken together to accelerate the
process of change, and it must be done more particularly through
affirmative actions designed to ensure that dignity, freedom and well-
being are not just for the privileged few but for all members of society
- including women.

16. UNCTAD has answered the appeal to international organizations to
include the question of women in development in their work programmes
and to incorporate the notion of gender. In its newly oriented
programmes, the eighth Conference of UNCTAD, held in Cartagena in 1992,
decided to give "particular emphasis on the development of human
resources, especially women". This has been a specific orientation of
UNCTAD's ongoing work in the areas of the least developed countries;
poverty alleviation; science and technology; and economic cooperation
among developing countries. Two years ago, UNCTAD created a focal point
for women within its secretariat.

17. UNCTAD has been entrusted with monitoring, following up and
evaluating at the global level the Programme of Action for the 1990s in
favor of the least developed countries, which was adopted by the Paris
Conference in September 1990. One of the five main objectives to be
followed up at the global level of the programme is precisely the
participation of women in the realization of the programme. The work
carried out to attain this objective will be evaluated at the mid-term
review of the Programme to be conducted at a high level meeting in New
York at the end of this month (26 September to 5 October 1995). The
draft text prepared for this meeting includes, in addition to an
evaluation of progress achieved, a certain number of recommendations. As
far as women are concerned, these recommendations are based on the
results of the preparatory work of a group of experts on women in the
development of LDCs, which was held in Niamey (Niger) at the beginning
of the year.

18. The ministers and experts who participated in the meeting in Niamey
agreed, unanimously, in a strong Declaration, to draw the attention of
the international community to the gravity of the specific problems of
women in the least developed countries and to the need to adopt urgent
measures at the national and international levels to promote their full
participation in the development process! not only as agents in the
process but also as beneficiaries of its results. They declared that
full participation was a condition of sustainable development in these
countries. The Declaration contains twenty types of priority and
concrete actions addressed to the Governments concerned, NGOs and
development agencies. They concern issues as varied as education,
population and health, agriculture, the environment, small and medium-
sized enterprises, national planning, women's rights, violence against
women, women refugees, and international support networks and modalites.
I hope that this Conference will take note of the Niamey Declaration as
an indication of its concern for the most disadvantaged women, and that
in the implementation of the Beijing Platform, special support will be
given to the implementation of the recommendations of the Niamey
Declaration.

19. Within the framework of its mandate relating to poverty alleviation,
UNCTAD has recently turned its attention to the role that could be
played in this respect by export-oriented small and micro-enterprises,
as well as producers of non-traditional agricultural exports. Studies
have also been made of ways and means of making development assistance
more efficient in terms of reaching the very poor. Because women are
responsible for a large share of agricultural production and comprise
the basic workforce of so many small export enterprises, they are
clearly at the center of our discussions and proposals. From this
analytical work, it is clear that their situation would improve, and
their products would become more competitive, if the concerted action of
Governments. non-governmental organizations and assistance agencies
centered on education, health, access to credit and other services.

20. UNCTAD is also the secretariat of the United Nations Commission on
Science and Technology for Development. This Commission recently
submitted to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) the conclusions
of the work accomplished by it during the past two years. I am pleased
to inform you that ECOSOC has accepted all the recommendations of the
Commission concerning gender and science and technology for development
including those which call for an improvement of the activities in these
areas within the United Nations system The Commission has also
formulated a recommendation to national Governments proposing the
adoption of a "Declaration of Intent" in this respect This declaration
contains six principles of equity in relation to science, technology and
gender In order to contribute usefully to the Beijing Conference the UN
Commission on Science and Technology for Development identified the
theme of gender equality for its work during the period 1993-1995

21. In all these fields UNCTAD has very clear mandates from
intergovernmental bodies such as the Trade and Development Board, its
Standing Committees and its international conferences. It will,
therefore, continue its efforts to contribute to the improvement of the
status of women and the promotion of their role in the development
process in general and in that of the least developed countries and the
poorest populations in particular, through its various programmes.
UNCTAD is planning to examine in particular, in the framework of country
studies, the participation of women in the decision-making process in
policies relating to science and technology, as well as in all the
resulting innovations.

22. Other areas exist in which UNCTAD could be called upon to carry out
work, namely commodities production and domestic trade in certain
regions of the world, particularly in Africa where women play an crucial
role It would be useful to identify the extent of their participation in
those fields and to examine to what extent this traditional role could
survive in the general process of globalization and liberalization

23 I would add that in its technical assistance projects, UNCTAD is
increasingly trying to ensure a high level of participation of women For
example, within the framework of UNCTAD's programme of technical
assistance to the Palestinian people, it is planned to encourage the
participation of Palestinian women at all levels of trade and investment
activities.

Madame President,

24. My statement would be incomplete if it did not draw your attention
to the not negligible but still insufficient efforts of UNCTAD to
increase the number of women holding posts of responsibility in its
secretariat. During the last two years, the statistics are as follows:

- At the D.1-D.2 level, we have 33 men for 3 women (9.1 per cent); - At
the P.1-P.5 level, we have 224 men for 50 women (18.2 per cent); and -
at the general service level, 196, of which 76 per cent are women.

25  More than ever, the solution to the problems of our society, however
technically complex or specific, require the adhesion and the
participation of all our energies, both of women and of men, to find
solutions to problems giving rise to conflict, violence, and spiritual
and material poverty.

26. The Beijing Platform will be the instrument of the third millennium
to achieve equal opportunities for men and women. This instrument must
be clear and accessible to decision-makers, but also to all categories
of society at all levels, so that policies aimed at peace, justice and
well-being can be implemented in concrete ways with the participation of
all.